Teddy Tours Attermire Rifle Range

[QDanT]

Finishing Chauffeur duties for SWMBO at 12:45 and the first sunny day for a while, it was out into the hills for dinner. Drove to Settle and parked on the Malham road and walked along the bridalway to Attermire scars

The Victorian Rifle Range soon came into view. Here it's looking down on it from the scars behind. SD 83866 64098

Attermire Rifle Range, Settle
In the mid-19th century, with the threat of war with France hanging in the air, County lieutenants throughout the country were authorised to raise volunteer rifle corps. In 1854, in Settle, 30 volunteers were signed up. By 1864 they had a drill hall at the foot of Castlebergh in the town. The Settle Volunteers took their shooting practice seriously and Attermire Range was set up for them in 1860. Competitions took place and Settle won many of the top prizes in the county. The shooting platforms laid out at regular intervals away from the targets can only just be made out. More obvious are the remains of the butts at the base of Warrendale Knotts half a mile away, which originally had pairs of two metre diameter targets. The Volunteers were transferred into the Territorial Army in 1908 and they continued to use the range up until the First World War. During the Second World War, the local Home Guard reused the range.
Source:- http://www.outofoblivion.org.uk/record.asp?id=108
Where the kettle was soon on for a brew

Russian Caravan Tea.
From Wikipedia, Russian Caravan is a blend of Oolong, Keemun and Lapsang Souchong teas. Although a Chinese tea, its name originates from the 18th century camel caravans that facilitated the transcontinental tea trade to Europe via Russia. "It took at least half a year to make the six-thousand-mile journey from the Chinese border to Russia, Russian Caravan has a distinctive smoky aroma caused by the Lapsang Souchong in the blend, originally intended as a natural preservative. Stoves a Samuel Heath & Son Birmingham.

with a brew on the go it was time for a steak and onion butty with home made bread. Mind the hot fat splashes!
It looks like Dads army used more than black powder muskets and 303's on the cast targets

It seems like a piece of history is slowly being lost, took me awhile to clean the muck of this target back

Back to the van and took the Malham road to the Airton turn off
Looking back at Settle

and over to our house

Another Teddy Tour just a quick one today but non the less enjoyable. Just thought I'd share.
cheers all Danny

 

[Lupis]

Nice. I've seen less well equipped kitchens than what you have there though. I'm far too lazy, not to mention unfit, to carry all that!

 

[Shewie]

Nice post Danny, I must remember to have a look next time I'm passing

Lovely kettle you've got there, it wouldn't stay that colour for long in my hands though.

 

[gsfgaz]

great pics dan, fancy tea pot's ..

 

[Crowe]

Thanks for sharing Danny. The target looks like an early 'fall when hit' type and the metal plate has probably been shot by a heavy anti tank rifle.
Great post
Crowe

 

[bivouac]

Another quality outing. Your mention of 'the butts' interested me as in the middle ages, every man was required by law to practice archery on a sunday. This took place in an area called 'the butts' - named after the targets - the name remaining in many towns and villages today hundreds of years later. The town where i live has a road called 'The Butts'. I was interested that the more modern equivalent was still taking place in the 19th century.
Mrs Bivouac passes on her compliments to Teddy regarding his sartorial elegance. She has a large collection of Doll and Teddy clothing and knows a well-turned-out Bear when she sees one.
You were kind enough to reply about your camera a while ago. I had an Olympus OM1 myself too but i part-exchanged it for a Mamaya 645 which is now gathering dust on a shelf in the spare room. It is so difficult to get film these days! If you ask for it over the counter, you are greeted with a combination of bewilderment and pity.

 

[British Red]

Danny,

Thats another great post!

I'm intrigued by the holes - clearly something armour piercing...I would suggest a Boys Anti Tank rifle but I think the holes might be a little large

I envy you that walk....love ranges current and disused

 

[Biker]

Since you're so used to hauling heavy stuff in your rucksack I wondered if this found it's way back with you as well.

Xouldn't have weighed more than a few hundred weight surely? That's be a walk in the park compared to those whestones.

Thanks for taking us along on your jaunt. Nice scenery.

 

[QDanT]

Danny,
I'm intrigued by the holes - clearly something armour piercing...I would suggest a Boys Anti Tank rifle but I think the holes might be a little large
I envy you that walk....love ranges current and disused

Hi Red, Only a guess how about a Piat anti tank Mk1
a Google link to one
cheers Danny

 

[EdS]

must plan another bimble. Can you arrange good weather?

 

[British Red]

PIAT makes a lot of sense Danny - those Boys never really worked well, but the PIATS certainly did - could even have been the earlier Baby Bombard as some of those were issued to the Home Guard

Fascinating stuff!!

 

[QDanT]

Thanks for sharing Danny. The target looks like an early 'fall when hit' type and the metal plate has probably been shot by a heavy anti tank rifle.
Great post
Crowe

Hi Crowe and Red, more searching has unearthed :-

The target end of the range consisted of a very substantial building which housed the score keepers. This was equipped with a pair of mirrors to give a periscopic view over the boundary wall along the range with the semaphore communications to the shooting positions. Two pairs of 6' dia. targets rotated on an iron axle. The score was recorded from the bottom target, the shot holes being papered over while the top target was being shot. Then the pair were reversed. Shooters drew numbers from a bag for the order of shooting so the target end only knew the number of the shooter and not his name, but for all that it was said that tricks were played between mates when one of them was on duty with the score sheet.

and a plan

from http://www.settledistrictu3a.org.uk/nchtjournal/Journals/1998/J98A9.html#Rifle
cheers Danny

 

[British Red]

Fascinating,

I'm used to standing in the trench at the butts to mark shot with a pointer and hauling them down to patch after each detail. That and cursing someone who shoots low, clips the berm and sends mud and stones down on my head

Communities are far poorer these days for the lack of local bands of volunteers supported by ranges like this. I learned to shoot in a former HG range, but modern thinking will have us all wrapped in cotton wool and "guns are bad" culture before long. Damned shame.

Still got my Lee Enfield for now though

Red

 

[Ironside]

Lovely day out and what a fab place to go. The shine on the stove and kettle make them things of beauty.

 

[johnboy]

Hi,
Nice post.. Teddy has a good taste in stoves...

Looking at that plate and the direction on the spall it's been hit from both the front and back.. Maybe you would get a hole that large if you shot .55 Boys at a cast plate??

Good photos and a very enjoyable post...

Cheers

John

 

[British Red]

I have to say Boys are....rubbish! I was very grateful to be allowed to shoot one. Stuipd recoil and a three way fireball from the muzzle brake. But for all that, its AP wasn't up to anything beyond the most minimal armour.

It was an experience for sure...but not the greatest of inventions. I'm told the PIAT was a different matter entirely. Never been allowed a play with one sadly

 

[johnboy]

I have to say Boys are....rubbish! I was very grateful to be allowed to shoot one. Stuipd recoil and a three way fireball from the muzzle brake. But for all that, its AP wasn't up to anything beyond the most minimal armour.

It was an experience for sure...but not the greatest of inventions. I'm told the PIAT was a different matter entirely. Never been allowed a play with one sadly

Boys do have a kick... You can own one on a standard FAC here in NZ IIRC as it's Bolt Action... I had a go with one at a range day I went to, along with a bolt action rifle chambered for .50 BMG both were beasts. The Boys was a canadian produced one and they had a different flashhider / muzzle break than the earlier versions...It still kicked like a mule.. They were supposedly pretty pants against tanks.. Not sure I'd fancy sitting in a slit trench with a Panzer II heading towards me armed with a Boys......

I'm not entirely sure that the holes in the Plate at Attermire range would have been caused by PIAT as it used a Shaped Charge on the war head which tend to 'cut' a hole in armour using the Munroe effect.

Take a look at the glacis plate on this King Tiger that been hit with rounds from a Bazooka which also used a shaped charge....

PIAT rounds were relatively low velocity. The plate with the way the spall is looks to have been hit by something with a bit of velocity behind it... Also PIAT was very much a front line weapon during WW2 I'm not sure HG units would have been issued with it.. but who knows... I guess the Regulars might have been using the range??? As you said in an earlier post it might have been a bit of practice with a Blacker Bombard ( Spigot Mortar).

As earlier, nice photos and good to have a think about what might have caused the holes all those years ago..

ATB

John