Meet the Team
Captain
Andrew Lothian
Andrew was given a .177” air rifle for his seventh birthday. As he was absolutely useless at ball sports, he was delighted to discover something he could do.
He was lucky enough to attend Epsom College where he didn’t work very hard, but really got hooked shooting the good old .303”. He was in the school’s first ever Ashburton winning VIII in 1973, the month before he toured to Canada as an Atheling, where he shot like a drain.
Life then got in the way of shooting in Canada, spending the next 42 years flying airliners for a living, but still managed to shoot in the UK. He did squeeze in tours to New Zealand and Australia in the ’90’s, competing in a couple of Australia Matches and a Palma. He’s hoping his wife Alison didn’t notice. He toured with his son James in 2009 to Bloemfontein. As they were both missing, Alison probably twigged that one! After an interval of 38 years, he shot at Connaught in 2011 and again in 2019.
Now that he is retired, he indulges himself shooting as much as he can. He is passionate about supporting youth shooting, running the .22” range at a local Prep School and helping out at Epsom. Unsurprisingly, he is looking forward to meeting long standing Canadian friends and forging new links with others.
Vice-Captain
Gary Alexander
When asked to join the management team for this tour i didn’t know the world was about to be knocked sideways by a pandemic that would postpone us a couple of years and put us on course for “plan G”!
I am delighted to be returning to Borden after a very long time and very much looking forward to a first visit to Montreal.
Our team has a wide range of experiences and it has been enormous fun working with them all including my son Jack who will put a keen edge on my own competitive nature.
Off the range I enjoy scuba diving in beautiful places around the world with Zoe and getting out in the countryside with a shotgun in the crook of the arm with Fergus our springer spaniel.
Adjutant
Dave Rose
David is honoured to be entrusted with the responsibility of team Adjutant, a path well trodden in the last decade. This will be David’s eighth trip to Canada and he is looking forward to visiting new ranges he has not previously shot at. He is particularly looking forward to renewing friendships with our Canadian friends and making new ones at the same time. David started shooting with Epsom College (many years ago) and continued with the OERC and at both County and National teams.
Apart from shooting David spends much of his time flying around the country for work and more importantly to Edinburgh to spend time with his better half
Coaches
Christopher Heales
Christopher shoots with the West Suffolk Rifle Club in Norfolk, currently their captain, he is also a regular member of the Norfolk County team. He has previously toured to Canada and Guyana with England and been a member of three European Long Range teams, appearing also in the National and Lawrence. This will be his first GB tour.
When not shooting or at work, he may occasionally be found cycling along local leafy lanes, although vigorously denies having gone full “MAMIL”. He also enjoys cooking and dabbles in the world of home brewing, sometimes with explosive results. Happily married with 2 grown up children and a dog.
Reg Roberts
Reg is a Chartered Accountant who owns a recruitment agency in the South of England. Although Australian by birth, he arrived in the UK in 1983 and the country has suffered ever since! He started his shooting career as a cadet in 1971 when laid up with a rugby injury.
Reg has toured overseas on 11 previous GB teams including 7 to Canada, one to Australia in 2005 as Captain and was a target coach for the GB Palma winning teams in 2007and 2015. His personal achievements include 25 Queen’s final badges, 6 Grand Aggregate crosses and 12 St.George’s badges. Inducted into the ‘big five’ in 2016, he Captained the winning Kolapore match that year with a record score on ICFRA targets.
His is married to Jennifer and has four children, two of which, Nick and Tim, are already avid fullbore shots. Reg’s other hobbies include fly fishing, share investing and the development of a golf resort in British Columbia.
Firers
Jack Alexander
Jack Alexander started fullbore shooting at the age of 13 under the supervision of his father, leading on to a number of years shooting with Wiltshire ACF. As with many of his shooting friends, he caught the bug and never looked back. Jack went on to shoot for Ireland followed by his first GBU25 tour to America 2015, where he took part in his first World championships, picking up individual and team golds. Jack’s other individual shooting highlight is representing Ireland in two Commonwealth Games.
Outside of shooting Jack has a plumbing business. He also likes to find as much time as possible to head in to the mountains to hike, climb and take part in many outdoor activities.
Nigel Ball
GC SM SC
Nigel is no stranger to Canada having been on a variety of GB and England teams during the last 32 years. It was his first official team there in 1991 that gave him an appetite to tour and he relishes the chance to return and compete with old friends.
Nigel’s shooting career began in the Royal Navy, where he won the Queens Medal with Service Rifle. He then branched out into Target Rifle which is now his main event and thinks that one day he will be quite good at it if he practices hard. He has gained several Grand Agg, Queens Final and George’s badges in his time but it is team shooting he relishes most. In his opinion there is nothing like a well-oiled team that flows and supports each other, to perform to the best, hence his delight on being in this team with a blend of youth and experience all willing and eager to demonstrate their shooting skills.
Michael Bumford
Mike first began shooting at Pate’s Grammar School in Cheltenham upon joining the CCF in 2009. He shot his first Imperial Meeting in 2012, going on to represent Wales in South Africa and the UKCRT in Jersey in 2013, then GBU19 in South Africa in 2015. After a hiatus during his university years, Mike picked up shooting again in 2020, placing within the top 50 of the Grand Aggregate in 2021 and 2022, as well as shooting his first Queen’s and George’s finals, before being selected to tour the Channel Islands with the NRA team in 2022.
Mike has recently taken on the Vice-Captaincy of Wales, with 4 National and 5 Mackinnon caps to date. Aside from being part of the winning National team in 2021, Mike’s proudest shooting moments include wins over both Jersey and Guernsey on their home ranges with the 2022 NRA team, a feat not easily achieved! Having caught the touring bug again, Mike is looking forward to his first trip to Canada and the experiences that come with shooting on new ranges with new faces.
Away from the range, Mike lives in London with his wife, Katie and black labrador, Ralph. He is a retail property agency surveyor, having recently moved to Knight Frank.
Michael Cooper
Michael started shooting as a Cadet in the Campbell College CCF and is now the shooting officer in the Contingent. He is a regular for Ireland in the National and Mackinnon matches and is a member of the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Squad.
Individual successes include winning five Northern Ireland Championships, the Jersey Summer Meeting and in 2022 Michael was the first competitor in 26 years to achieve the Irish double, by winning the Irish Open and Northern Ireland Championships in the same year. In 2018 he was proud to Captain and shoot for his club team when they won the Astor County Championships for the first time. Michael is also a member of the URA Fullbore Committee, the governing body for fullbore target rifle shooting in Northern Ireland. This is the Belfast man’s first GB cap and he is delighted it is to Canada. With many relatives living there, it is a country close to his heart.
A professional photographer, Michael is grateful for the support of his ever patient wife Sara and their children Amy, Robbie and Harry who are all studying at university.
Patrick Costello
This will be Patrick’s first cap for Team GB. Having toured last year with the NRA Channel Islands team (record beating team!) and enjoying it so much, the only natural next step was applying for the Team GB Canada tour. The best thing about tours is you quickly learn that shooting is important, but the people you meet on the journey is the best prize.
A larger, longer scale shooting tour is a great way to spend any summer and Patrick will be thoroughly looking forward to the shooting and socialising with a new team on a new range.
Patrick lives in Hong Kong and as there isn’t any shooting there his other interests are hiking, ice hockey, golf and travelling.
Christina Cuming
Christina started shooting at Bradfield College aged 14 and quickly fell in love with the sport. Her first tour was with the UK Cadet Rifle Team to Jersey in 2018 followed by a tour to Canada with the Athelings as well as a tour to Scotland with the GBU19s. Christina shoots for Yorkshire, and earned her England caps in the 2021 and 2022 National Matches. She is now looking forward to travelling to Bloemfontein as part of the GBU25 Team for the 2024 World Championships.
Christina has just graduated with a Psychology degree from Durham University, where she was also Captain of the University Rifle Club. When she is not shooting, she loves to run and hike and more recently took up rowing at university. After university she is taking a year out to shoot and is hoping to do a ski season as a chef, before looking for a job in the City and moving to London. She is hugely grateful for the opportunity to improve her skills on tour with GB this summer.
Simon Hayton
Simon started fullbore shooting as a cadet with Cranleigh School CCF in 2003. He has subsequently shot for Newcastle University, Northumberland, Berkshire, and London and is the Secretary of the Old Cranleighans’ Rifle Club.
The main highlight of his individual shooting record so far has been to win the Daily Telegraph Challenge Cup in 2019 with a score of 75.15v, although he is much prouder of his contribution to various team successes over the years. These include top-3 results in county matches, and an Astor medal. This will be Simon’s first GB tour and he is excited for the opportunity to compete in the company of such a capable and accomplished team.
Outside of the fullbore shooting season, Simon finds great joy in the smallbore postal competitions he has time to enter as part of Pinewood Rifle Club. Simon enjoys skiing and ski touring and is a Chemical Process Engineer working for an energy and renewables consultancy, and has been refurbishing a house in Surrey with his beloved wife since 2021.
Lindsey McKerrell
Lindsey started shooting at Dollar Academy when she was 13. This will be her fourth visit to Canada to compete – She first visited as an Atheling in 2013, and has been lucky enough to return two more times with GB and Scotland since then.
She has never shot in Quebec before so particularly looks forward to competition there. This is Lindsey’s first overseas tour since the last U25 World championships in New Zealand where she came 5th in individuals and top scored in the team match – she hopes to have similar success this summer.
Outside of shooting she is an enthusiastic (but not talented) rock climber and runner.
Jane Messer
GC SB SC
A keen advocate of team shooting, Jane has toured widely, including to Australia, Barbados, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Trinidad, the USA and Zimbabwe. She enjoys both shooting and reading the wind, particularly at long range, so perhaps unsurprisingly she has eight Palma badges, including as Captain in 2015. Jane was also privileged to captain the successful GB team to British Columbia, Alberta and Ottawa in 2010 which she greatly enjoyed, not least because of the dramatic scenery at Chilliwack and Homestead ranges and in the Rockies. This will be Jane’s eighth tour to the Canadian ranges but her first since 2014. It will be her first visit both to Quebec and to Borden and she is looking forward both to the challenge of new ranges and also getting a chance to see areas of Canada unknown to her, especially the beautiful Quebec City.
Jane is also an accomplished individual shot having won a number of important individual competitions, including the President’s Prize at the DCRA Meeting in Ottawa as well as the Grand Aggregate and St George’s Vase at Bisley.
James Postle
James started shooting at prep school aged 11 and continued with small-bore at Brighton College, but it wasn’t until he went to Reading University that he started visiting Bisley. In 1995 James was appointed Shooting Master at Epsom College and enjoyed 13 years coaching teams to 7 Ashburton wins and 5 second places.
He is delighted to be travelling on this team not only with two of his former cadets but also the Captain, who 21 years ago he persuaded might like to come and help coach Epsom – a role he still (willingly apparently!) does today.
In recent years James has had more time to focus on his own rifle shooting and is now County Captain of Gloucestershire. Although this is his first GB tour, it will be his fourth trip to Canada, having been Adjutant of the Athelings in 2001, Commandant in 2010 and toured with the England Team in 2019; he is very much looking forward to returning in hope he can add to his three Governor General badges. James now works at Millfield School where he is a Deputy Head and lives in Cheltenham with his wife Eve.
Tom Rylands
SC
Having accepted he will always be in the ‘Senior’ section of any team he tours with Tom is delighted that he is still shooting well enough to be selected!! He is also pleased to be continuing his recent run of DCRA meeting attendances with what will be a return to Borden 35 years after his last visit – he is hoping little will have changed apart from the trees being taller!!
Tom’s first Bisley was in 1978 and he hasn’t missed one since – his first visit to Canada was in 1988, on his first GB Tour, and he has represented GB in 5 Palma Teams and 6 Australia Matches as well as returning to Canada in 1998, 2017, 2018 (as Commandant of the Athelings), 2019 as England Team Captain and 2022. This year has already been busy with trips to USA, Kenya and South Africa.
After an initial career in the agricultural industry, Tom is now a gunsmith and shooting coach, is heavily involved with Cadet Shooting as National Chief Coach, Army Cadets and coaches 2 schools in the Bisley Schools meeting.
Along with 3 well known international shooters, he recently set up a new barrel making company in the UK; Phoenix Barrels, and is finding their products to be much in demand! Tom looks forward to catching up with his many Canadian friends again and will try not to go overboard on technical detail!
Tom Shaw
Tom is a self-employed architectural designer, specialising in residential development and contemporary design. The majority of Tom’s work is based in Oxfordshire and Berkshire, but he also has plans to move into residential property development in the near future.
Tom began shooting at the Oratory School and is now Captain of the schools alumni team, known as The Cardinals, as well as Vice-Captain of the GB U25 team due to visit the World Championships in South Africa, 2024. Some of Tom’s shooting highlights include representing England in the National, Protea and against Kenya, as well as being part of an unbeaten GBU25 team in South Africa 2023 and an unbeaten NRA team in 2022.
This will be Tom’s first visit to Canada and he is very much looking forward to the challenge of new ranges as well as the opportunities of being part of his first GB team.
James Shepherd
James began shooting back in 2006 under the tutelage of Martin “Archie” Whicher and Jon Underwood at RGS Guildford, before continuing at Oxford University. Since then, James has regularly shot for London County, as well as representing Scotland in the National and the Mackinnon on multiple occasions. This is James’ fourth shooting tour, having previously travelled to California with Scotland (2014), the Channel Islands with the NRA team (2019), and Canada with GB (2022).
James lives in Stirling and works as a Data Science Manager at Facebook. Outside of shooting and work, he spends much of this time playing board games with his better half and looking after their two Dachshunds.
Jon Underwood
GM GC2 SM2
Jon’s passion for target shooting started at the tender age of 11 at Aldro School on a 20 yard range in a converted greenhouse. Jon continued to enjoy the sport, learnt about fullbore shooting and ‘Bisley’ when he moved to the Royal Grammar School at Guildford. With the sport becoming more than just a hobby, he continued his shooting career at London University, subsequently making regular appearances for Surrey County.
Jon has achieved a number of notable successes over the years including winning the Grand Aggregate in 2005 and 2009, the Queens Prize in 2006, and most recently the Governor General’s Prize in 2019. He has also been a member of many successful teams representing England and Great Britain. Back home, Jon looks after his family business interests in Surrey (handy for Bisley), including a tool hire business and property management and rental business and in ‘spare time’ has returned to Guildford Grammar School to help with the coaching. Jon also has the responsibility of looking after Ted – ‘The Underdog’!
Archie Whicher
Archie started shooting when he was knee high to a grasshopper. His WW1 experienced grandfather tried teaching him how to split an air rifle pellet by firing it at a pen knife. He failed!
Undeterred Archie continued to refine his smallbore skills at school (RGS Guildford) and started fullbore at Bisley early, firing the old Lee Enfield No4. He also made most of his pocket money butt marking as the back of Century is only half a mile from the family house.
His first trip to Canada was as an Atheling in 84. After that he went on to shoot for London University and subsequently the Old Guildfordians Rifle Club for which he was captain for 20 years until last year and toured with to Kersey and South Africa. Further tours were made as part of the GB team to Canada in 2010 and 2014, shooting in BC, Alberta, Ohio and Ontario, although in 2014 the only shot fired was from the hip due to a shoulder injury. In 2019 Archie was part of the England team who shot in Quebec and Ontario which he enjoyed so much he wanted to do it all over again.
He looks forward to the challenges of Quebec and Borden, and the anticipated experiences of Tim Tams, Harvey burgers and Waffles with lashings of Maple Syrup!