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Reflections
Protea Match
GBRT Win Protea…by 1 point!
Featured Team Members
Derek Lowe
Derek began his shooting in the cadet force at RGS Guildford, moving on to the Athelings in 1991, Oxford University over 1991 – 1994 and the Surrey county team since the late 1990s. He has been fortunate enough to represent England or Great Britain in various guises in Australia, Canada, Jersey, Kenya, Namibia, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
This tour will be Derek’s 5th to South Africa, and 3rd as Adjutant. Keenest at long range and in a team environment, he also spends a lot of time in match rifle. Aside from coaching and shooting (usually in that order), Derek sits on various committees in order to delay the inevitable moments when he has to leave Bisley. He is an experienced charity trustee both in shooting circles and at the church he attends in central London, and works in corporate finance as a Group Company Secretary.
Bill Richards
SM SB
This will be Bill’s twelfth GB tour and his fourth to South Africa, including once with England in 2009. Although best known as a coach, Bill has appeared in the final of HM Queen’s Prize final 25 times and 18 times in the top 50 of the Grand Aggregate, so he can occasionally point his rifle in the right direction.
Bill has been a Maths teacher since 2003 and is extremely grateful to his school for allowing him time off during term time to tour. When Bill isn’t teaching or on the range, Bill is involved in running Space Design Competitions, inspiring the next generation of rocket scientists! He is rarely found without his Kindle, reading mostly a diet of science fiction and fantasy.
Paul Sykes
SC
Paul started shooting with his father, having spent many a year at Bisley “on holiday” as a child. In his early years, he captained The Perse School and University of London. His first shooting tour to South Africa was in 2004 as Adjutant of the GB Under 25 Team. He gained his first senior international honours as part of the England National Match team that same year, first toured with GB in 2008 and made his first Palma Team in 2011.
After a brief hiatus flirting with the world of cycling and writing his PhD thesis, Paul returned to shooting in 2018 with a bang finishing 4th in the Grand Aggregate and completing his “Big Five” following selection for the Kolapore Match. He topped this by winning the Silver Cross (2nd in the Grand) the following year, his highest individual honour. Other highlights include seven top 50 Grand finishes, 13 HM The Queen’s finals and winning the Welsh Open. This is his fourth GB tour and fifth trip to South Africa.
Away from shooting, Paul is a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at the Queen Alexander Hospital, Portsmouth. In what little spare time he has, he enjoys skiing down big mountains and cycling back up them.
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, Guildford, continuing at London University.
Jon has achieved a number of notable successes over the years including winning the Grand Aggregate in 2005 and 2009, the HM 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. As a regular tourist, the enforced break from touring during the pandemic was the longest time he hasn’t been overseas so he is delighted to be returning to Bloemfontein just over 8 months after a trip to Canada with the 2022 GB team.
Back home, Jon looks after his family business interests in Surrey, including a tool hire business and property rental business. In his ‘spare time’ has returned to RGS Guidford to help coach the school’s rifle team. Jon also has the responsibility of looking after Ted – ‘The Underdog’!
Tour Information
Captain’s Foreword
