Militaria

Lot 339    SESSION 1 eSALE ONLINE ONLY (MON 20TH NOV CLOSE FROM 9.30AM)    Militaria

Estimate $400
Bid at live.noble.com.au

GREAT BRITAIN, Sloper Award of Merit, profusely illustrated cartoon-like and coloured certificate named to Pte Rennie 'because he won the Queen's Prize at Bisley' and with this award he may use after his name the initials 'F.O.S.', sealed and dated Fourth day of August 1894, in a frame (approx 30x40.5cm), not under glass. Some age toning and a small water stain, otherwise good very fine and rare.

The following article was published in The Press, New Zealand, Volume LII, Issue 9075, 10 April 1895, page 2.

PRIVATE M. S. RENNIE.
Malcolm Stark Rennie is, as his name indicates a native of Scotland, and was born at Mary Hill, a suburb of Glasgow. He is thirty-three years of age, and has for several years held a very high position amongst the rifle shots of the United Kingdom. The first corps to which young Rennie attached himself was the 1st Dumbarton, a corps noted alike for its drill and its shooting, and one which has many times gained the encomiums of the Commander-in-Chief. His natural taste soon led him into the shooting squad of this corps, and it was not long before he asserted his superiority with the rifle, putting down some of the most redoubtable of the Dumbarton shots.

At drill he was as good as on the range, and it was not long before he was in the ranks of the non-commissioned officers; 1888 finding him ranking as a sergeant. It was only natural that an ambitious marksman like Rennie should wish to pit himself against the very best shooting men he could find for he had learnt the lesson that super-excellence can only be attained by the very keenest competition, and so in the natural order of things he attached himself to the 3rd Lanark Rifles in 1889, which was then as now the finest shooting Volunteer corps in Scotland. Young Rennie had already made too great a name in the shooting world to be passed over by his new comrades, and it was a very short time before he was one of the recognised shots of a company which contains more Queen's Hundred men than any other. What did a great deal to stamp his superiority about this time was the fact that he won a Martini rifle given by the Colonel of the corps for competition, and in which all the principal men competed. After this great things were prophesied for Rennie who by the way was always a great favourite, his genial good nature and manly enthusiasm for his corps being a byword amongst his comrades. Since his first year in the 3rd Lanark he was always included in that corps' first team for matches against other corps, and his name was invariably found close to the head of the score sheet.

In 1889 such was the fame of the young shot that he was chosen to represent Scotland in the International Team, and has been a member of that team ever since, an honour which falls to the lot of but few. At the National Rifle Association meetings he has been a constant attendant since he took up shooting, and many of the very best prizes have fallen to his prowess. In the Grand Aggregate Match, one of the greatest at the Bisley Meeting, he has on several occasions occupied high places, and this year he succeeded in getting a close second and winning the silver cross trophy. He also got a high place in the Volunteer Aggregate as well as in the All Comers Aggregate, whilst most of the other prize lists have his name in a prominent position upon them. In the Queen's Prize he fired 65 shots at all ranges, making 283 points out of a possible 330, which is the highest score yet made for this great trophy, and when the weather is taken into consideration there is little doubt that Private Rennie is the finest shot that Scotland has ever produced. Many humorous stories are told of the 3rd Lanark men at Bisley, where they were wonderfully successful this season, as in addition to Rennie receiving first place, M'Gibbon was second, Muirhead fourth, Izatt ninth, whilst five others of the corps' representatives succeeded in getting into the coveted Queen's Hundred.

Rennie holds one of the N.R.A. medals and as a medallist took part in the Prince of Wales's, in which he got a prominent place. All the 3rd Lanark men are earnest believers in the merits of the Webley-M'Gibbon Martini, as is only natural considering that M'Gibbon is a member of the corps, and one of its most prominent shots. Rennie's 1894 shoots, as given in the 3rd Lanark Chronicle are, International 84; Scottish Meeting-1st in Grand Aggregate, First Stage Championship 5th, Second Stage Championship 5th, Bannockburn Prizes 8th, Coal Exchange Aggregate 9th, besides several minor prizes. In the Western District competitions he got fifth place. The Inter-regimental Match saw Rennie at the head with 99 out of 105, whilst in the Corps competitions his name appears constantly in the prize list. All these are, in addition to the prizes he took at Bisley, a record which should surely satisfy any rifleman in the world. Rennie has since been unanimously elected a Lieutenant of the 3rd Lanark, another testimony to his sterling worth. He is not a teetotaller, indeed rumour says that the mixture kept by Rennie and M'Gibbon at Bisley for a slight cold or such like had a label bearing the well-known "Bullseye" brand, and that it was to this as a corrective to the execrable weather that both owed their wonderful shooting. Rennie, although not a heavy smoker, loves a pipe, and does not believe that the use of the fragrant weed does him any harm. He is in business as a timber merchant in Glasgow.'