The Royal Navy's field gun competition is a contest between teams from various Royal Navy commands, in which teams of sailors compete to transport a field gun and its equipment over and through a series of obstacles in the shortest time. The competition evolved during the early years of the 20th century. The format, using walls and a chasm to negotiate, was held annually at the Royal Tournament in London from 1907 until 1999, apart from the periods during the World Wars. The "Inter-Port", or Command Competition was contested by teams from the Royal Navy annually, and was a popular item at the Royal Tournament.
The 'Command' style of Field Gun is currently only run by Wellington College and Portsmouth Action Field Gun Crews.
The "Brickwoods" Field Gun competition also ran from 1907, after the Brickwoods Brewery donated a magnificent Trophy to the Royal Navy. This competition involving no obstacles, on a flat track, continues to be competed for on an annual basis at HMS Collingwood. The 2012 competition will be held at HMS Collingwood Open Day on the 26th of May.
Read more about Field Gun Competition: Origins, Previous Winners of The Brickwood Trophy
Famous quotes containing the words field, gun and/or competition:
“The snow had begun in the gloaming,
And busily all the night
Had been heaping field and highway
With a silence deep and white.”
—James Russell Lowell (1819–1891)
“I’d like to say I didn’t intend to kill her. But when you have a gun ... you always intend ... when you have to.”
—Ketti Frings (1915–1981)
“Every sect is a moral check on its neighbour. Competition is as wholesome in religion as in commerce.”
—Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864)