Specialising in Aircraft Engineering, he progressed through the ranks and left as a Major after nearly 30 years’ service. During his career, Richie has served on numerous operations and deployments, commanding both military and civilian personnel. Latterly his responsibilities were predominantly Project Management, specialising in organisational business change and capability management.
Richie’s shooting experience began with full bore and small bore at club level before joining the army, where he shot and subsequently coached both Service Rifle and Pistol. In 2001, he switched to Clay Target where he competed and coached at Army level. During his career, he has also worked as an aircraft weapons trials engineer and an air door gunner.
During his last 13 years of service, Richie created and developed the Army Clay Target Shooting Centre, now consisting of a 100-bird sporting layout with Compaq, Olympic skeet, ABT and DTL. The ground is regarded as the army’s centre of excellence for the training of clay shooting and has a large military and civilian membership. Over the years, Richie’s emphasis has been on introducing young service personnel into the sport and directing all army instructor and coaching courses in line with the CPSA. In addition, he has been the focal point for various service charities and shooting initiatives, specialising in the rehabilitation of wounded servicemen and women.
Richie is a qualified CPSA level 3 senior coach, course tutor and assessor. He is also the consultant training manager for the CPSA and continues to coach Clay Shooting to local schools and cadet organisations. In his spare time, he works as a Registered Firearms Dealer and Gunsmith with an interest in restoring old shotguns. A dedicated family man, Richie has been married to Leanne for 24 years and they have two children.
