club history
A public meeting was held in Forfar in the Meffan Hall in the evening of Monday 24 October 1937 to propose the formation of a miniature rifle club in the town. The meeting chairman was the local Chief Constable D. C. Christie. The resolution was unanimously adopted and a committee was appointed to look into premises, finances etc.[Forfar Herald 28/10/37]
By December that year the club had been formed as the Forfar and District Small Bore Rifle Club and had raised the necessary finance through a loan of £350 from James Lindsay who was the Postmaster at Letham, Angus at a very reasonable interest rate of 4%. This interest was paid annually to Mr Lindsay (after deducting tax!) until September 1951 when £150 of the loan was paid off with the balance being paid off in November 1953. The club was also paying £2 10/- half annually in ground rent to a Mr. Bowen and in January 1955 the ground was purchased (very cheaply) for £100.
It was reported that the original committee appointed in October 1937 were unable to find suitable premises and had made the decision to build a new range with the finances as explained above. There had been a previous miniature rifle club (Forfar and District Miniature Rifle Club) which had been formed in 1911 and had utilised a disused factory in Chapel Street. The present range in Myre Road (although the address is officially 26½ West High Street) was under construction in the spring of 1938.
The range was constructed using local contractors many of which are still in operation in the town
£ |
s |
d |
||
| Joinery | J.C. Samson | 179 |
14 |
2 |
| Builder | Liddle & Calder | 106 |
11 |
- |
| Heating and Light | Milne & Sons | 17 |
2 |
10 |
| Plumbing | D. Langlands & Son | 30 |
16 |
9 |
| Furnishings | D. Irons & Sons | 16 |
12 |
4 |
| Garden | 1 |
14 |
6 |
|
| Total | 352 |
11 |
7 |
The range construction was of simple design with a single brick walled range with a wooden clubhouse attached to the firing point end. The range has been little altered except in 1988 when the clubroom was extended to the east to add a secure gunroom and armoury along with a pair of large storage areas which now form the 6 yard air pistol range. The clubroom and range was re-roofed in 1997 with the assistance of a grant from Angus District Council, as the original corrugated iron roof had rusted around the securing nails and was letting in water.
In late 2013 the club applied for and was granted a substantial sum from Angus Council to purchase 2 electronic target systems from Meyton. Over the following 2 months a great deal of work was carried out with in the club to accommodate them. The range required re-wiring due to the lack of power sockets, the target butts were adapted and sealed with a shot curtain and a new swing frame constructed to carry the target frames. The club paintwork was refreshed and new (to us) furniture was donated for the clubroom. A camera and monitor was also installed to allow observation of the firing point.
In April 2015 another smaller grant from Angus Council allowed the club to purchase another set of electronic targets from Meyton. This meant that the club could return to three firing points as originally built. The firing point was slightly altered by cutting the door to the range and removing the doorpost to allow the full width of the range to be used for the three points.