From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] << I think they were a sniper school set up by some landed gent who was fed up of the Germans sniping his men. it consisted of gamekeepers ghillies and landed gents who enjoyed game hunting etc. They were disbanded but the army took the hint and set up a specialist section to train sniping and the use of optically sighted rifles >> I think there is a bit of confusion here. Lord Lovat of Invernesshire had raised the Lovat Scouts from among professional highland stalkers, gamekeepers, poachers and others who knew how to shoot, from his own extensive estates and also those of his highland neighbours; and they were originally deployed during the Boer War, where Britain was badly outclassed by the skill of the Boer snipers. The first serious British sniping school of WW1 was run by H. Hesketh-Pritchard (author of "Sniping in France"), who had extensive experience of stalking big game in Canada etc., and various other sporting officers, who had sent back to the UK for their sporting rifles, many of which were scoped. I have been unable to find any links between the WW1 sniping units and this mysterious "Sportsman's Batallion", and a search for info on the web has only thrown up two photos, of the unit leaving Hornchurch for France. I wonder if they were "sportsmen" as in fieldsports, or just sportsmen as in "games". (That useful distinction has gradually been lost over the years, alas.) Colin Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
