William Baines-Marsden was born on the 24th of November 1860 in Southport and won a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London in the moving target small-bore rifle event. Held on the 11th of July at the Bisley Rifle Range, shooters fired 15 shots at a disappearing silhouette target that moved at 4 seconds per appearance. After 45 shots four Britons tied for first place with Maurice Matthews, William Marsden, Edward Newitt and John Fleming all scoring a not-too impressive 24 hits, but it was Fleming who was awarded the gold medal on a count-back. William later became a competitive sports shooter with the Sleaford Miniature Rifle Shooting Club. Rifle shooting as a civilian sport was growing from a military requirement as around the time of the second Boer war (1899 – 1902) when a need arose in the United Kingdom to increase the shooting ability of the general population in the event that the regular army could not withstand an invasion. The Sleaford Small-Bore Rifle Club was founded in 1938 by a small group of local enthusiasts with its main purpose, and the wording in its original charitable status, was to 'provide target shooting tuition to His Majesty’s subjects in defence of the realm'. Originally called 'Miniature Rifle Clubs', the name was updated in the post war period to 'Small-Bore'. Being an engineer and surveyor for the Sleaford Rural District Council, William was also the honorary secretary of the Sleaford Miniature Rifle Shooting Club.
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| Shooting at the 1908 Olympic Games held in London |
Both William and his wife Laura were keen shots and also represented Lincolnshire at county level. It was very rare for the pair to venture out of the country for competitions. William retired as secretary of the Sleaford Club the year following year him winning his Olympic medal. In 1912 he and his wife gave up competitive shooting for a short while, following the closure of the club who presented William with a memento of their appreciation for all he had done or rifle shooting in the area. William passed away on the 10th of May 1942 in Sleaford.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2026/06/merseyside-for-sport-introduction.html
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