Allington Castle Archers Nocking Point

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Bryce O’Connor’
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Gravesend 10:30am Sunday 17 th ACA Presidents Trophy 10:00am Sat/Sun 23 rd /24 th The Sir

1 Allington Castle Archers Nocking Point June 2012 Dates for your diary Saturday 2 nd Beginners Course Sunday 3 rd ACA Longbow Championship 1:00pm Saturday 10 th MKL Home to Gravesend 10:30am Sunday 17 th ACA Presidents Trophy 10:00am Sat/Sun 23 rd /24 th The Sir Tomas Wyatt Open ALL HANDS NEEDED 7:30 am both days Sunday 30 th ACA Bar-B-Q and Family Day 1:00pm

2 Secretary s Sidelines Sir Thomas Wyatt - Open Shoot is on 23 rd and 24 th of June Any help will be much appreciated. Please come at any of the following times : am Help to set up the field 10-30am -1-00pm Recording scores 2-30pm pm Recording scores 5-00pm Clearing away equipment Either Saturday or/and Sunday Can you let me know when you are coming NB Thanks in advance School street party is on Colin Saturday 2nd June from 1-00pm until 4-00 on lower field NO SHOOTONG AFTER 12-30pm, except Beginners course on upper part of field. Sorry about short notice Colin ******************************** Chairman s Chat Summer has arrived and not before time! Those who braved the clouds and rain over the last few weeks will have enjoyed the Jelly Bow Clout, which was a lot of fun as usual. My first few sighters were a waste of time as I just couldn t get the distance with my arrows. Cecile had the same problem. Luckily Graham was kind enough to lend me 6 of his spare arrows and I just managed to win the Gents Clout by 1 point. I thoroughly recommend members give this fun Clout a go next year if they get a chance. One of the first big County tournaments of the year took place last weekend. The Kent longbow match is a regular fixture in Kent s programme and brings together 60+ of the county s finest Longbow men, women and juniors. The full results will be on the Kent web site soon but ACA did very well with our members winning a number of medals. The team trophy went to ACA again, for the 8th year in a row and the 11th time since the trophy was introduced, I think back in the 1980s. This is no easy feat and proves, if you want to learn and shoot Longbow well ACA is the best place to be. Lastly just a quick reminder. The Thomas Wyatt shoot is rapidly approaching and with a number of the regular helpers unavailable, as they will be travelling back from the Dunster week on the first day of the shoot, Colin needs all the help we can give him, on the Saturday in particular. Can I please ask any members who can spare even a couple of hours over that weekend to lend a hand. Good Shooting Neil ** ********************************** Captains Corner Hi all A busy month just past and a very busy one to come, what with The Sir Thomas Wyatt, Dunster, Presidents Trophy and the ACA Bar-B-Q and Have a Go in the same month. First a few things from May. I cannot remember a worse so called spring for weather. This affected everyone but mostly archers. The Jelly Bow Clout happened at the second attempt on the 6 th. It was cool to say the least. Two targets were set up - the ladies/juniors at 120yds and the gents at 140yds. All seemed to have an enjoyable afternoon and Sue Williams came out on top with 89 points - not bad for her first Clout. Her first trophy, well done Sue.

3 MKL v Ferryfield The weather was kind to us this time, cooled off at the end of the day but a good days shooting was had by all. Maybe not Ian, as he smashed an arrow. Not a happy Bunny. With a few changes to the list of archers going we managed 11 archers on the day, the full results are on the website. Just a reminder - if there are any dates you cannot make please let me know, I will send out an one week before the match to confirm the list. As to the results we lost the Pure and Handicap match unfortunately. ACA lacks recurve s who can score in the 650 s for a 9 doz round. May be we can get some juniors shooting. Kent Longbow Championships 20 th May I am sure Alf will cover this in full but a bit of a gloat is allowed ACA won the Longbow Team Trophy for the 11 th time overall and the 8 th time on the trot. Well-done Chris and Ken Bearman, Alf and me. Chris was First Lady and with Ken (Her husband) the Married Couple Trophy, the trophy that Ken had just modified to carry all the Bearman shields. I managed to shoot well and came second to my nemesis, Clinton. Ken was third. Chris Bearman topped her day off with a 3 Gold End at 60yds. A badge awarded by GNAS. The start was very cool (7 Deg) and damp but finished on the sunny side. A very good day for ACA Longbows. Dunster 16 th to the 23rd June is the 57 th year of Dunster Week. A different mix of ACA archers this year, a total of 11 most staying at the same place as last year. For the newcomer to archery this is the biggest event of the year, a series of tournaments on consecutive days. Sunday is the Somerset Champs York/Hereford. Monday a FITA, Tuesday a Field Shoot, Wednesday a Two Way Longbow western, Thursday a Clout shoot, Friday a National, and to finish with Saturday/Sunday Double York/Hereford. I am shooting from Sunday thru to Thursday so I need a few archery bits; it has covered one side of A4 so far. This involves 6 sets of arrows and three bows plus the tool box for repairs, and all the other archery bits. Seat, tent, bow rest, arrow finder, boots, wet weather gear, haversack, cool box, Bins, food box, drinks bottle and flask. Just to mention a few. Chairman s Cup On the 27 th May we gathered for the second internal shoot of the year, What I difference a week makes, 20 degrees warmer and what is that golden thing in the sky? The full results will be on the website. A few comments: - nice to see so many archers out on the field, the sun had something to do with it no doubt. You will note the last page of the newsletter as we had a few problem score sheets, I hope this helps to explain it fully. Three barebows, four longbows, two compounds and 11 recurves. Well done to Sue again (second trophy) as top recurve, Dave first compound, Neil busted his handicap. Barry 1 st Longbow, by only 6 points, me second. A good days shooting had by all I think. Having spent a half hour sorting out the score sheets at the end on the Chairman s Cup. I have included a Sample score sheet included at the end of the newsletter. Geoff B Things for sale: *************************** 1 Tudor Bow (wooden Riser), with: 1 66 inch 34@28 Tudor limbs (used no string).

4 2 68 inch Samick limbs (used with string) each 1 Pair universal fitting limbs, 66 inch 30@28 (used) Easton Navigator arrows, spine 710, 26¾ inches long, with fletchings, points, G nocks. (Hardly used) Easton Navigator arrows, spine 610, 27¾ inches long, 8 fletched, points, pin nocks. (Nearly new) Arten Carbon Long-rod, with weight and doinker. (Used) Scorpia Carbon Short-rods. (Used) V-Bar, adjustable Up-Down angle. (Used) Basic bow stand, metal (Used) String keep 0.50 If you are interested in any of the above see Ken or Christine Bearman, Twig and Stick ********************************** Three battles during the hundred year s war with France put Longbows as an effective weapon against an enemy; I ve mentioned Crecy (1346) & Poitiers (1356) and now Agincourt (1415). The battle of Agincourt occurred on 25 th Oct 1415, St Crispin s Day, near the modern day town of Azincourt. Henry V s army had landed in northern France on 13 August 1415 and besieged the port of Harfleur with an army of about 12,000 (many accounts of numbers vary). The siege took longer than expected. The town surrendered on 22 September, and the English army did not leave until 8 October. The campaign season was coming to an end (basically, it was getting cold and wet, ask Geoff & Barry, they don t look that old but they are film stars), and the English army had suffered many casualties through disease. Rather than retire directly to England for the winter, with his costly expedition resulting in the capture of only one town, Henry decided to march most of his army (roughly 9,000) through Normandy to the port of Calais, the English stronghold in northern France. The English had very little food, had marched 260 miles in two and a half weeks, were suffering from sickness such as dysentery, and faced much larger numbers of well equipped French men at arms. (Total French army, said to be, between & 40000) The French army blocked Henry's way to the safety of Calais delaying battle would only further weaken his already tired army and allow more French troops to arrive. Early on the 25th, Henry deployed his army (approximately 1,500 men-at-arms and 7,000 longbow men) across a 750-yard gap between two wooded areas. The army was organised into three "battles" or divisions, the vanguard led by the Duke-of-York, the main battle led by Henry himself and the rearguard, led by Lord-Camoys. In addition, Sir-Thomas-Erpingham, one of Henry's most experienced household knights, had a role in marshalling the archers. It is likely that the English adopted their usual battle line of longbow men on the flanks, men-at-arms and knights in the centre. They may also have deployed some archers in the centre of the line. The English men-at-arms in plate and mail were placed shoulder to shoulder four deep. The English and Welsh archers on the flanks drove pointed wooden stakes into the ground at an angle to force cavalry to veer off. A map of the battle layout below: English in Red, French in Blue.

5 Approximately 8,000 of the heavily armoured French men-at-arms fought on foot, and needed to close the distance to the English army to engage them in hand-to-hand fighting. If they could close the distance, however, they outnumbered the English men-at-arms by more than 5 to 1, and the English longbow men would not be able to shoot into a mêlée without risking hitting their own troops. Many of the French menat-arms had fathers and grandfathers who had been humiliated in previous battles such as Crecy and Poitiers, and the French nobility were determined to get revenge. Several French accounts emphasise that the French leaders were so eager to defeat the English (and win the ransoms of the English men-at-arms) that they insisted on being in the first line. The French had plenty of archers and crossbowmen but nobody wanted to let them shoot. The reason for this was that the site was so narrow that there was only enough room for the men-at-arms. Most of the rearguard played little part in the battle, many of the French army flees after seeing so many French nobles killed and captured in the fighting. The French total out number the English total by varying amounts but most people say around 4 or 5 to 1. The battle was fought on a recently ploughed field, and there had recently been heavy rain leaving it very muddy, it proved very tiring to walk through in full plate armour. (Both Barry & Geoff can give you first hand experience of what that is like ) The French were surprised; the English started their attack, by moving their stakes forward and by shooting volley s from their defensive position. The French cavalry, despite being somewhat disorganised and not at full numbers, charged the longbow men, but it was a disaster, with the French knights unable to outflank the longbow men (because of the encroaching woodland) and unable to charge through the palings that protected the archers. The French cavalry retreated, having been decimated by the archers, through their own men advancing, all of them up to their knees in mud. Because of the narrowness of the battle field, the French couldn t bring to bear their greater numbers. During the battle, literally millions of arrows were shot. There were wagon loads of arrows, apparently about 14 of them. This was mentioned in a document found showing the stores needed and how much it was, bit like an equipment officer of an archery club Rogerrrr Try to imagine, guys in 60 to 70 lb of armour, almost shoulder to shoulder, 4 deep walking (or trying to) through knee deep mud. Hardy enough room to use their weapons, if they fell they didn t get up again, climbing over men and bodies in front of them, being pushed from behind by more troops and on top of that, literally millions of arrows being shot at you. They were tired without enough room; they could hardly use their weapons. The first two or three waves of men were slaughtered or taken prisoner. The English archers, having actually run out of arrows (can you believe that) discarded their bows and attacked with swords and hatchets and being unarmoured, the French couldn t deal with them. There was an attack on the English baggage train, kept at the rear, by a local French knight D Azincourt, possibly because of his local knowledge. Because Henry thought the French were re-grouping for another attack he ordered the slaughter of what were perhaps several thousand French prisoners, with only the most illustrious being spared. His fear was that they would rearm themselves with the weapons strewn upon the field, and the exhausted English would be overwhelmed. Though ruthless, it was arguably justifiable given the situation of the battle; perhaps surprisingly, even the French chroniclers do not criticise him for this. This marked the end of the battle, as the French rearguard, having seen so many of the French nobility captured and killed, fled the battlefield. The losses in human life vary considerably, apparently the French losses were in the range of 4,000 10,000 but the English was about Henry was recognised by the French in the Treatyof-Troyes (1420) as the regent and heir to the French throne. This was cemented by his marriage to Catherine-of-Valois, the daughter of King

6 Charles VI of France. A picture of where the battle took place is below, although you have got to use your imagination. (Not too many trees left and the roads were not that good) Sorry about the length of information but I found it very interesting. I hope you do too. Another amusing incident happened to a friend of mine. Smoking isn t good for your health, among other things (not allowed on most archery fields) and whilst he was practising Longbow, and being a smoker, discarded a cigarette where he had his Longbow lying on the ground. The still smouldering cigarette had burned through his string making the bow leap 6 feet into the air, much to the shock of everybody around. Nobody was injured except for the smoker (injured his ego), who bow it was. Sayings apparently originally from Archery terms. I don t know how true these are, could be from other incidents of life, but worth a thought. 1. Keeping/keep it under your hat (where Longbow archers kept spare strings) 2. A 'parting shot' is a horseback archery term used to describe a shot taken over the horse's rump as you are 'retreating'. Often devastating, the hordes would feign retreat so that they could pick off the 'victorious' army. 3. 'Cock up' = something done badly. Having the arrow nocked the wrong way round so the cock feathers against the bow. 4. Having another string for your bow. 5. Highly strung - a bow strung with too large a bracing height is liable to break. 6. Shot his bolt: - the crossbow man has shot his bolt too early. Just a taster, has anybody got any more? I m sure you have, let me know Don t forget the Thomas Wyatt tournament on the 23 rd, 24 th June, it is one of our own and of course we all want it to go well, at least as well as it normally does. We all need to support our own club Geoff mentioned on a previous Nocking Point about being unable to book a tournament because it was full, this happens a lot, you need to book early. I ve been told the Spitfire shoot at Leaves Green is already booked and that is late Sept 12. Archery, it seems is becoming popular The American Round (2 and a half dozen at 60 yds, the same at 50 & 40 yds) was reported in the Archer s Register, 1879, as a round for amateurs for the first National Archery Association Championships in Chicago, July The unusual combination of 30 arrows at each distance instead of even dozens was, says RP Elmer, because it was originally shot as six ends of five arrows. It seems the Americans used to shoot using 5 arrow ends (reference to the Worcester round mentioned in the March edition of Nocking Point) another peculiarity noticed was that the distances were shot in the reverse order of 40, 50 and 60 yards. The first mention of American Rounds being shot by an English club appears to be in a letter from Mr R Cecil Paget who credits the Royal Toxophilite Society with introducing them in Canterbury Archers are holding a Two Way Longbow tournament on the 7 th July at the Simon Langton Girl's School, Old Dover Road, Canterbury,CT1 3EW. They will be shooting a Two Way Double National round and assembly is at 9-45, lovely ground and as usual, great company Allington Castle Archers did well again at the Kent Longbow Championship, gents 2 nd place Geoff

7 Barker, 3 rd place Ken Bearman. Ladies 1 st place Christine Bearman plus a 3 gold end. We won the team shield for the 8 th year in a row. Well done you guys & girls As usual, we do the sport of Archery because we enjoy it; carry on guys & girls Alf Archery Quiz When I was Sandra s mentor for her Level I coaching, I came up with a list of Questions as a way to get her to look up and learn general info about archery. They are here now as a bit of fun. Answers on , a prize for the most correct answers and for the best answers. Sorry Sandra you are excluded, as you have all the answers. There will be 10 questions a month. Questions 1 1. What distance is required between bosses if 6 people shooting/target? 2. What is Tiller on a bow? 3. What is the magic number re-handicaps? ** ********************************** Social Secretary At the end of June we are having our second Barbecue and Family Have a Go afternoon. Last year we had a good number of Members and their families and friends come along and have a good sociable time. For those who didn t come or were not Members last year please come along, it was a good afternoon and gives you a chance to encourage your family and friends to have a go at archery and see what it is that takes you away from them at the weekends. If you want to enjoy the barbecue you will need to bring your own meats/veggie dishes and the Club will provide salad, rolls and sauces. I might even bake some buns again for the younger ones to decorate for themselves and anyone who would like one for free. I m hoping that the weather will be kind to us, as it was last year. Jean Barker 4. What does your nocking point on your string do? 5. Does shooting down hill shoot shorter than on the flat? 6. Why is checking your bracing height important? 7. What is an open stance? 8. How many recognised shooting styles are covered in the GNAS handbook? 9. What does 1716 mean on an ally arrow? 10. What do we mean when we use the term spine? ALF

Allington Castle Archers Nocking Point

Allington Castle Archers Nocking Point May 2012 Dates for your diary Sunday 6 th Jelly bow Clout shoot 1:00 for 1:30 Sunday 13 th Mid Kent League away 10:30am Saturday 19 th Improver s workshop Sunday