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 and run on a flat track continues to be competed for on an annual basis at HMS Collingwood.
The origins of the field gun competition lie in the Second Boer War in South Africa. The legendary story tells of the siege of the British garrison in Ladysmith in 1899. In support of the British Army, the Royal Navy landed guns from HMS Terrible and Powerful to help in the relief of the siege. The Naval Brigade transported guns over difficult terrain and brought them into action against the Boers.
The Royal Navy landed two 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns and four 12-pounder naval guns creating improvised field guns using makeshift gun carriages. The guns were transported inland by rail and then drawn on makeshift carriages by oxen. For the final part of the journey, sailors from the Naval Brigade manhandled the guns over very difficult terrain. One story tells of sailors carrying one of the 12-pounder guns for 2 miles (3.2 km) after one of the wheels collapsed.
The siege of Ladysmith lasted for 120 days until February 1900. On their return home, the sailors from the Naval Brigade paraded their guns through London and appeared at the Royal Naval and Military Tournament at the Agricultural Hall, Islington. Displays of field gun drill continued in subsequent years.
A precursor to the competition lay in the presentation of Field Gun 'Evolutions' including one performed by Miss Weston’s Naval Boy’s Brigade from Portsmouth at the Royal Albert Hall on 21 October 1905 as part of the Centenary Commemoration of the Battle of Trafalgar. A film clip of this evolution survives from the period which was filmed by Alfred J West for his popular 'Our Navy' film presentations in the early 1900s.
The Interport ("Command") Field Gun competition was established in 1907 and was a highlight of the Royal Tournament until the Last Run in 1999.
Information on the period 1908 to 1922 is scanty, but it seems that apart from the periods of war the Brickwood Trophy was competed for each year. There have been many changes to the competition. The 1907 challenge involved a team of 17 scaling a 5-foot-high (1.5 m) obstacle on a 75-yard-long (69 m) course and returning. In 1947 the course consisted of seven "very stiff obstacles" over a distance of 440 yards (400 m) each way. Today 18 strong teams compete over an 85-yard-long (78 m) flat track, a total run of 170 yards (160 m).
The "Brickwoods" trophy itself is a reproduction in silver of a 12-pounder field gun and a gun crew of seven sailors. The names of the winners of the trophy are engraved on small shields up to and including 1961 and plates for winners since 1962. Originally mounted on a black ebony stand, this was replaced in 1961 by the current polished wooden base. At this time the winners' shields transferred to the new mounting, although not in the same order as they had appeared on the previous stand.
The original stipulation by Brickwood that the trophy was only open to teams from within Portsmouth continued until 1975 when the competition was widened to include bases from around the country. The trophy left Portsmouth Command for the first time in 1978 as a result of HMS Fisgard's win. HMS Gannet's win in 1997 took the trophy to Scotland for the first time.
Before the First World War the competition was moved from the RN Barracks to Whale Island, where it continued until 1973; the following year it transferred to HMS Collingwood, its famously large parade ground reputed to have once held as many as 8,000 ratings is the perfect setting for the event.
HMS Collingwood itself has had a good record in the competition, having won the Brickwood Trophy 16 times between 1957 and 2006. Records for completing the course have continued to be broken. The Royal Marines set a new record in 1924 of 1 minute 24.40 seconds. This was exceeded in seven subsequent years and eventually in 1938 HMS Excellent achieved 1 minute 13.40 seconds.
After the war, with a different course and drill, Victoria Barracks achieved 1 minute 27.40 seconds in 1954. HMS Collingwood cut that to 1 minute 26.80 seconds in 1962. The record was lowered to 1 minute 19.40 seconds by HMS Daedalus in 1988. HMS Collingwood beat this by running a time of 1 minute 18.80 seconds in 2001. In 2011 HM Naval Base Portsmouth set a new record of 1 min 17.78 seconds.
Brickwood maintained a close interest in the competition over the years. In 1969 Sir Rupert Brickwood Bart presented the trophy and tankards and a firkin of Brickwood's beer to the winning team. In 1971 Brickwood's business was acquired by London-based brewers Whitbread & Co Ltd. The Royal Navy Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) have take over as the main event sponsor but the Brickwood's trophy remains.
After a century this spectacle of toughness, courage, discipline and teamwork is still going strong.
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