Alexander Rogers

The son of a London grocer’s merchant, Alexander Rogers was educated at Harrow School and New College, Oxford. He later qualified as a barrister with his own practice at Chislehurst, Kent before relocating to Bournemouth.

An expert long-distance rifle shot, Rogers first competed at Bisley while at Oxford in 1892. He made his début for England in the Elcho Sheld in 1903 and was still competing in the triangular event, against Scotland and Ireland, 25 years later. At the turn of the 20th century Rogers served in the 7th Middlesex (London Scottish) regiment and received the Territorial Decoration (TD). It was around that time that he finished second in the 1904 The Waldegrave at Bisley, and in 1905, when secretary of VIII Club, he won the Halford Memorial Challenge.

Rogers won a bronze medal in the running target single shot event at the 1908 Olympics and, such was his longevity in the sport, he just missed out on a second medal in 1924. Twenty years after winning the Halford Memorial, he finished second to Ted Ranken in 1925, and in 1930 was runner-up in The Albert. Rogers was still competing at Bisley two years before his death, and in 1932 won both the Cambridge Long Range Cup and the Armourers’ Long-range Match Rifle competitions.