Back in about 1989 I went to Portsmouth on a rugby tour to play against a Royal Navy Field Gun Team.
Some of our team (Whitchurch Hospital Cardiff RFC) were on sabbatical from the Royal Navy, and gave the following stern advice the evening before the game, “watch out for the Field Gun players with missing fingers… they have no sense of fear, don’t feel pain and are absolutely committed to winning”. “Whatever you do, don’t pick a fight with them!”
This was obviously expressed in slightly more colourful language at 10pm in the bar, and I’ll leave it up to your imagination as to what was actually said.
Imagine my joy the next day to discover my opposite number had a missing finger on his right hand (and some missing teeth, but that’s pretty routine for the front row). He wasn’t the most technically effective Tighthead Prop I’ve ever played against, but probably the strongest and liveliest. I can’t actually remember who won the game, but we certainly lost the post match ‘entertainment’ by several nautical miles.
I never managed to sum up the courage to ask my opposite number why he was missing a finger, but this is the story that was told by my Royal Navy teammates… Before you read on have a look at this video of the Field Gun event from the Royal Tournament in 1999.
Field Gun has a remarkable history well worth reading about, going back to the siege of Ladysmith during the Boer War in 1900. The competition developed from this and involved two teams of 18 Royal Navy personnel transporting a field gun plus ammunition carriage around an obstacle course. That sounds reasonable until you actually see it in action.
With 900 pound gun barrels and other chunks of metal flying through the air and crashing together it is terrifying. It is an incredible thing to watch in terms of the individual skills, commitment and how they all fit together perfectly as a team to deliver the end result.
Back to the missing finger. The story goes that during one of the ‘runs’ of the assembled field gun it wasn’t unknown for a pin that secures the wheel on the axle to go missing. To avoid losing the race one of the highly committed team members would insert a finger into the pin hole, keep the wheel on the axle and get the team across the line to victory.
The inevitable action of: metal + finger + metal + frantic movement = bye-bye finger.
This of course could have been an urban myth. There was no YouTube in 1989 for me to check, though having recently found this video of Field Gun training I’m quite glad I didn’t see what I was about to face. It’s fairly obvious that you could very easily lose a finger, or sustain any number of other dreadful injuries during just about any part of the exercise. The story did however make for excellent motivation and keep me on my toes throughout the rugby game.
Field Gun doesn’t exist nowadays in the Royal Tournament format shown in the 1999 video. I’m not sure of the reasons why, but defence cuts have been suggested and I bet health and safety probably had something to do with it.
As an example of astonishing levels of teamwork, motivation, commitment (and missing fingers) Field Gun is an incredible example. I’m not sure how you would replicate any of this in the current climate, or in non-military organisations, but it’s worth thinking about.
One final thought. Imagine Field Gun as an Olympic sport? An interesting alternative to beach volleyball…
So, what’s the PONT?
- Fear can be a great motivator, it worked for me.
- The smallest action within a team activity can have a big impact on the overall result. A dropped axle pin could result in losing a wheel, the race and a finger.
- People will do astonishing things if they are highly motivated and committed to the team objectives.
Links to picture and videos of Field Gun:
Picture. Royal Tournament, Earls Court 1975, Source https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Optreden_van_de_Royal_Navy_Field_Gun_Competition,_Bestanddeelnr_928-0527.jpg
http://youtu.be/32s4qCCFnmk 1999 Royal Tournament Field Gun Competition. This is an astonishing spectacle. Amazing teamwork.
http://youtu.be/-wmOv5TCE9U Portsmouth Action Field Gun Team Recruitment video 2010.
http://youtu.be/eRY-wiAkpNE Field Gun Interviews. Described as the most dangerous team sport in the world. The training looks terrifying.
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