Sgt Braille has been with the Field Gun teams at Wellington College for the last month. And it hurts, and its hard work for a small Bear!!
Many of you will recall the Field Gun from the Royal Tournament, where teams from the Fleet Air Arm, Devonport and Portsmouth competed. The Royal Navy made the sport look easy, whilst in fact each crew member was selected from the finest men throughout the country. The run was then culmination of six months of dedication, fitness, courage, teamwork ... and above all discipline. It has been called the "the toughest mans' team sport in the world"; the boys at Wellington College keep the tradition alive!
The Field Gun run at Wellington was started in 1984 by CPO Edwin Harris, SSI, and Lieutenant Commander S.R. Braidwood R.N. (Ret'd), the C.O. of the Royal Navy Section of the CCF at the time.
The gun and limber are scaled down versions of the real thing, but the rigging and obstacles are full sized. Weighing a total over 2000lbs moving the real gun and limber is an enormous task for full-grown men. Students, with an average age of about 16, train for just the summer term with a gun and limber with a combined weight of just over 700lbs. The Field Gun Run is one of the highlights of Speech Day.
£1025 was raised for Holiday4heroes in collections on Speech Day from spectators, for which we are very grateful.
The team also ran at the Sandhurst Heritage Day on the 20th June, but we were unfortunately asked at a late stage not to cannibalise giving by collecting, given the day was in aid of the Army Benevolent Fund which is a very fine charity in itself and known to us all.
Wellington College Field Guns on YouTube
Incidentally, a team of six boys from Wellington embark to tackle the Welsh 3000's this weekend and will be doing so in support of Holidays4heroes. Sgt Braille will be ascending all 14 peaks. {Sgt BRAILLE wishes he'd brought warmer clothing, and hopes the weather's nice.]
The Wellington College Field Gunners will be running at The British Military Tournament on December 4th-5th at Earls Court later this year. A date to look forward to!
Sincere thanks to the instructors and boys at Wellington; the funds are most gratefully received.
{Ed: And sincere thanks to the whole family ... remember that these are the amazing young people who did The Spatula Challenge for Hols4H.
And if anyone is talking about "the youth of today" ... there is still hope. Hugs and Honey to you all!!]
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Holidays 4 Heroes is an informal group of people that assists wounded service personnel and their families get a precious break from the routine of rehab, hospital appointments and visits to welfare offices by facilitating holidays away from it all in accommodation donated by our sponsors in the UK and abroad. 
Deals with the cases that either lie outside the normal remit of the main Service Charities, or require a faster response than they can usually provide. Sometimes the cases require financial assistance, a little bit of nudging in the right direction for long-term help, or the application of a bit of expertise.