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Congratulations to the Wellington Field Gunners who this year mark the 40th Anniversary of the sport at Wellington. For many Wellingtonians the Field Gun run is the most keenly anticipated event of the year, and has become the centrepiece of the annual Speech Day celebrations.
The sport, whose origins date back to 1899, embodies and champions courage, discipline, leadership, and teamwork. It was developed by the Royal Navy to commemorate and replicate the relief of the Siege of Ladysmith during the Boer War. Teams saw sailors compete to transport a field gun, and its equipment, over and through a series of obstacles and became a popular feature of the Royal Tournament between 1907 and 1999. It is a highly technical test of mental and physical strength as this account from Contingent Commander, Sam Wilson reveals.
The Field Gun came to Wellington in 1984, the brainchild of Lieutenant-Commander Simon Braidwood (CR 77-89), who was looking for ways to spice up CCF training, and his account of the early days of Field Gunning at the College can be found here.
The Wellington College Field Gun crew gave their first demonstration on 2 October 1984, on South Front. The following year, 1985, they performed at Speech Day, and have done so ever since. The first girl joined in 2006 and the team now includes boys and girls from all year groups: it is one of the most popular stands at the College Carnival with Wellingtonians of all shapes and sizes keen to enlist.
Wellington is the only school to have embraced the Field Gun, and are now (due to Defence Spending cuts) the only organisation in the world maintaining the “Command” Field Gun tradition. Indeed, when the Royal Tournament was reimagined as the British Military Tournament in 2010, two Wellington teams (Powerful and Terrible) competed for four years at Earls Court.
Field Gun at Military Tournament 2010
Field Gun at Military Tournament 2010
Field Gun at Military Tournament 2010
Well done to all Wellington Field Gunners, both past and present, and here’s to many more successful years celebrating and showcasing this most iconic of sports.
Wellington College’s “Command” Field Gun run (cadet-size) at the British Military Tournament in 2013.
