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Nostalgia: When the going got tough in 1992

The old saying certainly rang true for Mossley teenagers Moss Baxendale and Stephen Hogg who spent up to seven hours every Sunday training with the North Manchester Youth Field Gun Crew.

Arduous and challenging, the sport had its origins in the Boer War when field guns had to be manhandled over rough terrain. 

Nearly a century on, the crew based at the old Mather and Platt site in Newton Heath was into its tenth year, offering a mix of fitness, fun and friendship and attracting youngsters from far and wide.

Moss, 16, told our reporter: “It’s a challenge against the clock and against another crew. You are running against yourself to better your previous time. It keeps you fit - there is the discipline of it as well.” 

He had enjoyed travelling to competitions  with his Mossley team-mate Stephen, 13, keen to follow in his footsteps.

The North Manchester crew was the first of its kind in the country formed by community PC Frank Willcock as a way of channelling kids’ energies into something positive.

“They have to take the gun and lumber over a 4ft 6in wall, rig up a wire to take all the equipment over a 28ft chasm then launch off a 4ft high ramp, through a hole in the wall,” he said. 

“It’s a unique sport - outside of the Royal Navy, no other organisation is offering this kind of activity to young lads.”

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