NRA Service Rifle Championship Medal - Military Award

A rare and unusual NRA "Service Rifle Championship" military medal by Elkington, dating to the WW2 era or thereabouts. For well over a century the National Rifle Association have been hosting this event for the military where the winner was presented a trophy for the regimental display, together with an individual medal. Historically, these medals appear to have been the same as the "Club" versions given out at civilian competitions, however, what we see here is a very different and unissued NRA "Service Rifle Championship" variant. This suggests that the NRA were looking to change the design of the bronze medal at some point, perhaps with the aim to elevate the status of the military award, yet, sadly, I know of only one medal of this design that was actually awarded in 1953 to WO Francis Bert Haycock 22nd Bn 2NZEF RNZAF. Perhaps others were but I am unable to locate more examples of this design. So, interestingly, we now have a few of these original NRA "Service Rifle Championship" unissued medallions that prove that they really did exist.

While this is a genuine NRA "Service Rifle Championship" medal of a rarely encountered design, it beggars the question as to why these are not more widely known? Perhaps it was simply due to WW2 or postwar austerity as NRA records show that no Service Rifle Championships were ever held during the war. Still, an interesting and possibly unique find.

Although I have four unissued medals, I propose to sell just one complete with its original "Elkington & Co. Ltd." case. Note the differences in the design of this Service medal, where the background is unperforated, unlike the slightly smaller "Club" version, and the cast legend surrounding the oval, topped by the NRA acronym.

Code: 51914