Boer to Brum

THE FIELD GUN COMPETITION

The world-famous Field Gun Competition is steeped in history from its real life application during the Relief of Ladysmith to its current iteration in Birmingham.

HAULING NAVAL GUNS ON IMPROVISED CARRIAGES THROUGH THE VELDT, SUCH AS THIS 4.7IN NAVAL GUN, GAVE RISE TO THE FAMOUS RACE OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH
ALTHOUGH IMPRESSIVE, THE FIELD GUN COMPETITION WAS PHYSICALLY DEMANDING. HERE, THE TEAM FROM HMS EXCELLENT REHEARSE: ORDINARY SEAMAN T MILLS AND ABLE SEAMAN R BOSWORTH BALANCE ON THE BARREL AS IT CROSSES THE 'CHASM', MARCH 1949
TOPFOTO

At the 2022 Birmingham International Tattoo in September, audiences will once again cheer-on crews representing the Royal Navy, Army and the RAF in the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) Field Gun Competition. However, most of the younger people in the stands will not know that, thrilling though it is, the competition they are watching is a far cry from the format devised for the Royal Tournament. What are they missing? To answer that, we must go back in time to the origins of the race, to the disastrous opening weeks of the Second Boer War, and to humiliating setbacks inflicted in quick succession between December 10-17, 1899, known ever after as Black Week.

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