Berkhamsted Bowmen honour Paul at annual memorial shoot

Paul was a member of Berkhamsted Bowmen from 1975. He was a skilled archer who was most adept at clout shooting and enjoyed various committee positions within the club.

During his time with the Bowmen, Paul also became a qualified instructor and coach, helping beginners and assisting disabled archers with his ready smile and friendly manner.

He sadly died in 2007, but each year Berkhamsted Bowmen commemorate Paul with a light-hearted themed shoot where archers use bows without sight aids.

This year the field was set up with a number of dummies depicting a French army at a distance of around 150 yards.

The round consisted of archers loosing as many arrows as possible in one minute for each of the 12 ends – with the aim being to hit the targets and gain as many points as possible.

It may sound easy in theory, but in practice the number of hits for all involved can be quite low compared to a regular target shoot at a much shorter distance.

With so much fun being had and a few archers dressing up in medieval style costumes for the occasion, points were of little consequence.

After totalling all the points, the best overall score went to Barbara Anscombe, with the most hits going to Steve Rushton.

The winner of the Black Arrow trophy was Paul Stafford for the most hostage hits – not a good thing – while Matt Ross loosed the highest number of arrows; an impressive total of 14 in one minute.

For enquiries on beginners’ or refresher lessons, please contact Berkhamsted Bowmen at www.berkhamsted-bowmen.org.uk or via their Facebook page.