Navy regulars and reservists battled it out to a standstill as the two fencing squads drew in a contest celebrating the 100th birthday of the sport in the Senior Service.

The two teams drew in a fiercely-contested clash, hosted by HMS President in London – the first time the RNR and regular RN have met in a fencing fixture, despite the sport’s long history.

A strong performance by the female RNR team, led by captain S/Lt Amanda Hale (HMS Nelson) saw off dogged opposition from Lt Andreana Glendinnig (RH Haslar) and NA(SE)2 Ellie Walls (Sultan); the reservists took the honours in the epee, foil and sabre competitions.

The reservists’ male squad of S/Lt Ambrose Hogan (President) and Hon MID Kris White (Manchester URNU) and captained by Acting S/Lt Andrew Thomas (President) didn’t fare as well as their female counterparts, with a victory in one weapon to secure decisive victory over the full-timers eluding them.

The regulars’ epee team of Lt Cdr Matthew Clark (PJHQ), Lt Cdr Adrian Olliver (FOST) and S/Lt Ralph Coffey (Nelson) saw off the reservists 45-19, and a similar defeat followed in the foil.

A valiant last-round fight in the men’s sabre threatened to turn the tables at the last minute, as former Australian international Andrew Thomas made up ten hits against the former Combined Services Master-at-Arms LAEM Mark Needham (814 NAS).

But in the end S/Lt Thomas was unable to make up such a large deficit economically, eventually capitulating to Needham’s calm persistence 45-43.

It is 100 years since the first RN fencing champion was crowned. The association was formally adopted by the RN in 1919, but the sport can be traced back much further – as early as 1733, records show that a fencing master was engaged to instruct sailors in cutlass drill.

Events planned to mark the centenary include an alumni dinner in November and HMS Nelson hosting the Combined Services championships.