 Shooting for the King's Prize in 1926 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Blanche Margaret Mary Badcock |
| National team | India |
| Citizenship | British |
| Born | 1892 British India |
| Died | 20 January 1957 (aged 64–65) |
| Occupation | Poultry farmer |
| Life partner | Marjorie Foster |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Fullbore target rifle |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | |
| Rank | Flight officer |
| Unit | |
| Wars | |
Blanche Margaret Mary Badcock (1892 – 20 January 1957) was a British rifle shooter. She was the first woman to compete in the Sovereign's Prize and the first to be selected for the Kolapore Match, respectively the most prestigious individual and team competitions in British target rifle shooting. She was the life partner of Marjorie Foster, the first woman to win the Sovereign's Prize.
Born in British India in 1892, Badcock was the daughter of an English civil servant, and spent her early life in Kent and in Cheltenham. She became a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse and an Army Service Corps driver during the First World War, where she met Marjorie Foster. After the war, Foster and Badcock moved to a poultry farm near Bisley Camp in Surrey, the centre of British target rifle shooting, where Foster encouraged Badcock to take up the sport. In 1926, Badcock became the first woman to compete in the Sovereign's Prize, and she reached the final of the event in 1932. As a team shooter, she represented Hampshire and India: she was selected as a reserve for the latter in the 1938 Kolapore Match.
During the Second World War, Badcock served as an officer in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, and was made an Additional Member of the Order of the British Empire. She lived with Foster on her farm for the rest of her life, and died on 20 January 1957.