Rare winner's medal issued for shooting at the London 1908 Olympics. Bronze, 33.5 mm, 19 gm, designed by Bertram Mackennel; manufactured by Vaughton & Sons, England. The front, inscribed, "Olympic Games, London 1908," features a victorious athlete being crowned with a laurel wreath by two seated females; the reverse depicts St. George, the patron saint of England, slaying a dragon as a goddess looks on. The rim is engraved with the name of the event, "Third Prize, Clay Birds Teams." Includes the original presentation case. This medal was awarded to a member of the British men’s shooting team, which placed third in the men's team trap event on July 11, 1908, finishing with a total of 372 points behind second and first-place winners Canada (405) and another team from Great Britain (407); each nation could enter up to two teams of six shooters. The Great Britain team members were George Skinner, William Morris, Henry Creasey, Bob Hutton, George Whitaker, and John Butt, the latter two winning silver medals in team clay pigeons at the Stockholm 1912 Olympics. Great Britain dominated the Games with a total of 146 medals, far eclipsing second and third-place nations the United States (47) and Sweden (25); Great Britain's top finish in the Olympic medal table marks the only instance the country has done so in its history. An exceptionally scarce winner's medal commemorating Great Britain's triumphant first outing as an Olympic host city.
