About Us > History

The Club has a long history, inextricably linked to that of the large papermaking site at Aylesford, on the banks of the Medway, near Maidstone.

Circa 1900, a paper industry engineer named Albert Reed, bought Bridge Mill in Tovil, Maidstone from BOCM, and established it as a paper mill. Soon, another mill at nearby Tovil was established, and Albert E. Reed and Company was on its way to being a multinational conglomerate. Just after the First World War, land was acquired on the banks of the Medway at Aylesford, and Aylesford Paper Mills established. Over the years the business and the site grew to one of the largest papermaking plants in Europe, and Albert E Reed and Co. blossomed into Reed International, which, during the 1960s and 70s was one of Britain’s largest and most successful public companies.

From its inception, the management of Aylesford Paper Mills were keen to foster sporting and social societies among the employees. An active sports and social club was promoted, with all sporting activities being very heavily subsidised. Superb facilities were provided for all types of sport, including small bore rifle shooting. It is believed that Aylesford Paper Mills Rifle Club was formed in 1917 (the precise date is not known, as the original records were lost due to enemy action during WWII).

The Club was originally only open to Reed employees or their families.

In 1950, Reeds Clay Pigeon Shooting Club was formed, and had exclusive use of some 300 acres of wood and marshland on the north bank of the Medway, where Reed established its Island Site operations.

During the `70s the Reed Empire began to crumble, and the Company’s patronage of its own Sports and Social Club began a sharp decline. Site companies declined or closed, and club memberships declined to such a level that non-employees were allowed to join the various clubs: the Rifle and Clay pigeon Shooting Clubs were no exception, and relied on ‘outside’ members to survive.

By the late 1980s it was clear that Reed International was intent on withdrawing from the entire Aylesford site; this threatened the very existence of the various sports clubs and societies, and in consequence the Rifle and Clay Pigeon Shooting clubs merged.
Eventually, Reed International sold the complete site to a variety of new owners, and Reed is now a shadow of its former self, owned by foreign principals.

The Club was evicted from its indoor small-bore rifle range in Aylesford more than ten years ago, and is now sharing a range with another local Club. We were evicted from the Clay Shooting ground in 2002, and are searching for a new piece of land. Our Clay shoots are currently being held at various local shooting grounds.

About 8 years ago, the Club started full-bore rifle shooting, usually at Bisley ranges in Surrey. We also shoot pistol calibre rifles (usually lever action rifles such as Winchesters or Marlins) and muzzle loading pistols. These go some way to replacing the small bore and full bore pistol shooting, banned after the events in Dunblane. Full-bore (or ‘centre fire’) pistol shooting was the most popular of the Club's shooting disciplines.

Nowadays, the Club is as popular as ever; we have upwards of 60 members, and are very busy, shooting at Bisley, our own range and at our clay shoots. However, there always room for more, and the Club is very keen to attract new members.

We want to grow all of our activities, and at the same time encourage new members, particularly first time shooters, into the Club. We really would like to recruit younger people, and would like to get a few more female members into the Club. Age or fitness is no bar to taking up shooting, as it is one of the few sports where the disabled can compete on equal terms with the able bodied.

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