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The Motor Cycle Display Team
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Gnr Alan Harris jumps four 105mm Light Guns at
17 Trg Regt RA and Depot Open Day on the 1st Oct 1988.
The Royal Artillery
Motor Cycle Display Team
"The Flying Gunners"
This page is dedicated to the MCDT. Please send me your photos,
press cuttings etc, and they will be published here.
Past and Present
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31st Training Regiment Display Team
The Royal Artillery Motor Cycle Display Team originated from the 31st Training Regiment
Royal Artillery Display Team which was formed at Kinmel Park Camp, Rhyl, in the summer of 1949
and gave their first performance at the St Asaph Tattoo in July 1949.
The team was the brainchild of Captain David Miles, and used the normal issue Army Motor Cycles
of that time which were Matchless G3L machines. They were an immediate success and during their
early days gave displays in North Wales and Central Wales and the neighbouring English counties.
From the very start the emphasis was on a slick, polished and professional presentation, with really
well practiced precision riding for the team manoeuvres and a non-stop series of tricks, with the
next machine always in the arena before the previous one had left.
You will see that this high standard of polish and professionalism has been maintained and
perfected by the team of today. Although the display is varied in content from year to year, some
of the trick riding acts, and the clown act, have remained as they were originally conceived
in the team of 1949.
The team remained in Rhyl until 1961, when 31st Training Regiment was disbanded, and by
this time they had built up a reputation throughout the United Kingdom for the excellence of their
displays. They had also changed their machines from the aging WD Matchless to BSA 500cc Gold
Stars. This was the direct result of members of the team riding the BSA motor cycles in the 1960
International Six Day Trials, and the link between BSA and the team was to remain until 1974
when for various reasons which had nothing to do with the quality of the BSA, it was decided
to change to the Greeves Griffon QUB.
The Team moved in 1961 from Rhyl to Woolwich, the home of the Royal Regiment of
Artillery and became part of the Royal Artillery Recruiting Troop, and later the
Royal Artillery Display Troop. The Team are now based at Larkhill, Wiltshire.
Nowdays, the team represents the cream of the Army's riding ability, and the soldiers are
selected to be in The Flying Gunners for their riding skill and for their courage. The selection
is grueling, but the reward of "making the team" makes the process worthwhile.
Once a rider makes the team, he is trained in numerous motorcycle skills, from precision
riding to motorcross jumping, and this has always raised considerable media interest.
The team is self sufficient and must fund its own activities, however the soldiers are all from
operational Regiments, many having served in numerous theatres of conflict, from the Gulf
to Kosovo. All of the riders are proud to be Gunners, but above all else,
they are proud to be "Flying Gunners".
Motorbikes were introduced into the Royal Artillery during the First World War. They
were used by Gunner Regiments to reconnoiter gun positions and courier missions.
Today, the Royal Artillery will still use motorbikes in some very important roles. Battery Guides use
them when leading the Guns onto the Gun Position and they are also used by Royal Artillery Special
Forces Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols to infiltrate deep behind enemy lines on target
acquisition and observation missions.
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Edinburgh Tattoo 1965
Pathe News Shots from 31st March 1966
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Bass Sanderson in the Front
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Thanks to Mike (Geordie) Wilson for the photos.
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Mike on the Ladder
Here are some more Photo's sent in from Mike Wilson
My thanks to Dave Buck for the following Photo's
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Many of the following photos have been donated
by the RA Display Troop
Photos of the Early Years up until the 1980's
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Ray Hudd in the driving seat at this Display in the early 80's.
Thanks to Ricky Hudd for sending this photo in.
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Ivor and the Lads with Benny Hill and his Girls in 1987.
My thanks to Joe Truman for the photo.
In Memory of Ivor Mason and Geordie Dowd
Ivor and the Team with the late Barry Sheene
Kindly sent in by Pauline Mason
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The Bike Sheds in 2007
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Enjoy the MCDT Slideshow
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Today's Flying Gunners
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RA Display Troop
at full throttle
by
WO2 Mark Buckingham and Bdr Reedman
For the Royal Artillery Display Troop the end of the summer season 2004 was also the end of an era for it heralded a change
of home from Woolwich to Larkhill, a change in personnel and a change in the way in which the troop goes about its business.
The move to Larkhill was successfully accomplished last autumn and we are now well established in our new home as part of 14 Regt RA.
The troop, which has been in existence since the early 1960s, consists of a small HQ commanded by Capt Karl Britton and
four display teams. These are the Royal Artillery Regimental Recruiting Team (RRT), the Black Knights parachute display team,
the Flying Gunners motorcycle display team and the Rolling Rock which is a vertical, slowly revolving climbing wall.
The role of the display troop is to support Army recruiting in general, and Gunner recruiting in particular. They do this by
attending over 300 events across the length and breadth of the British Isles every year. These range from village fetes to
major motor shows and from county shows to massive regional Army exhibitions for schools. There is never a dull moment and
last year soldiers from the troop were on duty somewhere or other on 360 days of the year. The programme for 2005 is already full
and the diary for 2006 is fast filling up too.
The troop is manned by volunteer soldiers drawn from across the Royal Regiment. Team trials to select suitable volunteers
to join the Black Knights and the Flying Gunners are held annually – usually in the late autumn and early spring. Successful
applicants are posted to the troop on two-year ERE postings during which their overall career prospects are carefully protected
by the troop running all of the usual career courses. Full training is given, and though some parachuting experience is necessary to
join the Black Knights, no motorcycling experience is necessary to become a member of the Flying Gunners.
Anybody interested in volunteering for an interesting and rewarding posting to the RA Display Troop should do so through
the chain of command. At regimental level this will initially be done through the battery commander.
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The Flying Gunners are currently performing over 120 times each season and are seen live by
many thousands of people across the country. Television appearances include events like
The Royal Tournament and The Edinburgh Tattoo, but also programmes such as the
National Lottery Live, The Big Breakfast, Record Breakers, Noel's House Party,
You Bet and The Brian Connoly Show, with many more planned for the future.
The Flying Gunners at
The Farewell to Woolwich Day
26th May 2007
Watch the Flying Gunners at Woolwich 2007
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The Bikes in Use
Awaiting Update
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Click above to Visit the MCDT Page
Contact The Flying Gunners
The Flying Gunners
RA Display Troop,
1st Bty,
14 Regt RA,
Sterling Barracks,
Larkhill,
Salisbury,
SP4 8QT
For further information, prices and bookings please contact us on the below contact details:
Telephone: 01980 634118
01980 634326
Mobile: 07710 384309
07710 384308
Fax: 01980 634311
Email: flyinggunners@ra.mod.uk
Please don't forget to send in your Photos or Items of interest for publication on this page
