IMPERIAL CHALLENGE SHIELDS.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 November 1917, Page 4

IMPERIAL CHALLENGE SHIELDS.

PRESENTATION TO NKVV PLYMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL.

DEFENCE NATIONS. '

I At the New Plymouth High School sports yesterday afternoon, Sir James Allen, Minister for Defence, presented the Imperial Challenge .Shields, both senior and junior (open to the schools of the Empire), won by the New Plymouth High School teams in 1010. In 1915 the High School the highest number of points, establish;-: ins; a record, in fact, but was disqualified because one of the supervisors held non-commissioned and not commissioned rank. This year the boys came 15th and 4th in the senior competition, and 20th iri the junior. The boys' rifles were destroyed in the school fire, and, not being' able to secure new ones, they were unable to put in the necessary practice. The boys of the school, practically all in running costume, were drawn up in squad formation in a roped off area in front of the band platform, upon 'wtiich Sir James Allen, Mrs. Montgomery [Sir James Allen's daughter), Mr. Dixon (private secretary to the Minister), Lieut.Colonel T. W. Mac Donald, general staff officer for the Wellington district; Captain J. F. Rockstrow, N.Z.M.C.; Lieut. Crutch, Messrs H. J. Okey, M.P., and W. H. Moyes (headmaster), and members of the Board of Governors. Mr. D. Hutchen said that the interval had been made to enable Sir James Allen to present the shields won by the H'hool last year in the Imperial competitions, established by Lieut.-Colonel Schumacker, of South Africa, who had provided funds for annual prizes to he competed for by all schools throughout the British Empire. Teams were first entered from the school in 1013. The rifles then used were of inferior pattern, without aperture sights, but by dint of hard practice the team gained 29th place, and received £2 in prize money. The success achieved wa? due largely to the enthusiasm and hard work of the late Corporal V. J. B. Hall, and to the coaching of Captain F. Hartncll. In 1014 the junior team gained 7th piaee, while the senior team was again in the prize list. In 1015 the senior team ga:ned 10th place out of 341 teams, and the junior team 9th phice out of 122. Both teams were easily first for New Zealand, In 1010 the shooting was in the charge of Lieut. H. V. Searle, to whom a great deal of credit was due for t>.e high standard of efficiency reached. Two senior teams and one junior were entered Of these the senior teams gained respectively first and third places, and the junior first place for the Empire. For the senior competition 323 teams 'competed, and in the junior 197. In this vear 20,000 rounds of ammunition were fired in practice, and the rifles used new the very best that could be 'purchased. In conclusion he thanked the Minister, on behalf of the board "f governors, for his kindness in coming on a special trip to make the presentations Sir James Allen said that when it became known that the school had put up the great record in the Imperial Challenge Shield shooting competition he had made up his mind that he would like to have the great pleasure of handing over the shieldß to the boys who had won the honor for the school. Unfortunately, the silver shields were not sent to New Zealand, on account of the dangers to shipping due to the submarine menace, but the bronze shields to be presented were replicas o ( the originals which remained in London. Lieut.-Colonel Schumacher, of South Africa, who had organised the competitions, had made them open to all schools of the Empire. The founder desired that the prizes given should be devoted to making the boys of the Empire expert in the use of the rifle. The rifle had come to its own again in the present war. At one time it was said that the rifle and bayonet would be of little use in the face of machine-gun fire, but the rifle, after all, was the weapon that decided the issue, and the use of it should therefore be cultivated to the fullest and made perfect by all boys who wished to defend their country and the Empire. The bayonet, too, had come into its own, and its* use also should be thoroughly understood. Lieiit.-Colonel Schumacher had another idea besides the mere giving of the shields. and prizes. He made the provision that the money prizes given with the shields should not go to the individual boys of the teams, but that they should go to the unit or school, to be used to encourage that unit or school in the use of the rifle. His principle was a worthy one, and one that should be followed in the unit, the school and the country. The principle would teach the boys to play the game, not for themselves individually, but for the team and the school. In the present great war this country was fighting the fight not for itself alone, but for the future good and welfare of the Empire and the world as a whole The winning of the shields came as a great lesson, viz., that the boys were fighting for the team, for the school, and for the country, and would fight for the Empire later on. It was, he continued, with great pleasure that he had come to present the shields and to know that they would be placed in the hands of a school that had always been deserving of high praise, especially in cadet movements. He had been much struck with the work of the cadet corps on his first visit to the school some years ago, and 'he had never been disappointed since. l (Applause.) They could look forward with the greatest hope to the time when the boys would later have received the training fitting them for citizenship, and rest assured that they would play their part as noble citizens to fight not for themselves, but for their country, its industries, its high character, so that the Empire would aways be among the nations of high standing. The Empire's word was the Empire's bond, and it did not tear up "scraps of paper." It was the first time that New Zealand had won the first prize in the senior and junior competitions, and it was the first time that either shield had come to New Zealand, and the school had a proud record indeed in gaining first place in the senior competition with their A team, third place with their B team, and first place in the junior competition. The con petitions were open to boys of all the Empire schools and certain branches of the navy. He had looked through a list of competing teams, and had found that they came from England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Malta, Jersey and many more dominions and colonics he could not then remember, and that the New Plymouth Boys' High School had come out first on the list Fourteen New Zealand teams had competed in the senior and seven in the junior competition, and he coneratulated the bovs and

masters of the school on the splendid success that hftd attended their ntfarfc and tho success they had attained for the Country, for the, winning of tho shields was a New Zealand honor. Let it be a lesson, he said, that should always be remembered —work for the honor of the country as woll as than of the school. Three hundred and. twenty-two teams in all had competed, in the senior and 104 in the junior competition, g| the competition .wu ■ very wide and tnc honor was one to be proud of, and he would again congratulate the boys and their masters. The captain of the team was Lieut. Searlc, who Was now doing his duty at the front. All honor to him, and he hoped Lieut. Settle would soon be back safe and Bound, Sir James Allen then presented the senior competition shield to the acting captain of the 1916 team, Sergeant Luccna, and made a few kindly and congratulatory remarks to tho recipient. The members of the senior team were then each presented with the founder's silver medallion. Cadet Greiner received the shield for the junior team, and the members were recipients of a silver medallion, The members of the senior B team each/received a bronze medallion. The headmaster thanked Sir James Allen for having made it convenient to be present in spite of the loss of time in his departmental work. The day would long remain a pleasant memory to those who had been fortunate to receive prizes from his hands, and an incentive would be given to maintain the high reputation won in the shooting world. There had been times when the townspeople had cried down the outdoor sport and training of the school, i.-n the OToUBcI that it played no real part in the education of the boys, but to such coin. plaints the school had always jurnetl a deaf ear. A boy could not be educated within the four walls of u clr.m room. Shooting must always rank highly, for no other pastime inculcated to a like degree the habits of self-reliance, patience and perseverance, and a boy who shot for the honor of his scbooliiow would later shoot for the honor of 'lis country. Of the seven boys who shot in the 1913 competitions, two were atUl under military age, four wene .fighting in France, and one was on his way to tho front. Many of their past footballers, added Mr. Moyes, were lighting at the present time, and several had been wounded or had laid down their lives and others had been mentioned in despatches, and had been decorated for conspicuous bravery. These young fellows, who had been leaders jn'thc school sport, were leaders when the word came to leap over the parapet. The senior shooting team this year had gained the 15th place on the list, and although he did not wish to make excuses for the boys, it was only fair to state that they had worked under a great disadvantage, as the fire had destroyed the whole of their rifles, and it was not possible to obtain more. When the,war was over rifles would be procured, and he hoped tho school would again reach the proud position it had gained in 1916. In conclusion, he hoped that the Minister of Defence would again pay ft visit to Sew 'Plymouth, and officiate in the same capacity that he was filling that day. Mr Moyes then called upon the boys for three cheers for Sir James Allen, and the lads responded most heartily. At the conclusion •of the ceremony the school band played the National Anthem.

MEMBERS OF THE TEAM. % The members of the teams Weres-* Senior competition (let te th» Em» pire): Sergeants Hamerton, Lucena, Mc- . Murray, Corporals 0. Bayly, Wyborn, Ewing, Cadets Traill, Boulton, Grayling, Herbert. B team (3rd for the Empife) s Sergeants Yates, Tansey, M.' Atk&Uon, Cadets Morey, Hooker," Johns, Dockworth, Fookes. Junior competition (Ist for the Empire) : Cadets Pott; Greinar, Alleman, Hine, G. Bayly, CHaloran, Harrtion, Guild. • Several of the boys have left school since the firing off of the competition, and three of these who appeared in uniform, being at present in the training camps, were most heartily applauded. The Minister called for three cheers for the winning teams, and these were most enthusiastically given.

THE SHIELDS. The Imperial Challenge Shields are cs» ceedingly handsome in design, and are considerably larger than the usual challenge shields. A dark oak ground, measuring approximately 3 feet bv 20 inches, carries a heavy medallion centre of handsome design, differing in the two grades, and an inscription setting out briefly, the scope of the competition. The medallions are equally handsome, and will serve as a permanent individual record of a most praiseworthy performance. The silver originals, in ordinary circumstances, would have been presented yesterday, but, as mentioned above, it was not considered safe to send them out of. England. The silver shields are competitive trophies, and aro held by a winning team from year to year. The bronze shields, however, are held in perpetuity, as are also the medallions.