Supporting shooting: an interview with Bill Tyrwhitt-Drake

Earlier this year Polly Portwin spoke with shooting stalwart Bill Tyrwhitt-Drake at home on the Bereleigh Estate in Hampshire, for My Countryside magazine.

Bill Tyrwhitt-Drake, who has recently retired from the Board of the Countryside Alliance, has made an extraordinary contribution to shooting, to the Alliance and prior to that the British Field Sports Society (BFSS). To date, Bill's highly regarded 'lobster shoots' have raised well over £1 million since they began more than 30 years ago and the Hampshire Country Sports Day, held at home on the Bereleigh Estate, is another long-running and popular event which has been taking place for more than 40 years. Bill also raises an extraordinary amount selling the Alliance's shoot badges on each shoot day.

Bill's involvement with the BFSS, one of the Alliance's predecessors when it was formed in 1997, began over 50 years ago. He recalls "the dreaded entry" in his diary, when Col. Mitchell, a former master of the Hursley Hambledon Hunt told him that "it's time you did something for fieldsports". It was then that Bill took on the role of regional chairman of the BFSS for Hampshire and he has remained heavily involved ever since.

From a truly sporting family, Bill's ancestors were renowned foxhunters, with connections to the Bicester Hunt and the Old Berkeley. For Bill though, shooting has always been his passion, but he remains very supportive of hunting, with him and his wife Philippa hosting the opening meet for the Hursley Hambledon on the estate each year. The walls of their very comfortable and welcoming home are adorned with fascinating hunting paintings and other memorabilia which members of the British Sporting Art Trust were recently privileged to view.

The Tyrwhitt-Drake family moved from their estate in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, to Bereleigh in 1958 when Bill – who will be celebrating his 80th birthday later this year – was still young, although he retains many connections to the Amersham area where the construction of HS2 is ripping through the countryside. "It's an absolute waste of money," he exclaims. "It cuts through some of our land and it is so destructive, all to save just 10 minutes on the journey from London to Birmingham. It's an absolute farce."

Following the move from Amersham, the Hampshire residence where the family has now settled originally had 800 acres but over time Bill has "achieved my aim of creating a large family estate in a less-busy part of the world". With William, Bill's youngest grandson, enjoying his first birthday on the day of my visit to Bereleigh – a date he also shares with one of Philippa's Lucas terriers – the estate will hopefully be enjoyed by many future generations of Tyrwhitt-Drakes.

A community ambassador

Now around 2,800 acres and set in the most beautiful surroundings, Bill holds a partridge and a pheasant shoot, with let days as well as those for family and friends. Bill's shooting credentials speak for themselves. Not only has he been a long-standing Alliance Board member, but Bill is also on the Board of Aim to Sustain and is chairman of the Code of Good Shooting Practice.

As for so many hosting shoots this year, there will be no partridge shoot on the estate this season due to the impact of avian flu and the lack of availability of eggs from abroad. "We are lucky to have a hatchery at home and have been able to rear our own pheasant chicks. Having seen the early warning signs regarding avian flu we've actually reared more than usual and have been able to sell some to others who have been less fortunate," explains Bill.

It was just over three years ago that Bill and his family won a long running court battle around a noise complaint put forth against the shoot. At the time, Tim Bonner, Chief Executive of the Alliance praised Bill for defending it so robustly: "Many people would have folded faced with this sort of prosecution, setting a very dangerous precedent. Everyone who shoots is in their debt."

The support the family received throughout the ordeal was "overwhelming", both locally and further afield, demonstrating the high regard in which Bill, his family and the estate at Bereleigh are held.

It is no doubt that Bill's widespread popularity within the shooting and fieldsports worlds, and within his own local community, coupled with his boundless enthusiasm and his love of life have enabled him to be such a great ambassador for the Alliance. Consistently raising huge sums of money spanning over 40 years is quite remarkable but it is all accomplished with apparent ease.

Bill recalls that the first ever lobster shoot was run by the New Forest committee of the BFSS whose chairman was a good friend of Bill's neighbour. "My neighbour always had a theory that game shooters could enjoy clay shooting providing the clays were like driven game, testing but realistic, and if it was in a convivial atmosphere to make it a good, social event," he remembers.

It was on this basis that the lobster shoot developed with 37 teams of four people shooting in the most recent running of the annual competition. So, what is the secret of the success to running such an event for so long?

"We try to keep the ticket price down to encourage people to attend. We also run the bar in-house and have an auction which all helps to boost funds," Bill explains. "But the key is to do your own catering otherwise you simply don't make enough money."

Rolling up his sleeves and getting involved is not something Bill shies away from, with the lobster preparation in itself no small operation conducted the night before 250 people sit down to eat. "We source them from Shoreham and this year I collected 250 lobsters at the same time as the 80lbs of strawberries we needed which come from a friend with a pick-your-own fruit business, piling the strawberries on top of the lobsters in the back of the vehicle before heading home.

"My wife Philippa sets up a conveyor belt system in the yard and along with a good team of friends, we split the lobsters and crack the claws, clean them up and rewrap them, then store them in the cold room overnight so they are ready to serve the next day.

"My neighbour was absolutely right about how to ensure game shooters can enjoy clays, and we seem to have got the formula about right because we've now got the next generation – those in their 40s who were only about 10 years old when the lobster shoots started – who are enjoying the days with their own families."

The next event on the agenda is the Hampshire Country Sports Day on 11th September. Bill says: "It was originally started by Michael Poland over 40 years ago," and Bill has been heavily involved from the onset. The day aims to give everybody an opportunity to learn about fieldsports and have a go if they want to.

"We had 3,500 people attend last year," says Bill. "It takes a good few days to set it all up from scratch but we have a great team of volunteers and then everybody gets involved at the end of the day so that within a couple of hours, all of the equipment is back in storage and it looks like nothing has ever taken place there."

This year, the show will mark Bill's 80th birthday and you can be certain that many of his friends and family will be on hand to help pack up before the party really gets started.