Field Gun: A Brief History

Royal Navy

The Field Gun Display has become so much a part of the Royal Tournament that it is now difficult to imagine one without it. It is an impressive spectacle of teamwork, skill and fitness which has now become so well developed and executed that spectators cannot gain any real idea of the weight of the equipment and the ingenuity of the drill.

The display in its present Competition form was started in 1913 and was inspired by the exploits of a Naval Brigade during the Boer War in 1889. Equipped with two 4.7 and four 12-pounder guns, Captain the Hon H Lambton, RN, and his Navel Brigade of 280 men from HMS POWERFUL, marched and fought over extremely rugged terrain to relieve Ladysmith. On several occasions their speed and skill in bringing the guns into action saved them from capture from the Boers. When their oxen died, the sailors - or 'Bluejackets', as they were called - dragged and manhandled the guns themselves. The public were so taken by these exploits that the Field Gun Competition was begun and the course so constructed as to depict the obstacles and hazards which confronted the 'Bluejackets' in their overland march. The qualities shown by these sailors were courage, discipline, alertness and tremendous spirit, and these are qualities that tend to be developed during training for this display. Perhaps the reason that this Display has survived into the 1980's is that these qualities are still highly valued in today's modern Navy and still appreciated by the public at large.

The final aim of the Field Gun Display is to produce 18 men in the team at Earls Court to take a field gun, limber and associated equipment over a 5 ft high wall, across a 28 ft wide bottomless chasm, through a 4ft x 2ft hole in a wall and bring the equipment into action to engage the enemy and fire 3 rounds. All the equipment is then returned to the starting position overcoming the same obstacles.

Caption: Map of Field Gun Course