In 1900, the entire British Empire rejoiced after British forces, besieged inside the South African town of Ladysmith for 119 days, were finally relieved. The track is 85 yards (78m) long, which means a total run of 170 yards (160m). The limber is lifted, its wheels and drag ropes are shipped and it is run forward. At each performance of the Royal Tournament, two crews competed to transport a 12pounder field gun and limber over a series of obstacles. A field gun is a field artillery piece. Each crew then fired three rounds to end the Run Out. They were not well-paid. This is the heaviest lift of all and life gets very difficult if the gear is dropped 2nd Retire, 2nd Action Gun and limber are run towards the start line, separated and stopped. In support of the British Army, the Royal Navy landed guns from HMS Terrible and Powerful to help in the relief of the siege. At the evening performances, The Royal Navy Field Battery Display was carried out as follows: The Evening performance saw the choreographed display replaced by more competition runs sometime before 1928, possibly when the two other trophies were introduced. There were mixed emotions and a tense atmosphere as the crew came into the bar. It was Scott, then a Lieutenant, who had helped Captain Fisher (later Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord) establish a Gunnery School on Whale Island at Portsmouth in the 1880s. After a century this spectacle of toughness, courage, discipline and teamwork is still going strong. Field gunners keeping memory of dangerous sport alive Each crew then fired three rounds to end the "Run Out". Field gun competition - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia From the start line in front of the Royal Box, the crews pulled the guns and limbers to the end of the arena where they turned and carried themselves and the equipment over a 5foot wall. Brickwood maintained a close interest in the competition over the years. Field guns are incredibly heavy and moving them is dangerous work. 'It was like winning or losing the Cup final,' recalls Grassy. Crews were not permitted to use any additional equipment to assist in transporting the gun and limber across the chasm. In 1947 the course consisted of seven "very stiff obstacles" over a distance of 440 yards each way. Tonight's final performance, which will be attended by the Princess Royal, will feature familiar events including performances by RAF dogs, massed pipes and drums, a tug of war and the very last running of the field gun competition. They ran the gun through the streets of London to Waterloo Station on their return to Portsmouth. Two crews competed at each afternoon performance. One story tells of sailors carrying one of the 12-pounder guns for 2 miles (3.2km) after one of the wheels collapsed. As the British Army was besieged by Boer fighters in the garrison town of Ladysmith, Natal, the Royal Navy landed guns from HM Ships Terrible and Powerful to help in the relief of the siege. Gunga is an affable chap, but I make a mental note to avoid a handshake. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Junior Field Gunners compete in unique challenge - Royal Navy They were not famous, just household names in their own households. The larger arena allowed the display to be scaled up. 'My rank doesn't matter here,' says Jules. History Made At Collingwood Field Gun Competition - Forces Network HMS Collingwood beat this by running a time of 1 minute 18.80 seconds in 2001. The origins of the field gun competition lie in the Second Boer War in South Africa. In recent years, the Army and the Royal Air Force have entered teams, too. This is a competition rooted in that most politically incorrect of imperial conflicts, the Boer War. The winning crew in 1907 was HMS Cambridge, the gunnery school in Plymouth. The display consists of various movements carried out by a Naval Battery of six 12-pounder 8cwt. The legendary story tells of the siege of the British garrison in Ladysmith in 1899. HMS Collingwood itself has had a good record in the competition, having won the Brickwood Trophy 16 times between 1957 and 2006. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. The Naval Brigade transported guns over difficult terrain and brought them into action against the Boers. This was an outdoor event involving rival naval bases racing over a flat course. The men not only had to cope with very difficult terrain but they had to construct some sort of way of getting across a bottomless area of land; this is where the present days chasm idea came from. This is not the best time to fall in front of the gear because it is very heavy and cannot be stopped. At each performance of the Royal Tournament, two crews competed to transport a 12pounder field gun and limber over a series of obstacles. On 28th August 1907, the Royal Marines light Infantry, from Forton, won the first, Brickwoods Trophy competition, and along with it this magnificent Trophy. Ex-British Army. Night Vision & Thermal Aficionado On the night of Devonports last ever run the A Crew stayed in their mess for most of the day and when the moment came they all had tears in their eyes. The winning crew in 1907 was HMS Cambridge, the gunnery school in Plymouth. The race is set up with some basic obstacles. With a 5-foot wall at either end of the arena, the course and conditions remained virtually the same until the end of the competition in 1999. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. 1908 - the Inter-Port Competition was livened up by the substituting the plank obstacle with a Chasm. You have big blokes who do the heaving and lighter ones who do the dashing. At each performance of the Royal Tournament, two crews competed to transport a 12pounder field gun and limber over a series of obstacles. 5. I am also surprised to discover that a third of the team are officers. A 'lucky' 50 would be selected and subjected to six months of intensive training before the Royal Tournament itself. Charging flat out with a ton of gun and turning it on a sixpence while simultaneously taking off the wheels is still a feat of titanic choreography. When the crew from HMS POWERFUL returned to this country they ran a 4.7 gun through the arena at the Agricultural Hall at Islington in the 1900 Royal Military Tournament and were greeted with wild enthusiasm by the public attending. The Guns used in the Field Gun Competitions, are similar to the 12-Pounder guns used in the Boer War, and other Naval Brigade activities assisting the Army, in places such as Egypt, China and Ashanti.Naval brigades were detachments from ships consisting of seamen and Royal Marines (which were soldiers on board ships) who were landed ashore to undertake naval operations or to support the army in a wide variety of campaigns. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Get up to 10% off using the Booking.com app, 50 off over 650 using this Expedia discount code, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected product with this eBay voucher code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK May 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this May, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. The crews continued to the end of the arena and fired one round. Their train was the last to complete the journey to Ladysmith on the 30th October just as the siege and bombardment started. Curtain falls on Royal Tournament - The Independent (The sheer legs weigh 170lbs) Broken bones, pulled muscles and severe cuts were the risks that dedicated gunners accepted and before they signed up they were required to sign a disclaimer stating that they would not sue the Navy for damages. Crews from Portsmouth, Devonport, Chatham and Fleet Air Arm competed at The Court until 1960 when the Chatham Crew withdrew from the competition. Before 1999 this record was held by Portsmouth and had stood for 15 years. Archived. Royal Navy Field Gun Competition -The Firearm Blog The Naval involvement in the Victorian campaigns usually involved the landing of the Blue Jackets of the Naval Brigade with their portable field guns alongside their comrades in the Army. The guns and limbers were then dismantled and carried to the top of a ramp on the home side of a 28-foot (8.5m) chasm. It's just another reason why the Field Gun is still revered as the ultimate. \r\rThe third section is called the run home. Leaving Ladysmith on the 7th March 1900 the sailors of Powerful and Terrible were soon back on board. [2]. Thank you to the Oggies for this article By Richard Thompson (aka Thommo-the-Phot), This article was first published in a Field Gunners Association Newsletter 2006. This is called: Out, Back and Home. In 1907 a competition replaced the parade for the first time, the three depots of Portsmouth, Chatham and Devonport providing the gun teams. The original chasm was formed by placing two ramps opposite each other at a distance of 7ft 6in apart. Petty Officer Sharon Barber, 45, is on the reserve list and will step in as a 'drag number' - a harness-puller - if there is an injury. Since about the start of World War II, the term has been applied to long-range artillery pieces that fire at a relatively low angle, as opposed to howitzers which can fire at higher angles. In 1903, a party from HMS Excellent introduced an obstacle into their display. Records for completing the course have continued to be broken. 1906 - on the 17th May, the Royal Naval and Military Tournament moved to and opened at Olympia, and the men from both establishments (Excellent and Victory), in a combined display, took the guns over no less than two walls and two bridges. Both sides moved forces to their mutual borders, the British forces in Natal numbered less than 16,000 whilst the Transvaal Burgher army alone totalled nearly 27,000. Where Is The Military Tattoo Held In London? - Tovisorga.com Both officers and men received regular training in the techniques of land warfare at the gunnery school, HMS Excellent, at Portsmouth. Ladysmith was the most vulnerable of the three towns. The gun is unhooked and the limber is run to the 70 yard line where it is turned or spun to face the start; its wheels are removed and it is dropped to the ground. The crew set up a wire and traveller so all 18 members of the crew and their equipment could cross the chasm. The two weeks of blood, sweat and tears were starting to take their toll and the crew of 99 just wanted to forget about the future without field gun and try to remember all the good times they had at Devonport, Portsmouth and the Fleet Air Arm. the ships company for their part in the saving of Ladysmith. After a century this spectacle of toughness, courage, discipline and teamwork is still going strong. 1st Retire, 2nd Wheel 'It is, simply, the greatest team-building discipline there is. Often named the "toughest sport in the world", it is a display of teamwork which only the dedicated few can ever aspire to take part in. The Interport Field Gun competition was established in 1907 and was a highlight of the Royal Tournament until the Last Run in 1999. And yet, as far as Woolers was concerned, the men of the Royal Navy Field Gun competition were way out in front when it came to nominating 'the toughest sport in the world'. The most common field guns of the era were the British 5.5inch, the American 155 mm Long Tom[1] (a development of a French World War I weapon) and the Soviet BS-3 - an artillery piece adapted from a naval gun and designed to double up as an anti-tank weapon. The course was changed in 1908 with a chasm replacing the plank obstacle. But he has no regrets about all the years he has devoted to an event which has its own motto: 'To The Limit And Beyond'. In 1900 following the relief of Ladysmith during the South African campaign, Seaman from HMS Powerful brought a 4.7 inch gun into the arena at the Tournament. However it is not just this year that records have been set and then broken. All that mattered was a winner's medal at the end of the tournament (silver for the winners, bronze for the runners-up). Field Gun | Royal Navy When the commentator announced it was to be the last time we would ever see the Men of Field Gun, the whole arena showed their anger by stamping the floor or banging their chairs. 1912 - the chasm was replaced by a single ramp, for both the outward and homeward journeys. Trans swimmer Lia Thomas is now telling women what feminism is - and if we protest then we're bigots. 1924 - The Aggregate Time Challenge Cup, and the Fastest Time Cup were introduced. This is the world famous Royal Military Tournament race.\rThe Field Gun Run is a tribute to the Royal Navy's involvement in the relief of Ladysmith during the Boer War in 1900, when guns from HMS Powerful were hauled to Ladysmith by the ship's Naval Brigade to defend the town against the Boer attack. The clock was stopped as the teams crossed back over the start line. Wooden spars weighing 170lb are erected and wires rigged across the 28 foot chasm. Both Gun Wheels are shifted. And now, ten years after it disappeared from national view along with the dear old Royal Tournament, the race is about to return to the big stage in front of both the Queen and the television cameras. Two gun crews of eighteen men from the commands of Portsmouth, Devonport and Chatham took part in the first competition. It did not involve big obstacles for the simple reason that these crews were practising in their spare time and could not manage the six-month training which the complex Tournament course - known as the 'command' competition - required. A film clip of this evolution survives from the period[2] which was filmed by Alfred J West for his popular 'Our Navy' film presentations in the early 1900s.