The Royal Tournament, Earls Court (Updated)

Royal Tournament, Field Gun Race 1999

 

 Royale Studio's catalogue description for the 'Navy Gash' storyette describes the models as being members of the '1959 Earl's Court, Chatham Gun Crew'. Don Avard, one of Royale's first models, was reported to be a member of the 1957 Chatham crew (in Adonis, May 1958). 

 

This identifies them as being (or having been) real sailors in the Royal Navy. It's a reference to the Field Gun Race, which was part of  'The Royal Tournament', a military display which the UK military services used to put on annually at the Earls Court arena in South West London. It ran up until 1999 when it was halted on the grounds of cost, but is still revived occasionally for charity events.

 

Royal Windsor Tattoo 2010

 

The Royal Tournament featured displays from all three services - marching bands, army gymnastics, dog-handling skills and formation displays by motorcycle riders, cavalry and artillery regiments. 'The Field Gun Race' (illustrated above) was one of the most popular events. It originally involved four Royal Navy crews*, representing the naval dockyards of Chatham, Portsmouth and Devonport, plus the Fleet Air Arm, all competing against each other to dismantle a cannon, ferry it across and through various obstacles and then reassemble it and fire it before their opponents could beat them to it. 

 

*Chatham dropped out of the competition after 1960, I don't think it was because Royale were recruiting their hunkiest men, but you never know! 

 

The top image features Portsmouth vs The Fleet Air Arm from the final Royal Tournament in 1999. In that year Devonport beat the Fleet Air Arm in the final, setting a new record time that would never be broken. There's a good video on YouTube showing the final race in full. There's also a video of the 1957 event on YouTube, which involved Don Avard, but, unfortunately it's not possible to identify the team members.

 

In Royale's day the Royal Tournament got a lengthy, Saturday night, peak time TV viewing slot, so Royale's models were minor celebrities as well as being real sailors.

The Gun Race and it's Royale connection

This contemporary article about the Gun Race in 'Man Alive' No 7 (Oct 1959) was illustrated with an image from Royale's 'DTS' photo-set. The joke re-titling of the event as the 'Royale Tournament' has all the hallmarks of Basil Clavering's bravado.

Read about Royale's use of real Servicemen

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The Gun Race was originally inspired by a heroic incident in the Boer War, in which Navy crews transported guns from their ships across very difficult terrain to help relieve the siege of Ladysmith. There's a succinct explanation of the history of this event in Origins of the Gun Race. The Gun Race is still used as a Navy training exercise, and I believe it featured in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022.

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Earl's Court Exhibition Centre

In the 1950s, the Earl's Court Arena was one of the few spaces in the country capable of mounting large scale events like the Royal Tournament, undercover before a seated audience. It could accommodate military vehicles and even stabling facilities for the horses (it was regularly used for indoor Show Jumping events, including for the 1948 Olympics). For the Royal Tournament it was also conveniently close to a number of barracks, including Chelsea Barracks, home of the Queen's Guards. 

The building itself was also used for Exhibitions, Fairs (above) and award ceremonies like 'The Brits'. Unusually for a big arena (back then), it was very easy to get to by public transport, being directly opposite Earl's Court tube station. It had a striking 'Art Deco' frontage but was controversially demolished in 2017.

 

Jan 2023 - Original Article

Aug 2024 - Updated with cross-reference to Royale Studio in Man Alive and an image of the venue.

Feb 2025 - Enhanced header image added 

Jun2026 - Video links added