History

Quite why the Royal Navy is remembered for a land battle during a campaign in a distant colony almost a century ago seems a mystery. When the campaign is revealed as the Boer War and the land battle the siege of Ladysmith the mystery is only partly explained.

The Boer war of 1899-1902 was between the Dutch settlers and farmers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State, part of the British Empire. Gold had been discovered in the Transvaal. This had brought a big influx of foreign workers and their poor treatment by the Boers disturbed the British in the Cape and Natal. Relations worsened and both sides moved forces to their mutual borders.

On the 11th October 1899 the Boers invaded. The British forces were quickly overwhelmed and forced back into the towns of Mafeking, Kimberley and Ladysmith which were then besieged. Ladysmith was the most vulnerable of the towns and should it fall a great moral victory could be claimed by the Boers.

At anchor off Capetown were two British cruisers, H.M.S. Powerful and H.M.S. Terrible. General Sir George White VC, the British Commander in Natal, signaled the cruisers for assistance; particularly with their long range guns. Fortunately for General White, Captain P.Scott RN of the Terrible was a gunnery expert and he quickly designed a carriage that could hold the 6 inch, 4.7 inch and 12 pounder naval guns in transit and into action. Following initial tests the guns and equipment were transported to Durban by H.M.S. Terrible under the command of Captain H. Lambton RN. The carriages were then speedily manufactured at the Durban Railway Workshops. The contingent was soon ready; 280 officers and men with two 4.7 inch guns, four long range 12 pounders and four maxim guns (early machine guns).

The Naval Brigade, as they were now called, went by rail from Durban to Ladysmith with all their guns, ammunition, provisions and equipment. Their train was the last to complete the journey to Ladysmith on the 30th October just as the bombardment started.

The Naval Brigade were soon in action against the Boer artillery and their long range guns were very effective in countering the enemy batteries and holding them at bay throughout the siege.

The successful deployment of the first Brigade led to Captain Scott being asked to provide a second one on the 6th of November. This was duly done and the new Naval Brigade acted in support of General Buller's push towards their beleaguered comrades. Due to the nature of this operation the railway was of little help and the sailors had to manhandle the guns over difficult terrain and into action in many different engagements, eventually reaching Ladysmith after 120 days of blockade.

The Royal Military Tournament of 1900 held in the Islington Agricultural Hall featured men from H.M.S. Powerful parading one of their 4.7 inch naval guns called "Joe Chamberlain". This proved popular and the Navy's contribution continued as part of the Tournament which moved to Olympia in 1906.

In 1912 a competition replaced the parade for the first time, the three depots of Portsmouth, Chatham and Devonport providing the gun teams. This was the idea of Commander P.H. Hall-Thompson RN, who is regarded as the father of the Field Gun Competition. The 1914-1918 war stopped all such events for its duration but the competition returned with the new Royal Tournament of peacetime. The Second World War also "stopped play" for a time, but the resumption saw two important changes; the venue was Earls Court in 1950 and by now the Royal Tournament's Field Gun Competition had been joined by a team from the Fleet Air Arm. Upon their entry the newcomers won the Aggregate Time Challenge Cup as well as the Fastest Time, much to the surprise of the "old hands" of the depots.

The Royal Navy's Field Gun Competition continued as a feature of the Royal Tournament having survived a century's wars and conflicts. The Navy never directly funded the competition. All the volunteers from the base ports, ships and shore establishments are lent to the Field Gun Competition without replacement and those remaining work extra hours to cover for the missing "gunners".

Despite this, the summer of 1999 saw the last Royal Tournament run due to government "cuts". The record was broken for a last time by Devonport, running a near faultless run of 2 mins 40.43. All three crews wore black armbands during the final day's run, despite being warned by the MOD not to. When the men entered the arena to collect their trophies, tears were rolling down countless cheeks, and when the commentator announced it was to be the last time we would ever see the 'Men of Devon' the whole arena showed their anger by stamping the floor or banging their chairs. It was obvious that no one wanted it to end.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:

Information obtained from "Guns and Guts: The story of the Field Gun Competition" by R A Wilson.  The book contains a more detailed story and is an excellent companion to the Field Gun Competition.