JFC Naples Field Gun Crew Prepare To Win With A Bang

JFC Naples Field Gun Crew has been preparing for Brickwood's Field Gun competition since March.

The yearly event, which takes place at HMS Collingwood in Hampshire, features teams from all across the UK, including Gibraltar.

However, JFC Naples is the only multinational crew in the competition, with members from the US, Croatia, Turkey, Germany, Italy, France and, obviously, the UK.

"I think they're all slightly bemused when they start off," said Lt Commander Stephen Walton, "But they absolutely love it, they get into it. 

"They understand the key components of military ethos: team work, comradery, courage, loyalty."

The origins of Royal Navy Field Gun go all the way back to 1899, during the Second Boer War, when the Royal Navy landed guns from HM ships to relief the Boer fighters' siege.

Each year since 1907, the events of the battle have been commemorated in the form of annual Field Gun competitions. 

US Army Sgt Edison Perchartle, one of the participants, said:

"For the international team here it's an amazing opportunity to really experience the British culture."

During the competition, each crew of 18 field gunners races to assemble an antique field gun and run with it, disassembling and reassembling as required, before dramatically dragging it back to position.

This year's Brickwood's Field Gun competition will take place on the 3 June.

In the last edition, the JFC Naples crew walked away with a first-place finish in the plate 3 final.