Cpl Mustapha Adams, AB Michelle Rowlands and Cpl Gillian Craig are all volunteers at Wimbledon (Image: AELTC/Benjamin Gilbert)
Wimbledon’s military stewards say managing champagne-popping tennis fans is like supervising squaddies. Corporal Mustapha Adams said he relies on his experience from working with junior soldiers to help control the huge crowds at Wimbledon. The soldier, 40, said there can be some “really, really difficult” visitors attempting to get onto the courts, with people only able to take to their seats when the players change ends.
Cpl Adams added: “You get people actually… telling you off, they are like on you!” When asked if dealing with the crowds of tennis fans is as hard as managing squaddies, the soldier from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers said: “It is. Spectators are hard work! They pay a lot of money for these tickets, so you need to be able to have that calm and composure to be able to deal with them and just explain.”
The soldier, who is from Ghana and volunteering at Wimbledon for the third time, said: “Some do not understand, some do understand but intentionally they want to get through.”
Corporal Mustapha Adams has volunteered at Wimbledon three times (Image: AELTC/Benjamin Gilbert)
This year’s championships marks the 80th anniversary of military stewards at Wimbledon.
The tradition started in 1946 after Armed Forces members helped manage Wimbledon’s crowds as it recovered from bombing during the Second World War.
Around 500 personnel from across the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force, are on hand each day across the two-week tournament.
For Corporal Gillian Craig, from the RAF Police, this is her fourth Wimbledon as a volunteer.
The 33-year-old, who is based at Centre Court, said: “The most unruly thing is the actual cork from the [champagne] bottle.
“Especially with the heat, people try to be quiet and stuff so what they’ll do is they’ll take the foil off of it and then they’ll just hold it.
Corporal Gillian Craig said volunteering at Wimbledon was a big factor in signing up for the RAF (Image: AELTC/Benjamin Gilbert)
“They’ve got to hold it for two games and the heat does not hold it, so when it goes and it pops, you just see people panicking as well cause they’re like, ‘It wasn’t me… I didn’t mean to, it was the heat!’”
Despite some enjoying beverages, she said she has “never seen any trouble” and everyone is “generally very, very well behaved”.
Cpl Craig, 33, swapped her life as a drama teacher for a new career in uniform aged 28 and said the chance to volunteer at Wimbledon was a key reason for signing up.
She said: “I joined specifically for this! I’ll be dead honest about that.”
Centre Court on Day Six at Wimbledon (Image: Getty)
Cpl Craig, who also has a sister in the military, added: “As soon as I joined up, before I even picked up my kit, I put my name down for Wimbledon. It was 100% something that I beelined for and really wanted to do.”
Life in the forces is also a family affair for the Navy’s Able Seaman Michelle Rowlands, who is in her third year as a military steward at Wimbledon.
She said: “My oldest left the Army literally a month ago and then my youngest is a submariner.
“I would love him to come and do this with me.”
The stewards identified the heat as the biggest challenge for spectators at the tournament, with warm temperatures seen throughout the week expected to rise in the coming days.
Cpl Craig, who has deployed to 32 countries in the past two years, said: “We do a heat illness prevention training each, but with our different experiences and being to different places in the world, that’s what makes us unique to the club and to be able to really help with that.
“And we have had to spring into action.”
AB Michelle Rowlands said she’d like her submariner son to join her at Wimbledon one year (Image: AELTC/Benjamin Gilbert)
She added personnel are handing out free suncream and extra water to spectators.
Ahead of the first match on Centre Court on Saturday afternoon, there was the annual standing ovation for Wimbledon’s military stewards.
Dozens stood on the court as they received a warm round of applause from those in the 15,000-capacity stadium.
Cpl Craig said: “I cry every year, it’s so overwhelming, especially from where I get to see it.”
AB Rowlands, 45, added: “It’s special, it makes us feel appreciated, it makes us feel special.”
All personnel use annual leave to take up the military steward role, playing a crucial part in tennis’ most-prestigious Grand Slam.