About

Seventy years of quiet Birmingham tradition.

From a back-room bell in the early fifties to a proper committee, a proper range and a proper digital scoreboard — the club has been keeping the six-yard tradition sharp for the better part of a century.

Timeline

The club, milestone by milestone.

  1. 1952

    The founding pint

    A handful of Walton regulars string a bell across the pub's back room and the club is born, unofficially, over a Sunday lunch.

  2. 1958

    First club rules

    The committee is formally elected and the six-yard house rules are pinned up above the firing point — most still stand today.

  3. 1971

    Move to the current range

    The lane relocates to its present home in Birmingham after a small fire at the original venue. The bell survives; the target frames don't.

  4. 1984

    First open handicap league

    Walton Lions enters the Midland Air Rifle League for the first time — and loses the opening night by two points.

  5. 1999

    Section 21 compliance program

    The club adopts a full annual safety and firearms declaration for every member — a standard we've kept ever since.

  6. 2018

    Digital scoreboard trial

    Members start logging 8-shot bell target sessions on a shared spreadsheet — the seed of the modern portal you're reading now.

  7. 2024

    Portal launch

    The club goes online: marketplace, scores, events and admin all under one roof, still with a real bell at the end of the lane.

Honours

Trophies on the mantelpiece.

2023

Midland League — 2nd Division Champions

Team A

2022

Bell of the Year (highest average)

R. Whitfield

2021

Newcomer's Cup

S. Ahmed

2019

Handicap Knockout Winners

Team B

2015

Founders' Trophy (100% attendance)

J. Hollis

2008

Midland Winter League Champions

Team A

Founders

The people who lit the pilot light.

  • Arthur J. HollisFirst Chairman, 1952–1968
  • Edith BramleyFounding Treasurer
  • Cyril WardRange Master, 1955–1979
  • Frank EmmottFounding Secretary
  • Margaret SaleLadies' Section Founder, 1961