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School of Musketry, Hythe, Kent
[POSTCARD]
"One day gone & still alive. My word - work - I didn't know what it was One result of the general introduction of the rifle was the establishment in various countries of specialised schools of instruction to teach its proper use. In the days of the smoothbore, individual accuracy under battle conditions had hardly been possible and the instruction of the soldier in volley firing had been largely a matter of the drill-sergeant. The rifle regiments had, of course, their own systems, but by 1852 it was clear to the British Commander-in-Chief, Lord Hardinge, that something more permanent was required, and in 1853 a School of Musketry was set up at Hythe on the Kent coast. Suitable barracks existed there and miles of shingle beaches provided ample space for ranges without taking over agricultural land. The primary object of the new School was to study military rifle shooting in all its aspects and to pass on the necessary knowledge to carefully selected regimental instructors. There was a second object: Lord Hardinge wished to be sure that the weapons provided were the best possible and he wanted his assurances to come from an establishment under his direct control. The School of Musketry's first Commandant was Lieutenant-Colonel (later Major-General) Charles Crawford Hay of the 19th Regiment, the Green Howards, who brought with him two more members of his regiment Lieutenant Currie, who acted as adjutant, and Colour-Sergeant John M'Kay. Three sergeant instructors joined almost immediately and from this modest nucleus the School of Musketry sprang. Encylcopedia of 19th Century Firearms; Major F. Myatt MC |
