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Queen’s Medal for Champion Shots
The Queen’s Medal for Champion Shots is awarded to the winners of small arms firing competitions. These are held in several British and Commonwealth countries and across several branches of the armed forces.
The first medal for Champion Shots was the Medal for the Best Shot in the British Army, awarded from 1870-1882. It was reintroduced in 1923 as the King’s Medal for Champion Shots in the Military Forces (for the British Army) with a Champion Shots of the Air Forces medal instituted in 1953. The Queen’s Medal for the Champion Shots of the New Zealand Naval Forces medal was the first naval shooting medal to be introduced (first awarded in 1955), with its British version (Champion Shots of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines) appearing in 1966.
Medal(s)
Queen’s Medal for Champion Shots of the New Zealand Naval Forces
The Queen’s Medal for Champion Shots of the New Zealand Naval Forces is awarded for marksmanship in an annual contest of the Royal New Zealand Navy (including Naval Reserves). One medal can be awarded annually, each with a clasp inscribed with the year of award. Additional clasps are awarded for further success in subsequent years. The record holder for the most championship victories is ten times champion shot Lieutenant Commander Neville Peach.
The Queen’s Medal for Champion Shots of the New Zealand Naval Forces was retrospectively instituted in 1958 having first been awarded in 1955. The reverse of the medal and the ribbon are identical to those of the Naval Good Shooting Medal (1902-1914) and the Queen’s Medal for Champion Shots of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines (from 1966).