After reconnaissance in 2002 and a massive amount of clearing of the overgrowth from the original slide by rancher Mike Bently of Rolling M it was planned to re-enact the raising of the guns on the anniversary of the battle. With the weather typically hot and humid for early February, teams from the Portsmouth Action Field Gun and the Natal Field Artillery assembled at Skiet Drift where the SADF Engineers had obligingly erected a pontoon bridge as part of their annual deployment. A 12pdr gun had been borrowed from the South African Navy together with its compliment of gear and all was drawn up the track that had been made by the Utukela District Authority to reach the base of the gunslide.
Practice of the gear and the drills was carried out and the strong-points that had been concreted into hillside were tested. By invitation the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth and her party arrived and were elevated to the summit of Swartkop by helicopter. As to this day no vehicle has been to the top of Swartkop.
Both teams were content to successfully raise the gun and its limber to the summit and fire a round and although there was no official timekeeping there was considerable ribbing that the NFA had very much bettered the time of the PAFG. A re-run for the Sunday was not possible due to some problems with the gear and some overnight rain. Honour would have to wait for 2004!

The planned re-run on the Sunday to give the NFA a chance to improve their time was again made impossible by the heavy overnight rain so that the timings had to stay as set and the PAFG were able to collect their long awaited prize.

2005 Q Battery Royal Artillery vs 1 st Battlaion Royal Highland Fusiliers

The escort that origninally raised the guns up Swartkop was the Royal Scots Fusiliers who now have worthy successors in the Royal Highland Fusiliers and who had been planning to do the challenge since its inception. This year enabled them to fit the trip to do some adventure training in KwaZulu-Natal between tours in Iraq. Their competition was Q Battery Royal Artillery who were well versed in the handling of modern guns and whose forebears whose name they still carry, had been involved in the action at Sannah’s Post near Bloemfontein.
The competition now had a new dimension in the form of an original Long Range Naval 12-pounder barrel and this had been mounted on a replica wooden trail built to the specification diligently recorded by Captain Scott of HMS Terrible and retrieved from the Museum archives at HMS Excellent at Portsmouth. The steel wheels made for the previous year were reinforced and used. The authentic gun was considerably heavier and study of the description of the rig used in 1900 revealed that a 2:1 purchase had been used with Balloon cable, the specification of which was obtained from the Royal Engineers Museum at Chatham. The timed competition was re-drawn and the complete team started at the top with the gun at the bottom of the hill.

The RHF were first to do a practice run on the Saturday after rehearsing on a practice slope on the Friday. It was all a lot harder work than had been imagined but the gun moved inexorably up and a time of 35:30 was recorded. There was considerable consternation by the team from Q Battery once they saw the scale of the task since in their modern Artillery some one-third of their party was female and lacked some of the weight and power with which equality should have endowed them. As they watched the descent of the gun manoeuvred by the RHF they witnessed one wheel failing to negotiate a solid rock outcrop which overbalanced the gun in the same manner as its original predecessors had recorded ‘frequent capsiszes’. One wheel was bent to an alarming degree and then removed; then both teams combined to lower the gun. No easy way of straightening the wheel could be found so a second run was not possible and Q Battery’s equality was not put to the test.

Ladysmith Swartkop Challenge 2006

Two SADF teams registered to compete for the first time to win the permanent trophy of a model long range Naval 12pdr on the wooden carriage and the R10,000 prize purse.

The grey skies over Ladysmith cleared as the weekend of 1 st and 2 nd April approached and the finishing touches were made to the impressive and scenic new venue for the Swartkop Challenge at Wagon Hill overlooking Fourie’s Spruit by kind permission of Mr Laurence Camphere. The modern Event now forms the exciting core of the Ladysmith Siege Weekend which incorporates other activities of a military and historical background to make a uniquely entertaining and interesting attraction in an attractive and historic location.
The Natal Carbineers were practicing during the week at their base in Pietermarizburg and this started by the team drawing a car with the brakes locked across the soccer pitch, using rope and cable with a pulley secured to a tree. They then graduated to a loaded LandRover with trailer which was just a gentle imitation of the competition to haul a gun of 1250kg up a hill of some 40degrees and a total distance of 120m with a measured change in elevation of 120ft – more than one third of the height of the Victoria Falls.
From their base at Ladysmith 5 th Battalion of the South African Infantry made reconnaissance trips to the hill itself and with the membership of the Army Weightlifting Team in the fore were working out methods of raising the gun without the use of the tackle provided. The team to their credit did completely lift the gun at the bottom of the slope, but then approached the task of mastering the pulleys and shackles with rather more respect.
The gun itself is genuine and carries the date of 1898 on the breech. Originally mounted on the deck of British Cruisers at the end of the 19 th Century they were a defensive armament against high speed torpedo boats and the latest technical development. With a dampened spring to take the barrel recoil from the high powered round that drove a 12-pound shell 8,500yards they were intended to protect their host vessel by keeping the lighter and faster threat at bay. Captain Percy Scott of HMS Terrible devised their land mountings as a response to the 75mm and 155mm guns that were fielded by the Boer forces in the Boer War of 1899-1902. The mount consisted of a wooden trail made from a of a dockyard pile with the barrel mounted on a crude plate swivel and supported by a 3in axle tree carrying a pair of standard wagon wheels. The guns were known as ‘cow guns’ due to the difficulties in handling them; their frequent capsizings were caused by the heavy trail and small wheels; and the primitive range adjustment – usually the digging in of the trail to achieve sufficient elevation. The competition gun had been adapted to fire a small black powder charge to be fired by the team when reaching the finishing line.

Saturday morning found the organisers lowering the gun for the first time down the prepared slide from which many of the stones had been removed. The solid wheels didn’t need much of a stone to form a brake so even on the descent there was a significant amount of ‘wheeling’ work to be done. The municipal tractor acted as a brake on the level top of the hill, attached by cable to the trail of the gun. The lowering only damaged a few nerves and soon all was safely in position for the competing teams to carry out practice runs.
During the slow time practices on the hill a demonstration by the Orange Free State Artillery Corps of Life on Commando by their bell-tent included a cookery demonstration by the impressive team in period costume as well as a presentation their period weapons. Black serge dresses were very elegant but even on the mild April day caused some degree of overheating to the wearers. The Dundee Die-hards brought their khaki presence with a display of drill and bayonet practice as well as authentic punishments in the field, practice with the bayonet and much discharge of blank rounds. These two colourful and active displays were separated by the South African Miniature Cannon Club with a fine display of working models which were used to start the Challenge event as well as demonstrate other points of drama and focus for the weekend. Craft stalls, refreshments and music of an appropriate military style gave the cleared hilltop a festive air with plenty of activity for all comers.
The timed runs for the trophy and the purse were scheduled for the Sunday to start after a moving prayer service was held on the hilltop in the sharp morning light. This was led by John Snyman of Ladysmith with prayers in English, Afrikaans and Zulu, the singing of psalm 100 ‘O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come’. A two minutes silence was kept to remember the fallen and this was ended by a bagpiped Lament by saffron-kilted Cpl Robbert Lyttle of the Irish Guards who had come to Ladysmith to commemorate the foundation of his regiment in Ladysmith on 1 st April 1900. The service concluded with a prayer for the spirit and safety of the competitors and a volley of six miniature cannons made the transition to the Challenge itself.

United in their common achievement all team members received the award of a medallion and a tee-shirt for each member which was presented by Commander Peter Lankaster RN, the Naval and Air Advisor at the British High Commission in Pretoria. He gave a moving speech joining The Royal Navy Field Gun Run Competition, the Swartkop Challenge and the heroism displayed during the siege of the Town of Ladysmith in 1900. The perpetual trophy was awarded to the team from 5 SAI so it will reside in the mess in the barracks before being returned to its home in the Ladysmith museum, with the prize purse of 100 x R100 notes were shared out between the winning team. The corrected elapsed times kindly recorded by historian Mr Steve Watt for the Natal Carbineers was 53:09min and for 5 SAI 34:3min. The record still stands at 18:53 in 2004 by the PAFG – but that was with a much lighter gun and simpler rig. Will they come and challenge the defending team in 2007?

The Fifth Swartkop Challenge – 1st April 2007

The sunny Sunday finds the hilltop brimming with anticipation as the teams arrive and warm up. Collingwood have dressed in their smart red shirts and gave a display of warm-up drill to impress any rugby team, and having made all their last minute preparations and plans set off at the firing of the miniature cannon. Drag rope is connected to the cable, Gun Team has reached the bottom of the Hill and with an impressive display of strength and coordination the Power Pack descend past the cheering crowd bringing the gun jolting up over the rocks towards the halfway point. A slight pause here as the cable is straightened on the block on the gun but progress is steady and the gun fastened off, the Power Pack detach the drag rope and set off for the top of the hill. With new connections made the strain is soon on the draw cable again and the securing strop cast off from the halfway point. Now the Power Pack meet the gun at the steepest part of the slope and wheels are spoked and maximum effort applied to raise the stubborn hardware over the rocky lip and up to the more level surface at the top. Here the draw cable is cast off and the Power Pack recalled to the summit to drive the gun to the finish line, rotate it and with the firing of some 75grains of black powder, the clock is stopped by the timekeeper at 25minutes and 55 seconds – a full 10 minutes shorter than the winning time the previous year with the same gun on the same hill. The team is now set on edge awaiting the results of the other competitors wondering if they did well enough and how they could have done better. Oh, and just a little problem chaps; just get the gun down the hill!

Now the Ladysmith SAPS finish their warm-up routine and to the crack of the starting cannon commence their run. With local support being loud and keen the team is coordinated by Insp Speedy Shrinah and show great coordination in steering the gun and in taking the Power Pack on the other side of the track to the Navy. The gun comes up to the halfway point and the strop is attached; the Power Pack head for the summit. This all seems quite smooth and unofficial times are being compared – but will they be strong enough to raise the gun up that steep rocky outcrop? They have two women in their team and are they really strong enough? The second draw commences and the Power Pack meet the gun at the steepest point. Since they have chosen to draw on the left side of the track there is little space for the team to pass the gun, but this is done and the gun approaches the top of the hill. The draw cable is cast off and the Power Pack climb back to the top, gather around the gun and push and pull it to the finish with their pull down Murchison Street giving them additional gun handling confidence. With a crash the gun was fired and the time stopped at 23m: 53s a full two minutes off the impressive time from the Navy!

The competition is on – the other two teams have experience on their side! Will the Scotsmen be up to the Challenge with their apparently lighter weight but the experience of 2005 to build on? Will 5 SAI be able to apply their obvious strength to make a second success? The Tote is closed so it is all speculation as the crowd are entertained by the Zulu dancers while the gun is lowered.

The 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland – 2 Scots – had antecedents who like the Royal Navy, had dragged guns up the original Swartkop, so marshalling at the start line there is something here that gives a call to the traditions and

The Prize giving overfilled the marquee as short addresses were made by the orgainiser and creator of the event Charles Aikenhead, the Mayor of Ladysmith Her Worship Cllr Dudu Mazibuko and Wing Commander Bob Whitworth from the British High Commission in Pretoria who as guest of honour kindly made the awards. Each team member received a medallion depicting this strange vintage gun on a wooden trail; team captains received a cheque of varying size depending on their result and finally the trophy was presented to Major Channer of 2 Scots for their incredible and record taking win.

2008       The sixth Swartkop Challenge         Record Breaking times by first two teams

With an impressive display of power and control the Ist Battalion Irish Guards B team set an opening time that was not bettered on the sunny and windy day on Wagon Hill Ladysmith on Sunday 6th April.  Five teams competed against the clock to draw the 1300kg Naval long 12pdr on wooden trail up the 1:1 slope of 130m. The Ladysmith Titans followed with an impressive first performance at the event but fitness told and their finishing time was with some generous assistance. The Devonport Field Gun Team are experienced handlers of guns and had power and weight in their favour as they started and had an impressive arrival at the halfway point of less than five minutes. Changeover was quickly done and the team had the gun breasting the vertical final slope at just 11mins. The final slope has a hazard of a large rock and the team were unable to avoid it and had not the strength to lift the gun over it at this stage of the competition so minutes were lost and energy sapped as the obstacle was finally cleared and an impressive run to the finish achieved. 5 SAI formed up with Zulu chanting and ululating supporters and showed their power and experience in getting the gun to the halfway point in similar time to the Irish Guards but the second part of the hill told on their fitness and strength. Last to run was the Irish Guards misnamed A team who put in a creditable performance full of pluck and grit but they had not the weight and power that had been enlisted into the winning B team. They also were grateful for assistance from their brothers in arms to finish the competition.
Prizes were awarded by Her Worship the Mayor of Ladysmith and the event was watched by an enthusiastic crowd of some 600 who were entertained between the timed runs by energetic Zulu dancing and the Dundee Die-Hards. Gun lowering and marshals were from the NMR and the UMR.
First  = Ist Bn Irish Guards 'B'   16min  53.3sec    Second = Royal Navy, Devonport Field Gun Team  18min  12.69 sec
Third = 5th Bn South African Infantry    28min 38.44s            Fourth = Ist Bn Irish Guards 'A'    34min  26.56s
Fourth =  Ladysmith-Emnambiti Municipality     37min 13.25
 The previous best time was set by 2 Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Royal Highland Fusiliers) of 20mins 58sec in 2007

Saturday morning found the organisers lowering the gun for the first time down the prepared slide from which many of the stones had been removed. The solid wheels didn’t need much of a stone to form a brake so even on the descent there was a significant amount of ‘wheeling’ work to be done. The municipal tractor acted as a brake on the level top of the hill, attached by cable to the trail of the gun. The lowering only damaged a few nerves and soon all was safely in position for the competing teams to carry out practice runs.
During the slow time practices on the hill a demonstration by the Orange Free State Artillery Corps of Life on Commando by their bell-tent included a cookery demonstration by the impressive team in period costume as well as a presentation their period weapons. Black serge dresses were very elegant but even on the mild April day caused some degree of overheating to the wearers. The Dundee Die-hards brought their khaki presence with a display of drill and bayonet practice as well as authentic punishments in the field, practice with the bayonet and much discharge of blank rounds. These two colourful and active displays were separated by the South African Miniature Cannon Club with a fine display of working models which were used to start the Challenge event as well as demonstrate other points of drama and focus for the weekend. Craft stalls, refreshments and music of an appropriate military style gave the cleared hilltop a festive air with plenty of activity for all comers.
The timed runs for the trophy and the purse were scheduled for the Sunday to start after a moving prayer service was held on the hilltop in the sharp morning light. This was led by John Snyman of Ladysmith with prayers in English, Afrikaans and Zulu, the singing of psalm 100 ‘O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come’. A two minutes silence was kept to remember the fallen and this was ended by a bagpiped Lament by saffron-kilted Cpl Robbert Lyttle of the Irish Guards who had come to Ladysmith to commemorate the foundation of his regiment in Ladysmith on 1 st April 1900. The service concluded with a prayer for the spirit and safety of the competitors and a volley of six miniature cannons made the transition to the Challenge itself.

United in their common achievement all team members received the award of a medallion and a tee-shirt for each member which was presented by Commander Peter Lankaster RN, the Naval and Air Advisor at the British High Commission in Pretoria. He gave a moving speech joining The Royal Navy Field Gun Run Competition, the Swartkop Challenge and the heroism displayed during the siege of the Town of Ladysmith in 1900. The perpetual trophy was courage of their forbears. The other thing about Scotsmen is that they respond to the sound of Bagpipes and as the team commenced their pull the lone piper from the Irish Guards plays the Power Pack down the slope, lifting spirits and excitement. Other teams didn’t like the background noise since it affected the ability of the leaders to control the teams – the Scots saw it a different way. The team choose the same side of the track as the Police before them and the steering skill of the gun team with the ropes works well and soon the halfway point is reached. No great coordination of unofficial times here but a satisfaction to know that they are in the frame as the changeover is made and the steepest part of the slope approached. Here things also seemed to go relatively well, if that description fits heaving and shoving and shouting by 22men to the background of cheers from the 400-strong crowd, the other competitors and the penetrating skirl from the bagpipes. As the cable is cast off the commentator finds an unofficial time from somewhere and raises the crowd and the team to realise that the win was within their grasp. Tristram Channer had appointed his Captain Mark Kerr to lead the Power Pack with himself in the Power Pack. He now leads the group to the final pull at the head of the rope as the gun bucked and swayed over the rough ground at the top of the hill towards the finish line just metres away. It crosses and is turned; the shell loaded and fired and anxious eyes turn to the timekeeper who slowly marks up his board to huge cheers from all competitors and spectators - 20mins and 58 secs.

The exhausted team had dug deep for such a result and staggered off to a sponsored ice-cold PowerAid from the commentator’s vehicle and then returned to lower the gun so that the last running team 5 SAI could attempt to retain the trophy. Spectators were again entertained to an intermission of Zulu dancing after some of the younger members had been detached from the Smac the Rat sideshow, while the bar did swift business and the burgers from the Ladysmith Rotarians approached sell-out for the second day.

Tension was tangible as the soldiers from 5 SAI do their warm-up routine and Zulu battle chant. Their strength had been shown the previous day in righting the gun and the power of the rhythmic chanting effort was held in awe. The team have experience on their side and the tremendous leadership drive of Snaye Mkhulise. They now also had some fifty female supporters who line the hill, and as the team speed into action and take the strain on the drag-rope they start their Ulululing which has the same effect as the bagpipes on the Scotsmen. The Power Pack pull and the gun bumps and rolls away from its base at the foot of the hill and spectators can see that the team had chosen to pull on the right side of the track, similar to the Navy. All is going well as the gun rose to the strong-point and unofficial timers have them there before any of the earlier teams. The Power Pack unhitch the rope and climb up to the summit and then start the hardest part of the pull. As the gun rises higher the power of the team seemed to wane but progress was still good and then the ladies chant in again to give the final drive to get that heavy hardware to the top where it is quickly unhitched from the cables. Then the agony of the wait while the tired Power Pack team climb to the gun and push it on to the finishing line. They knew they hadn’t won but still work flat out and resist any attempt at outside help to bravely fire the gun with the clock recording a full five minutes better than their time last year at 30mins and 16 secs. Their initial rush had seemed to sap them like a 100m dash at the start of a cross country run, but all were content that the Challenge of the Hill and the Gun had been overcome, making a common bond for all teams as they congratulated each other, united by the Swartkop Challenge.

The Seventh Swartkop Challenge       Sunday 5th April 2009

In a thrilling climax to an exciting day, the apparently impossible time of 10 minutes was broken.
Tension was high from the very first run by 5SAI’s first team which broke the previous record and arrived with the antique cannon at the top of the hill and fired it in 15min 59.9sec. They had been on track for an even more impressive time when steering around the large rock at the top of the hill foundered their hopes.  5SAI’s second team had drawn to run second at the Gala dinner on the previous evening, hosted by Her Worship The Mayor, Cllr Dudu Mazibuku. Not quite to the power of their peers, the second team of regular SANDF clocked in with their shot at 16mins 47.5 sec.
Drawn third and colourful in their yellow T-shirts were the Municipality’s  Titans, nervous of the competition from the regular armed forces but more confident in their abilities after regular training. They took some 10 minutes off their time of 2008 with a very respectable 20min 12.7 which delighted all their supporters. They were followed by the team from Manchester and Salford University Officer Training Corps, UK, that had the crowd fired with amazement as the 10 women in the 22-strong team pulled their hearts out and with sheer grit completed the course unaided in 18mins 17.2sec.

After these two lower rated teams the pressure mounted as the 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland marched to the start line accompanied by bagpipes and speculation whether the size of the ‘Jocks’ would be made up by the toughness of this unit recently returned from active service in Afghanistan. Among much encouragement from the enthusiastic crowd they set a new leading time, with an added penalty for a technical fault, of 14mins 50.1sec. Would this be good enough to add their names for a third time to the perpetual trophy?
Last to run was new contestants from The Defence Force of The Kingdom of Lesotho whose impressive practice run on the previous day gave the competing teams more than a little worry. These men from the mountains made it look a bit like a stroll in the park as they fastened off the gun at the halfway point and had the pulling team at the summit for the second half in something like three minutes. Their fitness and strength were undimmed for the second half of the course as the cannon rose inexorably over the steepest part of the slope and good control of the steering avoided the ‘rock of foundered hopes’. The pullers were up to the summit and the run to the line left the crowd hoarse as the gun fired and the new record was set. 9minutes 10.5sec