Meet the Team
www.GBMRT2016.org.uk
Gary Alexander
Gary started shooting with the army cadet force and made his first visit to Bisley with the
Royal School Dungannon (Northern Ireland), at the age of 12. Forty three years later and he
hasn’t missed one yet. Mainly shooting TR he ventured into match rifle simply to improve
wind reading skills and found it to be a whole different experience. Happiest moments have
to be winning the Elcho with Ireland and the Woomera with GB.
Off the ranges, Gary is an optometrist and co-director in the Specsavers group and expects
to meet with some of his Tasmanian colleagues to explore the relatively recent expansion
into the antipodes. When partner Zoe arrives they will be exploring under the waves as keen
scuba divers and with all the wonders Australia has to offer, it’s a very exciting prospect.
Hugh Butcher
Hugh started shooting at prep school, then onto Public school, Polytechnic, Scotland, TAVR
and GB. Competitive shooting has not only been with rifles but with all types of firearm which
take a cartridge. Most weekends, when not competing, Hugh works at the bench for a local
rifle maker threading up barrels, chambering and machine work, but does get to do all his
test shooting for him! From .17 bolt action rifles for vermin control, up to .600 nitro express
(11,000 + Joules - definitely HME!) double rifles for hunting dangerous game. Qualified with
a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Hugh specialises in gas engineering management, so
the day job is running a team of gas engineers for T Brown on their Ealing council contract.
Hugh is married to Sara, who teaches reading recovery to primary school children. They
are proud parents of two teenage daughters; Ally, who wants to be the next Darcy Bussell,
and Lottie, who will be going up to Southampton to study marine engineering. Relaxation is
found in walking, cycling and real ale.
David Dashwood
After being introduced to TR shooting at Harrow, David became hooked at university,
finding Bisley an escape from archaeology and an opportunity to visit friends in London.
An inability to concentrate on firing good shots all the time led to a shift from TR to MR in
the early 90’s, when the odd howler could be accommodated (those were the days). A supine
shooter for many years David, now sometimes rolls onto his front in the hope of recapturing
past glories and to reduce the time between Elcho call-ups. His ambition is to shoot an Elcho
match in both positions (captains beware).
David runs a mixed farm in the centre of England and is married to Katie, with two teenage
children. The vagaries of the seasons and the mountains of form filling ensure that Bisley
visits are somewhat restricted. During the winter months, when the farm allows, David runs
a small game shoot notorious for fast flying pheasants and an undisciplined pack of dogs
(mostly his). He also scours antiquarian bookshops for first edition Rider Haggards.
1200 Yards, Stickledown, Bisley, UK