Fred Bracegirdle

Frederick Bracegirdle was a regular at Bisley from 1906 until 1947, the year before his death. He reached the final of the King’s prize many times, but never won it. Having appeared in the small-bore rifle, prone, 50 metres event at the 1924 Paris Olympics, he was set to make his second Olympic appearance at Bisley in 1948, as a range officer, but he was too ill to attend, and died a week after the opening of the Games.

Bracegirdle served as the Midlands’ representative on the National Small-bore Rifle Association. During World War I he served with the 5th Sherwood Foresters and rose through the ranks to become a regional quartermaster sergeant. By occupation, he was a railway clerk, like his father before him.