Bn Rifle Meeting
27th/28th March 1976
Barry Buddon, Scotland

ON FRIDAY, March 26, the members of the Coy shooting team and various other assorted bodies clambered aboard the north bound train, at King's Cross, on their way to Barry Budden Camp and the Bn Rifle Meeting. Very quickly the team members settled in to their compartments and started to take a little light refreshment of the liquid kind. Pte Chris Ross, who has asked to be mentioned by name - stupid boy, astounded the assistant vet, Sgt Joe Byrne (enemas given while you wait), who was sharing a sleeper compartment with him, by ringing the attendant at one o'clock in the morning and requesting coffee after having taken one of the medical Sergeant's sleeping tablets. The only comment needed here is, "the man's no human", a comment with which the rest of the Coy would agree. Sgt Byrne spent the weekend looking for a suitable specimen from a Black Watch Coy to perform a brain operation on the said Pte Ross. Unfortunately he was unable to find a suitable anthropoid on which to perform this delicate operation. Having detrained at 5 o'clock in the morning in Dundee, we were conveyed by the standard, draughty four-tonner to the Camp with Pte Hamish MacPuke held over the tail-board of the vehicle whilst performing his strange ritual, "The Hodden Grey Honk". He was later heard to mutter, "I'm not travelling with Gordon PSI's again - you can't trust them".

Barry Budden Camp lived up to expectations - rather like the Russian Steppes with a force ten gale blowing to add a little local colour. The hutted camp was reminiscent of Stalug Luft 111 without the wire fences. The "Liverpool Jocks", better known as the "Blue Mafia", were billeted in the same hut as ourselves and took an instant dislike to our arrival at the ungodly hour of 6 am.

The SLR practices lasted all of Saturday, luckily with the gale force winds at our backs. The "A" team, under the leadership of Sgt "Smoothy" Moodie, came 4th in the SLR shoot and reached the semi-finals of the falling plate competition which were held on the Sunday morning after the GPMG shoot. The "B" team, the beginners, under the gallant leadership of Pte Jimmy Thoirs, came 10th. At the same time the SMG practice was in progress and Pte Bill Kidd had trouble with a defective magazine which refused to feed rounds into the chamber, rather disconcerting in a timed competition. In the SMG shoot, "A" team came 7th and "B" team 9th.

Saturday night saw the "Jocks" out relaxing with certain persons venturing as far as the Stag's Head at Carnoustie, where they shook a mean hip with some of the local ladies. Whilst the rest were making merry, two of our numbers, Ptes Jimmy Thoirs and Richard Davies, had been caught by democratic means to be our contingent to the camp guard but managed to get the easy job of driving round the camp and ranges checking the buildings and marquees.

Sunday morning opened to the sound of a bugle being blown against the might of the gale and all the camp chores were completed and the teams on the ranges by 8 am. The GPMG practices started with a pool ball shoot before the main shoot. The "B" team were in the first detail to shoot and lined up behind the 600 metre point waiting for the targets to appear before the run started. At the 300 metre point the two guns found that they had ran short of time on the scoring section. The "A", and more experienced, team were soon showing how it should be done. The team of Sgt Moodie and Piper King led the race with the PSI doing a fair imitation of a greyhound. There's a MacPherson type rumour going round that the SPSI is going to do a camouflage job on his assistant and enter him in the Greyhound Derby. Sgt Moodie reached the 500 metre firing point before the other teams reached the halfway point and the range marshal had a great deal of trouble keeping up.

The "A" team of "Waterman's Wondershots" took first place with a total score of minus 10 with the team of L/Cpl Bill Somerset and Pte Bill Kidd scoring minus 4 to become joint winners of the best GPMG shot cup.

An amusing incident occurred during the GPMG competition. One gun team reached the 600 metre firing point, loaded their 30 round belt, the gunner sighted and squeezed the trigger and the pistol grip came away in his hand. Needless to say that all 30 rounds of ammunition were blasted down the range in quick succession. The moral in this little incident is that equipment should always be checked before use.

Whilst the "A" team were waiting to compete in the semi-finals it was found that some sheep had strayed onto the range and some members of a Black Watch Coy were sent to clear them off (rather appropriate). While engaged on this task a voice was heard to come from the assembled throng, "Don't chase the first one - it's ugly!" This incident did not help the "A" team who were knocked out of the competition at this stage.

V (Liverpool Scottish) Coy "Blue Mafia" made a clean sweep of the SLR and SMG cups and the "Hodden Grey Heroes" took the GPMG cup with the only cup staying north of the border being that of the Best Young Soldier. All the prizes were presented by Colonel Bobby Stuart, Honorary Colonel of the 1st Bn, 51st Highland Volunteers.

Other London Jocks involved in the competition, though not shooting, were working hard in the background. Pte Harry Towner, who did stirring work looking after the equipment and cleaning weapons, Captain Nicol, involved in tabulating the scores (but wouldn't take a bribe) and 2/Lt Richard Robinson, who did plenty of running as assistant range master. Finally, the most important man in the back up team, Sgt "Split" Waterman, team coach and maker of coffee.

Final leave taking was a bit hurried with 2/Lt Robinson being hauled over the tail board of the four-tonner and dumped on the floor like a sack of spuds.