Yomp

Yomp

Yomp is Royal Marines slang describing a long distance march carrying full kit.

The most famous yomp of recent times was during the 1982 Falklands War. After disembarking from ships at San Carlos on East Falkland, on 21 May 1982, Royal Marines and members of the Parachute Regiment yomped (and tabbed) with their equipment across the islands, covering convert|56|mi|km [Chapter 21 The Bridgehead and Beyond: "There were two considerations. First, the distance between Stanley and San Carlos was some 56 miles and given the problems posed by the terrain it would take at least eight days to cover the ground. Movement would be 'under constant enemy fire from the air, in an area without cover, wood, drinking water or means of subsistence'. When his men arrived, worn out by the long trek, they would have to go into immediate action against an enemy well prepared and supported by field artillery." - Lawrence Freedman, "Signals of War, The Falklands Conflict of 1982", 1990, Faber and Faber-London, ISBN 0-571-14116-1] in three days carrying convert|80|lb|kg ["Modern Land Combat", 1987, editor Bernard Fitzsimons, Salamander Books Ltd., ISBN 1-85501-165-4] loads.

Media coverage of this war saw the term "yomp" become well known and in general use. A computer game called "Yomp" was produced by Virgin Games shortly after the Falklands conflict. However, the term has since faded somewhat from general use in the decades since the end of the Falklands war.

British Army slang for the same thing is tab. The term "tab" has its roots in an acronym, being an abbreviation of Tactical Advance to Battle.

It has been suggested that the term "YOMP" is an acronym (or backronym) for "Your Own Marching Pace" [ [http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/Your+Own+Marching+Pace+(England's+Royal+Marines+slang) "Yomp" at The Free Dictionary] ] .

The Yomper

The image of "the Yomper" became one of the iconic images of the Falklands War, [Citation
last = Rees
first = Alun
title = Revealed at last: face of Falklands 'yomping' Marine
newspaper = Daily Mail
date = 21 April 2007
url = http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-449891/Revealed-face-Falklands-yomping-Marine.html
] [Citation
last = Dunn
first = Tom Newton
title = 'I was one of the lucky ones'
newspaper = The Sun
date = 30 May 2007
url = http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article231207.ece
] . The original photograph was taken by Petty Officer Peter Holdgate, Commando Forces Photographer, whilst working as part of the Commando Forces News Team. After landing with 40 Commando at San Carlos, Holdgate accompanied British forces across the Falklands War zone taking hundreds of photographs. The photograph of 24 year old Corporal Peter Robinson was taken in June 1982 as the Royal Marines proceeded along the Moody Brook track towards Port Stanley. When news of the surrender of Argentine forces was received, Corporal Robinson produced a Union Flag from his pack and attached it to the aerial of his radio with masking tape. The photograph itself was entirely spontaneous and not staged. The image was used as the inspiration of a statue [cite web
title = Memorials and Monuments in the Royal Marines Museum, Portsmouth (The Yomper)
date = 20 December 2006
url = http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/rm-museum/yomper.htm
format = ISO-8859-1
] that was unveiled by Lady Margaret Thatcher on 8 July 1992 on the 10th anniversary of the conflict, it now adorns the entrance to the Royal Marines Museum in Southsea.

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • yomp — /jɒmp/ (say yomp) verb (i) Colloquial to progress from one place to another on foot, carrying all one s belongings or equipment. {20th century British military slang; origin uncertain} …  

  • Yomp (disambiguation) — Yomp can mean: * Yomp, a British military term for a long distance march with full kit. * Yomp (computer game). * Yomp (board game) …   Wikipedia

  • yomp Brit. — yomp Brit. informal verb (of a soldier) march with heavy equipment over difficult terrain. noun a march of such a kind. Origin 1980s: of unknown origin …   English new terms dictionary

  • Yomp (video game) — Infobox VG width= title= Yomp caption= developer= Oz Software publisher= Virgin Games distributor= designer= Terry Murray, Roy Poole series= engine= version= released= 1983 genre= modes= Single player ratings= platforms= ZX Spectrum media=… …   Wikipedia

  • yomp — 1. noun /jɒmp/ A long distance march carrying full kit. 2. verb /jɒmp/ To make a strenuous long distance march. Whilst 3 Para and 45 Commando yomped across East Falkland, accompanied by the two Troops of Blues and Royals, 42 Commando were… …   Wiktionary

  • yomp — vb British to tramp across rough country wearing or carrying heavy equipment. This item of arcane military slang became known to the general public at the time of the war between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1981. The word… …   Contemporary slang

  • yomp — Verb. To walk hard and with vigour. 1900s …   English slang and colloquialisms

  • yomp — v.intr. Brit. sl. march with heavy equipment over difficult terrain. Etymology: 20th c.: orig. unkn …   Useful english dictionary

  • Dartmoor Yomp — A typical view across Dartmoor. The Dartmoor Yomp is an annual charitable fundraising event run in aid of the various charities that support injured British Armed Forces Royal Marines. The Yomp is a daytime trek held in the Dartmoor National Park …   Wikipedia

  • Cultural impact of the Falklands War — The cultural impact of the Falklands War spanned several media in both Britain and Argentina. Contents 1 Books 1.1 Non fiction 1.2 Fiction 1.3 Poetry …   Wikipedia

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