Aiming to teach respect for guns (From Surrey Comet)

Aiming to teach respect for guns

12:51pm Friday 8th June 2007 in

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Kingston District Rifle Club

The scouts from Kingston District Rifle Club meet twice a week in 1st Malden's headquarters in Tadworth Avenue.

They practise on indoor targets coupled with regular trips to Surbiton Postal Rifle Club, a shooting range in Kingston.

Jean Jenkins, 72, club leader and district shooting adviser, founded the scouts' rifle club in 1984.

“We think that the rifle club encourages youngsters to act responsibly and develop a healthy respect for guns, instead of just throwing them around without knowing what to do with them safely."

Jean Jenkins

She said: "My son was in the 1st Malden scout group and he was interested at the time in shooting.

"He used to do it in our back garden with some friends so I decided to start a proper club. There were five of them to begin with, there are over 40 scouts involved now.

"In our first year, we took part in the National Scout Championship for shooting and a couple of the scouts came away with individual medals.

"We went back the following year and won the shield for the Best Scout Group in the competition, and we retained it for the next five years.

"The scouts shoot with air pistols and rifles, and all the competitions we enter are organised to proper Olympic competition standards. We do indoor target practise twice a week, and to give you an idea of what the scouts are aiming at, if you're shooting an air pistol from six yards, the target is the size of a 50p piece.

"We think that the rifle club encourages youngsters to act responsibly and develop a healthy respect for guns, instead of just throwing them around without knowing what to do with them safely.

"We instil key safety rules in them and obviously the discipline in a club of this sort is strict.

"Our club is particularly successful - we have seven of our scouts in the national scout shooting squad and one boy has even been invited to be in the England air pistol shooting squad.

"That's what makes my role so satisfying - when you teach a boy of around 10 or 11 how to shoot for the first time and discover they have real talent.

"You've uncovered a hidden gem and that is so rewarding."

Kingston Scouts canoe club

Chris Hampton, 35, became a qualified canoe instructor after getting the bug canoeing as a scout in Kingston. He took over the canoe club in 1999.

He said: "The club has been going since the 1970s. I joined it in 1985, and plodded my way through all the awards, later becoming an instructor. At that time, we were meeting at the Leander Sea Scout headquarters which was a building site.

We had to get changed in a horse trailer and the worse thing was walking over cold wet building sand with cold wet bare feet. When I took over the club, the first thing I did was retire all the old fibreglass canoes and wooden-ended paddles that I had used when I was young and buy new equipment.

"The club is now steadily growing. We meet once a week and can have anything up to 20 scouts on the river."

• Don't forget to keep sending in your scouting memories to hblades@london.newsquest.co.uk,by post to Hollye Blades, Unecol House, 819 London Road, North Cheam, Surrey SM3 9BN or use the comment box below.