Men of Air

When I got to HMS Daedalus in July 1981, one of the first Naval traditions I was introduced to was

the Field Gun Competition. The Fleet Air Arm Field Gun Crew (also known as ‘Men of Air’) was based at Daedalus where every summer about 50 or so big muscular men descended on the camp to train and compete in the Royal Tournament which took place at Earls Court in London for a couple of

weeks.

The history of the Field Gun event came from the Battle of Ladysmith in the Boer war when a group

of sailors hauled gun carriages across the battle field. In doing so they had to be dismantled many times to get them over and across obstacles. They succeeded and have since been remembered by this battle of strength, skill and endurance between three Naval Crews. The Air Command, wearing green, Portsmouth wearing red and Devonport who wore blue. Racing against each other over a course to see who is the fastest to Get through two walls, over a chasm on a wire and reach the finish with a sprint pulling the gun and carriage behind them.

The first year I saw them, I knew very little about the significance of the event and despite going

along to see them train on an evening once or twice didn’t have much to do with them. The girls

who hung around most evenings were known as Gunny Bunnies, so I obviously wasn’t going to be

one of those.

The field gunners were sailors who wanted a challenge, were ultra-fit and very strong.

They had to pass all the fitness tests carried out beforehand before being released by their ship to

compete in the competition and then returned afterwards. They had their own gym and training

facilities, a mess, galley and bar of their own at the top of the camp and stayed there mostly apart from

when running around the camp carrying huge tree trunks between them on their way to the beach

where they ran miles on the shingle. They had to be totally committed, often getting injured in

training – resulting in them either being sent back to their ship or forcing themselves to train

through the pain. The best were selected for the ‘A’ crew, the standby were in ‘B’ Crew, and

replaced any injured or those who didn’t make the grade. It wasn’t unusual to see bloody bandages

and stitches being used at the track. This video shows the 1989 B crew training at Daedalus.

The real runs at Earls Court were the pinnacle of the summer. They had to have that .02 of a second

on the other crews. Trainers were ex gun crew members and knew what it was like to run there,

with the crowd screaming for a certain team. One slip, a second’s hesitation and it would be lost.

They marched out to the sound of Heart of Oak – a naval tune that never fails to give me goose

pimples. They get into position, the Field Gun Commander stood between the two teams with his

pistol ready to start them. Tension filled the air, taught muscles ready to spring, breathing deep but

steady…Bang!  This video shows what happens next...Features the 1985 Field Gun Crew who I saw train through the summer at HMS Daedalus.

The second time I went to Daedalus I was Ships Company and not bogged down with all the work

and rules of basic training so could walk around freely and had lots more spare time. It was around

this time that one night while out having a drink with a few friends I got chatting to a rather good

looking guy I hadn’t seen before. We got on really well and I discovered that he had just arrived for

field gun training. I spent a lot of the summer sat amongst the black dust of the field gun track

watching Steve train and get battered and bruised in the process. Being a gunny girlfriend meant I

got to see the hard work and pain that they go through to get every little bit of a run perfect. Over

and over they practiced each stage. When they were ready they would practice full runs. They ate

like horses, and ached constantly from cuts and bruises. I had 100% respect for what they were

doing after that.

Steve was on the carriage and had to slip the barrel at a certain part as they crossed the chasm on a
wire. He came very close to serious injury several times because of timing or incorrect positioning.
He never made it to A crew but was happy to be in B crew and got to do runs at the public run
evenings they had as they approached the Royal Tournament.

They packed up and left Daedalus for London. It was really hot as they continued to train hard and
also do some publicity stuff around the city. They had accommodation in the upper floor of the
arena, and were pretty much under full control of Number One and Number Two Trainers in the last
few days before the tournament started, so other than an odd phone call I heard nothing.

I got the phone call from Steve one afternoon. He was at Woolwich Military Hospital. He had
broken his arm when the barrel slipped and bounced up smashing into his forearm.. He could barely
speak to me. I knew what this meant for him. He was totally devastated. I drove straight up to
Woolwich from Portsmouth to see him. At first he was distant and angry, didn’t want consoling, and
just wanted to be left alone. He needed an operation to put a plate in his arm. I arranged to stay in
the family’s accommodation for a couple of nights so he had someone there for him as he
recovered. His Royal Tournament had ended, and because he didn’t actually ‘run’ during the official
event, he didn’t get a Field Gun medal, despite the fact that he trained right up to a couple of days
before. I think this hurt him a lot more than the broken arm. All that hard work and commitment
and nothing to show for it.

Unfortunately the Royal Tournament ended in 1999, and with it the annual Field Gun competition.
Like many traditions, it continued through the Brickwoods Field Gun competition which is held
between camps, and although not as intense as the other one, keeps up the challenge between
crews, running for bragging rights.

The Fleet Air Arm Field Gun mess and track is now a housing estate on the edge of the airfield, gone
but never forgotten by those who gave blood, sweat and tears to run for the glory of being winners
of the Royal Tournament Field Gun Competition.