The trailblazer for women in Canadian shooting over a 22-year career from 1930 to 1952, Gwen Spencer Hethey began shooting at age 22 under the tutelage of her neighbour and GVSHOF 2001 inductee Maj. Fred Richardson. She had such a natural eye that Fred introduced her to military fullbore rifle at Heals Range. She joined the James Island Rifle Club and BC Rifle Association (BCRA) in 1930 and became the first female ever to compete in the annual Fullbore Championships.

 

Just two years later, in 1932, Gwen won the provincial Weiler Trophy against seasoned male military and police shooters and went to Bisley as the first and, at that time, only female ever to represent Canada, paying her own way as only military men were funded. She won 1st place in the Non-Military Open Class and became the first Canadian ever to win the Amazon Trophy.

 

In 1936, Gwen won the BC Lieutenant Governor’s J. Dunsmuir Trophy – the highest award in BC – and is still the only woman to have won this trophy. She shot 15 bullseyes from 900 yards – setting the women’s world record - and was carried on a chair on the shoulders of her fellow competitors to collect her prize. In 1937, she won the BC Douglas Cup Trophy and, in 1938, Gwen returned to Bisley at her own expense. She placed 6th of 1200 competitors in the All-Comers Aggregate and was presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace as the top ranking woman shot in the Empire. She was not allowed to compete for the King’s Cup because she was a civilian.

 

For that same reason, by 1937, Gwen had three times earned a place on the provincial team to the Governor General’s Cup but was not allowed to compete. At the urging of her admirers, the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA) changed the rules and Gwen competed in 1938. She won the first stage with a perfect score (a feat only twice before accomplished by men) and tied for first place in the final. With the first four places reserved for the military, Gwen was dropped to fifth. However, in 1939, the regulations changed, reserving the first two places for the military, and Gwen received a letter of regret from the DCRA, saluting her for having achieved the highest overall score in the 1938 competition and including the bronze medal, retroactively.

 

All competition was suspended from 1940 through 1946. In 1947, Gwen was inducted as a Life Member of the BCRA and in 1948, won the BC Grand Aggregate Silver Badge - the first female to be placed in the BC Scroll of Marksmanship since its inception in 1874.

 

Widowed at 39 with two young boys, Gwen withdrew from competition in 1949 but continued her involvement at the local level into the 1950s. Seen in the context of her times and the culture in which she had to compete, Gwen’s achievements were truly amazing.