Guide to the Plymouth Field Gun Tournament
The first Field Gun competition in Plymouth or the Gun Run as it was called was held as part of the annual Royal Tournament in 1907. Two gun crews comprising eighteen men each from the Royal Navy commands of Devonport, Portsmouth and Chatham took part in the first competition. The tournament basically required the two teams to start at one end of the arena, negotiate obstacles along their way, reassemble their guns once past the obstacles and then upon reaching the other end fire one shot from the guns. The first Plymouth Field Gun Tournament was won by the Devonport command.
Although the course of the tournament underwent many changes over the years, the tournament in itself has remained an extremely popular event with the crowds. A field gun tournament was held in 1999, but was discontinued as a result of low ticket sales and not enough manpower to manage an event of that scale.
However, talks as to whether or not to bring back the tournament by the Government have met with an enthusiastic response from former participants as well as fans of the event who believe the event is a great way to bring to the attention of the masses the good work the Armed Forces do and also create a stronger bond between the teams who compete.
The past participants of the event who hail from Plymouth are already excited and are vociferous as to their stance on the subject. The government is considering reviving the event as part of their plans to bring some sort of recognition to the Armed Forces for all the work done. When this will be possible is sketchy, with a large part of Britain’s armed forces stationed overseas.
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Extra information: A great place for a local tours Cawsands.
