The first meeting after the 1952 AGM reported on the formation of an Area Committee by the clubs in the East, who arranged to meet twice a year, in April and September. The inaugural Eastern Area Championships were arranged for Dundee on 31 August, and the round to be shot was a Western. The club at Stranraer had now affiliated and there was a report of a club being started in Arbroath. The two Slazenger Arrow Trophies which had been donated were to be presented for the first time at the Scottish Championships to the 'Open' winners. The second annual International match against Ulster was arranged for September 13. A flight Championships was arranged to be held at Troon. The secretary submitted an expenditure estimate of £101.8/- to the Education Department, which led to a grant of £66 being approved in due course.
In February 1955, the SAA delegation of Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Munro met with the GNAS National Council in London . The correspondence which had already taken place between Mr. Hamilton and the GNAS President, Mr. Henriques, was discussed at length. Mr. Hamilton said he felt that any outstanding difficuties to SAA joining GNAS were national rather than constitutional. SAA also felt that there was too much control from GNAS and that they wished to be an independent Association within GNAS. He also pointed out the anomaly which had allowed a Scottish archer to qualify for a Gold level badge under GNAS rules some two years before he qualified for the Gold level badge with SAA. He added that Scotland now had some archers who were almost of International standard, and that SAA would want them considered for selection of future U.K. teams.
Mr. Hamilton also said that SAA rather resented the claim by GNAS to be the governing body for archery in the whole U.K. but would not make a great issue of it if some measure of co-operation could be evolved between them. At this point, a Mr. Bilson from GNAS intervened to say that Scotland would have its own National Association and would remain autonomous, as was the case with the current GNAS Regions, who were themselves autonomous. Mr. Bilson suggested that perhaps GNAS could appoint a committee to look at rewording their constitution where necessary.
Regarding the inclusion of SAA archers in future U.K. teams, it was agreed that if SAA were to send in scores for archers who they felt might be considered for places in International teams, invitations could be extended to some to attend the selection shoot at Leamington in June, where all competitors would have the opportunity to shoot together under the same conditions and rules. Mr. Hamilton pointed out that until now, the club at Burntisland (the only SAA club at that time affiliated to GNAS) were the only people in Scotland to receive invitations to GNAS shoots, leading to the feeling within SAA that GNAS considered the Burntisland club as ' Scotland '. Mrs. Frith, the organiser of the National team, at this point expressed willingness to in future send invitations to SAA themselves.
The meeting finally agreed to form a sub-committee to consider what changes to the constitution might be required to allow SAA to join and remain an independent body, and to report back to GNAS National council. This report would be circuated to all GNAS regions and National bodies, as a general meeting would be required to approve any changes deemed necessary. As no report had been received by the next Executive meeting, it was agreed that nothing further could be done at this time.
An enquiry regarding the purchase of large cloth target faces, these having a greater lifespan than paper ones, had been made, but at a cost of 45/- each for a minimum order of 30 faces, it was agreed to take no further action. A part grant of £16 (total grant £30) from the Scottish Education Department for 1955 had been received. A letter from a Mr. Thomson in Aberdeen regarding the possible formation of a club there was received, and the committee agreed to offer him whatever help they could.
At the May meeting, a letter had been received from GNAS inviting SAA to nominate one member to be co-opted by GNAS on to their National Council, but that person would require to be a member of GNAS. This would give the SAA a say in the International teams affairs. SAA felt that this did not resolve the problem regarding their joining as a separate National body, but as a temporary expedient, Mr. Hamilton was authorised to become an Ordinary member of GNAS and to accept the place on National Council.
For the Ulster match that year, it again, as the previous year, looked as though there would not be a Ladies team, as Ulster were again having difficulty in finding Ladies of a suitable level. SAA did however decide to select a Ladies team in case the situation should change before the match in September. They also appear to have nominated a Ladies team for the previous years match, this apparently to allow those who would have shot had there been an Ulster ladies team to be entitled to claim a Scottish team badge and also a year badge. (Seems a strange decision in view of the limited funds they had available at that time, as presumably the badges would not have been cheap, assuming they were wire ones similar to those of the current era). The committee had also agreed at the March '55 AGM to have fixture cards printed, these being obtained by Mr. Hamilton at a cost of 25/- for 300, and were distributed among the Committee for dispersal. It was reported that the East v. West match, which the Glasgow club had been asked to host, could not be held there as the tenure of the club's ground would not permit it.
It was also reported that a letter had been received from a number of pupils who attended Gordonstoun school. It appeared that there was no possibility of archery being made a school sport, and the pupils, who came from England , were looking for somewhere they could shoot. It was agreed that they could be offered, if desired, a chance to shoot during holiday time at either Ayr or Troon, where they could be given some help and instruction.
At the meeting of 7 th August, the team for the Ulster match was selected, but in view of the small number of Scottish ladies who were currently shooting, they decided not to select a Ladies team as they had agreed previously. Travel for the Ulster match had been provisionally arranged by plane (an 8 seater De Havilland Rapide), leaving Prestwick at 8 am and returning about 8 pm the same evening, the flight time being about 1 hour. The cost of the charter was £45, and after some discussion, the committee agreed to take £25 from the International fund to subsidise the cost, the six team members and two officials to pay £2.10/- each, this covering the £45 outlay.
Further to the earlier agreement with GNAS re SAA archers being invited to the trials at Leamington based on scores submitted by SAA, a contribution of £3 was agreed for Mr. D.K.C. Anderson who had received an invitation to attend. The Gents Scottish Championships that year had been won by the South African champion, and in conversation with Mr. Brown the SAA match secretary after the event, it was agreed to have a postal match with South Africa . As many archers as wished could shoot and the best ten scores, either Ladies or Gents, would be used. The round to be shot was, for men, 30 arrows at 80, 60, 50 and 40 yards, and for women, 30 arrows at 60 yards, 60 arrows at 50 and 30 at 40 yards.
The October meeting reported that Mr. Hamilton, who by then had joined GNAS as an Ordinary member, had received an invitation to attend their Council meeting on 12 November, but that he would be unable to attend due to business. It was also reported that Mr. Anderson, who had shot in the selection trials in June, had been lying in 4 th place at the end of the long distance ( York round) and had eventually finished in 7 th place. There had been a scoreboard there throughout the day showing the leading 8 archers, and Mr. Anderson had been on it virtually throughout. At the end of the trial, three archers were selected for the U.K. team, their expenses being paid by GNAS, and the team was completed by a further three archers who would be required to pay their own way. Mr. Anderson was unable to accept an invitation to shoot in the team on these terms. A total of 30 archers had taken part in the shoot. The Ulster match had been a close affair with Scotland eventually winning by just 47 points with Mr. Hamilton scoring 691, only 9 points short of the 'Gold' qualifying score. The original trophy for this annual fixture had been withdrawn by Ulster two years previously, but they were arranging for another trophy to be made available. SAA agreed to meet half the cost.
The archery section of the BP Chemicals plant at Grangemouth had joined SAA as an associate club, and some of their members had attended the shoots at Troon and Glasgow. A Mr. Manchula of the Perth club had passed the examination for admission to the Roll of Coaches, this being duly approved by the committee. It was agreed that coaches on the Roll should only remain there as long as they remained members of SAA. There was also a report that archery had been included among the sports for the 1956 Olympics to be held in Melbourne . The committee also agreed to an approach being made to Rangers F.C. for the use of their ground to hold the Scottish Championships. A later meeting indicated that this had been rejected by the club.
At the first meeting in 1956 in January, it was reported that there was still no progress with regard to SAA joining GNAS. Mr. Hamilton indicated that he proposed to attend the next GNAS council meeting in February. Mr. Brown reported he had received a letter from the GNAS International Team Committee, asking him to submit a list of MB and 1 st class archers with a view to some invitations being extended for the selection trials in June, to be held this year at Windsor . There is also mention in the minutes that Mr. Hamilton attended a meeting of the Scottish Council for Physical Recreation in Glasgow on 28 th November last, where it was learned that the arrangements for the SCPR to buy the Hills Hotel in Largs had been delayed due to one or two unresolved problems. (This was presumably what we now know as Inverclyde National Recreation Centre). Once these problems had been resolved, the project would continue. No indication was available at that time of likely costs.
Re the previously mentioned postal match with South Africa , the response to this by the Scottish archers had been very poor. The lowest of the ten South African scores was higher than the best Scottish score. SAA badges were sent to the ten South Africans whose scores had counted. A motion for the '56 AGM in March had been received from the Ancient Society of Kilwinning Archers (don't think Mr. Tough was around in these days), proposing 'That the balance sheet and related accounts of the SAA be circulated to affiliated clubs along with the intimation of the AGM'. (No record of the March AGM appears in the minute book so I do not know if this proposal was passed at that time).
At the April meeting, Mr. Hamilton explained why at short notice he had been unable to attend the February Council meeting of GNAS, and he is to take up with GNAS the question of whether they will accept a substitute on occasions when he is unable to attend future meetings. A grant not exceeding £30 had been approved by the Scottish Education Department for 1956. There was still no progress with GNAS re SAA joining. Also agreed was a proposal to include Juniors in the classification scores system, using the same scores as presently required by Ladies. An archer at that time was regarded as a Junior until his 17 th birthday.
The October meeting reported still no progress on the GNAS situation, though Mr. Hamilton was able to assure the committee that we now had good liaison with the GNAS International Committee, who recognise that we now have in Scotland , archers of a very high standard, namely Mr. Anderson and a Mrs Reynolds. The West beat the East in the Inter area match, held at Luncarty just north of Perth , as the ground at Scone , where it had been hoped to hold the match, on inspection proved unsuitable. At the Scottish Championships held in Hogarth Park in the north east of Glasgow , Mrs. Reynolds won the Ladies with a Hereford score of 719, while Mr. Anderson won the Gents with a York of 648. The Treasurer reported that the Association had a very satisfactory balance of just over £77. In view of this, the committee agreed to the purchase of a further 4 target bosses.
A meeting of the SCPR was to due be held at the end of October, and Mr. Hamilton would be attending. The Hills Hotel project at Largs was the main item for discussion, although it was stated that it would not be ready for occupancy until the end of the summer of '57. Mr. Hamilton suggested it would be of great value to SAA if we could run a coaching weekend there ourselves for coaches and potential coaches. A suggestion to hold this in April prior to the start of the outdoor season was agreed in principal. Mr. Hamilton was asked to pursue the matter in more detail, including the question of costs.
Ray Masson. (2004)
Author's Note : Right from the start of this short history of the SAA in 1949, we have heard of the ongoing discussions with regard to SAA joining GNAS. We have now reached the end of 1956 and it would appear that SAA is no nearer reaching a resolution to this situation. Seven years have passed, and it will be a further 14 years before eventually SAA joins GNAS in 1970, this largely due to the threat at that time by a number of clubs to break away and form their own Association and join GNAS if SAA didn't, since by then it appeared as if the Executive committee of SAA were no longer convinced that joining GNAS would be of benefit to Scottish archery.