Americans React: Royal Naval Field Gun Competition | Incredible!

[@gregwatkiss8973]

The history behind this competition is that in 1899 in the Boer war during the siege of Ladysmith, the Royal Navy landed guns from HMS Terrible and HMS Powerful to help relieve the British Army who were under siege by the South African Boer forces. Greg in the UK.

[@AlBarzUK]

My grandmother died in 1996 aged 105. I asked her once if she remembered the relief of Mafeking. “No,” she said “but I remember the relief of Ladysmith when I was seven.” This was a great competition every year. Nice reaction.

[@hannukah812]

It’s part of the Royal Tournament. Made to recreate the sailors carrying field gun equipment from the ships to the battlefield over difficult terrain. Was always a highlight on the TV every year when I was growing up! ☺️

[@Penny-z9b]

From memory the Public were told that it wasn’t the ‘last run’, however the field gunners knew different , that is why they are all wearing a black arm band on their left sleeve. This competition was huge for me growing up as my Dad was Fleet Air Arm and used to take me every year.

[@maximus6622]

The Royal Navy were, are and will always be the best in the world 👏💪

[@angeladormer6659]

We watched the Royal Tattoo every year in my household. My father was in the Royal Marines during the war. We have the best bravest navy in the world. That race always moves me. Thank you to all who serve and have served in any of our armed services. You give so much and I thank you for your service.❤

[@Mullet94]

The event the Field Gun Competition was part was of called the Royal Tournament was cancelled in 1999, I used to go every year as kid and the Field Gun Competition was always the highlight, spectacular to watch

[@AnnMcKinlay-zp2ef]

As someone else said, we used to go to the Royal Tournament every year from about 1954 till it finished. We absolutely adored the Field Gun Competition and always supported the team who were “running” on our side of the stadium. After the show finished we would go back and see the guns and the teams outside the arena. There was always at least one team member having a wound bound up but these huge men were always incredibly kind to any children who came to see them! We were heartbroken when the decision was made, by the government,to abolish the Royal Tournament. The three teams who competed every year were Portsmouth, Devonport and Fleet Air Arm. There is an amazing film ( available on KZbin ) of one of the teams training for this competition. Not surprisingly, they spent months preparing and many of them were injured! There was huge rivalry between the three naval bases and the results of each day’s competitions were swiftly despatched throughout the fleet! I can’t tell you how emotional I have become just thinking back to those occasions.

[@markdevonshire6052]

I think a petition needs to be started to bring back the Royal Tournament 🤔 😊

[@georgebarnes8163]

The event was reinvented in 2010 as The British Military Tournament but only lasted 4 years

[@davidmoor8096]

What happened in 1999 was Tony Blair who cancelled the Royal Tournement and retired HMS Britianna the Royal Yacht. The latter he admitted as a mistake in not replacing. Strangely while he cancelled things in England he left the Edinburgh tattoo alone. (POLITICS?)

[@alanmon2690]

Tony "Education, education,education" Blair was Scottish as was Gordon "I desroyed private pensions" Brown. ..

[@ericbatemanrodgers]

Next you might want to watch manning the mast

[@Rachel_M_]

Absolutely

[@dcbloss7636]

Yes!

[@leefarrar2004]

My Dad ran the field gun trials in the late 60s.. he served in the Royal Navy.. aboard the HMS Ark Royal and HMS Argonaut .. Argonaut was the ship he called the love of his life.. really enjoy your channel mate, really wholesome in a crazy world.. you're a credit to yourselves and a lovely family.. this was awesome.. Best wishes from the UK 🇬🇧

[@jonathanocallaghan9202]

This is a perfect example of why we had the biggest empire in history, because we have men like this that could move mountains. The best description of a field gunner I ever heard was Speed of a racehorse ! Strength of a shire horse ! Brains of a rocking horse ! That being said.. Heroes to a man.

[@razor1uk610]

Please highlight and pin the above comment.

[@judithrichardson3684]

My husband was a Naval Officer who helped to train a field-gun team for the competition (earlier rounds - they were knocked out) back in the 1990s when he was at either HMS Sultan or HMS Daedalus (can't quite recall the year). They work incredibly hard!

[@andrewmurrell4962]

This was part of the Royal tournament at Earls Court, in 1999 it was moved and changed due to costs and man power involved. My Dad was an Army pti and did 3 of these as part of gymnastic display teams in the 50s.

[@jenniehowells1632]

I lived in Portsmouth for 13 years and the Navy lads (Matlow) train ALL year for this. We managed to get tickets to this, the final Royal Tournament. Obviously we were supporting Portsmouth. Was simply AMAZING!!!!

[@Pomdownuder]

This was an important part of Navy life, results were telegraphed around the fleet all round the world.The Field Gun Run competition commemorates the Royal Navy's involvement in the relief of Ladysmith 119 day seige during the Boer War in 1899 - 1900.

[@awall1701]

I remember watching the Royal Naval Field Gun competition at the Royal Tournament in 1984 when I was 13/14 years old. The whole of the Royal Tournament was a memorable experience. I still have my program that I purchased.

[@davidwatts-hw2dh]

One word. ROYAL NAVY.🥰

[@pamelsims2068]

Um.... two?? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🥰

[@daveholmes6570]

😂​@@pamelsims2068

[@vinnyganzano1930]

Gee must have been great to sail to war in a nice cushy ship, or fly in a nice warm zippy wee plane, then there's me walking miles in the fecking rain sodding army😉

[@Jill-mh2wn]

Huzzah, Huzzah, Huzzah !

[@suehayward656]

I LOVED watching this as a child

[@richt71]

Hi Guys This run is based on the Boer war where naval troops ran with cannon's in all terrain to the front line. I saw this live a number of times when I was a cub scout in the early 80's. While the whole military tournament is fun with a number of different competitions across all the armed forces being on display, this competition was my favourite. As you can hear the atmosphere was fever pitch for it! They cut the tournament back and back until no more due to budget cuts and funds going elsewhere to the military services. Btw. The names are the names of UK naval bases that compete. I believe they compete with each other to get to this stage.

[@NanaKaren1953]

Hi both. When I travelled with my husband who was in the merchant navy we had a bosun who had been in the royal navy and had competed in this twice. Not many people had done it twice up until then [1978]. In his 2nd year he lost 1cm from the top of his middle finger, didn't even know until the end of the competition. They didn't attempt to find it in all the dirty sand!! It was an annual part of the Royal Tournament a much loved event in London that my parents took me to at Earls Court every year as we lived in London. When I had my own children, we travelled up from Wales on the coach as often as possible. They had entries from all parts of our forces and from overseas. Look up The Royal Tournament. Thank you for the memories. Nana Karen UK x

[@martingibbs1179]

In the late 90s the Blair's Labour government cut the funding for the military in a big way, so the military had no choice but to end the royal tournament as there were no longer enough military personnel to have a team training for the competitions and fulfil the militarises other obligations.

[@susanashcroft2674]

To think 25 years on those children in the audience will no doubt be the same age as you two! Thanks for reminding me of this event which I used to watch with my dad.

[@btsb60]

In my 60s grew up watching this and the mast topping ceremony with the button boy all sadly no more

[@RockyBobbieBuster]

Another BRILLIANT video for you both to react to is "what it takes to win the Victoria cross" presented by former top gear host and often controversial Jeremy Clarkson, say what you want about Clarkson BUT he definitely knows how to present a military video, be happy, safe and healthy everyone ✌️

[@Steve-ys1ig]

When I was in the Navy and shore-based I used to see the Field Gun training. It was a big thing back then and you supported wherever you were based.

[@Grez6232]

I saw this race live three or four times. It was never less than awe-inspiring, terrifying, testosterone fuelled, amazing, etc. Loved it. I think in ended because it was getting too expensive to run, and the risk of extremely serious injury was huge.

[@anglosaxon5874]

I was a medic in the Royal Navy in the 70/80's and we used to get a few men in with hand injuries etc. We had/have some great traditions/sports including the RN 'Mast display'.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

😂 My dad was both the scrawny kid who climbed to the very top of the mast and competed on a gun run team in Portsmouth.

[@juliarabbitts1595]

The Field Gun competition has continued but it’s not broadcast anymore; now it happens over a weekend with more teams.

[@paulineolist1124]

We looked forward to the Tournament every year.We lived in Earls Court ,coming home from primary school we would clamber over the tank that was parked outside,my brother broke his thumb on it and our neighbour broke his arm,no health and safety in those days ha ha.Thank you for reminding me of such great times

[@rachelquirey7099]

My x2 great Uncle from Ulster won back in the early 1900s while serving in the Royal Navy. He survived the battle of Jutland as a stoker and a Petty Officer, then later became a Diver in full brass metal helmet helping to survey Australia and New Zealand. You need excellent lungs and a fit physical high standard class to take part in this race, and he was hand picked. I have an old photo of him standing next to the gun at the race. He used to drink a crate of Guinness to keep his iron levels up.

[@Jeni10]

The first closeup of the spectators showed Princess Anne.

[@vinnyganzano1930]

Wish she was our Monarch rather than Charles.

[@LilMonkeyFella87]

A lot like to say it stopped due to injuries, but the more official reasoning was down to it being "a strain on resources" . As an alternative now, they do the "Junior Leaders Field Gun Competition" , but it's not as crazy as this

[@paulcullen814]

The Royal Tournament was a military show held at Earls Court in London. The last Royal Tournament was held in 1999. The field gun race was one of the main parts of the tournament.

[@georgebarnes8163]

Technically the last event was in 2013 when the event was renamed The British Military Tournament

[@Gail-dr3he]

Watching this brought me to tears 😢 Memories of watching with family and getting so involved, shouting at the TV. Thank you for sharing it ❤

[@davidhyams2769]

The Siege of Ladysmith was part of the 2nd Boer War in South Africa between the British and Dutch (Boers), essentially because the British wanted to annex the Dutch territories. The town of Ladysmith was under siege by the Boers for almost 4 months. Guns from Royal Navy ships were taken overland to help break the siege.

[@ChiefWizard666]

The Boers were not all of Dutch descent. Many were from other European countries, including the UK. They actually refer to themselves as Afrikaners but were referred to by the British as Boers, the Afrikaans word for farmer, because basically they were farmers. The territory that they settled in, mainly the Transvaal and the Orange Free State were not Dutch but were 'Free States', as the Afrikaners did not want to live under the rule of any other country, which was their main reason for moving from The Cape Colony and Natal up to these territories.

[@heatherhorner412]

The way they just flipped the cannon over the wall making it look effortless

[@SeanHendy]

I met a guy some years ago who had been part of one of the teams in the 80s. He got squished during the race and that was the end of his Navy career. Despite that, he was proud to have been part of this Navy tradition.

[@donavinvanwyk9033]

The Gun Run as it was called in the South African Navy was performed at Military Exhibitions in South Africa as well being a tradition at Passing Out Parades for Naval Personnel

[@garyfallows1123]

This event was one of the greatest things you will ever see, and watching the last running of this I was in tears, winning this event meant everything to the guys who had taken part over the years, something else you should check out is Top Secret Drum Corps Vs HM Royal marines 🇬🇧

[@irenazientek3565]

Many years ago, there was a BBC documentary that followed the training the teams underwent for this competition. The number of injuries was scary and the sheer guts and hard work was incredibly humbling.

[@paulamatt614]

I remember I went to see this with my dad, it was in the 1980’s. Sadly dad passed away in 2010, but got that many other fond memories.

[@PLuMUK54]

I know that you have already reacted to "Manning the Mast", but I'm sure it would interest Lindsey.

[@anglosaxon5874]

You need to listen more. It's quite plain to understand re how long ago [he said a "Century". We had a Boer War in South Africa [1899 - The British Empire vs the Africaans (Dutch farmers)] and the navy needed to rescue a town called Ladysmith [east part of South Africa] so had to carry/pull some ships guns to their and then return them to the ship later as they didn't have horses onboard the ship or vehicles like today..

[@stevenburgess2856]

Perhaps Steve hasn't heard of the Boer War. 👍

[@sharonmartin4036]

It's "Afrikaans". There is no 'c' used in the Afrikaans written or spoken language, although it is in the Afrikaans alphabet. The word 'Boer' means farmer, but they were not Dutch farmers. The Dutch settlers colonised South Africa in the 1600's. By the time of the Boer war the population was no longer "Dutch". In the interim there had been the French Huguenot refugees, and then the English settlers in 1820, so by 1899 the population was cosmopolitan, although the majority of whites and coloureds (Mulato) spoke Afrikaans.

[@jeanlongsden1696]

one of the things I love about this channel, is that you are really interested in the subjects that get recommended to you. most YT channels would just watch the video and say "let us know in the comments about this subject" as they are only interested in the likes and don't care about the subject. where as you actually hit up Wiki to educate yourself.

[@enemde3025]

We used to watch this every year until Health and Safety was invented !! LUMP IN THE THROAT AND GOOSEBUMPS !!!

[@Spitfire67UK]

its cancellation was nothing to do with health and safety

[@kimberleyelizabethbailes-ql9qk]

My cousins competed in the Fleet Air team , my brother trained for it and injured himself before it was cancelled

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

I remember watching it at the Royal Tournament on tv , and locally the Portsmouth crews would do practice races or displays at local events .

[@peckelhaze6934]

This relives, in competition now, the cross country run, in 1989, of the navy in the Second Boer War to assist the British army under siege. The names were two British ships that six guns were taken from. There were several injuries in these competitions, including lost fingers.

[@razor1uk610]

Hi. Erm sorry, but you typoed the date, (and perhaps forgot the ships names?,) so I thought to inform you kindly of it incase you wish to use your comment's edit function. o7 (salutes)

[@stuartbonner8598]

Loved going to the Roal tournament with my Grandad, seeing this in person was amazing

[@Stephens_Rocket]

Really glad you looked up the meaning and significance at the end, they used to show this on the TV every year when I was growing up and it was always exciting, made even more so by having the well-known sports commentator Barry Davies doing the announcing.

[@Sams_EnglishCountyTravels]

When men were men. They spoke about the Boer War, which was the British Vs the Dutch in South Africa.

[@Steve_RobbieRaygun]

" men were men" Grow up.

[@sharonmartin4036]

Not Vs "the Dutch". Dutch people are from Holland or The Netherlands. The Boers were Afrikaners, the descendants of Dutch, French, Portuguese and English colonisers.

[@SharonStott-m9o]

It's a shame this field gun comp isn't still going,I used to watch it every year with my Dad.❤

[@KayHerbert-z2v]

We used to watch these amazing guys practise at HMS Daedalus in Lee On Solent . What hard work they did . 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Yeah i was just watching the marines video and thought gun run. That's a 3,685 pound gun. This is a sport that shatters bone and severs limbs.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

The 90s were good times, the final Royal Tournament was in 1999. So were the 80s, that's when they held the first Tournament. _The 1880s_

[@MostlyPennyCat]

"Is that the reason they did this" That and it's horribly dangerous. We are British remember. 😂

[@Defender200tdi]

It simulates carrying the guns over rough terrain, over walls, through a breach in a wall and swing over a rock chasm using a zip line supported by the men who hold the spars and have to support the weight of not only the gun but the team as well.

[@markmosley3547]

It’s still done by civilian and cadet groups but the official competition was part of the Royal Tournament which finished in 1999 for financial reason.

[@claregale9011]

Hi Guys , used to love watching this as a youngster . Me and my sister would pick a team and cheer them on . 😊

[@skipper409]

The relief of the siege of Ladysmith, an inland town in South Africa, in the Boer War, British sailors hauled guns from the coast, to attack the besieging Boer Forces that had trapped a British garrison. The race represents all the natural obstacles the sailors had to overcome to get the guns to the town due to the lack of made roads.

[@scotch_mist]

Blasted health and safety getting in the way of good fun. :D I remember watching this as a child every year, and so many other things!

[@georgebarnes8163]

Nowt to do with health and safety, it was all down to the massive costs involved

[@susansmiles2242]

This competition is still going but is now a charity event where 21 teams compete from across all arms of the armed forces. There used to be an event called “Manning the Mast” which is worth taking a look at but only if you have a good head for height’s 😂

[@johnadey9464]

"Health and safety" happened just because there were afew lost fingers and broken bones each time, it got stopped.

[@johnwilletts3984]

Royal Navy Sailors have a very long history of quickly landing guns and so supporting the army. But this is a recreation of an event in the Boer War. The result of this race was broadcast to the British fleet every year.

[@anit4525]

I used to take my kids to this and they also went with the scouts.

[@davesimpson5702]

In 1999 the last Annual Military Show The Royal Tournament (NB in the video Princess Anne was there and prize giving) held in London (at Earls Court) was stopped. It was an annual military display involving all 3 UK services and Commonwealth and NATO military visitors. It was a fabulous display of military prowess of which the Field Gun competiton was the climax. The field gun competiton continues but is often at lesser displays now - often at Edinburgh Castle in August

[@colinbirks5403]

If they are mobile, they are field guns. If they are fixed locations, they are cannons. Object? Dismantle the field guns, relocate them over obstacles, and reassemble them.

[@Dasyurid]

Saw this for myself when I was a kid. Dad took us to the Royal Tournament when it was on at Earl’s Court Arena in London, I think when I was about 10 or 11. In the concourse there were lots of exhibits and displays put on by various parts in the British military, and even a small shooting range that let people fire a .22LR training rifle (I remember being annoyed that I was too young and not allowed, but Dad had a go - the first shooting since his National Service days). And there’d be armoured vehicles you could sit in/on and I remember a Rapier missile display with the launcher turning around. But the highlight of the day was the events going on in the main arena, topped by the Field Gun Competition. Amazing on TV, incredible when you’re a ten year old and it’s live. There was also a silent drill display by an American unit, which I think must’ve been the US Marines because I know they’re famous for that. That was as impressive in its quiet precision as the field gun comp was in its noisy adrenaline fuelled action. So that’s a flavour of what the Royal Tournament was. I think falling visitor numbers were behind its cancellation after 1999, which was a shame because it really was quite a spectacular event, and everyone who’s ever seen the field gun race misses it. Perhaps if they’d put it on for a shorter period or something it might have survived, but I assume people who know better than me did the numbers and thought it wasn’t a goer. 😞

[@austinwiththehat]

We used to regularly go to this for school trips

[@RockyBobbieBuster]

It was inspired by men who fought in the beor war, the beor war was fought in Africa in 1899 (i think)

[@martinalloway6980]

It wasn’t health and safety it was the cost of holding the competition. Each group, HSM Drake, HMS Nelson and Fleet Air Arm had to train several teams over a number of months. There were just too many personnel locked up in the race. It was deemed an unnecessary cost on the military budget and scrapped. Shame as I always looked forward to it, Supporting HMS Drake and Devonport.

[@Suprahampton]

Used to watch the field gun run as a kid

[@peterbrown1012]

Lady Smith was under siege from the Boers in Sputh Aftica, the Royal Navy removed their guns from their ships and transported across land to release the siege. LadySmith is named after the Spanish of Sir Harry Smith, governor of the cape colony, he married Juana María de los Dolores de León during the Peninsula wars in Spain, she was trapped at the siege of Badajoz and Caprain Harry Smithof the 95th rifles rescued her and married her a few days later.

[@BikersDoItSittingDown]

Hi Steve & Lindsay, Thank you for this video. I did love watching this competition. It is even more impressive to see at earls court. When these guys are not doing this, most entertain themselves by playing rugby. They do consider this competition run of a few minutes to be much harder than a 90 minute game of rugby. (sorry rugby fans, but it is!)

[@vaudevillian7]

Portsmouth and Devonport (Plymouth) are the main naval bases in England It stopped being a public event after this essentially, they still run it privately.

[@petersheppard6085]

I remember seeing a TV show about them training for this...of course, they don't all get selected for the Team, and there were enormous burly Sailors openly weeping, when they were told.....On one occasion, a Sailor lost a finger during training, and another picked it up, and put it in his pocket...for a joke...lol

[@vaudevillian7]

A mate of mine I sailed with did this twice, and they held the record for quite a while

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

The siege of Ladysmith was during the 2nd Boer War in South Africa in 1899 - 1900. After the Boers (Dutch descendents) has besieged the British garrison in Ladysmith for 120 days, Royal Navy gun crews carried their field guns overland and destroyed the besieging Boers, thus ending the siege. This competition ended when the Royal Tournament was cut for financial reasons. There is still a similar competition using lighter guns carried out by RN cadets.

[@cheryltotheg2880]

Gosh I forgot about this. Incredible.

[@sterrissar]

Also try to see the Royal Navy mast manning display

[@dianeknight4839]

Always used to love watching this. It is made all the4 more4 exciting by picking a side and cheering them on. It is now more on an international with navy & maries competing in heats up to the final. They always used to feature in the Christmas tattoo from Earls Court, though now adays it is rarely televised.

[@sharonmartin4036]

The 2 miles was only the part of the journey that they carried one of the the guns because of a collapsed wheel. They "ran" these guns over rough terrain, up and down hills and over rivers, etc., for many more miles than just the two at the end because of the broken wheel. It took 6 days to do this very real gun run, from landing, through gun assembly, to arrival at Ladysmith in order to assist British forces during the siege.

[@Bobmeanstreak]

There's another old tradition. Button boy. This is where a young recruit climbs the mast of a training ship and then slides down on a pulley. No mean feat. Best one is the button girl, she has balls of steel!!

[@YummyBrummy]

What they are carrying is in the title. Field gun

[@paolow1299]

Transferring equipment from one ship at sea to another. naval skills on show .

[@stuarthumphrey1787]

The battle of Ladysmith was fought in the colony of Natal, South Africa during the Boer War

[@smudge790]

Videos of a similar theme or nature are - Climbing The mast - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXfIhoJnh5hgm8k or Royal Engineers Bridge building - kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4WomWRufbWKfpI

[@ianlove1215]

The Royal Tournament was the world's largest military tattoo and pageant, held by the British Armed Forces annually between 1880 and 1999. The venue was originally the Royal Agricultural Hall and latterly the Earls Court Exhibition Centre. In its later years it also acted as a fundraising event for leading forces charities, such as The Royal British Legion. After the Second World War, the Tournament once again moved to a larger stage and opened its doors to the public at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in 1950. With the exception of the war years, the Tournament was staged every summer from 1880 to 1999. The Royal Tournament was the first and biggest Military Tattoo in the World. Towards the end ticket sales were insufficient to cover costs; the 1998 Royal Tournament made a loss. On Monday 2 August 1999, the Royal Tournament closed for the final time to reduce military costs, following the 1998 Strategic Defence Review. 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.

[@dgse83]

The event commemorates a event in the Boear War and the relief of the town of Ladysmith (what is now in South Africa) involving naval brigades drawn from the British fleet at Simonstown and men from HM Ships Terrible and Powerful. Carrying guns from the ships to stop the siege (short version!)

[@susansmiles2242]

The old army barracks in the town where I grew up was called the Ladysmith barracks renamed in recognition of the actions of the Manchester regiment in the siege of Ladysmith. It was originally the Wellington barracks so the pub across from the main gates is called The Heroes of Waterloo

[@Rob1972Gem]

This is why you never messed with the UK. noticed I said messed not too sure we could do that today well the health and safety in HR department would never allow it

[@jackchisnall9316]

You will also love the Manning the Mast competion especialy the girl who tops out.

[@vallejomach6721]

Origins: Second Boer War in South Africa...the specific incident during that conflict they are referring to was that of the battle and siege of Ladysmith 1899. The Boers (Dutch) outnumbered the British force 2 to 1...with 10,000 British troops to 21,000 Boers + artillery. Following a disaster for the British at the battle of Ladysmith they retreated to the town, which had already been used as a staging point/garrison for the British and further fortified it as best as was possible. The Dutch, rather than carry their momentum toward Durban, instead lay siege to Ladysmith. The siege went on for almost 3 months, by the end of which time food and supplies were almost non-existent and various diseases ran amok...typhoid etc. The British were pretty much on their last legs until the Royal Navy managed to land artillery at Simonstown which was about 900 miles away...the guns were then transported over land to Ladysmith some distance by rail, but some was by hand over extremely difficult terrain...hence the origin of this event. The resulting reinforcement ultimately led to an end of the siege and a British victory. 4 Victoria crosses were awarded for the action. Winston Churchill was present as a war correspondent and Mahatma Ghandi as a stretcher bearer.

[@andrewobrien6671]

You really need to check out The Royal Navy manning the mast. That will set the butterflies in your stomach off.

[@ianroper2812]

Just to clarify, the Boer war was a conflict between the British empire and the two Boer republics and orange free state. The two teams represent the two teams from the Royal Navy ships who came to the rescue of the British Army, by using their own power they moved two guns and armoury through fields, through walls over hedges etc and held off the opposition. Not forgetting that the equipment weighed over a ton. It was used in latter day as a recruitment drive but there was a military tattoo every year, showing off each of the different elements of the military, from Army Navy and Airforce.

[@ferchrissakes]

6:03 “the men who inspired this race with the carrying of naval gun to help relieve Ladysmith from the Boers a century ago” is what he said. I.e. some guys once carried some cannons to help out some other guys fighting some other-other guys, and now they do it for fun for some reason. Basically, things got so colonially screwed up in (what is today) South Africa that not only did the white guys end up fighting other white guys over it, but they made it into a weird military sporting event in commemoration. Truly peak British Empire behavior.

[@seanmurphy1704]

Apparently egot the merciless was laying siege to Ladysmith black mambaza in the village of thripton on sea, the royal navy was sent in to sell some field guns to morphos the magnificent who was defenceless but knew queen victoria very well.

[@Spitfire67UK]

This was always a great watch. Sadly cancelled due to cost NOT health and safety. Our armed forces are not what they were and the cost in both personnel and money was to much. When my young lad was at boys brigade (8) they did this using wooden props it was absolutely brilliant.

[@fishtigua]

The Navy built huge ships to carry these cannon. These boys took them off the ships and man-handled them all the way to Ladysmith. It was finished by the Govt. because fingers and body parts got crushed in the races.

[@BrandibuildsYT]

Please react to "The Chase" funniest moments. The chase is a TV show in the UK. It is basically A team of 4 random competitors answer general knowledge questions. They then go up against "the chaser" some of the smartest people on the planet. And the team have to bank as much money as possible, then answer as many questions as possible in the final chase, to try and set a record for the chaser. If the chaser answers the same number of questions correctly in the time limit, he has caught the team. If they do not, then the team wins and takes home the money. There are a LOT of hilarious moments from this show, would love for you to react to it!

[@nigelleyland166]

One never tires of watching people view this for the first time. Remember Ladysmith.

[@markdevonshire6052]

There isn't a like button big enough for this one 😊, I was fortunate enough to be at the Royal Tournament in 1995, which was very special as was the 50th anniversary of the end of ww2, and there was obviously still many veterans still around at that time including a few from ww1, also went to festival of remembrance that year too so some very memorable experiences 😊. They really should bring this back and the Royal tournament too as was great to watch on tv too