Field Gun 100 Day - The Brickwoods Trophy

 

The Portsmouth Naval Base Field Gun Crew are on cloud nine after winning the prestigious Royal Navy Field Gun Competition on Field Gun 100 Day held June 9 at HMS Collingwood. Eighteen teams competed for the coveted Brickwoods Trophy which was the culmination of the three-month Field Gun 100 Festival celebrating the centenary of this tough and hard fought competition.

In a highly tense final the Portsmouth Crew romped home, with HMS Heron second and the Collingwood A crew coming in 3rd.

Commodore Steve Kirby, Commodore of the Maritime Warfare School and Commanding Officer of HMS Collingwood said of the event: “Field Gun 100 was a stunning success, a fitting climax to this Field Gun centenary year that has included the Swartkop Challenge in South Africa and the Junior Leaders’ challenge alongside HMS Victory“.

The final results of the Field Gun Competition were as follows:

1st - HM Naval Base Portsmouth
2nd - HMS Heron
3rd - HMS Collingwood A
4th - 7th Air Assault Battalion REME
5th - HMS Seahawk
6th - HMS Neptune

Pusser's was there to “Splice the main brace” with the thirsty crowds. Over 500 tots were downed on the day.

Pusser's Rum, has been privileged to have been closely associated with the Royal Navy Field Gun competition, for many years, both as main sponsors of the event, in the days of the Royal Tournament and more recently, by supporting the Centenary commemoration.

History Of The Field Gun Competition

The Field Gun competition originated during the Second Boer War, in South Africa, when the Royal Navy received a request from the Army, to supply 'a few naval guns' for the defence of Ladysmith. As a result, two 4.7 - inch guns were transferred from the cruiser, HMS Terrible, to HMS Powerful, which took them to Durban. They were landed there, in October, 1899 and together with four 12 pounders, were transported, initially by rail and then on makeshift carriages drawn by oxen and sailors of the Naval Landing Brigade, across some very difficult terrain.

The siege of Ladysmith lasted 120 days, during which time, the naval guns kept the enemy at bay, until the town was eventually relieved, in February, 1900. Later that year, seaman of HMS Powerful brought a 4.7 - inch gun into the arena at the Royal Military Tournament, held in London, which captured the imagination of the general public.

The Field Gun competition originated from this special display and every year 18 man crews, originally from Chatham, Devonport and Portsmouth commands, competed in the Field Gun competition, at the Royal Tournament, at Earls Court, in London. With the closure of the Chatham navy base, Air Command, entered the competition, which was not for the faint-hearted, as the 12 pounder gun and limber, was dismantled by the crews and then manhandled through sets of obstacles and imaginary chasms, in an effort to be first over the finishing line.

Vigorous tests were conducted every year, to select new teams, which then undertook four months of very intensive and gruelling training, before the competition. From the start line, the crews pulled the guns and limbers to the end of the arena, where they turned and carried themselves and the equipment over a 5 foot wall. The guns and limbers were than dismantled and carried to the top of a ramp on the 'home side' of a 28 foot 'chasm.' The crew set a wire and a traveller so all 18 members of the crew and their equipment could cross the chasm. The team and equipment then passed through a hole in the 'enemy wall' at the end of the arena. Each crew fired three rounds to end the 'run out.' The average time for the 'run out,' was 85 seconds.

The second part of the competition, the 'run back,' involved the crews taking all their equipment back over the 5 foot enemy wall and then back across the chasm. Once all the home crew and equipment, were back across the chasm, the wire and traveller were dismantled and three more rounds were fired in a rear guard action. The average time for the run back, was 65 seconds. In the final stage, the 'Run Home,' men, guns and limbers passed back through the hole in the wall and then the teams hooked up and pulled for home. The average time for the 'Run Home,' was 21 seconds.

The field gun competition was held annually, until 1999, when demands on naval and other military man power, resulted in the demise of the Royal Tournament. Today, the tradition of the Field Gun competition lives on, in a simplified and fortunately less hazardous version, which nevertheless demands a high level of fitness and co-ordination from participating crews.

Field Gun 100 photos courtesy of the Royal Navy