A Rolex won by Peter Croft at the 1983 British Olympic Trap Grand Prix came up for auction at Fellows Auctioneers at the end of October - and was expected to sell for more than £10,000. Croft, originally from Wednesbury, West Midlands, was one of Britain’s top Trap shooters in the 80s, and he won the Rolex GMT as the bronze prize at the Rolex sponsored 1983 British Grand Prix.
The watch was Peter’s bronze prize at the 1983 British Olympic Trap Grand Prix
The watch is described as a gentleman’s stainless steel Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master bracelet watch, and featured as Lot 124 in Fellows’ Luxury Watch Sale on Monday 26 October. It had an estimate of £6,500-8,500, and was predicted to sell for over £10,000 including fees. Croft finished behind Peter Boden and Kevin Borley in the 1983 event, and according to an article in Shooting Magazine from 1982, he won “prizes worth £787” which included this Rolex.
Peter represented Great Britain in various international competitions, including the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1982 Commonwealth Games. He also took part in the 1990 Commonwealth Games. He is one of a handful of Brits ever to win the Individual Trap European Shotgun Championships, securing first place in 1980. He now sits on the management board of FITASC.