The Naval Brigades, Part 4: Manning the Drags – The Second Boer War and lessons for the present

The Naval Brigades, Part 4: Manning the Drags – The Second Boer War and lessons for the present

22 Sep 23
Posted by: Lt Jim Robson RN
18 minutes, 26 seconds read
Message from the Editor

The conclusion to the author’s four-part series on the RN’s Naval Brigades, examining here their conduct in the Second Boer War, 1899-1902. The author continues his comparative analysis with respect to the Army, which by the beginning of the 20th century had closed the gap with the RN in terms of professionalism and capability. A 20 minute read.

Today the Royal Navy’s annual Field Gun Competition is a popular public event, forming the centrepiece of displays watched by hundreds and, in the case of Armed Forces Day, thousands of spectators. Such is the popularity of the event that television documentaries have been made charting the training of the RN’s Field Gun crews and their performance in competitions, with local newspapers in naval towns also running stories on the Associations of retired Field Gun Communities.[1] Invariably at these events the gun run is accompanied by a commentary which, for the benefit of the crowd, explains t…

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