HMS Heron's Field Gun crew receive Commanding Officer's seal of approval

HMS Heron’s field gun crew receive approval from RNAS Yeovilton’s Commanding Officer Niall Griffin ready for the upcoming historic Field Gun competition on the 1 July at HMS Collingwood.

The 28 strong crew consists of 3 support staff and 25 Field gunners ranging from Able Ratings to Officers.  The strenuous training with the Field Gun itself began late-May under the baking sunshine.  The field gun competition has origins going back to 1899 and is an ultimate test of teamwork, leadership, and moral and physical courage. 

Training sessions are intense, RN Able Rating Daniel Pittock who has been serving for a year said, ‘It’s such an impact sport.  You have to learn from being calm on the line to giving 100% then back to being calm and steady. But the thing about Field Gun is the team spirit, it is like nothing else.’

The competition is held annually at HMS Collingwood where 21 crews from units across the military compete for the prestigious Brickwoods trophy. They race to assemble an antique Field Gun run with it, disassembling and reassembling as the competition requires before dramatically dragging the gun back ‘home’.

HMS Heron’s crew is a mixture of Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army personal all stationed at RNAS Yeovilton.

LCpl Grace Green said, ‘I saw the crew practice last year and thought that looks tough! I want to have a go! It is really challenging but it everyone is really lovely.  It has been great to mix with Navy personnel.  It makes the camp feel more inclusive. It’s a great environment. I can’t recommend it enough.’

The crew is highly disciplined, motivated and physically fit individuals.  A testament to Royal Navy fitness both physical and mental.

WO2 Dan Lockey who is running it for the 15th time this year said, ‘The hardest part is definitely keeping mentally cool and handling that emotional rollercoaster of getting yourself psyched up for a run and coming back down again.’ 

He added, ‘I think a lot of it goes from the track to work, things like working under pressure and facing a mental challenge crosses over to handling situations at work.  The physical fitness side of it also helps to make sure we pass our fitness test every year!’

HMS Heron last brought home the Brickwoods trophy in 2018 and RNAS Yeovilton fully backs the HMS Heron Field Gun crew to bring it home again this year.