Wishstream Year of 2013

The THE WISH STREAM

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Year of 2013

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Year of 2013

contents Commandant’s Introduction...................................................... 2

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SANDHURST TRUST The Sandhurst Foundation becomes the Sandhurst Trust....... 68

The First World War: History and Commemoration................... 3 Brief Lives: E Company Hockey Team, 1915............................ 5 Ex Purkha Haruko Birata: Gurkha Company Sittang’s Battlefield Study 2013.......................................................................... 9 Pace-stick season 2013......................................................... 10 The Intermediate term: myths and the realities........................ 12 The Somme Company Dinner Night....................................... 16

ACADEMICS Faraday Hall: What’s the point? An Officer Cadet’s Thoughts on Academic Study at Sandhurst............................................ 69 CABS Report 2013................................................................. 70 DIA Departmental Report ....................................................... 71 War Studies 2013................................................................... 74

Druid’s Ridge.......................................................................... 17

To the banks of the Volga – Stalingrad Staff Ride With 1 UK Armoured Division.............................................................. 77

Blenheim Company Meets Its Heritage!.................................. 18

DIA’s contribution to defence diplomacy................................. 80

Exercise Normandy Scholar.................................................... 20

ESRC Seminar Series: ‘NATO after Afghanistan’..................... 81

Waterloo Company Charity Ball 2013..................................... 24

Between a Rock and a Cold Place? NATO and the Arctic....... 84

Exercise Broadsword.............................................................. 25

Le Sous – Marin “Faraday”..................................................... 85

Blenheim Charity Ball Evening................................................. 26

British Army Officer Training Missions: A Short History............ 86

Exercise DYNAMIC VICTORY – Acme of Excellence............... 28

Major-General Douglas Neil Wimberley CB, DSO, MC: Divisional Commander, 1941–43........................................ 92

Lucknow and LOAC............................................................... 30 16 Platoon, Inkerman Company, Charity Spinning Event. ....... 31 CC123 – Charity Twenty20 Match.......................................... 34

BOOK REVIEWS

Sandhurst Cup 2013.............................................................. 35

Agent Rose............................................................................ 94

A Lesson from the Men in Scarlet........................................... 36

British Generals in Blair’s Wars................................................ 94

Janadriyah and camel milk!! Ex DYNAMIC OUTREACH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia................................................... 37

Defending the Realm: The politics of Britain’s small wars since 1945.................................................................................. 95

Outstanding beauty – outstanding value ................................ 38

From East of Suez to the Eastern Atlantic: British Naval Policy 1964–70............................................................................ 96

Sandhurst Goes to Denmark.................................................. 40 RMAS visit to the Ball De Offiziaire, Austria............................. 41 Exercise DYNAMIC OUTREACH, Chile, 10th–26th August 2013..................................................... 42 Inkerman Company Adventurous Training – Exercise Marrakech Express Cadet.................................... 46 Ex Skye-Sail Cadet ................................................................ 49

Multipolarity in the 21st century: a new world order................ 97 Power in the Changing Global Order ...................................... 98 The Paris Embassy: British Ambassadors and Anglo-French relations 1944–1979.......................................................... 99

FOR THE RECORD

Football at RMAS................................................................... 50

Visits.................................................................................... 100

OiC RMAS Tennis................................................................... 51

Commissioning Course 122................................................. 102

RMAS USA Rugby Tour ......................................................... 54

Commissioning Course 123................................................. 107

Netball at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.................... 56

Commissioning Course 131................................................. 109

RMAS Indian Hockey Tour...................................................... 57

LEOC 2013.......................................................................... 115

Joint Services Regatta – 26 June 2013................................... 58

TA Officers Attending LEOC.................................................. 117

Clay Pigeon Club.................................................................... 59

TAPQO 131.......................................................................... 117

Cross-Country and Athletics................................................... 60

PQO 131.............................................................................. 118

ASU Open Water Swimming Championship........................... 62

TAPQO 132.......................................................................... 118

The Italian Regimental Show Jumping Competition................ 64

Reserve Commissions 2013................................................. 119

PriDE in your local community ............................................... 67

Professionally Qualified Officers Course 132......................... 120

© Crown Copyright. This publication contains official information. It should be treated with discretion by the recipient. The views expressed in this journal are those of the authors and the a ­ uthors alone and are not necessarily those held by the editors, the Royal Military Academy or the Ministry of Defence. No responsibility for the goods or services advertised in this journal can be accepted by the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, The Sandhurst Foundation or the p ­ ublishers or printers and a ­ dvertisements are included in good faith.

This journal is published on behalf of the The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and The Sandhurst Foundation by Crest Publications, 1 Rothwell Grange Court, Rothwell Road, Kettering, Northants NN16 8FB Tel: 01536 317000 • Email: jayne@crestpublications.com

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Commandant’s Introduction Major General Stuart Skeates, CBE Whoever proposed combining the Officers’ Training Corps (OTC), the Army Officer Selection Board (AOSB) and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) into a single Group deserves to have their name retained for posterity in the form of a national holiday or a street name. It was certainly far-sighted. Thanks to the work of my predecessor and the dedication of the excellent permanent staff around the Group, the synergies of this combination of venerable institutions, which we now call the Sandhurst Group, are being realised. Not only has it simplified officer training – particularly for the Reserves – it also presents the prospect of attracting, selecting and creating a generation of ‘agile leaders’ envisaged by the Future Character of Conflict and demanded by Army 2020.

A bold assertion, perhaps, but one that lies at the centre of our efforts to be relevant to tomorrow’s Army rather than yesterday’s. First and foremost in achieving this – as ever it was – is to provide our officer cadets a solid grounding in leadership. Although the underlying ethos of the Sandhurst style A bold assertion, of leadership is timeless – defined by perhaps, but one the Academy motto of Serve To Lead that lies at the – it has been adapted over the years centre of our efforts to meet the needs of the Field Army and it will continue to evolve. We are to be relevant to currently contributing to the thinking tomorrow’s Army… on Values Based Leadership (based on the Army’s Core Values and Standards) which should meet many of the challenges of Army 2020. Together with an ethical framework to ensure our officer cadets ‘do the right thing on a difficult day’ and a sophisticated understanding of the particular responsibilities of being an officer as well as a leader, we can produce junior leaders who truly are our ‘edge’.

And this is where the Sandhurst Trust comes in. This style of leadership, our ethos and the Sandhurst brand is recognised throughout the World; much emulated and much admired. Our overseas alumnus numbers some 4424 from 111 different nations. Our British alumnus, both regular and reserve, can be counted in the tens of thousands. And through the OTC, we have the opportunity to connect with the many more who have either passed through that fantastic institution as well as link in with the University sector. So it makes perfect sense that we try to link all of this together in the cause of improving our understanding and practice of leadership.

To that end there is little different from the aims and intentions of the Sandhurst Foundation. But timing, as they say, has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. And the implementation of Army 2020, particularly with its focus on Defence Engagement, means that the Trust can finally come of age. I have been struck, but probably not surprised by how much interest there is in the ‘Sandhurst Model’ as I have visited universities, overseas academies and leaders from business and commerce. The leadership market is as thriving as ever it was but I am sensing a shift towards values based models in many quarters, commerce as well as the public sector. So there is still a great deal of mutual benefit to be gained from the ‘Leadership Encounters’ that are the stock trade of the Trust. But with the OTC as part of the Group, we now also have the footprint that will allow us to break out of the South-East and hold franchised events across the whole of the UK. And, towards the end of the year, we will be holding the first of what we hope will be many events for our overseas alumni in the United Arab Emirates.

The key date will be the formal launch of the Sandhurst Trust here at the Academy on 7th May 2014 during which CGS will give a keynote address on Leadership in front of the next generation of officers and invited guests. It promises to be a memorable event and a fitting way to breathe new life into an old friend.

Editorial board Editor – Dr Christopher Mann Production Editor – Dr Daren Bowyer Section Editors Sandhurst – Sebastian Puncher Military History – Dr Mattias Strohn International Affairs – Dr David Brown Leadership – Dr Stephen Deakin Cover Photograph Mike Smith

Sandhurst

The First World War: History and Commemoration Dr Matthais Strohn, Department of War Studies This year will see the start of the centenary commemorations of the First World War, ‘the great seminal catastrophe’ of the 20th century, as the American historian George F. Kennan called it. How can a nation remember and commemorate a war of such dimensions? It seems that the United Kingdom has chosen sensible approach: Just over a handful of national and international events, spread out over the four years 2014 to 2018, supplemented by more activities at the local level like school projects and activities by the armed forces, such as staff rides to the western front. By limiting the number of high profile events, the UK will be able to prevent a ‘commemoration fatigue’ among the population – the First World War lasted for over 4 years and this needs to be reflected in the duration of the official commemorations.

However, this restriction to only a handful of events necessarily means that not all events will be commemorated that some people might regard as crucial for the remembrance of the First World War. Would it makes sense to celebrate 8 August 1918 one hundred years later? On this day the German army suffered its “black day” and crumbled under enemy’s pressure on the western front, marking the beginning of the final phase of the First World War. Celebrating this date would create an anti-pole to the more solemn commemorations on 11 November.

Celebrating this The UK has not been alone in this date would create debate – which gathered momenan anti-pole to tum rather late in the day. It would be easy to argue that this belated the more solemn intellectual interaction with the war commemorations was caused by a general political on 11 November. lack of interest in the First World War (which is most probably true for the German government), but it also allows for a positive interpretation. The First World War is still highly controversial, and there will be controversy over numerous subjects during the centenary years. This in itself is not a bad thing – only controversy and the exchange of arguments will enhance our understanding of the First World War and what really happened and why. This will allow the process to develop its own dynamics and to incorporate the findings and results from these controversies.

The Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914

For instance, for many years the prevailing view was that the war had been a futile war, in which lions led by donkeys died horrific deaths in the trenches. This view has been challenged and it is good that this has been done. All countries and their armies fought wars and battles that at the time seemed far from futile to them and most of the generals were not the half-wits portrayed in Blackadder Goes Forth. This was true for the British, who fought to defend Britain and to preserve the status quo in Western Europe. And it was true for the German soldiers, who believed that they were fighting a defensive war against a ‘world of enemies’ – a world that German politicians had partly created themselves by clumsy foreign policy.

However, it is too easy to put the sole blame on Germany. It is true, Germany’s politicians acted not very competently in the years leading up to the First World War, and it is without doubt that imperial Germany has to accept the onus for the invasion of Belgium. The idea here is not to point the finger and pass the blame, but virtually all major European powers have to accept a fair share in the outbreak of the war: Russia, Austria-Hungary and France played important and not peaceful roles. The Bal-

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kan countries formed a powder keg that only waited to be ignited. Of all the great powers, Britain was probably the least belligerent, and the most honest broker in the July crisis which resulted in war in the summer of 1914, even though the role of Sir Edward Grey, Britain’s foreign secretary at the time, has been questioned in recent research.

It looks as if education is indeed necessary to move beyond an understanding of the First World War based on the war poets and Blackadder. It is here that the British government should spend the money set aside for the First World War commemorations. Simply sending representatives from schools to the battlefields of the Western Front will provide welcomed school-trips, but it is doubtful if it will achieve a long-lasting, educational effect.

Historical and cultural education, framed by language teaching and exchanges with former allies and enemies could achieve this.

International youth camps of the Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge – the German equivalent to the War Graves Commission – have proved a success over the years, and collaboration between the two would achieve an educational effect where it matters – among the young generations.

Some historians have argued that there were distinct continuities between the policy and strategy of imperial Germany and its Nazi successor. This is far too simplistic and does not do justice to German policy and society in the early 20th century and the changes these underwent between 1914 and 1945.

Germany before the First World War was a torn country: The federal constitution offered equal suffrage to every male over 25 which made it one of the most advanced and liberal Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany electoral systems in the world. On the other hand, the biggest German state, Prussia, It is also important to remember that the war used a 3-class voting system which resembled more a feudal was what it says in the name: A world war. It was not only fought state than a leading industrial nation. It was the country in which on the fields of Flanders and the Somme. With the exception of an unemployed cobbler wearing a second-hand captain’s unisome experts who in Britain has ever heard of the battle of Gorliceform was able to rob a town hall near Berlin, because nobody Tarnow in 1915, in which German and Austrian-Hungarian troops dared to argue with an officer (the famous Captain of Köpenick). broke through the Russian front-line and occupied most of Galicia But it was also the country in which members of the bourgeoisie and the Polish salient? Who knows that in 1918 the Central Powers in Hannover contemplated taking legal action against the local occupied vast areas in the East that almost equalled the territory regiment, because they felt disturbed by marching music and occupied in the Second World War? Who has ever heard of the shooting practice during the weekend. It was the country in which Carpathian Winter Campaign of 1914–1915, in which Habsburg becoming a reserve officer was seen as a social achievement, but forces fought in vain to rescue 130,000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers it was also the country in which fewer than 50% trapped by Russian troops in the fortress Przemysl, of the male population were drafted as conscripts, and which resulted in approximately 600,000 casuIt was the country compared to approximately 80% in France. alties? Who knows that the British forces were the junior partner on the Western Front pretty much in which becoming Germany was torn, but by no stretch of the imagithroughout the war? They never held more than a reserve officer nation was it a wholly authoritarian, militarist, and approximately a quarter of the Western Front – even was seen as a social though it has to be acknowledged that this was a expansionist country or the pre-cursor of a fascist or Nazi state, neither in its internal structure nor very important part of the front. One and a half million achievement… its foreign policy. And definitely, German war aims volunteers from the Indian sub-continent served in were not genocidal in nature, whether sub- or conthe Great War, and 850,000 of these went overseas. sciously. In the East the number of pogroms carried out by the Points like these add a European and global dimension to the comlocal population against Jews was considerably lower during the memoration of the First World War, which should not be overlooked.

German occupation than it had been under the Tsarist regime. It is true that as the First World War progressed the German war aims However, one thing should be noted when thinking about internabecame more radical and that the military exerted power over the tional commemoration. In Germany, Central and Eastern Europe government which has left some people to argue that there was the war is remembered, but it is history. Here, ‘The Great War’ is a dictatorship in Germany in the years 1916 to 1918. If Germany the Second World War. The casualties, horrors and pain that this had won the war, the world would not have been a better place. war caused overshadow everything that had happened before. In But it is debatable whether it would have sunk “into the abyss of 2014, Germany remembers the 75th anniversary of the outbreak a new dark age”, as Churchill said after the German victory over of the Second World War in 1939, and the 70th anniversary of France in the Second World War in 1940. the 20 July 1944 bomb plot that tried to kill Hitler. These events will feature higher on the official list of remembrance than the First World War. Also, 2014 will bring the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, one of the seemingly few happy events in German history that are worth remembering.

It is right that Britain commemorates the First World War. The horrible losses sustained in this horrific conflict should never be forgotten. And yes, Britain can and should proudly remember that it was part of a victorious alliance that defeated Germany and her allies on the field of battle. But it should also remember that the First World War was a pan-European catastrophe that paved the way for an even worse ordeal 25 years later.

Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery, Belgium

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Dr. Matthias Strohn is a Senior Lecturer in the War Studies Department at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Humanities Research Institute at the University of Buckingham. He has advised both German and British government bodies on the centenary commemorations.

Brief Lives: E Company Hockey Team, 1915 Dr Frances Hurd

E Company Hockey Team, 1915, with Captain Baillie-Hamilton and Captain Priestman (copyright F M. Hurd)

This team were all members of a wartime Sandhurst course specifically targeted at undergraduates, which ran from December 1914 to May 1915. The photograph shows ten cadets and two members of staff. Nine of the cadets are wearing the Sandhurst games jacket; only the referee is in uniform. They are typical of the hundreds who passed through the RMC during World War One. They all joined their regiments as second lieutenants (subalterns), the rank at highest risk of death or injury, whose average life in a front-line battalion on the Western Front was just six weeks. It is not surprising that half of the team were killed and two were permanently disabled. The group included an Irishman, two Scots, and a Welshman, not unusual in the RMC. However, what marks them as children of their time is how many came from families with links to the British Empire. One was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), two in India, and one in Singapore. Most had relatives in the Indian Army. In 1915 three were 18, five were 19, one was 20 and one 21. Three of them earned the Military Cross.

THOMAS DAVIES d. 1915 Davies attended Llandovery College, Carmathenshire, founded to educate Welsh boys for Oxford or Cambridge. Davies went up to Clare College, Cambridge, in September 1914. He is in the second to back row, hands on hips.

Davies had intended to study medicine, but left Cambridge for Sandhurst. He joined the 1st Battalion of the Welsh Regiment. During the battle of Loos the Battalion attacked between Hulloch and Hill 70 (part of the Hohenzollern Redout) on 1 October 1915. Davies was severely wounded and died the next day, aged 20. His body

was never found. In December 1915 the War Office wrote to the Battalion (by then in Salonika) asking if Davies was still with them.

He was declared dead in 1920, and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial.

Freshmen at Clare College, Cambridge, 1914 (copyright Clare College)

ISAAC USHER d. 1916 Although Usher was a Protestant, he was born and grew up in Dundrum, a small town outside Dublin, where a memorial to his doctor father still stands. Usher was at Trinity College studying medicine at the outbreak of war. He joined the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment, and was a casualty of the Somme, dying on 4 July 1916 near Mametz Wood. Reports of his death vary widely, illustrating how difficult it is to recall accurately in the confusion of conflict. He was variously said to have been

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Telegram announcing Usher’s death to his family (Crown Copyright the National Archives)

Telegram announcing Usher’s death to his family (Crown Copyright the National Archives)

meet Captains Baillie-Hamilton and Priestman, the RMC staff members of the E Company hockey team, who had “come out here to learn a few things”.

In early July 1916 the Battalion attacked at Auchy and Tom “distinguished himself with great gallantry” according to the Regimental History. They then joined the fighting on the Somme. “Wonderful to say, I am still alive.” On 30 July Tom learned that he had won the Military Cross. “What for I don’t Concert programme (copyright the know. The [Auchy] raid I suppose.” Trustees of the Imperial War Museum) Throughout August the Battalion fought on. “Such awful nights I never knew. We are all very worn out, and I shall be glad when we get a rest.”

Usher’s gravestone (copyright www.britishwargraves.co.uk,)

shot in the chest, the back, or the leg. He was declared dead on 6 May 1917, which would, as his father noted, have been his 21st birthday. His body was found in March 1917 and lies in Danzig Alley British Cemetery, Mametz.

TOM WILMOT d. 1916 Tom attended Hereford Cathedral School before leaving at the age of 17 to farm in Canada. He returned to England in 1914. After Sandhurst he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment in July 1915. Whilst in trenches near Bethune he wrote to his mother that there were “continual thunderstorms. We are living in an absolute sea of foul mud, well over my knees. The rats are huge like dogs.” More agreeably, he attended a concert staged by the soldiers where he was astonished to

He was killed the next day. A fellow officer told Tom’s mother “Unfortunately [a shell] dropped close to your son, a piece coming out of the front of his stomach.” A nurse described his last hours. “He was just very glad to be comfortably in bed and at rest. Towards evening he grew weaker and asked me to write to you and sent his love.” He was 20. Tom was buried in the Heilly Station Cemetery near Amiens.

His brothers Robert and Cecil also died in the war. The three brothers’ letters home were carefully preserved by their mother, and the collection was one of the first private donations made to the Imperial War Museum.

STANLIE LAYARD d. 1917 Stanlie Layard was born in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), but was attending Elizabeth College in Guernsey in 1914. After Sandhurst he joined the 1st Battalion of the Border Regiment. As his parents were abroad Sir Henry McCallum, a former governor of Ceylon, acted as his guardian. Stanlie spent his leave with the McCallum family, particularly with Eileen, Sir Henry’s youngest daughter.

On 23 April 1917 Stanlie carried out a dangerous reconnoitre at Chateau Wood with great success, for which he was awarded the Military Cross. “You need not worry yourself,” he told his mother.

“I am not going to risk my life medal-hunting. I don’t intend to do this sort of thing unless I am ordered.”

The Wilmot family: Tom Wilmot is on the left in a jumper (copyright Miranda Michels)

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This was his last letter. During a night attack he was wounded, but was last seen calmly bandaging his leg and urging his men to continue. Stanlie’s fellow officers, like his distraught family, all believed that he was a prisoner of war. Eileen wrote to Mrs Layard that “Everything that is possible to do I’ll do & the impossible too if I can. We must trace him.” He was declared dead by the War

Above left: Eileen McCallum, Layard’s girlfriend. She gave him this photograph at Christmas 1914 (copyright Admiral Sir Michael Layard, KCB, CBE). Above right: Layard in uniform (copyright Admiral Sir Michael Layard, KCB, CBE). Left: Layard’s Military Cross (Admiral Sir Michael Layard, KCB, CBE)

Office in December 1917, much against his family’s wishes. His body was eventually found in 1920, and he is buried in the Dury Crucifix Cemetery, near Arras. In 1933 a spiritualist told Stanlie’s mother that he was a “beautiful Spirit Visitor happy in Heaven”.

Eileen married a widower in 1926 and died childless in 1945.

JAMES FOWLIE d. 1917 Fowlie was born in Singapore, where his father, a Municipal Commissioner, was one of the most powerful men in the colony. Fowlie was studying medicine at St Andrew’s University when he enrolled for the RMC course. He was a close friend of Douglas Wimberley (see below). They visited London together in their scanty free time, enjoying good meals and theatre visits, occasionally trying to pick up chorus girls. Fowlie joined the 1st Battalion of the HIghland Light Infantry and survived the Somme unscathed, subsequently being promoted to lieutenant. He commanded a company for about five weeks before his death. In April 1917 the HLI were in the front line near Arras, and Fowlie was killed by a direct hit from a shell. His CO wrote to Fowlie’s father: “He was a first rate fellow ... I personally will miss him and his services more than I can say.” He is buried in the Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery, Arras.

NORMAN KELLEY d. 1940 Kelley’s background was rather different from that of the other cadets. He was born in Heckmondwike, Yorkshire, where Kelley’s Carpets had been based since 1851. For unknown reasons his father George left the business and moved to Lancashire. Kelley attended Manchester Grammar School and was studying architecture at the Manchester Technical School in 1914. He joined the 1st Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment in May 1915, and went to France in November to replace one of the many officer casualties. A month later he suffered an epileptic fit, fell over and dislocated his shoulder.

He was shipped back to England and never returned to France.

Epileptics could not be accepted as soldiers, so either Kelley lied about his condition, or it was triggered by the stressful nature of front-line life. He underwent a series of operations on his shoulder which were at last successful in 1921.

IVOR COCHRANE d. 1940 Although Cochrane was born in Glamorgan, his family too had links with the Empire as his father was born in Bombay. He was sent to Wellington College which probably means that he was intended to become an army officer from an early age. He was the captain of the hockey team and the use of a ‘baffle’ on his stick suggests he was an experienced player. He joined the 2nd Battalion of the South Wales Borderers in March 1915, and took part in the dramatic and hard-fought landing at Cape Helles, Gallipoli. In August the Battalion moved to Suvla Bay and suffered heavy casualties. Cochrane was transferred to either the 7th or 8th Battalions and fought in the Salonika campaign.

He was promoted to captain in 1917.

In the Second World War he served in Egypt where he was seriously injured. He returned to England where he died. He is buried in Kewstoke in Somerset.

ICochrane’s gravestone (copyright Reverend Geoffrey Eales)

TREVOR SOUTHGATE d. 1963 Southgate was born in London and went to Felsted School in Essex, but his family was based in Rio de Janiero. He joined the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment in France in December 1915 and was then attached to the 12th Brigade of the Machine Gun Company in February 1916. According to regimental sources, he returned to England on 1 July 1916 to train as a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps, and flew with them first in India and then in northern Russia. Southgate resigned his commission in 1919 and joined the United Africa Company, working in Nigeria and Mozambique.

Fowlie’s gravestone (copyright www.britishwargraves.co.uk,)

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CHARLES COOK d. 1981 Cook was the original owner of the hockey team photograph. He was born in India like his parents and grandparents, and attended Tonbridge School. After Sandhurst, he joined the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and served as machine gun officer. The Regimental History dismisses the three months from October to December 1915 as being ‘without incident of more than ordinary interest’, but Cook was seriously injured and his right leg was amputated. After convalescence he served in several DCLI reserve battalions in England before becoming a Balloon Observer with the Royal Flying Corps. This was highly dangerous as the balloons were filled with flammable gas, and many were shot down. Observers were issued with primitive parachutes, but their death rate was very high. Cook was discharged from service in 1919. He played a leading role in the establishment and organisation of the Hampshire Home Guard during the Second World War.

Wimberley in World War Two (copyright reserved: private collection)

We changed our clothes and uniforms at least six times a day, always at top speed. Any spare time I ever had, I lay on my bed just resting for what was coming next. Finally the great day of our passing-out came. We all paraded in what was ribaldly called ‘Christmas Tree’ Order of Dress. We wore Sam Brown belts, to which were attached a medley of articles: revolvers in holsters with ammunition pouches, compasses, electric torches, haversacks, and of course, swords. On other straps were map cases, rolled greatcoats, mess tins containing iron rations, and water bottles. It was very soon all to be discarded for proper equipment, as worn by the soldiers, modified for officers’ use.”

Wimberley joined the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders and served throughout the war, winning the Military Cross at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917 as a Company Commander in the Machine Gun Corps with the 51st Highland Division. He later served in Russia, Ireland and India. He was commanding 1st Camerons at the start of the Second World War, but was quickly promoted to command the Highland Division in North Africa and Sicily before becoming the Director of Infantry.

Cook at Tonbridge School, 1913 (copyright F. M. Hurd) Map used by Cook in the trenches (private collection)

DOUGLAS WIMBERLEY d. 1983 We know more about Wimberley than any other member of the hockey team because he wrote a lively and informative unpublished autobiography. His parents were absent in India for much of his childhood, and he was brought up by his grandparents in Scotland. “My mother and all my four grandparents were born in India, and my great-grandparents were as well.” He had a very happy childhood, and life at Wellington College came as a shock. “Everything else I have encountered through life has been easier than was my boyhood between thirteen and eighteen.”

He enjoyed Sandhurst, despite the frenetic pace. “Long before it was light we were doing recruits’ arms drill. Long after it was dark we were locked in our rooms mugging up for the morrow.

Douglas Wimberley with his grandparents (copyright reserved: private collection)

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Wimberley in World War One (copyright reserved: private collection)

The research summarised above represents findings since May 2013, and some of the cadets remain shadowy figures. If any readers have further knowledge, please email me via the RMA Sanshurst.

Acknowledgements I am most grateful to Dr Anthony Morton, Curator of the RMAS Collection, for so enthusiastically embracing the idea of the Hockey Team project, and to Sebastian Puncher for commissioning this article. Particular gratitude is owed to Jasper Copping and The Sunday Telegraph for their continuing support in publicising the project. I am most grateful for help received from the National Archives, the British Library, and the fantastic staff of the Imperial War Museum; John Lowles and the Mercian Museum (Worcestershire); Claire MorganJones and Hereford Cathedral School; David Hilder; Hendrik Deleu and Ypres Ballooning; Hugo White and Cornwalls Regimental Museum; Tony Martin-Jones; Ruth Fletcher; Beverley Matthews and Tonbridge School; Jacobs & Hunt Auctioneers of Petersfield, Hampshire; Jeremy Crang; Kate Vigurs and Ed Spiers of the School of History, University of Leeds; Keith Bichard and Elizabeth College, Guernsey; Tony Goddard and Cumbria’s Military Museum; David Davison; Michael Lee; the Reverend Geoffrey Eales, Michelle Cardi and the parish of Kewstoke; Professor Brenda Yeoh of the National University of Singapore; the Scottish Military Research Group; the National Hockey Museum; Paul Rogers and the Hereford Times; Hannah Beech and Clare College, Cambridge; Amy Jones and the Western Telegraph; Bill Price; Llandovery College; Jenny Harrison; Ian Hook and the Essex Regiment Museum; the British War Graves project. I am grateful to my family for their support, particularly to Zoe Hurd for help in transcribing documents.

My most profound thanks go to the relatives of three Hockey Team members. Without them this project would probably have ground to a halt. They are Admiral Sir Michael Layard (Stanlie Layard’s nephew); General Douglas Wimberley’s family; and Miranda Michels (grand-niece of Tom Wilmot).

Ex Purkha Haruko Birata: Gurkha Company Sittang’s Battlefield Study 2013 Between 22 to 24 February 2013, Gurkha Company (Sittang) and members of the Sandhurst Support Unit supported by an academic from the War Studies Department took part in Exercise Purka Haruko Birata (Ancestors’ Bravery), a battlefield study to Neuve Chappelle in France and the Ypres Salient in Belgium.

Organised by Captain Dillikumar Rai with financial support from the Senior Padre, the CO of the SSU and Sittang Company’s own funds, the intention was to give the participants a wider understanding of the nature of war and military history through the visiting a number of battlefields, memorials and cemeteries from the First World War in France and Belgium. Given the exercise’s title, the main emphasis was on the actions of the I Indian Corps which served in France in 1914-1915. The group visited Neuve Chapelle where the Indian Corps, which contained a number of Gurkha Battalions, played a key role in first British offensive of the war.

Over two days in March 1915 the Corps took more than 4,000

Inside the Indian Memorial at Neuve Chappelle

casualties. During the Second battle of Ypres in April 1915, in the area now containing the Vancouver Corner Canadian Memorial, the Germans used poison gas for the first time. There we saw where the Lahore Division attempted to retake some of the lost ground. The group also visited sites related to the general conduct of the fighting in the area such as Hill 60, the Essex Farm Dressing Station, Langamarck German Cemetery, Tyne Cot Cemetery and the small Indian Cemetary at Zelobes. This enabled the discussion of issues such as courage, maintenance of morale and discipline and technological innovation. The undoubted high points of trip were the moving wreath laying undertaken by Major Khamcha and Captain Rai at the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate and the wonderful welcome Sittang Company received at the Talbot House Museum in Poperinghe. The exercise truly gave us the opportunity to honour and to appreciate our ancestors’ bravery.

At Tyne Cott

Capt Rai at Hill 60

Langemarck Cemetery

The GCS and RMAS wreaths

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Pace-stick season 2013 WO1 (AcSM) A J Stokes Pace-sticking as we witness today traces its origin to this Academy. The purist will say that the Romans used similar implements to measure a ‘Roman Mile’ during road construction and that the Royal Artillery used a similar device to measure distance between its field gun teams, both would be correct; although the RA stick was more like a walking stick with a silver or ivory knob. It could not be manipulated in the way laid down in this article. However the modern day, formalised and rigid pace-stick drill that is witnessed around the Academy traces its roots to the tenure of RSM Brand MVO MBE who was the RSM of the Royal Military College Sandhurst 1937 – 46 and then the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 1946-48. He designed the current pace-stick and incorporated it as an aid to drill, formalising how it should be used. His original pace-stick is on display in the WO & Serjeants’ Mess.

In 1952, the Academy Serjeant Major (the late John Lord MVO MBE) started a pacestick competition. This competition has been held annually since at the Academy, originally a competition between RMAS and Guards Depot instructors, now it is an international event.

At the beginning of the Summer Term the Academy Serjeant Major issued the order that all SNCO’s should open their pace-sticks and begin practising for the inter-company competition 7 weeks later.

Teams are formed from Companies with the CSM at the rear of the team (the driver) issuing the instructions to 3 other team members, usually CSgts.

Sandhurst Colour Sergeants pace sticking

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The Teams from the Bahrain National Guard celebrating victory

It requires proficiency at basic foot drill and a high level of concentration and coordination.

later in the evening, Old College Parade ground can seem a very lonely place with lots of personal credibility at stake, it’s not for the feint hearted and requires nerves of steel…and perhaps some Dutch courage!

7 weeks may seem like a long time but turning the stick is not quite as easy as one might think. It requires proficiency at basic foot drill and a high level of concentration and coordination. During the competition the Sgts Mess beer tent is crammed full of critical and drill hardened Senior NCO’s willing to offer their expert advice.

The competition is video recorded and replayed on a big screen in the Sgts Mess

The day was expertly arranged by CSM Taylor WG (De Coy CSM), the beer tent positioned in an intimidating spot at the end of the course, the burger stall and ice cream van stocked to capacity for the 14 teams from the Academy to commence battle. On offer for the winning team were crystal tankards that would proudly be charged in the mess after victory and the Best individual pace-sticker would be presented with a gold watch.

Of particular note were two teams; Sandhurst Support Unit submitted a team of LCpls from the Armourers shop and the Officers Mess team, both of whom had no previous experience and put in very credible attempts. Capt James Walker RE even took his pace-stick to Exercise Long Reach for additional practise.

The overall winners were Somme Company driven by CSM Bowness YORKS and the best individual sticker was won by CSgt Reid SG. The aim of the Inter Company competition was to select the best stickers to represent the Academy at the World Championship competition 2 weeks later. They were formed up and teams were named after previous AcSM’s, on this occasion the Cleary (1980–87) and Nesbitt (1987–1993) teams.

On Friday 5th July 28 teams, consisting of all of the Phase 1 training establishments, all of the Foot Guards Regiments and MCTC Colchester converged on Old College parade ground. It was no coincidence that the annual RSM’s convention dispersed on the same morning and boosted the numbers of spectators, adding to the excitement. The Chief of General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall also took time out of his diary to attend the competition.

The competition was supported internationally with representation from the Sultan

The resident band entertaining the crowd

of Oman’s Armed Forces training regiment, Bahrain Police Academy and the Bahrain National Guard. The latter gave a perfect display of exacting standards to win the overseas trophy, with many UK teams looking on in awe at their excellent drill display.

Victory on the day went to the 1st Bn Grenadier Guards with 1st Bn Scots Guards closely following. The best individual pace sticker award was won by Sgt Rowlands WG. The organiser conducting his last minute checks

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25/10/10 13:16:12 SANDHURST 11

The Intermediate term: myths and the realities.

OCdt Farmelo, 25 Platoon, The Somme Company It’s week 12 and the term’s end is finally in sight. This realisation causes a twang of nostalgia, I can’t remember the exact circumstances under which I started this brief reminiscence but I’m pretty sure I was splashing around in the pool trying to convert a sodden pair of ripped and tattered combat 95s into some kind of buoyancy aid but I found myself casting my mind back to this time last term and all that we had expected and hoped from New College.

Back then we were enjoying the final weeks of juniors – 14 weeks enduring one fairly miserable situation after the next (primarily by whining but with the odd scrap of, very necessary, cavalier humour thrown in). In Old College there was no lack of variety in our suffering, one could be spending 4 hours of an evening digging through stony, water logged ground in order to sit in said hole, in the dark, for the next 8 hours, fighting sleep while the water slowly rose around us. The next night you may be able to enjoy that same sleep deprivation whilst polishing skirting boards and water bottles and spending literally hours rearranging one’s third shelf to ensure that all 32 rooms in our platoon had our compass bezels set to the right bearing and magazines laid out exactly 2⅓ cm from the left hand edge of the first bookshelf.

Creeping social conditioning?

Exercise First Encounter3 by fantasizing about how much better things would be once we entered the sunny uplands of ‘Faraday There certainly was an ‘end of term’ feeling permeating the lines, five’, the five weeks dominated by our academic studies. I have we were in New College, we were finally settled – hell, we had now concluded that fantasies really do have a bad habit of being done Ex LONG REACH and beaten the Black Mountains!1 To shamelessly paraphrase Hennessey we really did rather better than the reality – albeit still a useful believe that ‘the hard part of this 44 week extravamotivational tool. ganza was over, bring on the war studies lectures’.

Then maybe out for Inters (the intermediate term) was going to be all Unfortunately (and unsurprisingly) our expectation a swim in the lake, 0830 starts, sitting in cool Faraday Hall classrooms of the leisurely life of a gentleman academic was followed by a large with the sun streaming through the windows, lazily not to be. ‘Faraday Five’ was a busy thrashing as debating the future of European security integration we begun our tuition on Defensive operations, all and sumptuous whilst eating a Cornetto and sipping Thai Chi Latculminating in an eight day Urban exercise known dinner with an easy tés. Then maybe out for a swim in the lake, folas Ex DRUIDS RIDGE. During ‘Druids’ we stumG&T… lowed by a large and sumptuous dinner with an bled through a comprehensive training package easy G&T in the Sovereigns Bar to finish off the day. of both urban and rural defensive and offensive It was going to be just like Uni – with a little more operations and were given more freedom, or as cleaning perhaps but this time getting paid. Or so we thought.... the DS loved to put it – “more rope to hang ourselves with”. On our return we were shipped off to the Normandy coast for ExerLiterally as soon as we got back after being softened up by three cise Normandy Scholar (which we were warned, contrary to what glorious weeks of overpriced Covent Garden cocktails and swanky we may have heard “is most certainly not going to be a bloody Knightsbridge hotels where we merrily squandering our new found jolly”) and spent a sobering couple of days putting ourselves in Officer Cadet disposable income2, we were thrown into the infathe shoes of the young officers who took part in the storming of mous CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear trainFortress Europe 69 years ago. The exercise was concluded by a ing) which, slightly worryingly, was featuring rather more heavily in talk courtesy of Major Majendy, a truly inspiring and charismatic our training program than in previous years. With the DS shouting officer who fought with the 4th Somersets at Hill 112 losing a at us as we stumbled around in the mid-summer heat, trying ineptly third of his battalion during the opening assault, suffering losses to carry out drinking and defecation drills, telling us that ‘we betand privations that we couldn’t imagine, certainly kicking our ‘five ter take it seriously’ because we were REALLY going to need this days digging in Norfolk’ into touch and giving us a whole new when we end up crouched in a shell scrape in Homs, or Damascus perspective; a truly humbling experience. or, (if things got really bad) in Tel Aviv, we truly discovered the errors of our misplaced preconceptions. If we thought fighting from freezSo now we’re back and once again the end is in sight. We’ve ing black woodblocks was bad, try adding a stiffening charcoal handed in our sleeping bags to the CQMS, confirmation that lined suit, Darth Vaderesque respirator and an hour or two, or even they’re not sending us off anywhere else this term... Or is it? three in the dreaded 4R chemical sentry position.

There is, however, one final hurdle to jump – and it’s perceived as the biggest hurdle. Next week is the Regimental Selection I, for one, managed the shock of the first three weeks back, Boards. The ‘RSB’ is likely to be the most important board we culminating in a 120 hour non-stop digging session known as 1 Technically, owing to adverse weather conditions, the mountains had actually very much beaten us.

2 Prevailing attitude being ‘...because, damn it, what else are we going to spend it on?’

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3 If one did not correctly don one’s respirator in the allocated nine seconds after the call of ‘GAS GAS GAS!’ Then a colour sergeant would materialise out of a nearby bush to spray CS gas in and around ones mouth, eyes and nose and all over ones kit – putting somewhat of a downer on the rest of the afternoon.

Still a long way to go

GASGASGAS! An exit from ‘the chamber’

are ever called in front of and consists of anywhere between two and eight senior officers4. Many of us going for the smaller infantry and cavalry regiments have a fairly good idea by this point where we are going to end up owing to the level of feedback and personal contact one gets during the previous years of lobbying, letter writing and visits. For these regiments much of the cutting happens earlier on in the process and by now there tends to be only two candidates for two or three places rather than fifty for twenty places for, say, the Artillery and the Engineers. For those candidates the pressure really is on with everything down to the interview performance on the day.

delirium of bombing up the M3 for the sweetest 18 hours of our week is still there but the drive back on Sunday is getting easier because every passing week we’re drawing closer to a goal we now understand and appreciate. We know that by the end of every week we shall be that little more prepared in our endeavours to achieve that goal.

Something, however, is different now. It’s been a gradual change in all of us but most can identify it by now. It’s a subtle but fundamental shift in the way we think, the way we act and hold ourselves, the way we are treated and the way we see ourselves and think. All of us are still a long way away from where we need to be, but we are far closer than we were when we walked up the steps of Old College on the first day in January. We’re now not just being pushed but pushing ourselves, working, understanding and becoming part of more and more of the system not fighting against it. We’re learning just as much of what not to do as what to do and for most, moving in the right direction. The

So my own RSB is tomorrow morning. First thing in the morning I’ll find out where I’m spending my career and in a way this terrifies me. I’m now faced with the same questions that young men in my position have been asking themselves over the two centuries since the Academy’s construction; what will my platoon make of me, how will I deal with not just a Platoon Sergeant but a whole plethora of NCO’s with chests full of medals? How will I fit into the mess and what will my OC think of me not to mention the CO? How will I react when the pressure really is on and the rounds aren’t blank and the enemy aren’t friendly Ghurkhas? Will I be able to make a difference? There is only one way to answer these questions, the questions which drove us all here in the first place and it can only come in time. It’s simply not possible to know the answers as yet but what I do know is that this Academy and the extraordinary work it does will leave me in the best possible position I could be to find out.

4 This can be anywhere between Senior Captains and Three Star Generals.

‘Oh cruel world!’ Combat gardening

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Alamein

Gaza

The Somme Company Dinner Night OCdt Ferrier The Somme Company held our Intermediate term dinner night on Friday 14 June. For us Officer Cadets it was a chance to enjoy a social evening, to forget the horrors of Ex FIRST ENCOUNTER and open up the Academy to our honoured guests: our parents, grandparents and immediate family members. This dinner has long been a tradition at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, inviting those people who have influenced and supported us most before our time here. For many of the guests it is a chance to walk down the corridors once again, remembering fondly the time spent in their old Company lines, now the Regimental Sergeant Major’s Office, and reminiscing about mishaps and various deeds. However, for others at the dinner night it is one of the rare glimpses into the different, and often bizarre, world their sons and

OCdt Salmon with parents outside New College prior to the Dinner Night

daughters have entered into. Sandhurst can be such a transforming process, events such as these help parents recognise the new world and new family we have joined.

OCdt Donnelly with father, OCdt Ferrier, CSgt Twine, with Mrs and Lt RMAS Wish Stream Advert 2013_Rmas Wish Stream Advert 12/03/2014 11:04 Page 1 Col (Rtd) Ferrier prior to dinner in the New College Dining Hall

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The New College Commander, Lt Col Lambert, spoke after the meal about our decision to come to Sandhurst and take that first step into the British Army. He spoke about the difficulties we had faced in order to reach this stage, and asked our parents to be proud of what we had achieved and the commitment we had made. However, most poignantly, he spoke of the need for us to not forget our families and friends. Whilst some of the experiences at Sandhurst are undeniably tough, we should not forget the people we have left behind, especially in the future if we are to deploy on operations. The evening was rounded off in excellent style by The Saxophone Quartet of The Band of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, playing some traditional regimental marches with the finale, ‘Scipio’. Sharing these traditions with our families was a good experience and it helps in part to explain what becoming an Officer in the British Army represents. The traditions help us celebrate our regiments, Corps and training establishments, enshrining the ethos and bringing together our two families.

The theme of the Company Prayers the next morning was ‘Selfless Commitment’, the service being led by the Officer Cadets.

Prior to the service our guests experienced the terror of the drill square by receiving a brief introduction to drill from our Company Sergeant Major, WO2 Bowness, before being marched to chapel.

The congregation heard about the acts of gallantry conducted by Lt T E Waters at the Battle of the Imjin River, as well as being given a thought provoking talk by OCdt Longstone. The Battle of The Somme, which is our company namesake, is a harrowing example of extremely strenuous conditions and the challenges to leadership they pose. On the first day of fighting there were 60,000 casualties; 9 Victoria Crosses were awarded that day. It is these individual tales of remarkable achievements and displays of utter commitment that teach us humility as cadets, and provide an example for us to follow.

Many thanks go from the entire company to the Company Dinner Night Officer, Capt Gostling, who made the event possible, as well as the Padre, catering staff and the Dinner Night Committtee.

It is a unique opportunity to celebrate and thank our families, and long may the tradition continue.

Druid’s Ridge OCdt Henry Dutton, Somme Company, CC131 Your oppos hand on your shoulder steadies your breathing. You peek around the edge of the doorway and peer into the dark – you cannot see anything, but you know that in the darkness an enemy lurks. The hand on your shoulder disappears, and reappears holding a grenade. You nod and the grenade is primed and then thrown into the room. It detonates, and barely has the noise finished before you and your oppo are into the room, side by side. You see an enemy figure in the corner, and move towards it firing steadily. “Left Clear” shouts your comrade, swiftly followed by you, “Right Clear, doorway right”. The Section Commander enters. He looks around, before calling out “Room clear, next pair in”. Two more section members enter the room and stack up next to the doorway …

the withdrawal dawned, a depressing misty day. And then they came – a terrible new enemy, Ghurka Invulnerablis. Despite the vast number of rounds fired at them, they refused to die. The ordered withdrawal was soon on the verge of collapse – gripping by the Company staff avoided this, but the withdrawal nevertheless descended into a scramble.

Druids Ridge is billed as an OBUA (Operations in Built Up Areas) exercise, and was one we were all looking forward to. The chance for us to get to grips with this most complicated form of warfare couldn’t come quick enough. Not even cutting a precious leave weekend early, or the 0330 Armoury time, could dampen our enthusiasm. We arrived at Celini Village mid-morning and were immediately thrust into a revision and learning package. From room clearing and methods of entry into a building, to practising battlefield casualty drills, the day flew by.

We regrouped in a woodblock some 5kms from Celini. Morale was low, but soon brightened with orders for an ambush that night. An upbeat mood swept round the cadets. After a long tab to the ambush location we settled down to wait, battling to Morale was low, stay awake. Finally we heard the but soon brightened Ghurkas approaching – from quite a distance, it turned out, as they with orders for an were being suspiciously loud and ambush that night. ill-disciplined. Then the trip flare went off, and the night air was split asunder by 30 rifles being fired as quickly as possible. There is something predatory about catching an enemy unawares and at your mercy. The grins on our faces as we trotted away from the ambush site said it all.

In the early evening we began preparing Celini. Sandbags were stacked in windows, Sangars constructed from ammo boxes and barbed wire laid. During this time we were informed that the enemy had, despite our valiant efforts during Ex First Encounter, acquired chemical weapons. On went the nightmare suits, and work suddenly became harder. Recee patrols were launched to find the chemical weapons, whilst company obstacles were placed and streets blockaded. By the time the DS were satisfied, Celini looked like something out of Lord of the Rings, an impregnable citadel.

Probing attacks began, and despite some limited success, swift counter attacks ensured that any lost ground was quickly reclaimed.

With the village built up, the emphasis changed. Recee patrols became fighting patrols. Enemy mortar locations were taken, and chemical weapon caches discovered. Success! The hateful CBRN suits and respirators were packed away.

There are many stories of disastrous withdrawals. Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow in 1812 or the British Expeditionary Forces’ retreat to Dunkirk spring to mind. Let me add the Somme Companys’ withdrawal from Celini – a never ending slog through midge infested swamp to finally ascend a hill whose mist shrouded top seemed never to appear.

We moved as an intake into a farm. We all knew what was coming, the final assault on the village. The planning for the retaking of Celini was impressive. Watching battlegroup rehearsals made you realise just how many working parts there were to this operation. One final obstacle stood in our way before we could launch upon Celini – a small farm complex. The Somme launched a night attack. The plan was sound, the enemy weakened. What could go wrong?

We were then told we would be withdrawing in the morning. Bergans were packed and daysacks top flapped. The morning of

Enemy mortars played havoc with our troops, and the night only added confusion to an already complex operation. An “accidental” incident which saw an entire section of 19 Platoon annihilated by 26 Platoon made the situation harder still. Eventually the farm was taken, but walking back down the road was a sobering sight.

Explosive method of entry

Fortress Celini

SANDHURST 17

It really did look like we had been at the Somme – “wounded” cadets lined the road on both sides. Many a lesson was learnt, and a grim determination resolved itself in the Company. We would not make the same mistakes again.

As the last Ghurka fell a ragged cheer rang out around the village (quickly silenced by the CSgts). End Ex was called.

Druids Ridge saw a definite change in the style of exercise. We found ourselves increasingly going on patrols and then being The way back to Celini was clear. Early in the morning we began given time to administrate ourselves. The fighting in buildings our final tab. As we crested the last hill, we saw was an incredible challenge. The enemy could Celini village, just as the artillery and air strikes went be and often was anywhere. When moving into You realise how in. a building you’re faced with a labyrinth of hiding spots. You realise how vulnerable you are, when vulnerable you are, We waited. you are on ground the enemy knows intimately. It when you are on is also exciting and exhilarating, especially when ground the enemy Finally, it was our turn. We entered the village, you have a seemingly endless supply of grenades. echeloning through Gaza Company, and, platoon The lessons learnt are almost innumerable, but knows intimately. by platoon, assaulted the buildings. one above all surfaced – communications. When the radios don’t work, the importance of link men Fighting in buildings is, at best, organised chaos. Every room and became paramount. We made leaps and bounds forward durcorridor is a potential nightmare, with enemies or booby traps ing the exercise. One only had to compare the near disastrous lurking in the dark. Communications don’t work, so orders are attack on the farm the night before the attack on Celini, to the shouted backwards and onwards to the Platoon Commander. final assault upon the village to see how quickly we assimilated Once a building is cleared, it is onto the next one, room by room, the lessons and moved forwards. The DS might disagree, but we floor by floor. It is a hugely time consuming process. Add a felt that we all had taken great steps forward. And, at the end of friendly casualty and the dynamics change again, as reinforceit all, that is surely the point. ments are needed in order to secure the building. Slowly, building by building, Commissioning Course 131 retook Celini.

Blenheim Company Meets Its Heritage!

OCdt Peter Gornall, 12 Platoon, Blenheim Company As Blenheim Company it seemed only right that we should go and visit the palace given by a grateful nation to the first Duke of Marlborough to celebrate his fantastic victory in the Battle of Blenheim, 1704. Of course, no military visit is complete without many hours spent preparing uniform so on Thursday 27th June in No 1 Ceremonial Dress with boots bulled and peaks buffed we made our way to Blenheim Palace.

Sadly His Grace The Duke of Marlborough, the 9th since John Churchill, was unwell so he was unable to join us. We were, however, told he was watching from his window, partly out curiosity and partly to ensure we observed various ‘Please Keep Off’ signs! On arrival, the visit attendees had a fantastic group photograph taken by the North Gate in front of the spectacular place. Some of our cadets and staff were unable to be there on the day but fortunately we were told that the photographer could simply ‘Photoshop’ them in.

Following the photo we embarked on guided tours in small groups, led mainly by ex-servicemen and women. The key facts learnt for the Weeks 1–5 drill test proved invaluable when we were questioned on the Battle of Blenheim. The guides seemed content that we knew the date and key leaders and did not dig any deeper; I feel they may have been disappointed had they done so. We also learnt a great deal about Sir Winston Churchill whose grandfather was the 7th Duke of Marlborough. Churchill was born at Blen 18

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Members of 10 Platoon at Blenheim Palace

heim Palace and the beautiful buildings and grounds clearly held great significance for him throughout his life.

Following a brief foray as ‘celebrities’ (credit to the No 1 ceremonial dress) pursued by ‘paparazzi’ (the tourists), we travelled to Oxford City Centre. Here we received a very good talk from the curator of the recently renovated Ashmolean Museum that was followed by some time to explore its Greek, Egyptian and Saxon exhibitions independently. With the kind permission of Oxford University Officer

Training Corps, those who wanted to start their leave weekend by exploring the city used Falklands House to change. Most people’s routes tended to be influenced by the location of the nearest good pub but an appreciation of the culture that Oxford has to offer was certainly gained.

Overall, Blenheim Company very much enjoyed learning more about the history of the Company that has been ‘home’ for the past nine months, and it was of course great to have the opportunity to spend a day away from Sandhurst, and to forget for a moment its stresses and strains.

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Exercise Normandy Scholar OCdt Simon Reed, 23 Platoon Gaza Coy CC131 Normandy Scholar is an exercise designed to provide Officer Cadets (once they have survived the emotionally harrowing experience of PRACTAC) with an opportunity to take the Combat Estimate to a more practical and vivid theatre; to take a step back in time and test what we learn in Inters against the events that unfolded in the Summer of 1944, bringing a real, relevant and thought provoking edge to the TEWT process which forms a large part of Officer development in the second term of Sandhurst.

The Exercise itself started in RMAS, being introduced to some of the doctrine, weapons and tactics employed by the protagonists of the Second World War. Throughout Inters Cadets are taught to appreciate the nuances of manoeuvre warfare, a military practice that was employed throughout the Second World War. An appreciation of this school of thought was essential as we discussed the history of the war and how the events of 1944 came to pass.

Beach Model

The first scenario which was posed to Gaza Company was that of Merville Battery, a famous assault from the Parachute Regiment which was carried out before the ships had arrived on Gold Beach and D-Day had officially started. We were to site a Landing Zone and plan an approach to the German owned Merville Battery for 9 Para, with strict time constraints to ensure the main attacking force could land with the best chance of defeating the beach defences. 2 hours of stringent planning in the Academy and the scene was set; we were ready for Normandy.

With the sun beating down on us, Gaza moved on to Operation Solid Gold – the Allied assault of Gold Beach on 6th June 1944.

Here again we were posed with an uncomfortable scenario. As Lt Thomas Lowe, Platoon Commander in 5 E Yorks, we were tasked with clearing a section of Normandy coast approximately 200m long. A 200m that contained one Anti-tank gun and no less than 8 LMG positions. On a flat beach. With obstacles. There was no helpful bund line or dead ground here, just mettle and a complete necessity to complete the mission It was thought at hand. A Hastily constructed sand model pit and a keen eye on the incoming tide allowed 23 Platoon provoking, to plan the assault and it was not dissimilar to that challenging and of Lt. Lowe. Unfortunately, as was the harsh realmentally draining, ity of many of the scenarios in Normandy Scholar, what transpired was heavy casualties, disorder and but always a realisation that nothing in this war was simple.

After a swift overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Ouistreham Gaza Company were poised to begin our adventure to Merville Battery. Each syndicate of Cadets was expertly guided by a member of the War Studies staff and Merville Battery provided 6 stands, all posing a different aspect of judgement and leadership, from planning an assault to fascinating. moral issues such as treatment of civilians. As we worked our way closer to the Battery vignettes Normandy Scholar was not all TEWTs, moral dilemof history fleshed out our knowledge and we followed the footmas and constant fretting of how to avoid MG42 fire. The evening of steps of 9 Para, facing the same tactical issues as in 1944. It was the first night we stayed on the coast and enjoyed some downtime, thought provoking, challenging and mentally draining, but always including beach rugby, a very quick swim in the channel and some fascinating. relaxation time in the hostel garden. A welcome period of rest and distraction and a notable improvement from a shell scrape in Brecon.

The dĂŠnouement of the morning session (6 stands were tackled before midday!) was what do after the Battery had been The second day saw two operations posed to us; that of Geordestroyed. With 80 men fit, 25 KIA and 40 Wounded plus Gerdie Defender and Hilltop Challenge. Both were very different in man casualties, mortar fire from German depth incoming and the their own right and kept us comprehensively occupied for another Royal Navy due to bombard the area, for the first time we gained non-stop day. Operation Geordie Defender put 23 Platoon in the a real sense of the incredible urgency and pressure these men shoes of 8th Battalion Durham Light Infantry, defending and withfaced, how little time they had to make key decisions and what drawing from the village of Tilly-sur-Seulles. We had moved forhuge ramifications these decisions had. The morning had been a ward in time and the fluidity of the situation had begun to strike full blooded welcome to the savage reality of D-Day. us; there were so many casualties that Platoon Commanders had

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become OCs, re-orbatting had rendered platoons as more of a notional entity than a structured format of operations and it gave us the freedom to be more creative than we perhaps experience during our TEWTs at RMAS. The defence itself also gave us an opportunity to combine Artillery, Armour and Infantry assets and actively consider the best way to halt the counter-attacks that had made the German forces so difficult to attack. The withdrawal from the village was also performed in real time, sprinting down the road with casualties in tow – an essential touch the Platoon Directing Staff decided.

Finally, there came Operation Hilltop Challenge, a 6 stand finale to our time in Normandy. The location was hill 112, the force was 5 Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (DCLI). Set 10-11 July it was a month after the D-Day landings and Merville Battery, and as ever we were faced with a formidable situation. With little time and only long grass to protect C Company from the German defences the men of 5 DCLI showed characteristically awe-inspiring levels of courage to push the German defences back and secure the hill.

Once we had planned this attack we were faced with a defence of the hill against a strong German counter and a withdrawal.

Finally, as always, we were given the history of the event, given in lucid detail by our War Studies team, whose enthusiasm and knowledge remained fantastic throughout.

Normandy Scholar ended with what was without doubt an invaluable highlight – the opportunity to meet and hear from Major John Majendie, a veteran from the Somerset Light Infantry who had been a vital part of the attack on Hill 112, before and after the exact assault we had assessed. Having the opportunity to hear from a 93 year old active participant, especially one who spoke with such astonishing recollection and lucidity was truly special.

The talk he gave was of course made all the more special as we sat on the very site he had been 69 years earlier, fighting in such a momentous campaign. After the talk we proceeded as a Company to the Commonwealth War Cemetery. Here we held a short

‘Road to Tilly’

service and had some time to walk through the graves. Always moving, this event was again made all the more poignant thanks to the 2 days we had spent in Normandy and what had become a profound appreciation of the challenges all the men faced in the battle for Europe, regardless of rank.

Normandy Scholar was described before we left as a ‘penny dropping moment’, and it certainly provided. The opportunity to exercise the leadership ideas we have learned so far at Sandhurst, further them, make them relevant, and push us out of our comfort zones into more real time leadership challenges that officers must face, was truly an invaluable experience. It was a mentally exhausting two days but we enjoyed every minute and gives us a more comprehensive appreciation that when we Commission we will not always have ‘the book’ to guide us. Mental agility and faith in our training must help us when time is tight and pressure high, and Normandy Scholar served to increase our appreciation of this fact, but also confidence in the Combat Estimate and the thorough foundation we are being given during our time here.

Lyndhurst Preparatory School Independent Education for Boys and Girls from 3 to 11 years

Early Years • Pre Prep • Prep OPEN MORNING

Saturday 26th April 10.00am – 12.00noon. Headmaster’s address at 11.00am.

Open term time 8.00am – 6.00pm – holiday provision available.

“The children’s personal, emotional development and well-being is outstanding” Independent Schools Inspection Report – October 2013

Individual • Inspirational • Independent

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Blenheim

Waterloo Company Charity Ball 2013 OCdt Travers, 14 Platoon, Waterloo Company, CC123 On Friday 5th July 2013, Waterloo Company hosted guests from outside of the academy on it’s annual Charity Ball night.

The members of Waterloo are known to enjoy a party so it was set to be a fantastic event. Ably organised by the officer cadets of the Comapny, the night was broken down into three parts: Pre-dinner drinks with horse racing and Company promises; dinner, with both a silent and conventional auction; and music and dancing to follow.

The pre-dinner drinks bore witness to a Sandhurst first, a human grand national, with some of the cadets from the company, more than happy to provide five horses from the sturdier built men, along with five of the smallest as jockeys. The jockeys and riders had to undergo a gruelling 200 metre course complete with all manner of obstacles. It saw a close finish, with Mr Stinton and his jockey Mr Lee coming in first place, followed by Mr Wilson, ridden by Mr Marshall in second and closely followed by Mr Tarbox, ridden by Mr Jack. With the champagne awarded and the horses fed and watered, the first charity event of the night started, the Company Promises. The cadets and their guests were surprisingly generous with the amounts that they decided to bid it appeared as though the champagne at the reception had geared us all up for night of philanthropy. Mr Jack, never one to shy away from administration, ensured that he would have an easy time of it after the final exercise. Paying over £230 to have his parade boots bulled by Company Sergeant

14 Platoon having a casual pre-ball photograph

Major Frith, and to have his rifle cleaned by Captain Luff, an offer the 14 Platoon Commander was sure to regret after the final attack of Exercise Dynamic Victory. The members of 13 Platoon clubbed together and spent over £600 in order to be allowed to order pizza on exercise. Mr Doyle-Tanner, however, proved himself to be one of the most frivolous members of the night, spending £230 on a weekly ‘high five’ from any member of the Company DS – money well spent Mr Doyle-Tanner! This part of the evening was accompanied throughout by wonderful music played on the harp by Mr French’s extremely talented sister.

and flowing drinks, and an ongoing auction throughout. Captain Luff, against his better judgement, managed to raise over £1600 from members of the company, agreeing to wear issue kit for an hour on exercise for every ten pounds raised. This decision lead to him braving both the rural and urban phases of Exercise Dynamic Victory in the kit issued to him when he started at Sandhurst, with blisters comparable only to those one gets on Long Reach. There were some extremely generous donations for the auction at dinner, the Waterloo Company cadets proving their worth through the contacts they have in the strange world that is civilian life. Mr Roberts managed to secure himself a holiday in a 12 man villa in South Africa, unfortunately he realised that he needs to buy flights and find 11 friends to go with him, he is still open to offers from people who would like to go with him.

The music that followed from a Swing Band afterwards was fantastic, as the guests blew off some steam on the dance floor, the cadets all eyeing up the Directing Staff out of their comfort zones.

The dinner itself was a less formal affair to previous dinner nights, with good food

The Waterloo Company dinner night was a resounding success, raising thousands of pounds for Charitable causes and ensuring the guests had one of the best experiences the academy can offer. It was a fine event to cap the end of a successful year for arguably the finest group of young men to pass through the gates of the academy for a number of years.

The proud owner, Mr Travers, with horse Mr Wilson, and jockey Mr Marshall

Mr Jack living up to cavalry standards with his ‘usual’ champagne and gin & tonic

Mr Doyle and Mr Doyle-Tanner with one of the many lovely guests

The horses and jockeys preparing to start the National

Mr Ashurst showing the photographer his sidearm of choice

Mr Wilson was clearly distracted by the balloons at the event, proving that the men of Waterloo Company have brains to accompany their brawn

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Exercise Broadsword Ocdt Tarbox, Waterloo Company, CC123 For many Officer Cadets Exercise Broadsword is the most eagerly anticipated Sandhurst Exercise as it signifies a move away from the conventional tactics of all of our previous exercises to a situation we are more likely to encounter in future. For this exercise we were operating in a contemporary environment meaning that it was no longer as clear cut as good guys and bad guys. The added complexity was a welcomed mental challenge, as was the physical challenge of the rioting serials!

The orbat of the intake was also changed for this Exercise which allowed the cadets to strengthen friendships with cadets from other companies and work with people outside of their own platoon for the first time in an exercise environment. Most importantly it gave the cadets access to different directing staff which benefited their learning and development greatly.

Early Monday morning after a coach drive that was far too short we finally arrived in Longmoor. Before we began our exercise rotation we had a brief reception, staging, and onward integration package which consisted of revision of the rules of engagement and the handling of captured personnel, which was a significant part of the exercise. Additionally we had fire inoculation training and the directing staff didn’t even attempt to hide their enjoyment of petrol bombing very nervous officer cadets!

It was soon time to establish the Companies in the Foward Operating Bases (FOB). This involved setting up a functioning ops room for the first time on exercise as well as ensuring the security of the FOB and that all necessary administration was in place to allow the company to operate effectively. Operating out of a FOB made the training a lot more realistic due to the similarities with current operations in Afghanistan. There were also perks such It was soon time as showers and a Royal Logistic Corps field kitchen, which rivalled to establish the the quality of food we receive at Companies in the Sandhurst!

Whilst operating in Foward Operating the FOB the three multiples cycled through a rotation of guard, quick Bases (FOB). reaction force and patrols. Each

rotation lasted for 24 hours with the patrols multiple occupying a smaller patrol base. Whilst on patrol the multiple would engage with the local population in an attempt to gather intelligence on the insurgent groups in the area and the areas in which we could best influence the population.

For the second phase of the exercise the company was operating in the urban environment, with the other company playing the civilian population. Initially through patrols and shuras with the tribal elders an intelligence picture was gathered and we began to

SANDHURST 25

understand the normal pattern of life and get a feel for the atmospherics of the village. We were tasked to provide security for local elections that promised to allow a democratically elected leader of the village for the first time. For this exercise we had attachments such as ammunition technical officers and a dog handler, this was an excellent opportunity to gain an understanding of the capabilities of these assets as well as pertinent points about the management of the assets. The initially benign atmosphere soon began to become more tense with the deaths of tribal leaders and mounting aggression between tribal groups. This aggression was soon directed towards the patrols. First just verbally, but after an unsuccessful election, the crowd soon turned violent.

This required us to deploy batons – made from plastic piping – in order to keep back the crowds. After the initial incident we were in full protective equipment and with shields and batons for all other civil unrest due to the growing threat of petrol bombing and baton rounds being thrown by the crowds. The first riot occurred in the night after the election results with a mob gathering outside the FOB that were driven back to the village. During the next day the village was cleared of all of the violent protesters which signified the end of the second phase.

The third phase of the exercise required the company to play the role of the civilian population of Longmoor. After our involvement

in the riots wielding shields and batons we were not particularly looking forward to being on the receiving end! For this phase everyone received a character with a job in the village, an address and membership of a tribe apart from two unlucky Officer Cadets that played the role of village tramps. This was an interesting phase as it allowed us to view the operations as a civilian. Had we done this phase first I believe would we have spent more time in shuras and engaging with the population whilst out patrolling.

Exercise Broadsword was a hugely interesting exercise that was both physically and mentally demanding. For the first time our physical courage had been tested and through the riot serials and we had certainly developed stronger bonds as a company and although within a week the bruises had healed it is something that we will always remember. However that was only a small part of the exercise and the main learning points that can be taken away are about the softer skills such as interaction with tribal leaders in shuras and the population. In the debrief with the academic staff similarities were made between our failings and failings that had been made by companies in Afghanistan often with serious consequences. As the College Commander would say ‘this is a thinking man’s game’ and never on an exercise has this been more apparent. Although, as a company, we rose to this challenge we can learn a lot from reviewing our decision making process during the exercise.

Blenheim Charity Ball Evening OCdt Webster, 12 Platoon,Blenheim Company On a beautiful summer evening on 6th July 2013 Blenheim Company hosted their Charity Ball for friends and family, with the hope of raising a substantial amount of money for the Commandant’s annual charities. The evening was long anticipated for many, not least the team who helped to organise and set up for the function, who all put in a fantastic amount of time and effort to make it happen.

The theme of the evening was ‘black tie with a tropical twist’ which gave a fun and colourful touch to the regular formalities of Sandhurst. For many of the girls it meant tropical flowers in their hair, for the boys a bright bow tie or Hawaiian Shirt instead of the normal white one. However for the very adventurous members of 10 Platoon it involved all of the above, as well as hollowed out pineapples that were used as drinks holder for the evening, great effort!

The tropical theme was omnipresent throughout the evening with the first flavour of it being presented through the Caribbean style steel drum band that played throughout the pre-dinner drinks of Pimm’s in the sun out in front of New College. After a great deal of drinks and some fervent raffle ticket selling the party moved into the dining room that had been transformed into a beach getaway with everyone given lei’s to wear. This was as well as lots of straw skirts and large metallic palm trees hanging from the ceilings, something that confused many of the other companies when they came to breakfast the next morning!

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Aloha! Welcome to the Blenheim Charity Ball

OCDt Webster and guest sport matching neckwear

After a lovely three course meal, the raffle commenced and due to the generous offering of many kind people and companies, a large number of people walked away with something from the raffle which in total raised £1300. After the raffles culmination the main event began.

The auction was always going to be the big money raiser and we realised that we needed some experience to make it work efficiently, as well have a compare that had some panache about them. Cue Officer Cadet Oglesby from California whose style and ability to hold a crowd was already renowned, and after a quick chat about his years of watching his daddy auction off cattle back home, we knew we had our man. He of coursed delivered and a whirlwind of American vocals enveloped the New College dining room for the next hour as many of the fantastic gifts were auctioned off. After an hour of bidding, OCdt Oglesby took a breath again! The auction

was a great success with approximately £5500 being raised from it.

As soon as the microphone had been grasped back off OCdt Oglesby, the music began and everybody could finally let their hair down fully (very hard for the male Officer Cadets) and have a good dance and some more drinks. This is where our friends from West Point began to really outdo their British counterparts with some pretty intense dancing leaving some of the female guests a little weak at the knees; only some though! The music then finished in the early hours and everybody had to sadly return to normality. In all, it was a great night that was enjoyed by everyone that attended, and, with the total amount of funds raised still being calculated, it seems so far that it was hugely successful as well.

ADVERTORIAL FEATURE

Queen Victoria School, Dunblane Wendy Bellars, Head Open Morning on Saturday, 20th September 2014 Queen Victoria School (QVS) is a co-educational boarding school fully funded by the Ministry of Defence to provide stability and continuity of education for the children of UK Armed Forces personnel who are Scottish, or who have served in Scotland or who have been members of a Scottish regiment.

QVS is tri-Service and most of its pupils have at least one actively serving parent when they enter the school. Our main intake is into the Scottish system’s Primary 7 year; there is no exact equivalent with the English system, but the majority of our P7 intake are aged ten or eleven when they join us. That said, there is a wide age range within the year groups. Many of our pupils have come from educationally disrupted backgrounds as they have moved from school to school and education system to education system, according to their families’ postings.

Pastoral care is given a very high priority along with careers guidance and personal and social education. Queen Victoria School aims to promote the welfare and happiness of each individual child and develop their self-esteem. In addition, there is a very full programme of sporting, cultural and spiritual development.

Queen Victoria School is a unique boarding school which seeks to achieve the best that is possible for its pupils, priding itself on developing them in the widest possible sense and aiming to

achieve success academically, in sport, music, drama and many other extra-curricular areas.

A very special and unique dimension of this school for military families is the ceremonial side, which preserves the very best of the School’s traditions. Marching as part of the School on one of its six Parade Sundays a year, and on Grand Day – the final day of the academic year – is one of the proudest moments of a Victorian’s life (as well as that of his or her parents)! The Pipes, Drums and Dancers of QVS are internationally renowned, having played at tattoos both at home and abroad, most recently in the Basel Christmas Tattoo 2013 and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2012.

Set in 45 acres of beautiful Perthshire countryside, Queen Victoria School is easily accessible by road, rail or air.

There is no substitute for visiting a school, meeting its pupils and staff and picking up the atmosphere. We are holding an Open Morning on Saturday, 20th September 2014, to which all eligible families are warmly invited. If you would like to know more before travelling to Dunblane to visit us, however, and to request a DVD, please contact our Admissions Secretary on +44 (0) 131 310 2927. Alternatively, you can write to: Admissions Secretary, Queen Victoria School, Dunblane, Perthshire FK15 0JY, or visit our website www.qvs.org.uk

ADVERTORIAL FEATURE

The Battle Proms Summer celebrations with music, fireworks, Spitfire, cannons, cavalry The Battle Proms team is proud to have been staging their unique picnic concerts since 1997, bringing together sublime music with stunningly choreographed aerial displays, thunderous cannon fire, dramatic cavalry displays and fantastic fireworks.

Set in the grounds of some of the UK’s most celebrated stately homes, including Blenheim Palace and Highclere Castle, the Battle Proms are exciting yet informal open air picnic concerts. With great early booking and group discounts on offer now is the time to gather the troops and book your tickets for an unforgettable afternoon and evening of exceptional entertainment!

For more information and to book tickets visit www.battleproms.com

SANDHURST 27

Exercise DYNAMIC VICTORY – Acme of Excellence OCdt Adonteng (Ghana), 10 Platoon, Blenheim Company Ex DV is the last summative field test for officer cadets in the final phase of their training, which brings to bear all the tactics and doctrines they have acquired during their training as well as revises them on the legalities in war. Having gone through Exercise SELF RELIANCE, CRYCHAN’S CHALLENGE, FIRST ENCOUNTER and BROADSWORD, amongst others, the hour was due to finally test whether CC123 are fit for commission; a tradition in RMAS.

This affirms what Howard Cosell once said, “the ultimate victory is derived from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your best and that you have gotten the most out of what you had to give”. Via a sequel of five phases, exercise Dynamic Victory unfolded as planned to attain these desired goals.

Phase I: Deployment The eve before the final exercise, was a company charity ball which placed cadets in the right frame of mind. The occasion also fostered collaboration with the 44 West Point Cadets from the USA who participated in this years exercise. After a pre-deployment meeting with the company Directing Staff (DS) in the morning of Monday 8th July, the exercise commenced with an eight hour coach journey to the city of God (Scotland); the venue of the exercise.

Phase II: RSOI The need to get it right and ensure full adherence to safety practices to minimise and/or eradicate injuries took place the moment the exercise troops touched down in Scotland. Precautionary measures, health and hygiene tips as well as demonstration on the effective use of equipment and weaponry were taught. This made sure each and every one were in the right frame of mind to ensure a smooth exercise, particularly considering the use of live rounds at some stage of the exercise.

PRE DEPLOYMENT phase I

Phase III: Live firing (LFTT) “I feared before I knew, but now that I know, to fear is as childish as being feared”. (R.Tembo) Prior to the start of this phase, fear was the first thing that came to mind. Obviously, this was not the first time to conduct section and platoon battle drills, but the very fact that live rounds are involved; my soul fled and sought refuge elsewhere. Honestly, I had never felt so confident in 7 question combat estimate until I challenged myself with what would be the result of negligence with this rifle?

Guess the deduction I came up with – a possible fatal accident which might take someone’s life. So what? Could I live with the stigma for the rest of my life?

Considering the steady improvement through to the final live firing attack, which recorded significant improvement in terms of

RSOI phase II

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Galloway Forest

aggression, momentum and determination, it is clear that it took a couple training serials with the live rounds for us to fully fine tune and psych ourselves for the LFTT. As said by R DeVos, “it is impossible to win the race unless you venture to run, impossible to win the victory unless you dare to battle”.

Phase IV: Galloway Forest (Rural) Scotland – the city of God – offered serene, warm weather all through the duration of the exercise as compared to the last term’s experience here, which was hampered by heavy snow.

But what the city failed to offer is the protection against Midges, as the entire region of Galloway forest was full of midges. Aside the midges, the recursive number of loaded march during the rural phase, starting with the famous 10 miles tab, 4 miles and then 3 miles with all kit, which weighs about 50kg, never scared the cadets. The driving force at that point in time was, to quote Winston Churchill, “Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival”.

Blenheim’s cadets, happy to reach the end

From the outside, it seemed easy and relaxed to conduct one attack a day during the rural phase, but considering the terrain, going, duration and other contestable factors, it was befitting to use this exposure as a measuring rod as to whether soon to commission officers can live up to the task regardless the prevailing hindrances or challenges.

Phase V: Urban The urban phase gave officer cadets the platform to work in an environment similar to the current operating practices in FOB’s and PB’s as employed in real life military establishment in Afghanistan among others. Although there was a vast difference in terms of kit, infrastructure and equipment, the standard was able to match the desired effect and simulation required to get troops switched on.

RURAL phase IV

Tempers were calm as the exercise approached the last hours and all were set for the last attack. There was a constant listening watch over the net, with troops eager to hear the code word “champagne” which literally marked the end of Ex DYNAMIC VICTORY as well as the notional defeat of PFLJ, the insurgent group that cadets had to fight throughout their time in Sandhurst.

In sum, Ex DV really gave the needed experience in terms of operating both in the conventional and contemporary environment. Lots of take home points were raised, but one peculiar lesson learnt from the exercise was the transition from one phase to the other. This imbibed in us as future leaders the feeling of what troops go through especially when they are saddled with lots of task; an experience that we can all take forward with us to our future careers.

CASEVAC phase IV

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Lucknow and LOAC Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), a term often associated with dreary afternoon lectures in itchy woolly jumpers. Yet a subject on which three lucky Officer Cadets from Lucknow Platoon would have to get very comfortable with.

The International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL), founded 1970 in the Italian port of San Remo, hosts an annual competition for military academies around the world. The aim is to encourage a working understanding of LOAC in a multinational setting. In it’s twelfth year the powers that be decided it was high time the UK, and particularly the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, entered.

Due to the weeks of preparation needed, Lucknow Platoon was able to provide OCdt’s Coyle, Mckellar and Mistry for the task in hand. Dispatching them to Dr Flint of Faraday Hall for an afternoon in the library getting to grips with the various LOAC books and their uses. Over the coming weeks Dr Flint and lawyers from the Army Legal Service (ALS), lectured on all aspects of the law.

From Peace Keeping to International Armed Conflicts, much was discussed – including the various approaches to solving problems. The latter being particularly pertinent when working alongside other nations. The key to the competition would not only be the understanding of the law, but where you could find and apply it to the given problem. The fact that not all countries have signed and ratified the various conventions only added to the complexity.

However we felt were well prepared. So with a bag full of Geneva conventions, we headed to the airport alongside SSgt Caswell-Treen and Mr Higgs – escaping the harsh mid March weather for the warmer climes of the Italian Rivera.

After settling into the hotel we took a walk around town. San Remo is an impressive town with a grand old casino and a picturesque harbour. The restaurants around this secluded port serve fantastic Italian cuisine trumping Bella Italia any day of the week.

Post lectures we were whisked upstairs to a large old room to set up our British stand for the ‘cultural event’. Chocolate Hobnobs, Earl Grey, whisky and real ale all went down a treat from our table.

With the Swiss providing a fondue, the Indian’s a takeaway, the Swede’s Moose meat and the French wine and cheese – it was an international feast. Suitably acquainted with the other nationalities we walked to the cocktail party to be given our multinational teams. These generally consisted of a native English speaker, a European and a representative from a non-European country.

The following morning the competition started proper. We were separated into 3 Joint Operations Centres (JOC) rooms. Each contained 5-6 teams, a JOC leader (who is a trained military lawyer to lead the competition) and a panel of 3 judges to score the teams and students. Scoring was based on team and individual performance, with points awarded for knowledge of LOAC, abilSANDHURST

ity to communicate, effective teamwork and ability to deal with linguistic/cultural differences. The first day proved very much a litmus test for the capabilities of fellow students and teammates.

India and Turkey proved they have a good textbook knowledge of LOAC, whilst the Danes demonstrated excellent discussion skills.

Each team was given a fictitious country to be during the week, with the JOC representing a coalition formed to react against the actions of an enemy dictator (Rastapoplous). The scenario would transition through Peace, Non International Armed Conflict, International Armed Conflict and Occupation, encompassing all relevant levels of LOAC. Each JOC session (typically an hour and a half) would be a request from Gen Madog (played by JOC leader) as to the legality of actions he wished to take. This ranged from boarding Naval craft in various areas of the sea to the use of new weapons in populated areas.

It quickly became apparent that our main strength would be in managing the team…

The next morning we left the hotel for the institute, only to discover we had a fairly awkward bus journey to get there in time for the meet and great. Thanks to OCdt Mistry’s pidgin Italian and the help of a bus load of commuters we arrived in the nick of time to be welcomed by the Institute Colonel and attend the welcome brief. We were then given a series of basic LOAC lectures designed to provide a baseline of knowledge for all present. During lunch we had time to decipher the colourful array of uniforms and accents. (Luckily the competition is held in English!) A total of 17 teams with 3 cadets apiece had been entered; some countries such as the USA and France entered more than one team. Teams also came from various branches of the armed forces, including in the case of the USA the Coast Guard.

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12th LOAC Competition for Military Academies, San Remo 18 March 2013

It quickly became apparent that our main strength would be in managing the team, assigning tasks and compiling a coherent back brief for General Madog. Our preparations at RMAS pserved us well and even though the majority of other cadets had completed a relevant degree at their Academies, we felt in no way disadvantaged. Compared to other Anglophone countries, we also found it easier to work alongside cadets with a weaker grasp of English and varying cultural habits.

Scenario complexity increased day by day, with Gen Madog demanding the use of various questionable methods of warfare (including bat bombs) on which we provided advice. The most interesting scenario concerned the matter of who was a direct participant in hostilities and when they could be targeted. Not only because this is a contentious issue within LOAC itself, but each country seemed to have a different view on the matter.

The week rounded up with a dinner for all staff and students followed by music and cocktails. The dancing prowess of the Nigerian team put us all to shame. However a line dance hastily organised by the US Airforce Academy got everyone on the dance floor, including the academic staff!

A slightly jaded audience dressed in Blues or equivalent, formed up the next morning for the prize giving. OCdt Coyle was in the winning mixed team, a fantastic effort! With OCdt’s Mistry and Mckellar coming 4th and 6th respectively. A US Airforce Cadet won a well deserved best individual prize. Over the final lunch contact details and gifts were exchanged between the Cadets, with the last pictures being taken on the balcony in the Mediterranean sunshine.

The week proved a great success for the RMAS Team, with value gained not only from the working understanding of LOAC, but also from the experience of working alongside a large variety of nations in the JOC itself. An annual event we very much hope will be continued in the future.

Why the Poppies?

BOOK REVIEW The author of Why the Poppies?, Peter Spira, started his National Service in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps before being commissioned in to the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He wrote this short account of the events which led up to the outbreak of the two World Wars after being asked by his grandchildren “Why the Poppies?” during Remembrance fortnight. The book also contains some of the main events of the two Wars and there are copious illustrations to accompany the narrative. Field Marshal Lord Bramall has given a Commendation of the book.

General Sir Robert Pascoe writes; There are two good reasons to buy this little book

by Peter Spira. First, it tells an interesting tale about the poppy, a simple flower that has grown into a world renowned emblem of remembrance. Second, profits from sales will be going to “Care for Casualties“, a Regimental charity set up to look after wounded men of The Rifles.

I hope that many people will buy this book for both reasons.

Lieutenant-General Sir Christopher Wallace KBE DL writes: Why the Poppies? is not a book but a booklet of 40 pages. When I opened it, I fully expected to read an account of the origin of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance. I was surprised to be dealt something rather different. In some respects the manner in which the author has addressed the question is more subtle.

Instead of answering it directly, he has provided a brief account

of the background to the two world wars in the 20th century to explain to the younger generation how it came about that so many died and why the poppies. And herein rests perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this booklet: that the origins and course of the two world wars should be covered so lucidly and completely in 40 pages.

For those of us who yearn for acceptance of an eleventh principle of war, simplicity, Why the Poppies? is an exemplary example of KISS and an ideal present for the grandchildren.

The cost of this book is £10.00 including £3.75 p&p, leaving £6.25 for the Charity. Should you wish to make any additional voluntary donation it would be gratefully received. Please state the number of copies required, your name and address and include payment and send it to: “Why the Poppies”, RHQ The Rifles, Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Road, Winchester SO23 8TS .

Cheque payable to “The Rifles (Poppies)”.

Or, you can pay on line by logging on to www.careforcasualties. org.uk and click on the “Why the Poppies?” icon on the right side of the page Alternatively, please visit www.careforcasualties.org.uk NB. Please allow about 3 weeks for delivery.

16 Platoon, Inkerman Company, Charity Spinning Event.

OCdt Hamza Huda, 16 Platoon, Inkerman Company.

2012 was the Bicentenary of Old College at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. As serving Officer Cadets in our Junior term at the Academy we wanted to celebrate this momentous occasion, and what better way than to embrace our altruistic nature than hold a charity event in conjunction with The Soldiers’ Charity, The Army Benevolent Fund. Managing to secure a few hours of freedom from the Academy, fourteen of us left the Academy for Twickenham Rugby Stadium.

We wanted to use the opportunity to raise awareness about a charity that is very close to our hearts whilst also being able to raise financial aid for a charity that is so dependent on the generosity of the public and local community. The ABF is also one of the only Armed Forces Charities to support Soldiers and Officers after their active service, which is essential for many veterans. By holding the event in Twickenham, it was relatively local and we were able to speak to a number of people about the charity.

Saturday 24th November 2012, whilst the England and South African Rugby teams were preparing themselves for the epic match about to take place later that afternoon, another bunch of fine athletes were preparing for a physical endeavor that would embrace the ethos and moreover be a lot of fun. Each of us would cycle 44 miles each on spin bikes, relative to the amount of training weeks that we would be undertaking during our training at the Academy. The spin bikes were placed outside the sta-

dium so as to have maximum exposure to all those going to the Autumn International rugby match that afternoon.

As the cyclists started on the bikes, another group started getting into the spirit with a range of musical aids, loud hailers and generally creating a party atmosphere. With this they approached the crowds, which were starting to build and the public really enjoyed the event. The buckets filled up quickly and at points even the buses were stopping to invite the team onboard to collect donations.

As the cyclists came towards the end of the 44miles, the match started and a few lucky individuals were able to watch the game – partly due to tickets donated by a number of different benefactors. Others were on hand to collect more donations after the match, wearing their fetching ABF t-shirts and using what little charm they had left the team retired back to the Academy after a solid days work collecting money for an incredibly worthy cause.

A few weeks later we were able to present a cheque for £9,450 to ABF the Soldiers’ Charity, the results of a gruelling fundraiser undertaken. We found the public to be incredibly motivating and supportive and the amount we raised really shows that public support for the Armed Forces is still very high. We all felt immensely proud to be able to give something back and ensure that our efforts were worthwhile. Special thanks go to Virigin Active and Currie Motors for lending their equipment and real estate.

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Falklands

CC123 – Charity Twenty20 Match OCdt English, 10 Platoon, Blenheim Company It was a sunny evening on the 4th July, and the scene was set for one of the greatest sporting rivalries known to man. Forget the ashes; it was of course the RMAS charity cricket match where the ‘Blenheim Bombers’ lined up against a combined Inkerman/Waterloo side dubbed ‘Inkerloo’.

A capacity crowd of senior term cadets, staff and cadets from West Point gathered to support the event, prop up the bar and sample the culinary delights of OCdt Oglesby who was dutifully manning the barbeque all evening. On paper the teams looked reasonably evenly matched, with both having a spattering of 1stXI players, as well as cameo appearances from OC Blenheim Company, Major Scott, and OC Waterloo Company, Major Field. However, the outcome of the match could not have been more surprising.

With the crowd almost dizzy with anticipation the game got underway, Blenheim having elected to bat first. OCdts English and O’Connor strode out to open the batting with an expected score of around 130-150 being competitive. Blenheim did not get off to the best of starts however, losing their skipper English for a second ball duck, and O’Connor shortly afterwards for 2. Another wicket followed shortly afterwards leaving Blenheim 9-3 after just 4 overs. OCdts Gordon and Metcalfe then came together at the crease and began to get the score moving in the right direction, Metcalfe in particular with

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The Blenheim and ‘Inkerloo’ teams line up post-match

some lusty blows off some wayward Inkerloo bowling. This promising partnership was not to last however, and soon Gordon fell for a well-earned 22. This bought Major Scott to the crease to rapturous applause from the expectant crowd. They were soon to be disappointed however as he was out shortly afterwards, sparking a Blenheim batting collapse. A final score of 76 seemed below par at best even though bowling conditions were favourable.

Blenheim then took to the field to welcome Inkerloo to the crease, knowing a strong bowling performance was required. Inkerloo had a disastrous start, losing OCdts Brown and Patrick early on, and a further 3 wickets for no score, leaving them struggling at 6-5. There was no let up from the Blenheim opening bowlers OCdt Metcalfe and Major Scott however, and aided by a lucky run-out, the collapse continued for Inkerloo. Even the prodigious talent of

Major Field could not help the cause and Inkerloo were eventually bowled out for just 13, what is surely one of the lowest totals ever seen at RMAS. Although a low scoring game, it was thrilling nonetheless and the below par personal performances with the bat and in the field had the added benefit of topping up the charity coffers with £200 from player fines alone.

The fund raising was aided by proceeds from drinks at the bar, a sweepstake organised by OCdt May, the barbeque so adeptly ran by OCdt Oglesby and helpers, as well as donations from the crowd on the evening itself.

Overall it was a fantastic evening, and a thoroughly enjoyable time was had by all.

To make it even better, £620 was raised for the Commandant’s charities. Thanks must go to the fore mentioned OCdts as well as OCdt O’Connor for organising and running the event.

Sandhurst Cup 2013 Ocdt Levien, Waterloo Coy, CC123 For two days every year countries from all over the world send some of their best Officer Cadets to compete for one chance to pit their wits and guile against each other. Why? For some, it’s to build relations, for others it’s a chance to prove themselves in a new and developing world and for the rest, its tradition. This year 56 teams from 10 countries entered the fray in what is considered by some to be the toughest military skills competition in the world, but only one would walk away as overall victors.

From here a frantic sprint to the pistol range which involved a similar shoot over a range of up to 25 metres The next leg was another 7km downhill to the navigation stand.

With a window of just 2 hours, teams had to tag into as many markers as possible, with 40 available. However, the terrain was enough to exhaust the greatest of athletes, with rocks and boulders underfoot and ski slopes to ascend and descend, teams had to rely not only on precious reserves of energy but also good time management to avoid incurring any penalties. Dry throated, exhausted teams trudged out of the navigation area with little left to carry on. But from here there was yet another 5km to the final stand, a grenade throwing stand.

December 2012 introduced the Sandhurst Cup to Commissioning Course 123, with Captain Mills of the Rifles heading up the 2013 Squad, explaining the historical significance of the competition, the part that Sandhurst teams have played in the past and detailing what it took Dry throated, exhausted to make it into the squad. In the opening selecdesperate 1km shuffle uphill was all that teams trudged out of the Alayfinal tion event 80 cadets fought it out to make the between that last stand and the finish line. navigation area with first cut which would see the number drop to 40.

Once crossed, teams had to undergo another The test; a 3 mile weighted run as a squad, folkit check before stretching, taking on food and little left to carry on. lowed by an individual best effort run around the fluids and preparing their kit for the next day. All same route. However, to add complexity cadets anyone wanted to do was to put their feet up had to memorise a selection of military items before setting off, and fall fast asleep, but the competition demanded yet more of which then had to be written down upon completion of the run. each team.

It was then that the training was ramped up. In the midst of darkness, with the country blanketed in snow and ice, officer cadets were waking up well before their colleagues in order to do battle with the PT staff. With Sergeants Leng and O’Brien cracking the whip under the direction of Captain Mills, those 40 would be whittled down to 36 by inviting them to partake in thrashing themselves to within an inch of their lives. Whether it was with sprint training on the athletics track, heaves and rope climbs in the gym, or simply becoming better acquainted with the infamous ‘5-ways,’ the preparation was intense. As the training progressed the selection of a squad that could eventually be broken into two equal teams was becoming more important and Captain Mills was seen as the man to impress. Now down to 30 individuals from the original 80, the squad was then refined further to end with three equal teams of nine. These teams were named Red, Blue and Gold and from these teams only two would be chosen to take part in the competition. Each team was made up of eight male cadets and one female cadet, each with different strengths and weaknesses, representing the diversity that is common place at Sandhurst. This culminated with a final exercise a few weeks before we were to deploy to America which provided some interesting results.

A few days in sightseeing in New York allowed us to rest after what was a busy term and focus our minds elsewhere. We then all travelled out to West Point for a few days final preparation before the competition. Our eyes were opened to the enormity of the American Military Academy, leaving lasting impressions of grandeur and excellence. We were brilliantly hosted by Elvis and Spartans Companies who made us feel right at home.

Day 2 was a different affair. A much shorter course, whilst employing many similar military skills including navigation over the mountainous area that surrounds West Point, was of greater intensity. Foreign weapons assembly stands immediately following a CBRN drill provided a great hurdle for communication as

A pause during the navigation excercise

The overriding mission was; “To provide the Corps of Cadets and visiting competitors with a challenging and rewarding intercompany military skills competition, an opportunity to enhance leadership qualities, a venue for professional development and an opportunity to exhibit military excellence.”

Day one of the competition involved teams circumnavigating a 20km circuit. An uphill 7km race to the rifle shoot started the proceedings, involving the teams crawling into various positions of cover to shoot a variety of targets at varying ranges up to 300 metres. To add realism, stoppages, civilian targets and mixed amounts of ammunition were distributed amongst the team.

On the pistol range

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well as coordination. The Rope ravine crossing with a ‘casualty’ tested our speed and dexterity but the monotonous rehearsals paid off and a 14 foot wall crossing with the team IC blindfolded also put our all practice to the test. Team work and mental dexterity were much more prevalent, reflecting the varied skill set that Officers have to employ when on operations. Whilst there were stands where the Sandhurst teams shone, there were others when things didn’t go according to plan. For the Red Team this meant that there were occasions when penalties were incurred, but for the Blue Team it was consistency of doing all stands well that made the difference.

And so it was that the Blue Team from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst became victors against a field of teams from across the world. It was a great honour to be able to bring the trophy home in front of both the Commandant Major General Tim Evans and Academy Sergeant Major Stokes.

A well earned drink at the end

A Lesson from the Men in Scarlet OCdt M A R Roberts, 16 Platoon, Inkerman Coy, CC 123 There was an air of scepticism as we walked through the gates of Chelsea Hospital, with the majority of those in 16 Platoon unsure of how the Royal Hospital or its In-Pensioners worked. Of course, we had all seen them at major events such as the London Olympics and Wimbledon. However, the lifestyle behind the gates of the famous hospital is rarely publicised.

by a Company Sergeant Major. The Hospital is commanded by the Governor, currently General Sir Redmond Watt (Late Welsh Guards). Over the years, however, they have been supported by some significant characters such as the late Lady Thatcher who would visit the hospital on a weekly basis.

The Hospital was founded by King Charles II and was built as a retreat for injured soldiers. He sent his brother to France to study their equivalent, Les Invalides in Paris, and modelled the Royal Hospital on that. It was to be built on the original site of King James’ College at Chelsey, near the river Thames and in the heart of London. Unfortunately, due to the river and the sewage, the water from the well was undrinkable; as a result a brewery was built for the IPs in order to avoid disease and illness. The IPs celebrate Founder’s Day annually, and it is the only military event where those on parade salute with their left hands.

We were greeted by a funeral procession, a common sight at the Royal Hospital Chelsea (RHC) but one that brought significant contemplation. Tom Mullaney, a retired Corporal from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, stood in the guardroom as the only tour guide available. Unfortunately for Tom, the funeral had caused a lack of guides and he was asked to fill in. Fortunately for us, Tom was available.

If there was one thing that the In-Pensioners (IPs)live up to, it is their humour. They are able to make light of all situations and provide an interesting, witty story at every corner. Tom was no different and left the group chuckling throughout the tour of the hospital. He shared stories of confused In-Pensioners and quirky names they had given each other. The In-Pensioners have a remarkable ability to berate each other and their guests. Jokes about Viagra, immobility, and ‘granny night’ kept us consistently amused and we quickly learnt that soldiers never change, even after they have retired.

Chelsea Hospital, as a military organisation, sets itself apart from other retirement homes. All those living in the hospital are regarded as In-Pensioners. None, less the Regimental Sergeant Major and the officers, hold rank but their former rank is displayed on their sleeve. There are 36

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technically no officers amongst the ranks of the IPs, however there are Late Entry officers, such as the former RMAS Ac RSM Captain Huggins, who have resigned their commissions in order to qualify. To become an IP, a retired soldier must first sit through a selection process where he is invited to spend a few days at the Hospital. He will then receive a phone call from the chain of command at the Hospital. Upon being accepted into the Hospital, all IPs forgo their military pensions and estates, donating them to the RHC. All IPs are formed into four companies, with each company commanded by a retired senior officer, known as the Captain of the Invalids. He is then supported

A visit to the Royal Hospital Chelsea reminds us of what the British Army is truly about. It holds so much history and honour that it is impossible not to get drawn inside its huge walls. But what makes the Hospital so special are the InPensioners. And when 16 Platoon, Inkerman Company was hosted in the In-Pensioners’ Club following the tour, the IPs showed why they are regarded so highly in Britain. The IPs hold a deep respect for those still serving and what they stand for is upheld by humility. They are fantastic hosts, quick witted and humorous, but very friendly and welcoming. The Royal Hospital Chelsea is without doubt an honourable institution, and we thank them for hosting us.

Janadriyah and camel milk!!

Ex DYNAMIC OUTREACH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia OCdt Forse, 12 Platoon, Blenheim Company A jolly band from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, compristhat will remain with us for much time to come. That afternoon also ing Capt Richards, YORKS and four Officer Cadets from the intersaw us visit the annual cultural festival, Janadriyah, celebrating all mediate term, travelled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Exercise aspects of the diverse Saudi culture, a real eye opener.

DYNAMIC OUTREACH. The aim of the exercise was to increase knowledge of another nation’s At the end of the five interesting days it was time armed forces whilst fostering friendly internafor us to depart KAMA. The Defence Attaché to The aim of the exercise tional relationships. We flew from London HeathSaudi Arabia, Brigadier Alasdair Wild MBE met was to increase row on the afternoon of the 12th April, landing us at the Academy where the final goodbyes knowledge of another in the Saudi capital Riyadh at 0130 the following were said before departing and heading back day, to a stifling 27 degrees Celsius. After a short into Riyadh. We were driven to the diplomatic nation’s armed forces car journey, we arrived at King Abdulaziz Military quarter of the city where we had a chance to whilst fostering Academy (KAMA), the home of Officer training. drop our bags at a hotel and change out of unifriendly international Whilst KAMA runs a three year programme for form before the Brigadier rejoined the group, Officer Cadets, the team noted a remarkable taking us on a comprehensive tour of the city, relationships. number of similarities with RMAS throughout visiting museums and national festivals where we their visit. KAMA really is an exceptional place to learnt a great deal about the history and nature train and learn; the facilities available are quite impressive. of the country. There was of course time for a quick dip in the UK embassy’s pool before sadly departing the Kingdom of Saudi Activities started promptly the following day with a visit to the on-site Arabia to the considerably colder United Kingdom the following academy museum where we were greeted and shown a brief video morning! The week was a tremendous success and a thoroutlining the role of the academy and the content of the training oughly enjoyable experience was had by all; contact details were programme. We were then taken through a number of displays that exchanged and long term relationships undoubtedly formed. The explained the history of the Academy. The afternoon was filled with RMAS party was treated to the best hospitality all visit long and a multitude of office calls, coffee and dates with senior Saudi offiwould very much relish the chance of a return visit. All in all, it was cers, including the commandant of KAMA, who expressed great truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit such a beautiful and pleasure in the opportunity to host the British cadets. culturally rich country.

The stay at KAMA was a combination of military and cultural education. Visits were made to the academies extensive range of facilities which included lecture theatres, classrooms, an on-site television broadcasting centre, an array of different ranges (covering all weapons from pistol to anti-armour) and vast indoor sports facilities which were host to an international volleyball match of epic proportions, with Sandhurst and KAMA sharing the honours. Visits were also made to Bedouin camel herders who worked within the expansive Academy training area. It was here that we were introduced to camel riding and had a chance to sample some of the local delicacies such as fresh camel milk, milked by our own fair hands. Our hosts were keen to show us the real Saudi Arabia, taking the team into Riyadh for a traditional Arabic meal. This was an assault on the senses with a vast array of sights, smells and tastes which, combined with the novelty of sitting on cushions and eating with only our hands, made for an extremely enjoyable experience

The exped members enjoy the riding stables at KAMA

Enjoying the hospitality

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A shell leaves a 155mm turret during testing at Eskmeals in Cumbria

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MAR Mirach launch-in fligh modt HEBS

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Sandhurst Goes to Denmark OCdt Travers, 14 Platoon, Waterloo Company, CC123 Sandhurst sent a delegation of six to Denmark from 22–26 April 2013 in order to strengthen ties with our allies in NATO. OCdts Travers, Aubrey, Makepeace, Hargreaves and Ramsay travelled to Copenhagen for what turned out to be a week to remember.

We arrived in Copenhagen in the early afternoon of Mon 22 April, to be greeted by Danish cadets from their Military Academy. The immediate reaction was one of shock. These cadets were sporting unpolished boots, un-ironed uniform, and beards that were longer than their non-regulation haircuts. For ones so indoctrinated by Sandhurst’s Values and Standards, it was almost as if we had walked into a military nightmare. It was remarked from the beginning that it was a good job we weren’t accompanied by one of our CSgts, as they would probably have been flying back to Heathrow in a coffin having died from shock. Yet, being far too British and polite to say anything, we greeted our hosts and jumped into our transport to the army academy to begin the first day of our programme. We were given a presentation on the structure of the Danish army and their officer training. There were clear differences between their training and that which we receive at Sandhurst, includThere were clear ing the notable fact that all the differences between their best Danish NCO’s become training and that which officers. We felt that it was good to have this immediwe receive at Sandhurst ate insight into the differences between our two institutions.

This was followed by a tour of Frederiksberg palace, from one of the Danish cadets, providing a detailed history from its early creation to becoming the army academy. One notable room was that which was occupied by a British artillery officer during the battle of Copenhagen guiding naval artillery onto the city. This sparked banter between the British and Danish cadets, the British making no apologies for our glorious victory. The day ended with a meal consisting of mostly crackling and beer, which was received gladly by the British cadets.

On the second day we visited the Royal Hussars regiment, gaining an insight into Danish tactics and equipment. We were immediately envious of their light weight radio equipment, not that we are ones to complain. We were also given a fantastic presentation from a Danish Captain, telling us of his experiences in Afghanistan as a Platoon commander. It was a fantastic presentation in perfect English and it was incredibly interesting to hear experiences in Afghanistan from another cultural perspective. Proving that we are not so different from our Danish neighbours. We finished the day with open rye bread sandwiches and, as was becoming a running theme in Denmark, beer. OCdts Travers and Hargreaves were particularly pleased with this aspect of Danish culture.

with lessons in tactics and doctrine conducted entirely in English.

This was a fantastic opportunity for the British cadets to take part in their lessons, each of us coming away feeling as though we had truly had a fantastic opportunity to gain an insight into what it is like to be a Danish cadet, we all agreed that it is similar, although less intense, to our training at Sandhurst. This day finished with a somewhat bizarre trip to the coast, where the Danish host Captain asked us to partake in his hobby – winter swimming. Although dubious at first, we stiffened our upper lips and got in the water, naked of course, as the programme had clearly told us to take ‘just towels’. It was a surprisingly fun experience; it even managed to get a noise out of the previous silent Latvian delegation, as they plunged into the freezing cold sea. We then had our dinner at a converted military bunker, once again tucking into traditional Danish cuisine. Although we were beginning to love Denmark, we all agreed that food was probably not the country’s strong point.

Waking up refreshed from an early night, we went for a morning’s pistol shooting on the outskirts of Copenhagen, trying Danish weapons and different shooting styles. This finished with a competition between all delegations, with Captain Walker RE and OCdt Travers representing Britain well by coming first and third respectively. This was followed by yet more sandwiches and a boat tour of the city, seeing Copenhagen from the water was wonderful and it allowed us to see aspects of the city that would otherwise have been hidden. Including the remarkable Opera house, this was a truly beautiful piece of architecture. We finished the day by taking part in the Danish Military Academy’s charity run, an event organised and run entirely by the Danish cadets. All the British delegation put in impressive finish times, with Captain Walker, OCdt Hargreaves and OCdt Travers running in the 10km race; and OCdt Ramsay, OCdt Makepeace and OCdt Aubrey running in the 5km race. That night, the Danish cadets took us out for a night in Copenhagen to enjoy Danish culture from a different perspective; it was no surprise to us that this involved yet more beer.

On the final day we shook off our tired heads and checked out of the hotel. We were taken for a tour of the back streets of Copenhagen and a visit to the Royal Arsenal museum, which was an amazing place. We learned about Danish military history and visited a brilliant exhibition about a Danish soldier’s Afghanistan experience. We had one final traditional Danish lunch and bid farewell to our fantastic hosts.

On the Wednesday, we were placed with the senior cadets of the academy, who were bringing together all aspects of their training,

The Dynamic outreach programme to Denmark was a truly remarkable experience in which we got to meet soldiers from other NATO countries including Germany, Latvia and Lithuania, whilst also taking part in the everyday military life of our Danish colleagues. It was both enjoyable and fascinating, and we believed it was truly successful in its aim of building international relationships. We left Denmark with a feeling that we had not only learned a lot, but also made some fantastic friends. In all, it was a 10/10 experience, or a 5, 5 as we would say with our Danish friends.

The British delegation before the start of the charity 10km race

An evening at the swimming baths – a naked dip in the Baltic sea before supper!

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British, Latvian, German and Lithuaninan Officer Cadets at the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen

Frederiksberg Palace – The Danish Military Academy

RMAS visit to the Ball De Offiziaire, Austria Spring Term 13 term saw four Officer Cadets from the Senior term (CC122) visit the Austrian Military Academy’s Ball De Offiziaire in Vienna, Austria. The thought of 4 days away from the Academy during term time was far too good an opportunity to turn down. Unfortunately, as with everything at RMAS, there was a caveat; we had to dance a traditional Austrian ballroom dance at the Military Academy’s Commissioning Ball in front of a couple of thousand people, the Commandant and General Sherriff. In order to learn this dance we had to spend 2 days being taught by a very patient Austrian dance teacher. OCdt’s Riley and Lower managed to pick up the steps with relative ease and looked vaguely graceful as they span their way around 28 Platoon’s Halls of Study. It was unfortunate then that OCdt’s Garfield and Bucknall were more worried about the quite gargantuan height difference between them than the steps that they were meant to be learning. As a result, when the dance teacher had left, a little bit of trepidation at the task ahead crept in while the practice that we assured him was going to happen was not forthcoming.

At the beginning of Seniors all 4 Cadets were counting down the days to their trip with a little bit of excitement and only a small amount of gloating from OCdt Garfield. This excitement was shattered when the Platoon Commander of the female platoon (Capt Cupples – 29 Platoon Comd) announced the good news that he would be joining us. The horror on OCdt Lower and OCdt Garfield’s faces was nothing compared to the party that was going on in 29 Platoon’s lines. And so our little group of travellers, with Capt Butler at the helm, set off at 0555 on Thursday 17th January.

It didn’t get off to a good start. The transport to the airport was an hour late and the flight was delayed. However, we boarded without any hiccups and proceeded to settle down for the 2 hour flight. 4 hours later we disembarked the aircraft........still at Heathrow. The snow in Austria had shut Vienna airport. The team back at RMAS worked tirelessly to get us another flight and 8 hours later we boarded another aircraft, with the Commandant, and landed in Budapest, Hungary. There was a late night walk to take in the sights of Budapest before an early morning to get escorted by the Hungarian Military to the Hungary-Austria border to then be picked up by the Austrian Military. Would this first class treatment have been extended our way if the Commandant wasn’t with us? I wouldn’t wish to speculate!

Friday night was Ball night. The men disappeared while the ladies attempted to transform themselves from the military bun to sleek and sophisticated. What a sight it turned out to be! OCdt Lower and Capt Butler managed to pull off the ‘hair all over the place but still looking elegant look’ while, in the words of Capt Cupples, OCdt Garfield looked like Chewbacca. However, when all 6 met up to leave for the ball, the girls looked graceful while the boys were handsome as ever. Unfortunately this scene was ruined when OCdt’s Riley and Bucknall proceeded to climb into the front of the minibus, leaving OCdt’s Lower and Garfield as well as Capt Butler to hitch up their skirts and climb into the back!

Once at the venue the OCdt’s headed straight for the ballroom to get some dancing practice in with the Austrian Cadets. Words cannot describe the truly horrendous sight that greeted Capt Butler

The team in all their finery: OCdt Riley, OCdt Garfield, Captain Butler, Captain Cupples, OCdt Lower, OCdt Bucknall

and Capt Cupples when they stepped out to see us dance for the first time. There was standing on toes, hitting each other, turning the wrong way and limbs all over the place. There was also a little bit of smugness from OCdt’s Riley and Lower as OCdt’s Bucknall and Garfield were led away for extra tuition. After a couple runs however, both pairs were feeling a little more confident and in the words of Capt Butler ‘it was a dancing transformation commensurate with a series of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ in 60 minutes.’ Come the actual event, the transformation was indeed complete and in front of the cream of the Austrian Military, 4 Officer Cadets from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, ‘cracked it’. Some late night/early morning celebration ensued and after a late breakfast on the Saturday we had a wonderful tour of Vienna from a 2nd

In the grounds of the Academy

Our cheery driver

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At the Summer Palace

Lieutenant in the Austrian Military called George, who OCdt Garfield took a particular liking to. Sunday was a relaxed morning stroll through the grounds of the Summer Palace where all had a go at ‘body sledging’. This is much the same as bodyboarding but colder and slightly more dangerous. OCdt Riley took the trophy home for the furthest distance travelled down a snow covered bank in just jeans and a softie. It was well deserved as the thud of his bellyflop put everyone else off attempting it with as much gusto. The afternoon saw us receive the news that our flight home had been cancelled. Cue cries of glee from Capt Cupples, OCdt’s

The Ball itself

Riley, Garfield and Bucknall and a certain amount of distress from OCdt Lower and Capt Butler. So with the party firmly split on what to do next; attempt to get home or wait it out, we proceeded to enjoy the afternoon while looking forward to another day in snowy Vienna.

Monday gave us a visit to 2nd Lieutenant George’s Company and to the Austrian

Military Academy. The Austrian Army still runs a conscripts programme so it was interesting to see the level of professionalism in the ranks even though they weren’t volunteers. And so ended our time in Austria. It was a fantastic experience for all involved, both Officer Cadets and DS, and an experience that can hopefully be repeated for others in the future.

Exercise DYNAMIC OUTREACH, Chile, 10th–26th August 2013 Having never visited South America before, my hand was one of the first to go up when they asked for volunteers to go to Chile.

Unsure what we had volunteered for and two weeks before we were due to fly out, the Sergeant Major issued us paperwork and a timetable headed “linguistic immersion course”. Realising that we were scheduled to attend two weeks of lessons at the Chilean Officer Academy with very limited knowledge of the country we were visiting, and even less Spanish, I quickly went out to buy a Rough Guide to Chile and a phrase book.

rounded by glass tower blocks and with a brilliant back drop of the snow capped Andes in the distance. The place was deserted on our first tour around as all the cadets are obliged to leave the Academy over the weekends. For the first three years, cadets are all accommodated in large company sized dormitories, while the fourth years get two or three man rooms. It was rather a relief to find they were putting us up in the fourth year apartments!

For the first few days we participated in a number of classes, understanding varying amounts with our phrasebook Spanish.

We were to spend two weeks at the Chilean officer training We took part in a number of PT sessions where we could underschool. Unlike Sandhurst, the cadets attend stand the universal language of a PTI shouting at Bernado O’Higgins Escualar Militaire for four you and we were left exhausted and impressed The majority of the years and study for a Bachelor’s degree in Miliby the Chileans fitness. They have sport three tary Science. The majority of the cadets come cadets come straight out afternoons a week instead of lessons, and we straight out of school aged 18 and come to the tried our hand with various sports including of school aged 18 and Academy instead of university. For most of the rugby, running and took part in training with their come to the Academy year they attend a wide variety of lessons in hisSandhurst Cup teams. The training with their tory, languages, economics and other traditional ‘Waychaffe’ team, a native word for Warrior, instead of university. academic subjects, with a little officership and included PT as well as first aid, patrolling skills, military science thrown in. For two months of and river crossing. the year they leave the academy in Santiago, and travel to a different camp in the hills where they carry out their military training While we were in Chile, US retired General Stanley McCrystal was such as ranges and field exercises. the guest speaker at a conference being held at the Academy.

The Academy Coronel (equivalent to the RMAS Commandant) After a long flight over to Chile we emerged out of Santiago airarranged for us to attend two of his talks, and then briefly meet port to be met by two people in grey Great Coats, a Lieutenant him after with a number of the dignitaries and other students for and a fourth year cadet who was to be one of our cadet hosts tea. The press were there, and a photo of the Sandhurst Cadets for our time in Chile. We were taken 20 minutes down the road made page 7 of the national newspaper, El Mercurio in the ‘La into Santiago where the Academy takes up one city block sur 42

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Photo with Gen McCrystal Left to Right: Chilean General, OCdt Harnett, OCdt Hunt-Grubbe, Gen McCrystal, OCdt Yanez Ugarte (Chile) OCdt Barttelot. OCdt Bradford

British OCdts receiving orders from Chilean OCdt

Vida Sociale’ section which one can only presume is the Chilean equivalent of Tatlers Bystander!

weekend exploring Santiago, learning about Chilean history and seeing some of the cultural sites. Whilst down town we managed to persuade the guard at the parliament buildings to give us an exclusive tour of the inner courtyards which are surrounded by the President’s offices.

After a few days of lessons and acclimatisation we were taken out of the Academy for some cultural visits. Also accompanied by two Brazilian cadets on a similar visit to ours, our hosts took us to the Naval Port and seaside city of Viña del Mar The second week was back to lessons at the where we visited the old Naval Officer Academy Academy. We were timetabled to have lessons and Naval History museum where we learnt a lot with each of the 4 year groups allowing us to see The second week was about Chilean history, and the very historic links the progression of the orders and estimate proback to lessons at the between the British and Chilean navies. Many cess as it was taught across the Academy. This Academy. of the founding fathers of the Chilean Navy were culminated with one of the 4th year cadets delivex-British Navy and mercenaries. The visit also ering us an operation order in English, complete took us through Valpariso where we saw the with models built in the sand of the volleyball Chilean National Congress buildings. court. While the orders process was very similar to our own, the estimate process followed a different system that focused even The next day we visited the Choncha y Toro vineyard, home of more on the situational factors and how they would affect the the Casillero del Diablo wine, where they told us the story of how operation being planned. the wine got its name. In the evening one of the cadets took us to his home where his father, an air force colonel, hosted us Our cadet hosts looked after us excellently during our stay, invitfor a BBQ and introduced us to a few of the local drinks in celing us in to their homes and introducing us to Chilean family life. ebration of the national holiday for the Assentation of the Virgin They finished the week off with a day hiking in the hills surroundMary. The following morning was an early start to get up in to the ing Santiago and a traditional Chilean meal, sending us a little mountains which surround Santiago for a day of skiing. Incredworse for wear back to the airport for the long journey back to ible views stretched away into the Andes visible from the edge Sandhurst. of the mountain ski slopes. We spent what was left of the long A days skiing in the Andes, just outside Santiag. OCdt Barttelot

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Lucknow

Somme

Inkerman Company Adventurous Training – Exercise Marrakech Express Cadet OCdt Tevlin, 17 Platoon Inkerman Company, CC123 The Berber people of Morocco call the High Atlas can’s – being greeted by ten members of the “Idraren Draren” meaning “Mountains of Mounmountain division, complete with mules and tains.” Stretching 2,500km across the Northmuleteers required a rapid re-estimate of the western frontier of the Sahara and home to Jbel route plan and demanded a settlement between Toubkal, the tallest mountain in Africa (4,167m) what the Moroccans wanted to achieve out of the Berber people speak without exaggeration. A the expedition and what the group had set out small corner of this spectacular mountain range to achieve! set the scene for an ambitious Trekking expedition to Morocco by six cadets of Commissioning Following route-readjustment, consolidation Inkerman Company Officer Cadets Course 123, three of whom were from Inkerman of supplies and a healthy discussion with the organised and led a trekking expedition Company. Travelling to Morocco to conduct Moroccans regarding mules, the group departed over their Easter Recess to the adventurous training provided unique opporon the main body of the trek. The group was High Atlas Mountains in Morocco tunities and challenges that the Officer Cadets to cover 50km over the week, and this was would not have experienced in the relative safety of the UK. The achieved by dividing the route down into 10km segments to be significant challenges were threefold, namely cultural differences, covered daily. Initially, the group doubted this route length was suflanguage barrier and the environment both in Marrakech (where ficiently challenging, considering the intensity of the physical trainthe group based itself.) Taking these challenges into account set ing we had conducted over the past two terms at Sandhurst. Howthe tone for the entire expedition; the aim of which was to develop ever, once the group began conducting the trek it quickly became the Officer Cadet’s leadership qualities through exposure to naviapparent that the relatively short distance that we were travelling gational and cultural challenges in an unfamiliar environment. daily was compensated in difficulty by the nature of the terrain and altitude. The group travelled across four separate valleys, climbArriving in Marrakech for the group’s twelve hour ‘administration’ ing at between 2000m and 3200m throughout. Compounded with phase exemplified a need to expect the unfamiliar. The customary each individual carrying enough supplies, water and equipment to Army barrack block accommodation, complete with cook-house be self sufficient, the physical demands of the situation sufficiently and NAAFI was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the tested the group throughout the entire trekking group was greeted with a raucous assault on the phase. senses. Travelling in taxi convoy through crowds The “Hostel Marrakech of spice sellers, camel riders and snake charmThe physical challenges of the trek were balanced Riad Rouge” provided ers to our accommodation, a colourful hostel well against the incredible backdrop of the Atlas an excellent place to close to the main souk, was an exercise in itself. mountains; both in terms of the landscape and The “Hostel Marrakech Riad Rouge” provided an the its inhabitants. Descending the precarious base ourselves excellent place to base ourselves – Mr Ali, the scree slopes of Tizi n’ Ouhattar into the dramatic owner, was a fluent English speaker who proOurika valley, with its many waterfalls and olive vided detailed recommendations on where to acquire vital supgroves was a particular highlight. It was a unique and humbling plies for the trek amongst the maze of market stalls in the souk. It experience for the group to be invited in too many a Berber house was at the hostel that the group was greeted by Colonel Mohamto sample mint tea, fresh Moroccan food and share experiences med Rajib of the Moroccan Army. He was charged with supportwith both our Moroccan Army hosts and the Berber’s offering their ing us throughout the expedition, as well as providing a liaison to hospitality. members of the Moroccan Mountain Division who would be joining us for the trekking phase. Fortunately for the group a critical Ultimately both the trekking phase and the recovery to Marrakech lesson was learnt during the initial meeting – patience. Our only were a success. The group developed as a team and shared a common language with Colonel Rajib was Officer Cadets’ Ward privilege of conducting training alongside the Moroccan Mountain and Malekpour’s pigeon French. Little did the group know how division, the experience of which proved valuable in developing much they would rely on them at later stages of the expedition! the Officer Cadet’s understanding and appreciation of cultural differences when working alongside Host Nation Security Forces – a The 64km journey by minibus from Marrakech to the trailhead at critical characteristic of today’s operations. The High Atlas MounImlil saw the group ascend from the heat of the desert up through tains offer a challenging yet highly rewarding Adventurous Trainlush, fertile valleys into the heart of the Atlas, with Jbel Toubkal ing experience a stone’s throw away from Europe. The scope for dominating the skyline throughout the journey. The group was future expeditions was firmly in the minds of all the group’s pargreeted in Imlil by the aforementioned members of the Moroccan ticipants as they departed morocco and it was agreed by all that Mountain Division. Initial liaison with Colonel Mohammed led the the opportunity to take one’s soldiers on Adventurous Training in group to believe we would be accompanied by just two Moroca similar manner would not be one to miss.

The colours and contrasts of the Ourika valley were a highlight of the expedition

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Members of the Moroccan Army Mountain Division pose in uniform

The hardy mules demonstrated excellent physical robustness!

Self sufficiency required negotiating the hustle and bustle of Marrakech’s souks in ‘gaggle’ formation

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Ex Skye-Sail Cadet OCdt Sheehan, 10 Platoon, Blenheim Company One cold April morning, seven bleary eyed travellers stood looking out from the Scottish mainland over wind lashed waters towards the unfolding vista of the Isle of Skye. After a grueling 600 mile minibus journey we, the members of Ex Skye-Sail Cadet, had finally arrived at our first port, the Kyle of Lochalsh, ready to collect the ‘Spirit of June’, a 43 foot sailing yacht that was to be our home for the next week.

The next days sailing proved to be more challenging. Having set off at 0720, the sea got steadily rougher and the wind stronger as we made our way across the Sea of the Hebrides towards the island of Canna, resulting in a mad scramble for lifelines at one stage in order to secure ourselves to the boat. OCdts Cantell and Churton ventured below to brew up but returned to deck looking very green – unfortunately these two would be plagued with seasickness throughout the week. After a four hour long journey we eventually reached Canna and, with even stronger winds forecast that night, decided to remain in the relative shelter of Canna bay. Even with the boat secured to the mooring buoy with two ropes, the Skipper and 1st Mate (OCdt Sheehan) spent a fairly sleepless night worrying that the boat might snap its moorings as storm force 10 winds buffeted the island causing the boat to vibrate like a plucked guitar string.

The aim of the exercise was to circumnavigate the Isle of Skye, exploring the waters around associated islands on route and challenging OCdts in an austere climate whilst instructing them in the basics of offshore sailing. The expedition was lead

by OCdt Sheehan (10 Platoon Blenheim Company), whilst the remainder of the crew of ‘Spirit of June’ were drawn from three different platoons; OCdts Cantell, Clark and McManus, also from 10 Platoon; OCdt Stanley from 12 Platoon Blenheim Company; and OCdt Churton from 16 Platoon The following morning the decision was Inkerman Company. The seventh member taken to abandon the idea of completing was our Skipper, Col (Retd) Peter Davies, a the circumnavigation. The forecast wind man with a vast amount of sailing experistrength and direction made all of the ence under his belt who harbors and anchorages had kindly volunteered available on the projected The following morning to instruct and guide our next leg of the trip comthe decision was taken very inexperienced crew, pletely untenable so the most of whom had never only option was to run to abandon the idea sailed before. back to the safety of Malof completing the laig before the weather circumnavigation.

With gale force 8 winds closed in. This proved to forecast and heavy be a good decision since weather due to close in we spent the next day later in the day, the decision was made completely stormbound in Mallaig harbor, to head south for the port town of Mallaig watching the wind whip the waves to a which would provide us with good protecfoam. Even the local fishing boats refused tion from the weather. On route, Peter to leave the safety of the harbor walls! started to instruct the crew on the basics That day was not completely wasted howof sailing – the parts of the boat, how to ever – Peter used the time to give the crew raise and lower the sails, helming, safety at a series of lessons on basic navigation. sea and how to tack (the process of turning He covered a great deal of information that the yacht through the wind under sail). The would allow us to interpret nautical charts, journey was fairly smooth that first day and correctly read the tidal almanac in order to we arrived at Mallaig in good time, moored give the depth, speed and direction of the up, cooked our evening meal on board and water, and to understand the effect of low climbed into our bunks to recover from the and high tides on our position. The whole overnight drive. crew was then given the task of planning

A rapid rate of knots

Enjoying still waters

the following days journey to Rona in order to consolidate all they had learned.

We left Mallaig early the following morning in order to pass through the tide race at Kyle Rhea – a narrow channel in between Skye and the mainland – watching porpoise and seals along the way and taking great pleasure viewing the idyllic scenery on the banks past Gleneig. Having passed under the Skye bridge we headed up past the Corwlin Islands and through Caol Rona to a sheltered bay on the West side of Rona itself. This proved to be a very pleasant days sailing – still with strong winds but nothing that the crew could not by now handle. We anchored in the bay and ended the day by watching two of the crew – OCdts Sheehan and McManus – braving the icy waters of the Outer Hebrides by plunging off the boat and taking a brisk yet refreshing swim around the yacht.

The bay was so well sheltered that we hardly noticed the wind picking up overnight. This worrying development became apparent the next morning as we battled against the wind for over an hour, with engines on full, trying to exit the mouth of the bay and coming dangerously close to wrecking ourselves on the rocks in the process as the wind drove us against the shore. This was the most hairraising part of the expedition for the whole crew, including the Skipper. However, we eventually managed to make it out in one piece and proceeded to our penultimate overnight stop in Plockton. The wind abated as we sailed past Portree and we had a surprisingly smooth journey, coming into Plockton in the early afternoon where we secured the yacht to a mooring buoy before boarding the inflatable dinghy in order to get to the mainland to resupply.

With the sun breaking through the clouds we were afforded a truly stunning view of the Scottish Highlands and had a mini celebration aboard ‘Spirit of June’ that evening to celebrate the anticipated good weather for our final day of sailing.

Putting the “Tea” into Teamwork

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The last day dawned clear and sunny with only the occasional breath of wind to disturb the otherwise mirror-like waters. This did not make for great sailing but, after a week of strong winds and rough weather, it provided a very welcome change. We practiced a few man overboard drills on route back to the Kyle of Lochalsh, in between sunbathing on the foredeck, and went through a final confirmation of all we had learned throughout the week. Once we’d reached port, passing back under the Skye bridge, we proceeded to deep clean the boat to have it ready to hand back the following morning and had an

early night in preparation for the long drive back to RMA Sandhurst.

Exercise Skye-Sail Cadet was an extremely challenging and rewarding exercise that succeeded in giving OCdts a thorough grounding in the basics of offshore sailing.

We experienced life at sea in a variety of conditions – from storm force winds and lashing rain to sunshine and flat calm – and were introduced to the basics of navigation at sea, boat handling and safety. The expedition also gave all involved a good insight into the planning and organization of Adventurous Training, as well as building on teamwork skills. Although, due to

severe weather conditions, the expedition did not succeed in its aim of circumnavigating the Isle of Skye, with over 160 Nautical Miles logged it certainly proved that such an undertaking would be possible. The crew were tested to the limit, were scared at least twice a day, developed into an extremely close knit team and several members have taken away an enthusiasm for sailing that should last well into their military careers.

Editor’s note: Ex SKYE SAIL CADET came joint first winners of the Holt’s Trust competition for the best Adventurous Training expedition along with Exercise MARRAKESH CADET.

Football at RMAS Captain Tony Frank AGC (SPS) SSU The approach of two weeks leave brought for most of us a much pined for break, but signalled the end of a fantastic season of football. With it came the end of the tenure of Major Rimmington as our coach and manager and also signalled the departure of many our players on completion of the commissioning course.

It was a season characterised by far more highs than lows, and the addition of a strong junior contingent to the team meant that we were able to field a winning team on the field in spite of losing large swathes of our team to Sandhursts many exercises. OCdt Reynolds (now 2Lt. Reynolds) performed well as our captain but OCdt Hughes provided an able and willing deputy and would no doubt be wearing the armband if football was to run throughout the summer.

A large squad and numerous niggling injuries meant a lot of disappointed faces on the sidelines, but it was great to see the group convene in the King Hussein Pavilion week in week out, supporting the squad and hosting the numerous visitors to Sandhurst and constantly reminding us that being a sportsman is about more than just physical prowess and technique but also being a good host and a gentleman. (Qualities which are made infinitely easier by being the victors!).

Our major disappointment of the season was having to pull out of the cup only a few days after winning the quarter final. It was a fantastic achievement to make it so far in what was a competitive and difficult tournament, and it was a setback not to be able to field a team in the semi-final due to scheduling issues. As frustrating as it was not to be able to see how much we would have

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been able to achieve in the tournament, we are proud to have achieved so much with such an intensive training programme and many of us are hoping the opportunity to win the cup presents itself to us again after commissioning.

As everybody who plays or has played football at Sandhurst will undoubtedly know, the main fixture of the season is against the permanent staff – who against all odds managed to pull off an unlikely victory against the Officer Cadets by first doggedly grinding out a 1 – 1 draw over 90 minutes, and then holding their nerve to win the penalty shootout, despite SSgt Armour missing his penalty.

Football has not only provided a welcome break from the training programme but also given us that added impetus to strive for fitness and to work well as a team. We have met soldiers and officers from throughout the Army, from the Royal Signals to the Royal Artillery and some fantastic victories aside have come to understand even more the importance of sport to the Army. A special thank you for all of this must go to Maj Rimmington.

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (Cadets) Association Football 2012 ~ 2013 Names: Back row: OCdt Gammond, OCdt Cassily, OCdt Wilson, OCdt Sabha, OCdt Jack, OCdt Maclean, OCdt Heather OCdt Bennett, OCdt Smith, OCdt Walker, OCdt Cryer; Middle row: OCdt Nolan, OCdt Doyle-Tanner, OCdt Johnston, OCdt Studwell, OCdt Stewart, OCdt Eldridge, OCdt Woosey, OCdt Harris, OCdt Ritchie, OCdt Lawson, OCdt Ainsworth; Front row: OCdt Rowden, OCdt Marshall, OCdt Shand, OCdt Hughes, OCdt Marwan, OCdt Reynolds, (Captain) Maj RK Rimmington MBE RLC (Manager/Coach), OCdt Higgins, OCdt Maloney, OCdt Gunn, OCdt Pfleiderer, OCdt Ciborowski

OiC RMAS Tennis Capt HPM McCullough RLC It has been a very busy summer for RMAS Tennis. With the on-going restoration of the grass courts, a revival of Real Tennis, some hard fought matches against the Army and RAF Veterans, and three opportunities to experience some exceptional professional tennis at the Wimbledon Finals, it has been a very memorable season.

The RMAS Real Tennis Experience – OCdt Millar – 33Pl Perhaps, particularly reflective of the RMAS experience; Real Tennis, is a game of skill, tactics, fitness and steeped in a deep sense of tradition. On June 15th, the more romantically inclined members of the Sandhurst tennis squad found themselves being ushered into a suitably beautiful and listed

The enchanting court at Holyport Grange

RMAS AT THE ROYAL TENNIS CLUB OF HAMPTON COURT PALACE OCdt Carpenter – 33 Pl Real Tennis is steeped in almost as much proud history as the British Army itself.

A unique game, it appeals to those with a sense of history as well as those who appreciate the need to combine intelligence, skill and athleticism. Often described as athletic chess it is perhaps an apt sport for Officer Cadets here at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

redbrick rectangle-shaped building, containing one of England’s most attractive real tennis courts. Real tennis has been played Holyport Grange since 1889 and, while perhaps not the most experienced real tennis players ever to grace its asymmetricby-design court, we were surely some of the most enthusiastic. Real Tennis’ status, as the antecedent of most modern racquet sports, is no where more visibly apparent than in the slightly misshapen wooden objects used to play the game. While unambiguously related to the modern Lawn Tennis racquet, the smaller head, and even smaller ‘sweet spot,’ make for a punishing afternoon for those with poorer hand eye coordination. The amount of new words and scoring concepts involved made for a hugely entertaining initial immersion into this most unashamedly esoteric of sports.

As a sport, real tennis is far from inaccessible, in just the course of one afternoon, the RMAS Squad had an understanding of the rules, indeed, even the nuances of the tactics required to play the sport credibly. The coaching at Holyport Grange was excellent and it was their patience and efforts that is to be credited for the progress made. The visit was such a success that the team will be playing on the Royal Court at Hampton Court Palace later in the season.

Club. Under the enthusiastic tutelage of club professional Stefan King, and despite the complexity of the rules, the RMAS Tennis Squad had amassed enough knowledge and confidence to attempt a couple of tentative games much to the bewilderment of scores of on-looking tourists.

The smaller asymmetrical racket, the harder heavier balls and the mixture of squash and conventional tennis tac-

INTER COY TENNIS – OCdt Anderson – 32 Pl This season’s Inter Company Tennis competition was held at both the Library and Government House courts. Each company entered one pair into the doubles’ tournament, each team playing each other in a round robin contest. In a break from the traditional scoring, each match consisted of scoring the maximum points that could be fit into a 15 minute period, played in a tie break style. During play the English weather provided every season, from horizontal rain to perfect blue sky. Competition was fierce from the offset, with painful body shots taken as part of the course.

After an enjoyable afternoon the unbeaten Normandy Company combination of OCdt

OCdt Anderson and OCdt Millar, the triumphant Normandy Coy Pairing

tics (and an ever developing set of rules) meant that even the most experienced tennis players were also suitably challenged. The game was as entertaining for players as the increasingly baffled array of international spectators.

A splendid outing, the afternoon was capped with an excellent dinner, and a few well earned beverages, over looking the sunny Thames.

Hidden within the beautiful grounds of the historic Hampton Court Palace lies the oldest known tennis court in the world.

Home of The Royal Tennis Club, this oddly shaped enclosed court has borne witness to numerous Kings and Queens throughout the ages. The most famous members, Henry VIII was a regular patron of the court.

In 1625, the court was upgraded and enclosed by Charles I, still more than two and a half centuries prior to the invention of the more familiar game of Lawn Tennis.

The Sandhurst Tennis Club had previously been introduced to this ancient game of kings at Holyport Grange Real Tennis

The Royal Court at Hampton Court palace from the ‘Dedans’ End

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no shortage of enthusiasm, guile and an abundance of charm, the team managed to secure seats for arguably the best final to date! The support of the two Scottish Officer Cadets clearly making the difference as Andy Murray went on to secure the first British victory in the Championships for 77 years on a very memorable day!

OiC RMAS Tennis, Capt McCullough RLC with OCdts on Henman Hill

The RMAS Juniors Team with the RAF Peregrines

Anderson and OCdt Millar were crowned champions and presented with the mighty Inter Coy Tennis Trophy.

intermittent brilliance interspersed with periods reflecting what the legendary Dan Maskell might have described with the words, ‘Oh I say!’. The play remained highly competitive, but it was RMAS who showed their mettle, spurring each other on; supporting their respective partners to pick up several well placed drop shots at the net, as well as several sharply angled vollies ruthlessly blasted by the undeterred Veterans. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon was spent by all with the RMAS team winning out with a 3.5–2.5 victory overall.

Sandhurst Seniors V Army Veterans – OCdt B Rogers – 10 Pl On Wednesday July 3rd at Aldershot Lawn Tennis Club, the RMAS Seniors Squad took on the might of the Army Veterans Team. Three pairs in each team fought a good natured fight, during which all players showed commitment determination and good humour. All matches were close affairs, with members of both teams excelling at the net, producing some rallies of high quality – including some fast and furious close exchanges. RMAS proved to be the stronger holders of the serve in the fixture, which gave them the ultimate edge to drive for victory. The Veterans however did not capitulate easily, forcing RMAS to dig deep for the win. RMAS might have perceived that superior fitness and youthful exuberance would have given them a natural advantage, but clearly the wily tactics and well managed movement of a much more experienced team were not to be underestimated! Both teams demonstrating

The RMAS Real Tennis Squad at Hampton Court Palace

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RMAS TENNIS CLUB AT WIMBLEDON – OCdt Williams – 12 Pl Thanks to the Army Lawn Tennis Association, the RMAS Tennis Club were allocated tickets to attend the world renown Championships at Wimbledon. On the 16th June, the first group attended the All England Club to enjoy a day of high quality tennis.

With tickets to court 1 and 2 they enjoyed a plethora of matches including watching tennis luminaries such as Andy Murray, Maria Sharapova and Lleyton Hewitt. The second contingent attended on Women’s Final Day and were treated to some fantastic tennis in the Girls’ Final. The best was arguably saved for last as the final members of the RMAS Tennis Squad attended Wimbledon on the final day. Despite a lack of a centre court ticket, however, immaculately dressed in RMAS Blazers and with

Sandhurst Juniors V RAF Peregrines – OCdt Martin – 33 Pl On the 10 July, The Sandhurst Junior Term team journeyed to the Army Tennis Centre at Aldershot in order to host the yearly fixture against the RAF Veterans known as the Peregrines. With bright sunshine and sweltering temperatures outside, the matches were played on the indoor courts was something of a mercy. The Sandhurst junior entry team contained a mix of more and less experienced players, and it was hoped that their youth, and developing fitness, would allow them to triumph over the canny practitioners of RAF Veterans. There was some very good tennis played during the course of the afternoon, however, in the end, the depth of the Peregrines squad showed through, as they were victorious by 5.5 points to 3.5. Some pride was maintained on the Sandhurst side, with the first pair beating their Peregrine opposite numbers 6–1, 6–1. Another great match in this 30 year annual duel, we look forward to hosting them again next year.

SUMMARY RMAS Full colours were awarded to OCdts Rogers, (Club Captain), Millar, (Team Captain and Inter Coy Winner), Williams (Club Secretary), Anderson, (Inter Coy Winner) and OCdt Salmon, (Ladies Captain). Half Colours were awarded to OCdts Cartwright, Johnstone, Costin, Martin, McKenna and Baker. The club would like to thank the grounds men for their hard work brining the grass courts back into use, Capt Mark Thornton AAC for arranging the Real Tennis Experience and Col Bill Herlihy MBE for coordinating the Wimbledon tickets.

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SANDHURST 53

RMAS USA Rugby Tour OCdt Holmes My head is a whirl of in-flight movies, scarlet blouses and gin & tonics. The flight from London to Boston has landed and we’re in the diplomatic customs line at Boston Airport, all 23 of us wearing the same blue blazer and an assortment of exotic chinos. Excited for the week ahead and acutely aware of the dozens of curious eyes searching for an explanation of who these people with funny trousers were. “Are y’all some kinda sports team?” We explained that we were Representing RMA Sandhurst and the British Army on a rugby tour of the USA; “HOT DAWG! The Royal British Army! Welcome to America, and thank you for your service!” This would become a common response throughout our time in the states and while at first it was extremely funny, it remained a very humbling experience.

The following day we were sat in a basement room of a café enjoying the proper American version of a ‘cheese burger with fries’ (which needless to say was comprised of half a cow and quart of imitation cheese) when there was a deep rumble from the street above and then another, nonplussed as to the origin, we continued. Today was April 15th, the Boston Marathon and also Patriots day, the anniversary of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War, so we were keen to look around. As we left the café, there was a distant crescendo of wailing sirens, helicopters and flashing lights. It was only later that we realised there was an attack on the Marathon finish line and scores of people had been injured. While the event was awful, it was good to see how the city responded, Boston people opened their homes to all those stranded as a result of the Attacks, Marathon runners who finished the race ran to the nearest hospital to give blood to all those injured, it was an impressive response to an awful act. And so in the wake of a bombing, we travelled to Harvard to play our first match.

The trip to our hotel in what appeared to be an armoured fighting minibus was uneventful and gave us time to prepare for our first night in the states. Before long the smell of Bratwurst, Löwenbräu and sauerkraut heralded our arrival at a German Bierhaus. Inside we were greeted by a sea of baseball caps and curious faces, interrupted only by a lone bearded The game was played in a gladiatorial colosBefore long the smell of Viking, complete with helmet and rams horns seum, it was streamed live on the internet and stood on a table belting out a tortured rendihad no more than 23 spectators, but we were Bratwurst, Löwenbräu tion of ‘Nessun Dorma’. We liked Boston. But of and sauerkraut heralded up for it. We’d been given a tour of Harvard Unicourse we weren’t just here to enjoy ourselves, versity earlier in the day, the impressive history, our arrival at a German buildings and traditions displayed proudly; they we had a job to do; To win 3 matches against Harvard University, West Point Military Academy had a point to prove. However, we’d travelled Bierhaus and New York Athletics Club. No mean feat. our a long way and were determined not to be out first match was against Harvard in two days’ staged, determined to show we could perform time. And we were ready. at our own game; it was unthinkable that we could lose. The match was physical. Harvard gave a good account of themselves Baseball is a strange game. We decided it was important to see but were beaten mainly due to the experience most British playAmerica and all of its eccentricities, and visiting Fenway park to ers accrue, having played rugby for so much longer and our oldwatch the Boston Red Sox was one of them. Although mostly, I est player being 38. But the game wasn’t over yet, we still had sat wondering what was going on. As far as I can tell, the man the third half to play. This too had to be won, so with the Harvard with the stick hasn’t hit the ball once and yet the crowd are in team in tow, we set off into the night. raptures. The noise was incredible. The chants of the hot dog vendors clash with the calls of the pizza man and the peanut West Point Military Academy is an impressive place, where those bloke and the soft drink guy is having a nightmare because he with the potential are trained to become the next generation of can’t throw his two litre bucket of coke at the buyer 17 rows in, US Army Officers. This was our next match, and we knew we had the same problem as the burger man and the soup seller, so to perform well here. We were welcomed onto the base by their the crowd pass money and food along to help out. This was rugby team and were to share their dormitories, so this gave us a more entertaining than the game! Eventually somebody won, chance to see what life was like for them. In order to commission how I’m unsure, and 23 Officer Cadets found themselves posing from West Point a cadet must complete four years training and for a photo under the scoreboard with the match ball. But even achieve a degree whilst simultaneously undertaking military trainthough you weren’t sure what happened, who won or why, you ing. Their traditions were interesting, especially the punishments, can sense that you had a good time and that you’d come again. one particularly fearsome called ‘hours’, where a cadet will be Baseball is a strange game. forced marched with a rifle along a line backward and forward for

Before the match against New York Athletic Club

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In the ruck against West Point

At the baseball: Boston Red Socks’ Fenway Park

The West Point result

their allotted number of hours. But apart from the robotic morning announcements by the first year cadets, nothing seemed any stranger than what you’d expect to find at Sandhurst. At the same time as our visit there were also cadets from various other military academies around the world here to compete in the Sandhurst cup, a fiercely contested and hard fought competition.

After absorbing as much of New York as was possible, we made our way to Long Island to play our final and toughest game, New York Athletics Club. NYAC are considered to be one of the best teams in the USA, we were to play their 2nd XV side, which as it transpired was a good thing. So far the tour had taken it’s toll on us, several injuries and knocks had reduced our numbers significantly, and had meant that The West point team our illustrious leaders, Major Field and CSM Frith The West point team were extremely fit and the had to step up and offer themselves up as super were extremely fit and larger size of most of their players was evident the larger size of most of subs. The NYAC grounds were spectacular, and in the hits and contact. And whilst they took an the facilities were superb, to a point; and as we their players was evident changed in the swimming pool shower cubiearly lead, their ability to play and move the ball decreased with every phase, at which point we cles, we knew we were going to win. It wasn’t in the hits and contact. capitalised and made the most of their mistakes. arrogance or misplaced cocksure attitudes; it The match was won fairly early in the game, but was trust in the players you were beside. The it is good sportsmanship to play to the best of your abilities for knowledge that even though we played a good third half, we were the entire encounter, to that end we continued to score again and professional for those first two and we always turned it on and again. Most teams would be demoralised by this and begin to delivered the performance. seek a scrap or simply refuse to play but the West point cadets, being good soldiers, continued to fight until the game was over, This game was painful. The artificial pitch on that hot day was scoring a try and earning our respect. After the final whistle Major unforgiving and the ferocity with which the NYAC team hit us with General Evans and Academy Sergeant Major Stokes came to was both unexpected and unpleasant. It was hard fought and congratulate us, they also reminded us of the significance of our frustrating and required us to utilise our super-subs to replace relationships with the American cadets as future officers in two an unconscious OCDT Pile, but after an extremely physical and very different but ultimately very connected Armies. This was robust match, we emerged victorious. The relief was evident on reflected in the post-match ceremony, where we were hosted all 23 faces, we had achieved our aim and managed to do it whilst brilliantly and was a fantastic culmination of a very enjoyable stay giving a good account of ourselves in the cities we visited too. at West Point.

The NYAC team were gracious in defeat and saw us off in style in the beautiful setting of Travers Island.

Before we left for our final stop, we went to support the Sandhurst team on the start line of their 10 mile race over the huge After the game we headed back to our hotel in gleeful anticipatraining area, and I can tell you, we did not envy them. As they set tion of the celebrations ahead, this was our final night in America off on what would be a day of exhausting tests and a successbefore we were granted leave and we spent it in style. A fantastic ful 1st place in the competition, we left for one final tour of the steak house followed by an amazing night in ‘230-Fifth’, a rooftop grounds, and a coach ride to New York city. bar with incredible views of the city. As we celebrated I began to think on our experiences thus far, how kind the American peoWalking around New York city in a British Army uniform as an ple were to British servicemen and how much they seemed to officer cadet in training, is what I imagine it would be like to be value British support of their country. The words of the comHarry Flashman; everybody’s glad to see you, everybody thanks mandant rang true, and while we may be a small Army and getyou for your service and you get lots of free stuff, but there’s a ting ever smaller, we still have a role to play in the global theatre nagging feeling that you don’t quite deserve it yet and you’re and it will be with the USA among other countries. Which is why about to be found out any minute. But be that as it may, we made sports tours such as ours not only offer a great experience to the the most of it and we were lucky enough to visit the empire state young cadets who participate, they also deepen the relationship building and ground zero, which was an incredible place. In lieu between the Nations and the Armed forces who will most likely of the twin towers are two huge memorial pools which both have be working with one another. As far as America is concerned, a pit in the centre where all the water drains away, representing a while we wouldn’t want to become the 51st state, I would say it hole that cannot be filled, and around the edge are plaques with is hugely important to maintain interaction between our Military all the names of those who died that day on September 11th forces over the coming years either on operations, on exercise or 2001. It was an extraordinary place, and it was incredible to think on sports and adventure training. As for our tour, the next mornthat we were standing in the epicentre of the ‘war on terror’, the ing we were packed and ready to go. We said our goodbyes and manifestation of a terrorist threat and the very reason for British would all go our separate ways for 2 weeks R&R, some back personnel serving in Afghanistan. home, some to Miami and some of us to Las Vegas. As for what happened there, that’s another story entirely.

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Netball at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Whilst the rules and regulations of my chosen sport may bemuse and confuse our male couterparts, Netball is the most well attended female sport in the Academy. Wednesday and Saturday afternoons provided, during the first term, an oasis of calm away from the screaming of the colour sergeants and the endless drill.

This is not to say that our sessions are not intense. Netball is a physically demanding activity, hour long matches require a strong cardiovascular base, speed and power are essential for outrunning and outwitting your opponents, and the variety Netball provides amongst TABs and PFAs maintains flexibility and joint strength.

At the start of each term we hold an inter-company Netball tournament, played between the Junior, Intermediate and Senior terms.

During the summer term we had an external referee which kept us on our toes and gave us an opportunity to get a good look at the new comers in our squad. One of the problems with the hectic Sandhurst timetable is that there are very few opportunities for the all three terms to come together to practice. This means that skill development is a difficult, and whilst the Cadets fitness improves, our ability to learn how to play with each other limited.

The first external match of the term was against 29 Regt RLC; we were, inevitably, one intake down with the Intermediate term away on EX Druids Ridge. However, the Juniors and Seniors put up a good fight against a very experienced side. Our team walked away having worked hard and learnt a lot from the experience.

Our second confrontation was much more successful against the RLC Troop Commanders’ Course, which was again played as part of a round robin tournament in intakes.

The highlight of our Netball term would have to be the final match played against the Directing Staff at the Academy. Major Stileman recruited a varied bunch with vastly different ability levels.

This event helps bond intakes together, and cements a feeling of community amongst the Netball players in general. This camaraderie is something which any sport brings, what is unique about Netball is that it is the only all-female sport currently at the Academy. The tips and snippets of information which the term above can provide are invaluable at setting minds at ease about daunting upcoming exercises. After representing the Academy for two terms my intake look ahead to our last few months playing together and at the opportunity to defend Sandhurst’s title at the Army Netball Championships later next month.

A FA M I LY- RU N B OA R D I N G A N D DAY S C H O O L F O R B OY S A G E D 7 – 1 3

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RMAS Indian Hockey Tour OCdt Coleman, Inkerman Coy CC123 On Saturday 13 April a team of 22 left hurst. It was widely felt that show parades hour of thirst but since we had run out of RMAS for a hockey tour of India on what were a far better result than a five mile run water it was decided that a draw was a promised to be a hectic but enjoyable trip. up a mountain to collect a token before good result – much to the relief of the playThe itinerary promised 5 cities in twelve running back down. The next morning we ers. The evening was spent being hosted days with three male matches and two lined up to play our first match. We were by the cadets who offered a chance for mixed. We landed in Delhi the next mornrelieved that it was to be played in quarters the girls to meet their counterparts and ing and were immediately hit by the heat; as despite being 0630 it was already hotdiscuss the similarities and differences already in the high 30s and not even 10 ter than was comfortable. It was to be the between their training – in particular the O’clock. As a result the team took acclifirst match many of the team had played shaved head haircuts! matisation very seriously on grass. As a result we and as soon as introducwent down three goals Since the match against the Air Force tory and security briefs before the end of the Academy had been cancelled it gave the It became very amusing for the British Consufirst half. However, as the team a great chance to relax at the hotel watching people ‘on the late were concluded we third quarter began OCdt and visit the local area. We were fortuphone’ trying to record quickly found the hotel Webster got a quick goal nate enough to be in town when an Indian swimming pool rememwhich was quickly folPremier League cricket match was being us as we walked past. bering that it is important lowed by a great reverse played between Hyderabad Sunrisers vs to get used to the heat effort by Powell. UnfortuKings of Punjab. We arrived at the stabefore the first match. nately we ran out of time to get the equaldium expecting the ticket office to be on iser but the team felt that with five more site only to find that it was in fact someDelhi was not all spent out by the pool; minutes we would have won. The IMA where else two hours away. After Captain during the afternoon we visited the Red provided us with ice baths after the match Luff played the Mod 90 card we eventually Fort where we were quickly apprehended which led to some interesting sounds were allowed in and experienced India’s by the locals for various photographs. around the changing rooms. After the favourite sport. The match ended with Westerners, especially those with blonde match we had a tour around the Academy three sixes in four balls for a home vicor ginger hair were of huge interest to the where despite being told there were often tory. The atmosphere was electric; it was locals. It became very amusing watching leopards in the grounds there were none just a shame that it was a dry event. The people ‘on the phone’ trying to record us to be seen. I like to think that the cadets next day we visited Fort Golconda, a masas we walked past. India as a country were not pulling our legs. sive stone fort built on a hill with amazing was fascinating. We would constantly be views of the city. That night we headed to shocked when driving around the cities by The next day meant more travelling, This a restaurant with a nightclub below which the number of vehicles on the road and time to Hyderabad where we were to play proved to be a big success when the IPL how it seemed that there was no real hightwo matches originally but were told that cheerleaders made an appearance. The way code – more of a close your eyes and the first mixed match food was good too. go approach at every roundabout. had been cancelled. This meant we had four days This was by far the most The next day we flew to We flew out the next day to Dehradun to in one place with only Chennai where we were competitive fixture we play the Indian Military Academy. We were one match. Efforts to find to feel a different spin on played, both physically hosted in the evening in their Officers Mess something to fill the time the weather – humidity. where we were shown paintings of differbegan immediately. The Being so close to the sea and skill wise. ent conflicts that India has fought over match against the Miliensured the air felt satuthe years. It struck us as how operational tary College of Electronrated; even the Indians India’s military has been within its own ics & Mechanical Engineering was to be were conducting a study to see if the area borders. We met the team we were to play played at 1630 in heat comfortably over was too hot and humid for military trainthe next morning and talked about our 40 degrees. Where the other matches on ing. In Chennai we played the only mixed respective academies and found out that the tour were split into quarters we were match against the Officer Training Acadmuch is the same including the constant not so fortunate here. The team battled emy. Despite the humidity the team played fight to stay awake in lectures. The Indian to a 2-2 draw with goals from Coleman some great hockey and won 4-0 with cadets were keen to find out about how and Sweetman. At the final whistle when it goals from Sweetman, Capt Butler, Coleour training was carried out and what sort was suggested that the teams play extra man and Webster. It was one of the most of punishments were the norm at Sandtime the team was braced for another half enjoyable matches due to the change in

The Indian National Defence Academy and RMAS teams

OCdt Salmon and 2nd Lt Blair with their new friend

Sightseeing at the Red Fort, Dehli

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dynamics that mixed hockey offers, as well as more substitutions! The tour of the academy that followed was the most proactive as we were let loose with paintball guns (at targets not each other), air rifles and pistols as well as clay pigeon shooting.

Hare (2) and OCdt Powell making Powell the top goal scorer of the tour with three.

After the match we had a quick tour of the academy which showed yet again that despite being on the other side of the world the similarities between RMAS and our Not only did the team Indian counterparts are uncanny. From the NDA play some great hockey we travelled to Mumbai but we felt extremely where we were to catch welcome at every our flight back the UK.

Finally, we flew to Pune where we were to play the final match of the tour against the National Defence Academy. The academy we match was played on a water based astroturf which suited our style of play when compared to the grass and shale pitches of previous matches. This was by far the most competitive fixture we played, both physically and skill wise. The final result was 3-1 to RMAS with goals from OCdt

OCdt Webster denied at the Officer Training Academy

visited.

The tour to India was a complete success. Not only did the team play some great hockey but we felt extremely welcome at every academy we visited. We were all struck by how the Indians have used the British Army as a model to build their institutions on, but with a distinctly Indian twist. The

trip will forever be remembered fondly by the entire team. It is not every day that you get to sing the national anthem in front of a stadium of hundreds of spectators.

Joint Services Regatta – 26 June 2013 Officer Cadets Faire and Rushton (Waterloo Company) represented RMAS at the Joint Services Regatta in Peterborough on Wednesday 26th June. This is a one day regatta pitting crews of all abilities from all three services against each other across a range of boat classes. We were entered to race as a coxless pair, arguably one of the more challenging boats to row well.

of hours prior to the race (to make sure we weren’t racing in a boat we’d never sat in before and iron out any issues), we lined up alongside a large looking RAF pair.

After a fast start, with Mr. Rushton at stroke holding the rate above 40 strokes per minute for the first 250m (and Mr. Faire being warned a couple of times for steering issues), we settled Although we both have a firm background in the sport, it had into a loose and powerful race rhythm about one length ahead of been a while since either had set foot in a boat let alone raced. the RAF crew. This lead was extended gradually over the next With that thought firmly lodged in both minds we 750m until we crossed the finish line in a time of set about finding any space in the training pro3 minutes 44 seconds. Given the limited time Not only did the team gramme that gave us the chance to get on the we had had together, it was important to estabwater. Unfortunately the only place we could find lish the lead early and kill the race off before the play some great hockey a boat to use before the competition was from sprint finish, as crew unity comes under most but we felt extremely London Rowing Club, in Putney. This meant we examination when building through the gears at welcome at every could only muster two sessions over the Oxfordthe end of a close race. Despite this, we came Cambridge Boat Race course in less than ideal off the water thinking we could perhaps have academy we visited. conditions before race day was upon us. Howgone faster. What was even more encouragever, we were lucky to find we both have a very ing was the winning time of the Open race that similar style of rowing, and rely more on technical ability rather came down after us. A much closer fight saw the winners finish than power, which meant we gelled quickly and felt ready to at only three seconds quicker than our time. least compete well on the day.

Having been presented with the largest trophy of the day for On arrival at the course in Peterborough, we discovered that some unknown reason, we returned to RMAS satisfied with a the original plan to race all 5 coxless pairs entered (1 RMAS, 1 win and happy to have placed RMAS rowing back on the map.

Army, 1 Royal Navy and 2 RAF) in one race had been scrapped, We both very much hope our experience of rowing clubs from due to weed clogging one of the racing lanes. The event was across the services will encourage more crews from RMAS to therefore split into Open and Senior races, and the crews with race wherever possible. The next stage for both of us is to break proven speed were to race in the Open category. This meant the into the Army team after commissioning, and represent the Army RMAS crew and one of the RAF crews were paired together for a at larger competitions across the country, culminating in Henley one on one match race (albeit over 1000m rather than the usual Royal Regatta each July.

2000m Olympic distance). Having had one last practice a couple

The Men’s Coxed Four pulls to victory over the Navy

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Clay Pigeon Club

Major A S Harbison R IRISH, OIC Clay Pigeon.

The RMAS clay pigeon club continues to expand as interest in the sport grows and capacity increases. The sport has the added benefit of directly complimenting many aspects of the commissioning course including marksmanship, weapon safety, team work and range safety qualifications.

The club has excellent facilities located in the Barossa training area. The extensive grounds are ideal for the cadets to plan shooting stands, learn about range management, host competitions, and develop challenging targets.

The club meets each week on sports afternoons, and the recent arrival of several new permanent staff members has enabled greater numbers of cadets to attend training sessions.

The club now includes cadets from across all three intakes on the commissioning course.

ing driven pheasant, bolting rabbit, and springing teal clay traps. The recent acquisition of three Berretta ‘Silver Pigeon’ shot guns have also been a welcome addition to the inventory, keeping the facilities modern and the club competitive.

The club’s aspiration to compete externally was first realised in March this year with two teams, one each from the Intermediate and Senior term, entering the Mayor of Bracknell’s charity shoot at Gibraltar Barracks. The competition comprised six teams from the local police, fire brigade and county council which provided an excellent opportunity for the Academy to mix with the local community. RMAS finished in third place behind a team of policemen, and a team of obvious ‘ringers’ from the fire brigade!

New sporting and simulated game stands have been developed at the club’s revamped ranges on Barossa, includ-

More recently in July the club sponsored a clay pigeon shoot between RMA Sandhurst, RNC Dartmouth and RAF Cranwell as part of an inter-collegiate sports day.

Competition was stiff and the scores only

Cadets from RNC Dartmouth, RMA Sandhurst, and RAF Cranwell line up prior to the start of the inter-collegiate clay pigeon shoot

Cadets from the Intermediate and Senior team photographed with the Mayor of Bracknell at her charity shoot in Gibraltar Barracks, Minley

separated by a very narrow margin, but the Army came out on top to win both the clay pigeon competition and the overall sports day, so a great result all round. The Navy came a close second followed by the Air Force. High Gun of the day also went to RMAS, with OCdt Levens scoring 33 from a possible 50 on what was a challenging series of 5 sporting stands including doubles, overhead crossers, and snap shots between the trees.

The future of clay pigeon shooting in RMAS remains secure, with funding being provided by the Academy sports fund. The club is currently focussed on three strands of development to continue improving and expanding: marksmanship to improve shooting skills, and in particular moving targets; recruitment, to expose the maximum number of cadets to the sport; and competitions, both internal and external, to hone skills and provide a sense of purpose for training and team work.

OCdt Happel from RMAS in action at one of the five sporting stands during the inter-collegiate clay pigeon shoot

One of three new Berretta ‘Silver Pigeon’ shotguns, seen here being put through it’s paces on the clay pigeon range

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Cross-Country and Athletics Maj Ben Casson, OIC Athletics It has been another hugely successful year for the RMAS CrossCountry and Athletics Teams, now the reining Army champions in both events. On paper, RMAS has a vast pool of manpower to support these events but anyone who has served here will know that the reality is very different. Literally herding cats who are on multiple different timetables and with differing priorities is not easy, which is why it is even more impressive that RMAS is able to field consistently high quality teams. Why? Because at RMAS we are blessed with OCdts who are fit, robust and motivated, making them ideally suited to x-country and athletics track events.

The Army Inter-Unit Cross-Country Championships took place in February on home turf. The Academy entered OCdt male and female teams and a permanent staff team, including the Commandant. The (considerably) younger and fitter OCdt teams were packed full of talent and the results reflected this. A stunning first place for the OCdt male team against strong competition really demonstrated the strength in depth that RMAS has. The female team also excelled with a podium finish.

Fielding teams for the numerous league races was more difficult but we did where we could. If nothing else, this provided experience and exposure to the OCdts, many of whom had never run competitively outside of school. Entering teams to represent the Milocarian Running Club at civilian races helped towards this as well.

Moving into the summer athletics season, RMAS went into the Army Inter-Unit Athletics Championships as runners-up to 3LSR in 2012. Fortunately 3LSR, who have won almost everything for the last ten years and are essentially a professional athletics team, were not present due to operations, so RMAS had its opportunity.

The team took it. On a blisteringly hot June day the OCdts pulled out some stunning performances. Of note were OCdt Geaves and Proctor’s victories in the 3000m Steeplechase and 5000m respectively. OCdt Cole also blew away the competition with an impressive 2m high jump. But it was the strength of the team across the board that really did the damage to the opposition.

Consistent 3rd and 4th placings in a number of events resulted

The RMAS Athletics Team proudly display their haul at the Army Inter-Unit Athletics Championships 2013

in the male team walking away Army champions, and the female team a very close 2nd place in their competition.

Victory in the Army Championships was complemented by another victory in the Inter-Collegiate Games athletics meet, held this year at RMAS. The 12-man teams were a mix of males and females but Dartmouth forgot their female team so never really posed a chalCranwell on the other lenge! Cranwell on the other hand were a lot more hand were a lot more competicompetitive than we tive than we would have liked.

They had real strength in the would have liked. field events where technique reins supreme. Fortunately, the natural running ability of RMAS OCdts managed to overcome this, securing a win by 68 points to 60.

Clearly, as the terms tick by the faces change but the strength and attitude of the OCdts remains the same. The short athletics season is almost at an end but we now look forward to another strong year of cross-country and athletics at RMAS.

OCdt Christie battles for the line in the Inter-Collegiate Games 4 x 100m

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ASU Open Water Swimming Championship 24th June 2013 – Lake Bala OCdt Ross Mckellar, Waterloo Coy, CC123 The Tri-Service open water swimming competition in Lake Bala, North Wales, represents the pinnacle of the open water discipline.

With 5, 3 and 1km events there is something for everyone, whilst still challenging the slightly stronger/madder swimmers.

and OCdt Mckellar hastily don swimsuits in preparation for a running start. This was the first year swimsuits (similar to a wetsuit) have been permitted, previously only swimming costumes were allowed. Wearing a swimsuit however would mean the wearer would be unable to be placed on the medal table, unless they This year’s event, held on the 24th June, saw an RMAS team 25 were the first swimsuit swimmer to finish. Reasons for this are strong leave for Bala on an overcast Monday morning. All quietly the advantages a swimsuit offers; namely buoyancy and warmth. steeling themselves for the chilly peaty waters of a North Waleian lake.

After a quick running transition, the two 3k swimmers were off.

It quickly became apparent that the fresh breeze across the lake Preparations had begun in earnest weeks prior, with SMI Sawyer was producing relatively choppy water. This meant that sighting organising early morning training swims in Lower the next buoy and breathing drills became hinLake. With up to 30 Cadets and members of the dered and had to be adapted. Even so, after 42 Directing Staff in attendance, we were able to minutes the RMAS swimmers made the shoreMost importantly practice open water techniques such as sightachieving a cracking second and fourth however was the need to line ing, streaming in the wake of other swimmers place. acclimatise our bodies so as to save energy and breathing techniques.

Most importantly however was the need to acclito the lake’s 17ºC water This set the tone for things to come. With the matise our bodies to the lake’s 17ºC water temwell contested 1km race looming, we lined up temperature. perature. (Quite balmy as it turns out!) Even if you to receive our race numbers and swim hats. have no intention of swimming in North Wales, Over 100 competitors from all three services an early morning swim in Lower Lake is highly crammed into the starting pen and the first recommended – with the appropriate safety cover of course. swimmers entered the 14ºC water. With everyone in swimming costumes a rapid start became imperative in order to give the These training swims along with sports afternoons led to the first in the fairest chance. As the claxon boomed the peaty water swim team felling relatively well practised for the competition; writhed with swimmers pressing forwards towards the first buoy. determined to uphold our 1km team champion’s title of 2012.

Once the field separated and the ice cream headaches wore off we were able to get into the swing of things, quickly latching onto On approaching the lake we realised time would be quite tight swimmers of a similar pace – reducing the need to sight and for those wishing to swim the 3km race. This saw SMI Sawyer saving energy. By now however the conditions became increas-

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Results 1km

The team at Lake Bala

ingly choppy and often throwing competitors off course, resulting in safety boat intervention. The final 200m to the post saw a determined effort by our swimmers, overtaking batches of flagging competitors. With a helping hand out of the water, we donned warm kit and cheered on the incoming swimmers. We were also privy to a joint RAF/USAF display of fast jets, adding to atmosphere.

After a hot shower, a much needed cup of tea and jacket potato – the prize giving took place. RMAS did very well with OCdt Mckellar coming 2nd in the 3km and OCdt Covington 11th in the 1km.

The 1km team prize is composed of the top six finishers for each unit and thanks to a sound performance by our team we won, retaining our title for another year.

Much credit is due to SMI Sawyer and Mr Gibson for organising the team and running the training programme. Also to the Cadets themselves for braving those frigid Welsh waters. I’m sure we’ll be back next year to defend our title; no doubt even more prepared having drawn upon our experiences from 2013.

Surname

Time

Position

Covington Mckellar Roberts Mason Humphreys Williams Varmuze Cooke McPhearson Sayer Nichole Smith Martin Pawson Draper Bickerton Willden Brown Bleakman Lee Wood

14:45 14:49 15:03 15:12 15:43 15:47 16:21 16:22 16:35 18:22 18:57 19:09 19:45 20:02 20:03 20:56 21:56 22:47 24:44 30:20 31:43

11 12 13 14 20 21 29 20 32 42 50 52 55 58 59 62 64 69 77 91 93

Mckellar – WS

42:52

2

Sawyer – WS

43:42

5

3km

Army Inter Unit Team Championship Unit

Total

RMAS

91

2

ARMY HQ

261

3

11 Sig Regt

286

Position 1

SANDHURST 63

The Italian Regimental Show Jumping Competition An RMAS team has returned victorious from the Italian Regimental Show Jumping Competition in Montelibretti, just outside of Rome.

With a respectable score on the board already (only the top two out of three riders in each team contribute to the final team score), OCdt Geering threw all caution to the wind. With all eyes on her, she tore around the ring, leaping each fence with only inches to spare, and cleared the last fence to rapturous applause for her Double Clear round. Not only had she gone clear, she had got the fastest time yet! The final ten rounds were nerve racking, as we all sat in the stands watching the best Italian military show jumpers try to beat OCdt Geering’s time. None succeeded.

With very little training beforehand, the team of three Officer Cadets (Miss Andrew, Miss Geering and Mr Soames) and a manager/coach/mentor/groom in the form of Corporal of Horse Puddifoot, travelled out to Rome during the first Academy Leave Weekend at the kind invitation of Colonnello Gianfranco Fedele, the Commandant of the Italian Military Equitation School.

Every Officer in the Italian Army (known as the Escercito) must learn how to ride as part of their training, and as a result, the facilities at the centre in Montelibretti were outstanding.

On the Saturday morning we were given our charges for the competition and sent into the riding school to ride our horses over a few fences before the start of the competition that afternoon. We got competitive from the start, as we were warming up alongside the French and Swedish military teams that had come to compete as well.

OCdt Geering celebrating with the Grooms

(4 faults) between them. However, when it came to OCdt Soames at the end of the day, disaster struck. His horse refused to go anywhere near the sixth fence, and he was eliminated. This was quite a blow to the team who, up until then, had been doing so well.

That evening all the foreign teams were invited to the Commandant’s Gala Dinner at his Villa where we After half and hour or so were staying. There we What a luxury it was, of schooling our horses met many important and over a few jumps, we engaging people, one of not having to un-tack took them back to the whom’s father had led the and wash them off! stables and handed them last ever cavalry charge back to their grooms. against British tanks in What a luxury it was, not Abyssinia in 1941. having to un-tack and wash them off!

Needless to say, Sunday morning was However, the time came for us to put on rather slow, but by the time our competiour blues and prepare for the competition tion resumed in the afternoon, we were in itself. It consisted of two rounds. The first fine fettle. OCdt Soames was one of the was ridden on Saturday afternoon, and first to go, and he redeemed himself by the second ‘time-trial’ round on Sunday. getting around with only one pole down.

Our task on Saturday afternoon was thereThis left the OCdts Andrew and Geering fore simply had to get round the course, with a certain amount of breathing space, knocking down as few poles as possible. so that they could really go for it when their OCdts Geering and Andrew flew around time came. OCdt Andrew whizzed around the course, only bringing down one pole with a very tidy round and in a good time.

OCdt Andrew in action

64

SANDHURST

All of the competitors then paraded in the ring for the prize-giving ceremony, conducted entirely in Italian. Standing in line with all the other competitiors, we heard snippets such as ‘The Royal Sandhurst Academy Military!’ followed by a large cheer, and we were ushered forward to collect our prize (we had no idea at the time what for). This happened three times.

It transpired that the RMAS team had won Best Rider and Best Foreign Rider (OCdt Geering) as well as Best Foreign Team and Best Coach (CoH Puddifoot).

We were congratulated by all the Italian competitors, who seemed genuinely delighted that we had done so well. The French team sulked. The Swedes left early.

We said our ‘goodbyes’, with OCdts Geering and Andrews having to bat away Italian Officers proposing to them as they raced to the mini-bus that was taking us to the airport. There was then a brief discussion as to whether we would need an escort by the Carabinieri to get us to the airport in time.

We could not have been treated better by our Italian hosts, even though we left with a significant proportion of their National Debt in silver trophies, and we can only hope that RMAS will be invited back to defend its title next year!

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SANDHURST 67

Sandhurst Trust

The Sandhurst Foundation becomes the Sandhurst Trust If 2012 presaged change for the Sandhurst Foundation, 2013 really saw it pick up pace leading, eventually, to its rebirth as the Sandhurst Trust at the end of the year.

Firstly, there were further changes at the top. Major General Tim Evans fitted in just two terms as Commandant and Chairman of the Foundation’s Trustees before being moved, on promotion, to command the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. His successor is Major General Stuart Skeates CBE Late RA, who is introduced elsewhere in this journal. Arriving on the same day as General Stuart was the Foundation’s new Director, Dr Daren Bowyer. Daren, whose regular service was as a sapper, joined the foundation from a management role in an Oxford College and a short spell in charity administration.

For the Foundation 2012 was dominated by the need to sort out past problems in its governance and financial position and then prepare itself for relaunch. In preparation for this the Sandhurst Trust was first incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee and then registered as a charity. From a legal perspective the last phase was to transfer all the assets and liabilities of the Foundation to the Trust. The Foundation will now be wound up.

Looking to the future, the Trust has a new and expanded board of Trustees: The Commandant, Assistant Commandant (Col Charles Page) and Director of Studies (Mr Sean McKnight) are all ex officio trustees and are joined by co-opted trustees with a variety of financial, business and marketing backgrounds: Lt Gen (Retd) Sir Gary Coward, Mr Sean Taylor, Mr Tim Sherwood, Ms Jules James and Mr Richard Anderson. In the New Year they will be joined by a junior officer representative.

In its new guise The Sandhurst Trust has a re-articulated focus on supporting the Academy – especially through promoting esprit de corps, sustaining ethos and preserving heritage – and promoting and promulgating the Army’s approach to leadership. Through a programme of ‘leadership encounters’ it will introduce to the Academy alternative and complimentary perspectives on leadership, and provide opportunities for interaction between the Academy, its alumni and other leadership-focussed organisations. Its events will foster an enduring sense of belonging and connection among the Academy’s alumni (both UK and overseas). Through conferences and the publication of occasional papers it will assist the Academy’s academic departments in reaching a wider audiTHE SPINK & SON COMMISSIONING PARADE MEDALLION In association with The Sandhurst Trust, Spink and Son Ltd, The Royal Medallists, are pleased to announce the introduction of The Commissioning Parade Medallion, a sterling silver, gold-plated, or 18ct gold, enamelled and hallmarked medallion (65mm x 4mm), set in a dismountable lucite block as a presentation desk piece.

These are priced at for £984 (incl of VAT) for the gold-plated medallion or £12,750 (excl of VAT) for the 18ct gold. (Prices subject to amendment with fluctuation in bullion costs.)

68

SANDHURST TRUST

ence and thereby enhance the Academy’s reputation as a centre of academic excellence in its fields. At the same time, principally through such events and managing appropriate private and corporate use of the Academy’s facilities, it will generate income both to sustain itself and to fund facilities and activities to enhance the Officer Cadet experience.

Although the reshaping work limited the Foundation’s programme for much of its final year, it still hosted its Annual Dinner, again kindly sponsored by IDG, at the Cavalry and Guards Club. Veteran journalist and broadcaster, Kate Adie, was the guest speaker. In November, joining forces with the Royal Memorial Chapel, the Foundation hosted an evening discussion with former Olympian, Sports Minister and Chairman of the British Olympic Committee, Lord Colin Moynihan, who was joined by 2012 Gold Medallist Katherine Grainger. The focus of the evening was ethics in sport and specifically issues surrounding doping.

2013 also saw a return to the Foundation’s engagement with the Intermediate Term Academy debate. Teams from Imjin and Normandy companies debated the motion: This house welcomes the recent vote in Parliament against military intervention in Syria and hopes this is a sign that we are finally adopting an international role more suited to our resources and status.”. The proposers won by a narrow margin.

If 2013 was the year for setting the foundations, then 2014 promises to be the year of re-engagement, building a programme of relevant, purposeful events that benefit the Academy and the wider membership. It will see formal launch of the Trust in May with a major event at which CGS, Gen Sir Peter Wall will be the principal guest. We look to a sustained growth in membership to support the Trust in activity across its entire remit.

The programme for 2014 is taking shape with Patrick Hennessey (Junior Officer’s Reading Club, Kandak) in January, the Spring Term Academy debate in March and a number of Commissioning Course leadership talks confirmed (to which members are invited – details on the website). On 21 May, Rory Stewart MP (The Places in Between) will be guest speaker at our annual dinner at the Cavalry and Guards Club.

Please remember to visit our shop (http://sandhursttrust.org/ onlineshop) for a range of Sandhurst gifts and memorabilia – including the Sandhurst Trust tie

This important medallion, set to be displayed on a desk, records the achievement of a lifetime, valued by the recipient and a cherished inheritance for future generations.

Medallions may be purchased by any individual who has commissioned or Graduated (overseas cadets) from RMAS. His or her name and course details will be engraved on the reverse of the medallion. All applications will be veri-

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To order a medallion please contact the Sandhurst trust (director@sandhurstturst.org) for an order form.

Academics

Faraday Hall: What’s the point?

An Officer Cadet’s Thoughts on Academic Study at Sandhurst OCdt WL Clegg, 26 Pl, The Somme Coy I was rather surprised when I found out that Sandhurst’s academic department was named after one of Britain’s greatest scientists – I originally thought it would be some other Faraday, not Michael Faraday, the pioneer of electromagnetism. As a physics graduate I assumed I would have a natural affinity with such a building. I knew that post-amalgamation between the Royal Military Academy and Royal Military College there would be limited requirement for mathematical and scientific teaching of Officer Cadets. The focus of the department now seems to lie with subjects based in words and not numbers. As a scientist I did not think I would enjoy this paradigm shift of academic learning, and many of my peers were more sceptical about any academic study at Sandhurst, but after two terms we have learned to appreciate the lessons Faraday Hall delivers.

teach people interpersonal skills and how to ‘come across’ better in presentations: it is nature and not nurture.

Personally I feel that it is a balance between the extremes. Some of the techniques we learn in CABS – especially on delivering presentations – are dependent on a person’s character; however, these skills can be improved. We learn practical skills that we will need in the field army as a commander, from writing point briefs to negotiating.

Equally relevant, we spent several lessons discussing military atrocities with pertinent examples like Abu Ghraib and its moral implications. Hopefully this will help to prevent such crimes happening again.

In my peer group many feel that DIA useful as it gives you a wider insight into current affairs and helps you develop an informed opinion on recent conflicts; others are not as generous with their Faraday Hall teaches Officer Cadets on the commissioning criticism and see the subject as ephemeral. DIA, in my opinion, course three subjects, namely: Communications and Applied is important. It not only informs you of current conflicts and gives Behavioural Studies (CABS); Defence and International Affairs you the tools to argue your point, but it also develops you analyti(DIA); and, War Studies (WS). Officer Cadets all vary in opinion cally. These skills manifest themselves in the field army in several between what is the purpose of Faraday Hall, and there is even ways. An analytical mind is necessary for a commander as he more disagreement between which subject is the most useful for must digest complex problems and give the solution in simple lanthe field army. In this article I will analyse each subject individuguage to his subordinates. The subject also enables you to give ally – with the help from conversations I have had with my peers your platoon wider situational awareness for potential conflicts – and how I perceive each will help a junior officer in serving his we may face. In addition to debating and presenting on subsoldiers. We were never told explicitly the direct military applicajects such as terrorism and the European Union (and the terrorism tion for these subjects so I will try to explain ‘what is the point of of the European Union) we also learn the Law of Armed Conflict Faraday Hall?’ in this article.

(LOAC). LOAC is important for a commander as ultimately it is his responsibility to ensure the Some Officer Cadets find academic sanctuary in actions of his platoon are legal.

Faraday Hall teaches Faraday Hall, others find a tranquil reserve where Officer Cadets on the they can relax – relatively speaking – and some As somebody who dropped history at the age commissioning course find it as a place that forces them out of their 14 I was rather wary about War Studies. Our comfort zone more than the ACFT does. The first task in WS was to look at Clausewitz and three subjects… majority find a combination of the above in differhis theories. Clausewitz intrigued me as it was ent proportions. novel and I started to think how these theories – which are still relevant – could be adapted to the 21st Century.

From informal discussions with my peer group I find that CABS is We then had to complete an essay of our choosing over the first the subject that has the greatest discrepancy in cadets’ opinions, recess. I decided to write my essay on the relationship General some view it as the most useful and others as the least. Those Gordon had with the British Government and how this could be who see it as useful can see a direct link between what is being analysed through the lens of the Clausewitzian Trinity – with the taught and how you can utilise the skills learned to interact with addition of another dimension, the media. your platoon to aid its development. The rest do not feel you can There is a dichotomy between Officer Cadets’ opinions of war studies, some believe it is antediluvian and others see the historical examples useful in guiding them through their military training.

I share Churchill’s sentiment that: “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see”. If Hitler learned from Napoleon’s mistakes the world today would be a very different place. War Studies; however, is much more than history. The doctrine and examples we learn give most of the commissioning course their first taster of operational and strategic problems, mistakes and solutions. The course enables us to build on what we learn in our Halls of Studies about officership and the combat estimate. It is a subject which I should not have found so daunting at the start.

Faraday Hall in its entirety is many things: a boxing ring to bring robustness to your communication skills, an obstacle course to develop your arguments and a parade ground to provide rigidity in

ACADEMICS 69

analytical skills. It is more than a classroom, What recommendations would I make (I a forum or a lecture theatre. The academic apologise to my CABs tutor for not putting side of Sandhurst is one of the ways our this at the start)? Not many as I feel it works phase one training differs from that of priquite well – and I am only an Officer Cadet vate soldiers. We are often told here that from the intermediate term. I would sugwe “earn [our] money with [our] heads” gest an introduction pack and reading list and Faraday Hall is where the majority of was handed out a PCCBC to give potential us use our heads the most. Sandhurst is Officer Cadets the time to digest some of one rather large test. Our fitness is tested the courses’ key principles before attending around Barossa training area and our Sandhurst. This would be most beneficial discipline is tried on the drill square. It is for War Studies as we have to learn the hisThe Editor’s son demonstrates a typical OCdt our mind that is tested in Faraday Hall. If tory before we discuss the concepts and reaction to his teaching at the Commissioning Parade Officers all require the ability to think under the problems commanders face. stress and communicate their thoughts with clarity then Faraday Hall is an essential part of Sandhurst.

What is the point of Faraday Hall? Academic study gives officer cadets the tools to harness the potential of the mind. Faraday What about the problems of Faraday Hall? As with most organiHall teaches you to gather information, to analyse, and to comsations it is not immune to criticism. Officer Cadets often feel municate. This is exactly the same process as answering the that the timetable is counter-productive because the frequency seven questions and giving orders. Furthermore, we also learn between sessions is too great – but despite this there is still not how to complete a range of tasks, from point briefs to updating enough free time to properly study what we have P-files, which are required in the field army. All been taught. Ex NORMANY SCHOLAR was are essential skills for any successful Officer. As enjoyed by my platoon and we found it beneficial Officer Cadet Bergman – an original sceptic of Faraday Hall teaches so I believe It would be more interesting if there Faraday Hall – said “I started off not seeing the Officer Cadets on the was further integration with the rest of the course point in Faraday Hall, a distraction from range commissioning course and between the individual subjects . I have days and field exercises, now I understand the heard there are proposals for an exercise which importance of the academic side of Sandhurst three subjects… links all three subjects together and this sounds and its application to officership”. The diverse interesting. Personally I was disappointed that teaching and important skills that Faraday Hall our overseas cadets were removed from our syndicates and provides not only helps differentiates officers from those they placed together; I feel their experiences and views would have command, but, more importantly, it also enables commanders made our discussions much more interesting and relevant. to better serve their platoons. That is the point of Faraday Hall.

CABS Report 2013 The Department of Communication and Applied Behavioural Science (CABS) is undergoing substantial change; both in the development of the subject matter taught, and with significant movement of staff in and out of the Department.

Our CABS e bulletin ‘Sensor’ goes from strength to strength. To date we have published excellent articles from guest academics such as Robert Rubenstein (on Culture and the Military), and the CABS academics also make regular contributions and provide food for thought. It is great that many military units are also waiting to see each edition of Sensor, and tell us how they find it useful! You can discover Sensor for yourself at:

Dr Deborah Goodwin, Head of CABS, has significantly re-worked the CABS syllabus, and the Department will be delivering a new course programme which is centred on the ethos of JDP 04 ‘Understanding’ and JDN 3/11. In the world of contingency, http://www.army.mod.uk/training_education/24568.aspx FCOC and unpredictability, it is imperative that military personnel are taught core foundation Over the last year we have had a couple of In the world of skills in self-awareness and awareness of other, retirements from the Department. After service which they can then apply in any professional contingency, FCOC and of over twenty years Jane Kingdon retired from context. Such training forms a solid academic the Department in May 2013. Jane was a carunpredictability, it is foundation and promotes life skills that an Army ing Lecturer, who always put the needs of the imperative that military cadets first, and she created a very supportive Officer can apply in any professional context or environment. So, the new higher level CABS environment in her classroom. However, she personnel are taught course will include academic exploration of the has since moved on to enjoy the opportunity core foundation skills psychology of command, understanding how to to immerse herself fully in her work for various engage with and influence others, understanding charities. In January 2014, Dr Matthew Bennett, behaviours and attitudes, personal command Deputy Head, retired from the Department havstrategies in Defence, conflict resolution strategies, complex thinking given 30 years to the Academy. Although it feels like part of ing techniques, adaptive command, understanding generic culture the Faraday Hall has been removed, Matthew is already enjoying and organisations, ethical command, Defence information strathis retirement and he intends to keep busy with his many acaegies, understanding the needs of personnel, social awareness demic interests. He is still to be seen playing lunch time football and respect for others, relationship management in Defence and with the academics at Sandhurst! understanding how others think. We are all keen to start to deliver this syllabus, and look forward to empowering the Officer Cadets This meant that we have welcomed new staff into the Departwith practical skills stemming from a solid academic foundation. ment. In April 2013 Anthea Lemmon joined us, moving from DECC, and in May 2013 Ann Stow joined us, moving from Dstl.

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ACADEMICS

Ronnie McCourt teaching in the DR Congo

Aung San Suu Kyi and Dr Goodwin take part in a CABS Lesson

Another new member of staff in September 2013 was Sarah Oliver, who has joined the Department as a casual lecturer due to the deployment of Dr Mike Rennie to ANAOA – the “Sandhurst in the Sand” in Afghanistan. Mike is teaching CABS concepts to Afghan officer students as part of an initiative to support and to help the Afghan military. Others in the Department are developing their skills further, writing and researching: Anita Morgan has passed the assessment for the CS Coaching Consultant registry, Simon Taylor continues with his PhD studies, Jan McCourt has undertaken more training in branding and on-line learning, Stephen Deakin has published several papers this year in the area of military ethics and decision making including a chapter in Ellner, Robinson and Whetham (eds) ‘When Soldiers says no’ and he continues to develop his research. John Kennedy published a Sandhurst Occasional Paper on the leadership of Abraham Lincoln and he is now working on a book about Leadership per se.

Ronnie McCourt continues his leadership studies with the OU, as well as helping the Director of Studies with support to the wider MoD defence diplomacy programme. Department members have taught CABS material in several countries around the world in this past year in support of this programme.

In August 2013 CABS was asked to provide training in Thinking Skills on the Captains Warfare Course, and this has become an established part of delivery for the Department. This is a very positive move as it means, for the first time, there is an acknowledgement that there is a need to link Phase 1 and Phase 2 training in this field. We continue to help design and develop this core component on the CWC, and we are working together with Professor Karen Carr, Cranfield, on a detailed through career Thinking Skills training package for Officers.

CABS also delivers training on the CF Mentors ANAOA course, which will run until 2017. We developed some interactive training simulations for the student mentors which included the use of interpreters. These were well received and useful for the students to experience just before they deployed.

Dr Deborah Goodwin and Aung San Suu Kyi

A special moment for the Department in 2013 was the visit by Aung San Suu Kyi. On her visit to the UK she spent some time at RMAS, and she sat in on a CABS negotiation skills class with GAZA 131. During the hour she was present she asked many pertinent questions, and explored the way in which the cadets were tackling a complex multi-party situation, and applying cultural sensitivity.

We have had many other official visitors this year; all of whom have seen CABS training in action. Many of the visitors ask to see Exercise Agile Influence, which continues to be our flagship exercise and is going from strength to strength. Students and staff from the Universities of Reading and Exeter have witnessed this day long interactive and dynamic training in influencing, understanding and dealing with complexity, as have many Tri-Service personnel and international military.

It all means that we are a very, very busy Department, but we are all pleased to be working to support the need and desire for Understanding and Influence Skills at RMAS, and the wider Army.

DIA Departmental Report Introduction This has been a year of both continuity and change within the Department of Defence and International Affairs. 2013 saw the Department continue to develop its research profile in multiple areas, advancing its links both with the wider academic community and within the UK practitioner community. In addition, its involvement in the field of Defence Diplomacy took off, under the careful supervision of Dr Aaron Edwards (see separate article for more details). In terms of departmental teaching, there was both continuity – in terms of maintaining its commitment to delivering the best possible teaching for its different audiences, even at a time of continued staff shortages – and change. The most

notable change will come with the advent of the British Army’s Higher Education policy, which is likely to herald further exciting opportunities for cadets and staff in the future.

Staffing However, in staffing terms, there were notable changes. At the start of 2014, the Department bade farewell – on a temporary two year period of unpaid leave – to Dr Page Wilson, who decided to further develop her research interest in Arctic security by taking up a post at the University of Iceland. Having already delivered conference papers and published a number of articles on the subject, she took the next step towards broadening her research

ACADEMICS 71

DIA at BIPSOT

Dr Lieb prepares to teach at ANEPE in Chile

profile beyond her established interest in International Law by relocating to Iceland. The initial fruits of her academic endeavours can be seen in an edited version of a previously published article on Arctic security contained within this volume.

Teaching They have a challenging task on their hands. As well as overseeing a turbulent period of personnel changes, with some seeking new challenges and new staff to mentor in the specific ways of academia within the Academy, the Department’s portfolio of activities continues to expand. Firstly, many of the Department’s courses are due for renewal and updating. Under the watchful eye of Dr Aelius Parchami, both the Department’s contribution to the revised Military Analysis process at Captains’ level – Module B – and the Late Entry Officers Course are in the process of being substantially revised and updated, to take into account, amongst other things, contemporary developments in British Foreign and Defence Policy. Edward Flint has a similar role in relation to the contribution to other short courses, particularly those related to the Laws of Armed Conflict. At the same time, Dr Edward Hampshire will oversee the review of the Department’s handbook series, which forms part of the extensive support provided to Officer Cadets at the Academy, with a view to organising a more professional output, one that may, in the fullness of time, be formally published. All of this will be done while maintaining currency on the Commissioning Course and the bespoke course for the Academy’s Overseas Cadet contingent, a demanding task for both staff and students – plus ca change.

In fact, 2013 ended and 2014 began with a substantial search for new academic talent to return the Department to its allotted staffing levels. Over three days, the Department interviewed a range of candidates and were delighted to offer permanent places to Dr James Baker, fresh from completing his PhD on the political and legal implications of maritime security disputes, and Dr An In fact, 2013 ended Jacobs, who brings a welcome blend of academic expertise and 2014 began with in EU security and practical a substantial search for experience, as she is currently new academic talent… working as a political advisor in Kosovo. The Department will be strengthened further by two temporary postings from the thriving post-graduate community at Reading University, with Norma Rossi and Malte Riemann joining us for two years and one year respectively. Norma replaces Page for two years, while Malte will cover for Dr Edward Flint, who is Kabul bound, to take up a place as one of the academic advisors to the newly developing Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA).

It is to be hoped that all four will fit into the Department as well as Dr Alastair Noble and Lt Colonel Harold Simpson. Alastair, who is preparing to complete his first year in DIA at the time of writing, joined the Department from the wider civil service (in both the FCO and Scotland Office). Harold brings with him a far more extensive track record in military educational and practitioner experience in the field, notably supporting the International Military and Advisory Team in Sierra Leone. He has brought his expertise from his career in the ETS to assist both the Department – in the classroom and out – and the wider Faculty. This has been of particular value in relation to the development of the Academy’s initial and longer term contributions to the Higher Education policy. Additionally, Harold was also tasked by the Commandant to conduct a miniOFSTED evaluation of the educational state of the Academy as a whole. This recommended that a greater emphasis should be placed on Adult Learning, in line with the existing Virtual Learning Environment.

Finally, the Department saw a change of leadership during the last year. Dr Francis Toase retired back to his beloved Yorkshire after 15 years at the helm, taking with him the good wishes of his colleagues. Alan Ward, the long standing former Deputy Head, took up the reins on a permanent basis, having been an acting Head of Department on occasions. Alan, the longest serving member of staff in the Faculty, will be aided in the always difficult task of managing a group of academics by Dr Donette Murray, in her new role as Deputy Head.

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Adding a further level of complexity, regular teaching commitments will be maintained in tandem with the development of the Department’s contribution to a Masters’ level course, as part of the HE policy. This should ultimately see a more targeted range of courses, each effectively supported, to meet the individual skill sets of the Academy’s cadet cohort.

Outside the formal environOutside the formal ment of the classroom, the Department continues to supenvironment of port a range of military exerthe classroom, the cises. Edward Flint has played Department continues a key role in providing continuity to an ever changing military to support a range of directing staff, drawing up and military exercises. modifying scenario and serial writing for Exercise DYNAMIC VICTORY. James Higgs performs a similar role with regard to Exercise BROADSWORD. Both exercises provide a real challenge for the cadets, further preparing them for the complexity of the security environment they will encounter on operations.

The Department – with the assistance of Aelius Parchami, the current Departmental Research Coordinator – has also further developed contacts on a more corporate basis, building on individual relationships to situate DIA more securely with the academic community at large. This process has begun with Birmingham, Leicester and Reading Universities initially and with the wider policy-making, practitioner community, building on preexisting contacts within the FCO, such as former DIA lecturer, Dr.

Jennifer Medcalf. The year also saw the revival, after a temporary and the GOC BFG, with the possibility of further academic study; hiatus, of the successful Sandhurst Defence Forum, re-launched perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the Ride was the posiwith the return of a long-time favourite of the Department, Protive strength of contemporary Anglo-German relations, exhibited fessor Robert Singh. Having ensured that a long and impressive throughout the tour. list of speakers, both academic and policy oriented, have graced the corridors of Faraday Hall in the past decade (including the Moving further afield academically, and highlighting a second current Enlargement Commissioner, the Education Secretary, the research theme, in line with the Department’s teaching profile, Minister of State for the Armed Forces to name Dr Martin Smith has spent much of the last year but a few), it is a welcome sight to see it returned co-organising a major seminar series on NATO’s The year also saw to a prominent position within Departmental life. future. This is being funded by the Economic and Complementing that, but focused primarily on Social Research Council (ESRC) – the first time the revival, after a internal staff development, Donette Murray conDIA has been recognised for such an award – temporary hiatus, of the and has been run in conjunction with the Unitinues to organise a thriving Internal Research successful Sandhurst Group, which acts as a forum for DIA staff to versity of Birmingham and JSCSC Shrivenham. present work in progress (an offer taken up by As part of a series of five seminars, exploring Defence Forum Drs Parchami, Smith, Edwards, Hampshire and different potential aspects of NATO’s long term Sowerby in recent times), discuss contemporary development, the Department organised and issues and critique existing literature. hosted a day exploring NATO’s contribution to the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) in June 2013, attended and well received by 40 Research academics and practitioners. Additionally, in a later NATO sesThe Department has, through its collective and individual endeavsion, hosted by the University of Birmingham, Drs David Brown ours, developed a number of key research strands that are of and Page Wilson spoke respectively to papers on NATO’s conrelevance both to the cadet community here at Sandhurst but tribution to combating international terrorism and on its potential also to our wider audiences. Beginning at home, the first of these role in the Arctic region. Such efforts further showcase the wider would be the development of British security, widely defined, conresearch efforts of the Department (for more details on the series, sidering both recent historical and contemporary issues. Advancthere is an additional article within this volume outlining the rationing his extensive research CV still further, Dr Aaron Edwards ale and output of this prestigious award). The series will culminate continues to publish on the overlapping areas of British security, in Brussels later in the year. strategic theory, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency. His latest book, Mad Mitch’s Tribal Law: Aden and the End of Empire, Both the ESRC and more exotic locales feature in the activities of was published in January 2014, one of a range of projects he is other members of staff. In the case of the latter, and providing a developing. He has also spoken at various events, from a LIFC(A) further link to Birmingham University, David Brown was part of a workshop on ‘Security Transitions’ at Oxford University to a briefNATO sponsored workshop on NATO-Russia Emerging Security ing on ‘Operation Banner’ at Thiepval Barracks, as part of Comin Moscow in November 2013. He presented a paper on EU and mander 38 (Irish) Brigade’s conceptual development programme.

UK attitudes to counter-terrorism, as part of a two day exploration of the strengths and weaknesses of potential practical and Even as he settled back into the world of academia, Dr Alastair political cooperation between the former Cold War antagonists.

Noble managed to advance his own reputation, by publishing a Donette Murray was also busy on the conference circuit, in Riga, couple of chapters on the theme of the UK’s recent foreign policy Latvia, delivering a paper on China’s future status within the interhistory. In an extensive volume covering post World War Two UK national security environment, which is likely to lead to a published foreign policy, he contributed a chapter entitled ‘Journey into a outcome later in 2014. Even further afield, and of more direct Desert: British perceptions of Poland’s western territories, 1945– practical relevance to the Army and British Foreign and Defence 1948’, part of the exploration of ‘Britain in Global Politics Volume policy, Afghanistan continued to feature heavily on the research 2: From Churchill to Blair’. He also published a chapter, ‘The Paris agenda of Dr Bjorn Muller-Wille. Assisting with developing the Embassy of Sir Edward Tomkins, 1972–1975’, in Young and Pasmore practitioner side of the Department’s wider output, Bjorn tor-Castro’s edited volume of diplomatic history considering The continued his role as the team leader for the Helmand monitorParis Embassy: British Ambassadors and Angloing and evaluation programme until May 2013, French relations: 1944–1979 (which is reviewed when he handed over to his deputy. However, Both the ESRC and elsewhere in this volume). he will continue to act as the technical director more exotic locales until the programme’s end and is now engaged Dr Edward Hampshire, as well as joining the manfeature in the activities of in projects in Pakistan and Syria. agement team, undertook a range of academic other members of staff. activities including the publishing of his first soleIn terms of developing the Department’s proauthored book – a historical exploration of Britfile with the ESRC, Dr Catherine Sowerby has ish Naval Policy, entitled From East of Suez to the successfully endeavoured, along with Professor Eastern Atlantic: British Naval Policy 1964–70 (reviewed in this volStefan Elbe from the University of Sussex and partners at the ume). He also wrote two academic journal articles – one forthcomUniversities of Sydney, Queen Mary, Sheffield, Birmingham and ing on the Thatcher government’s defence policy and another on the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), British colonial administration in the Journal of Imperial and Comto secure funding for a seminar series on Global Health Secumonwealth History and a book chapter in the same edited volume rity. The series, which began in November 2013, aims to run for as Alastair.

28 months across seven locations. It explores key contemporary debates in global health security, ranging from the role of Dr Edward Flint built on his thesis experience to deliver a series of the military in this area to the ethics of global health security and stands during a Staff Ride run for GOC British Forces Germany the health security challenges facing states in the Global South which examined the British occupation. British and Germany and Asia Pacific regions. Within a year, the Department has gone officers and civil servants moved between the stands across from nothing in this ESRC engagement to hosting and engaging the ‘British Zones’ of Germany and Berlin, while guest speakwith two major sponsored projects in distinctly different research ers detailed different aspects of Military Government, the Control areas, displaying the diversity of research interests and the develCommission, the Berlin Airlift, German reflections on the occuopment of wider, productive research linkages. pation (all disarmingly positive) and the post-War recreation of the German armed forces. The lessons of the Staff Ride are now Aside from maintaining his interest in transatlantic security, Marbeing taken forward by the current UK Ambassador to Germany tin Smith has also been working on two book projects on con-

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temporary American foreign policy for Routledge, a third research theme for the Department. The first is a single-author comparative analysis of the foreign policies of Bill Clinton and George W Bush.

The second is a co-authored project on George W Bush’s foreign policy, with Drs Brown and Murray. Further reinforcing the Department’s research profile in matters American, Aelius Parchami saw his article on the Bush administration’s policy towards Iran accepted for the Journal of Contemporary Politics, with the article appearing later in the year. He is currently also working on Iran’s proxy wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Syria and, along with Dr Christina Hellmich, he is organising a joint RMAS-Reading University conference on the Syrian War, to be held later in 2014.

Martin also maintains his interest in international power and, in February 2013, published an article on the Russian multipolarity debates in East European Politics. This complements work already published by all three academics in book form in recent time, both of which are reviewed in this magazine; in addition, David Brown and Donette Murray have won a second contract with Routledge to explore the practicalities of multipolarity in more depth, with David taking on the additional challenge of explaining the nature of the EU-India relationship. Readers of this journal can no doubt reach their own conclusions as to the range and value of the department in teaching, support to our ‘customers’ and the wider research profile which contributes to Sandhurst as a centre of excellence.

War Studies 2013 For the War Studies (WS) department, 2013 was a year increasingly dominated by the Army’s new Higher Education (HE) Policy.

After several years in gestation, the policy articulates the need to educate Army officers to a higher standard – and to reward them with appropriate qualifications – than ever before. This means adapting our contribution to the Commissioning Course (CC) to meet the requirements of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) and of Cranfield University, the institution with which Sandhurst will cooperate to deliver components of Bachelors and Masters degrees to all British Officer Cadets (OCdts) from September 2014 onwards. Currently, the focus is on the WS element of the Masters programme, since most CC entrants already possess a Bachelors degree. The work has been ably led by one of the WS management team, Lloyd Clark, who has spent months digesting QAA guidelines and comparing best practice in the university sector in order to inform the drafting of a new CC module by the acting head of WS, Simon Trew, and others. In February 2014 the initial proposal for the new WS module, to be delivered in three one-week components during the CC, went forward for consideration. As this edition of The Wish Stream goes to press, we are awaiting Cranfield’s response with interest.

At the heart of the new HE policy is the requirement to treat OCdts as ‘adult learners’ who – to quote the Commandant’s recent Directive – “take ownership of their own learning.” For WS, this means a shift away from lecture-based instruction towards a seminar programme where tutors’ main role is to facilitate cadets’ development as independent learners. This requires a close working relationship between staff and students, in order to iden-

tify and respond to individual OCdt development needs, especially when it comes to producing the research paper that forms the principal part of our assessment strategy. OCdts will also need quite substantial amounts of programmed preparation and reflection time, something which previous generations of cadets have certainly not enjoyed and which – if achieved – will represent one of the most significant changes in the Army’s approach to education during the last twenty years, if not longer.

OCdts will also need quite substantial amounts of programmed preparation and reflection time

Fortunately, WS is well equipped to adapt. Even before the HE policy was announced, the department was shifting its approach to teaching along the lines described above, thanks largely to the work done by Stephen Walsh to meet the requirements of Project Wellington (described in last year’s Wish Stream). In September 2013 all Junior term CC syndicates adopted the new course produced

by Dr Walsh, which emphasises targeted pre-reading – accessed through a Virtual Learning Environment – and the use of open questions (e.g. ‘what is war?’) to facilitate cadet presentations and stimulate class discussion. In January 2014 the Intermediate and Senior terms also switched to the new methods. Critically, thanks to strong support from Academy Headquarters, thirty WS preparation periods have been inserted into the CC, providing OCdts with an unprecedented opportunity to read and think about their subject before they actually discuss it. To their credit, most cadets have used their preparation time well, and initial

Captain Rai and Dr Mann at Tyne Cot Cemetary during the Gurkha Company Sittang Battle Field Study

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Dr Peter Lieb makes one too many positive remarks about the German Army in the Normandy Scholar Lecture

Lloyd Clark with 4th SLI vetern John Majendie and his wife Christine at St Manvieu Cemetary

feedback suggests that the new course offers an effective means of developing OCdts’ potential. More needs to be done if we are to help young officers achieve the mental ‘agile edge’ (Clausewitz called it ‘genius’) that will be so essential to achieving success in future operations, the requirements of which are harder to predict and plan for than was once the case, and in which British forces can no longer assume technological and equipment advantages over their opponents. But we believe we are moving in the right direction, and trust that 2014 provides the opportunity to complete the transformation, or at least drive it forward.

assessed the performance of the Imperial Russian Army; and Peter Lieb wrote about German occupation policies in Ukraine during 1918. Dr Lieb had a particularly productive year, producing academic articles for three peer-reviewed journals as well as a chapter about Field Marshal Erwin Rommel for a volume on the famous German commander edited by an ex-member of department, Professor Ian Beckett. The department’s diverse language skills also helped Claus Telp write a chapter on Rommel as a divisional commander for Professor Beckett’s book, and assisted Paul Latawski and Chris Mann in producing chapters on Poland and Scandinavia respectively for an edited collection examining European resistance, 1939-45. Another notable achievement was the nomination of Ed Yorke’s ‘Playing the Great Game: Britain, War and Politics in Afghanistan since 1839’ (published 2012) for the Templer Medal. This prize is the most prestigious annual award for a work of British military history, and Dr Yorke’s insightful and meticulously researched work fully deserved inclusion in the strong field that competed for the 2013 medal.

Any academic department that expects its students to be able to operate at the forefront of its discipline (a defining characteristic of Masters-level education) must be research active. This means carrying out research in UK and foreign archives, and helping staff find time to turn their work into publishable form. This led to a decision in January 2103 to define the first week and last fortnight of each term as ‘research weeks’, during which lecturers are expected to pursue their own projects, on condition that these activities support their teaching, benefit the wider Army and Another means by which WS maintains its profile in the wider acaMOD, or otherwise enhance the RMAS’s reputation as a centre demic world, and which helps the department integrate recent of excellence. Continued support was also given to the sabbatiresearch into its teaching, is attendance at conferences. During cal system instituted in 2008, which offers larger blocks of time 2013 all members of staff attended at least one conference or for focused research and writing. In 2013, three study day, and many also delivered papers. Paul WS staff benefited from one-term sabbaticals.

Harris, for example, spoke about the FrancoGregory Fremont-Barnes used his to continue British alliance 1914-18 at Ohio State University This prize is the most writing a history of Counter-Insurgency (due from in the spring, while Stephen Hart presented two prestigious annual Praeger in 2015), while Chris Mann made excelpapers on the Battle of the Atlantic at conferaward for a work of lent progress during the summer with his study ences in London and Liverpool in May. To name of WWII British divisional command, as practised just a few of WS’s other contributions, Klaus British military history

by Major General Douglas Wimberley, who comSchmider and Peter Lieb participated in a study manded 51st (Highland) Division in North Africa day on atrocity in warfare at the London School and Sicily in 1942-3. More recently, Tim Bean spent the autumn of Economics in December, Chris Mann talked about his research drafting new chapters for his PhD dissertation on South East Asia on 51st (Highland) Division at conferences in London and Rabat Command, 1943-5. All three studies promise to cast valuable (Morocco), Ed Yorke lectured on the Afghan wars at the Comlight on key themes with WS’s core areas of responsibility, as well monwealth Overseas Development League in London, and in as having a wider appeal to military and civilian audiences in the November James Kitchen gave a paper on Egypt’s experiences UK and elsewhere. in World War I at University College, Dublin. Klaus Schmider also worked hard to bring external speakers to the RMAS for the War Sabbaticals and research weeks give meaning to our ethos of Discussion Group (WARDIG), which takes place several times ‘research-led teaching’, but most members of department also each term and which was particularly well attended in 2013. work hard during recesses and at weekends to achieve a research Again, there were too many speakers for a full list to be provided profile that compares favourably with many university academics. here. Highlights, however, were Professor Sönke Neitzel on ‘The Among the WS publications that appeared in 2013 were Chris Bundeswehr and New Wars’, Major (Ret’d) Mike Strong on the Mann’s monograph on British strategy towards Norway during D-Day battle for the Merville Battery, and Julian Brazier MP, who World War II; two battle studies (Goose Green 1982 and Austerdelivered a powerful and thought-provoking presentation on ‘Citilitz 1805) by Gregory Fremont-Barnes; a Sandhurst ‘Occasional’ zen forces: lessons from history and abroad’. paper on U.S. COIN in the early stages of the Vietnam War by Paul Harris; and two volumes edited by Matthias Strohn, the first In addition to their teaching duties and engagement with the civila collection of articles concerning the New Zealand armed forces ian academic community, WS staff continued throughout 2013 to in World War I and the other a timely and carefully researched devote thousands of man-hours to supporting the wider Army and survey of various aspects of the 1914-18 experience, titled ‘The MOD. As well as providing advice and briefings to units who were World War I Companion’. Three members of WS produced organising battlefield tours, WS academics participated in several chapters for the companion: Dr Strohn himself analysed Gerstaff rides and other forms of battlefield study. During Exercise man defensive doctrine on the Western Front; Stephen Walsh IRON DUKE in June, for example, Stephen Hart guided headquar-

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Lloyd Clark and Dr Klaus Schmider with the Cadets at St Pierre Churchyard on Ex Normandy Scholar

Under the watchful eyeof CSgt Shimmins, Alamein Coy admire a memorial in St Pierre

ters personnel from 3 Division around several of their predecesManual, ‘Divisional Tactics’. By the time this edition of The Wish sors’ battlefields from the 1944 Normandy campaign. In February, Stream is published, both pieces of work will have been finished, Chris Mann took the RMAS’s own Ghurkha Sittang Company to an achievement that bears testimony both to Dr Latawski’s dediNeuve Chapelle and Ypres, and in April Gregory Fremont-Barnes cation and to the support provided by his colleagues, who took gave up most of his spring recess to lead an ambitious but highly over much of Paul’s teaching in 2013 (especially during the sumsuccessful battlefield study for 101 Logistics Brigade headquarmer term) so he would have the chance to complete his studies. ters across the Falkland Islands. Matthias Strohn also developed his existing link with 1 (UK) Division by providing the historical Conscious of the imminence of Op REFLECT, during 2013 the content during a one-week staff ride to Stalingrad. Meanwhile, department also took steps to reinforce its capacity to answer other WS staff supported unit study days and answered frequent requests for support during the numerous First World War-related requests for help from across the Army. To mention just three events that can be expected between now and November 2018. examples, in May 2013 Stephen Walsh and Peter Lieb organised As well as recruiting a new member of staff, Dr James Kitchen, a COIN study day for 18 Signal Regiment officers and NCOs, Ed whose book on ‘The British Imperial Army in the Middle East: Yorke spoke on lessons from Afghanistan to an audience of sevMorale and Military Identity in the Sinai and Palestine Campaigns, eral hundred medics in Aldershot, and Paul Latawski lectured at 1916-18’ was published at the end of the year, the department RUSI on the role of the Polish Armoured Division in the north-west established a small team to offer assistance to WWI battlefield European campaign of 1944-5. All of these ad hoc responses studies, commemorative events and to answer questions from the to requests came on top of previously timetabled commitments, media. The team is led by Matthias Strohn, whose reserve comsuch as Stephen Walsh’s termly lecture on leadership to the Initial mission as an assistant defence attaché for the Bundeswehr has Command and Staff Course at Shrivenham, and Ed Yorke’s work brought him into contact with representatives from various nations for the MOD’s ‘Insider Threats’ advisory group. As usual, WS also likely to be involved in the forthcoming commemorations, as well as participated in a series of one-week defence diplomacy missions, with representatives from the FCO and other government departwith lecturers delivering courses to military and civilian personments, university academics, and journalists. Already, WS lecturnel in Bosnia, Columbia, Oman, Chile and Sierra ers have been assigned to support two high-level Leone from March to December. In short, 2013 Army staff rides of WWI battlefields in 2014, and was a typically busy year. to assist the Sandhurst Trust in organising a conAs usual, WS also ference on the use of reserve forces 1914-18, to participated in a series Although all members of staff contributed to take place at the RMAS in late November. No of one-week defence external commitments like those mentioned doubt, next year’s Wish Stream will contain much above, particularly deserving of credit was the more about these and similar WWI-related events. diplomacy missions work done by the head of department, Duncan Anderson, and another member of WS’s manFinally, there is just space to mention a few staff agement team, Paul Latawski. In January 2013, Dr Anderson changes that occurred in 2013. In September Lynette Nusleft the UK to take on the job of academic mentor at the newlybacher left the department, while Stuart Gordon departed on a established Afghan National Army Officer Academy at Qargha, period of extended leave in order to take up a lectureship at the a role which he will perform until October 2014. This period LSE, a role in which we wish him much success. His replaceof service will represent one of the longest continuous tours of ment, as mentioned above, was James Kitchen. With Duncan duty in Afghanistan undertaken by any Briton, civilian or military, Anderson’s departure for Afghanistan, an opportunity for a casual since 2001. (A separate article about Dr Anderson’s experiences lectureship arose, and Lt Col (Ret’d) Peter McCutcheon MBE – a can be found elsewhere in this journal.) Meanwhile, from April former Commander Old College turned academic – stepped into onwards Dr Latawski devoted considerable effort to producing a the role. Unfortunately, for most of the year he was unavailable Joint Concept Note for the MOD’s Development, Concepts and for WS duties, owing to understaffing elsewhere in the academic Doctrine Centre (DCDC). Entitled ‘Responding to Uncertainty: faculty, but in January 2014 Peter finally moved decisively into Contingency Operations in the 21st Century’, this work seeks to WS, where his military experience and specialist knowledge is examine the concept of contingency operations through the prism already proving invaluable. Dr Anderson’s departure also meant of British military operations since 1945 and past joint and single that responsibility for running the department temporarily shifted service doctrine. One of its key objectives is to provide a definition to his deputy, Simon Trew, who was ably supported during the of contingency and contingency operations, a requirement that year by Stephen Hart and Paul Latawski as ‘rotating’ acting depcould hardly be more relevant in the context of current defence uty heads. Fortunately, amidst this management turbulence, a policy and Army 2020. To assist his work, Dr Latawski delivered steadying factor has been provided by Sarina Davison, faculty eight separate briefings to tri-service audiences around the counsupport officer and – since mid-2013 – also Faraday Hall buildtry, in order to get feedback on his work. As if this task was not ing manager. In both roles, Mrs Davison is a font of common enough, he also somehow managed to create space in his timesense and practical solutions to problems that all too many PhDtable to produce a 10,000-word history of the ‘Divisional Level educated academics struggle to comprehend, let alone manage. of Command’ for inclusion as an Annex to the new Army Field We are very lucky to have her as our colleague.

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To the banks of the Volga – Stalingrad Staff Ride With 1 UK Armoured Division Matthias Strohn Stalingrad. For everyone who is interested 2013 organised by the divisional staff of in military history in general and the Eastern 1 UK Armoured Division from Herford. In Front in the Second World War in particuaddition to the general points of interest lar, this name has a very special ring to it. there were also personal reasons why I – Between August 1942 and February 1943 as a German – wanted to return to the city one of the most epic battles of the war took (I had been there twice before, both times place in and around the city. The fight for with the British military): My great uncle on the city on the banks of the river Volga that my father’s side was one of the few priscarried the name of the Soviet dictator cost oners of war from Stalingrad that returned about 2 million casualties and resulted in from the Soviet Union. I would not call him the destruction of the German 6th Army, lucky, but compared to another family the most formidable fighting force that member, this time from my mother’s side, the German Wehrmacht had mustered in he certainly was: the latter was killed on 1942. It was here that the Soviet Red Army the advance towards Stalingrad and his showed for the first time an understanding name is enshrined on the German military of operational thought and it used this to cemetery at Rossoshka, which contains good effect to encircle the exhausted Gerthe bones of nearly 57,000 German solman and allied troops in and around the city diers who were killed during the battle and of Stalingrad on 22 November 1942. The the names of almost a further 200,000 events that followed from this date until the soldiers who fell and whose bodies could surrender of the last German troops in the not be found or recovered. north of Stalingrad on 2 February 1943 are well documented and it is these events that The staff ride was well organised and it make Stalingrad stand out amongst othwas obvious that the division had invested ers – some even bloodier – battles of the a lot of time and resources in order to Second World War: The German Air force make this staff ride a success. I was flown was ordered to supply the encircled army over from England to Herford several of approximately 250,000 men from the times so that we could put an interesting, air. Despite its best efforts, the Luftwaffe Dr Strohn in front of the statue of Mother enlightening and challenging programme was not able to fly in sufficient amounts of Russia on Mamayev Kurgan together. The task was clear: It should not ammunition, petrol, and, above all, food. The consequence was that be a battlefield tour in which the historian talks the participants the German “Landser” – slowly starved to death: Towards the end through the events on the ground, but a staff ride, in which the of the battle, an order was issued that food was only to be issued to participants are required to work in syndicates and analyse what the fighting troops and no longer to wounded soldiers. This resulted lessons can be learnt from the historical events for the modern in the starvation of thousands of soldiers in the cellars of the city of British Army, its doctrine and fighting ability.

Stalingrad. When the 6th Army finally surrendered, about 90,000 Axis troops went into Soviet captivity. Only a few months later the In Germany I met the syndicate leaders and advised them on vast majority of these, weakened by the extreme climate of the Rustheir tasks and roles. To test our ideas, Major Chris Gent, the staff sian winter and malnourishment, had perished. In 1955, the remainofficer responsible for the planning in the division, his support WO ing 6,000 prisoners of war were finally sent home to Germany.

Andrew Lockhart and myself also flew to Stalingrad on a recce to see and identify possible stands and discussion points.

For me as military historian these reason were enough to get me interested in Stalingrad and to offer my assistance for the staff ride Before the actual tour, the division had organised a highly sucto Stalingrad – or Volgogad as the city is now called – in October cessful study day in Herford. A full day was spent on preparing

Commander Royal Artillery, Brigadier Simon conducts a debrief at the German Cemetery at Rossoshka

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these extra days to ensure that everything ran smoothly, not least because the staff ride had attracted the attention of commander land force, General Adrian Bradshaw, and he had decided that he would accompany the group for a few days. On Monday night the main party arrived, led by the General Officer Commanding 1 UK Armoured Division, Major-General James Chiswell.

The group at the Factory District

the participants for the staff ride and widening their understanding of the war, the Soviet Union and also Russia today. For this, the division had brought together an eclectic group of speakers: several academics (myself included), security staff from the British embassy in Moscow, the Russian defence attaché in Germany and a former German defence attaché in Russia. The division had also organised a diorama of the battle of Stalingrad which was used to good effect in the briefings on the battle. One of the highlights was the Russian-themed dinner after the study day – producing borscht, solyanka and other Russian delicacies no doubt presented the Ghurkha Chef with some new challenges.

However, he mastered them well and the participants were thus able to sample some “authentic” Russian food that night.

On 12 October 2013 the tour started in earnest. I flew to Volgograd via Moscow as part of the advance party that was putting the final finishing touches on everything before the other members of the tour arrived on Monday night. It was good that we had

The Stalingrad Memorial

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The next morning we had an early start and from now on the following few days were packed with visiting the sites of the battle and discussing the findings of the working groups. All of them had worked very hard and the discussions were therefore without exception rewarding and enlightening. The staff ride The division had also started at the Mamajew Kurorganised a diorama of gan, an old burial ground and artificial elevation which prothe battle of Stalingrad vides a perfect view over the which was used to good city. On top of the hill stands effect in the briefings on the “The Motherland Calls” monument which was erected the battle. in the 1967, and which is supposed to be the biggest statue in the world. Owing to the views that the position provides, the Mamajew saw some of the fiercest fighting during the battle of Stalingrad and a mass grave is a stark reminder of the suffering that this hill saw in 1942/43.

Other stands included Paulus’s command bunker, and the factory complex in the north of the city. This was the area in which the last Germans put down their weapons on 2 February 1943. In particular we looked at operation Hubertus, the last and unsuccessful German attempt to conquer the factory complex in the north in November 1942. The Germans deployed several divisions in order to capture a few hundred metres of ground. This was not the “Blitzkrieg” of the early years, this was what became known as “Rattenkrieg”, “the war of rats”, in which success was measures by metres. For the assault the German used 5 specialist engineer battalions, but even these could not break the fierce and desperate resistance of the Soviet soldiers, who held on to the last metres of territory on the western bank of the river Volga.

The intensity of the fighting becomes clear when one looks at the casualties: After operation Hubertus, the survivors of the specialist engineer battalions were merged into one unit and attached to

an infantry division. When the unit surrendered in January 1943, 35 of these men were still alive. On the Soviet side, one battalion of 138. Division had a fighting strength of 15 men.

One of our stand was in the city centre outside the theatre in which the Germans had established a major first aid post during the battle and which saw shocking and terrible scene during the battle, especially once the order had been issued not to provide wounded soldiers with food. It was here that we discussed the human dimension of war, and it is hard to think of a better place for this discussion.

The staff ride also included a boat tour on the river Volga, which was very useful in order to show the participants the sheer size of the city and the battlefield. It also showed some of the logistical issues that the Soviets had to overcome while moving re-supplies across the river into the city.

A stand on urban warfare and a visit to the panoramic museum of the battle of Stalingrad finished the staff ride in the city itself.

On the last day, just before we flew out to Moscow, we drove to the German war cemetery at Rossoshka, where, right next to the cube that contains my family member’s name, we held our debrief of the experiences and the lessons learned.

Our flights back to Germany and England, respectively, took us via Moscow, and we used the opportunity to visit the Red Army Museum and to enjoy the hospitality of the British defence attachĂŠ who held a reception for the participants of the staff ride and other guests.

On Friday, 18 October, I arrived back in England. I was tired, but also happy that we had conducted such a successful tour. However, there was also a different feeling inside me. In Rossoshka I had walked through the rows of cubes that bear so many names that sounded familiar to my German ear. In my head I continuously worked on my maths to determine how old the soldiers had been when they were killed. When I returned to England on 18 October, it was my birthday and I turned 37; an age that only few of those had reached whose names are engraved on the cubes in the Russian steppe, thousands of kilometres away from the places they called home.

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DIA’s contribution to defence diplomacy Dr Aaron Edwards, DIA It is often said that travel broadens the mind. This is no truer than when looked at in relation to the contribution of the Department of Defence and International Affairs to the IPP/RMAS defence diplomacy effort since July 2012. The remit of DIA is ‘to promote an awareness, knowledge and understanding of the strategic and legal context in which the British Armed Forces operate – involving an appreciation of the changing nature of the international security environment – whilst developing the judgement, conceptual and analytical skills necessary for an officer’. It is in the spirit of this mission statement that the Department has deployed Short Term Training Teams to Bangladesh, Oman, Chile, Sierra Leone and Saudi Arabia to teach courses on International Conflict Management, which looks at the theory and practice of conflict prevention, peace operations and interventionism in the post-Cold War world.

For the inaugural course, Drs Aaron Edwards and Ed Flint deployed to Bangladesh to instruct at the prestigious Bangladesh Institute for Peace Support Operations Training (BIPSOT), a UN affiliated centre for excellence, which is based in a sprawling facility just north of Dhaka. BIPSOT is capable of training up to a brigade size force of peacekeepers at any one time. The visit was an interesting experience for both DIA lecturers, allowing them to hone their practice-based knowledge of Peace Support Operations (PSOs) while test-driving the MoD’s new doctrinal thinking in this area. This proved extremely fruitful and saw Bangladeshi officers (with years of UN-based experience in conflict zones around the world) interact with their DIA instructors, who teach the theory of PSOs to our Officer Cadets and young officers. Indeed, our experience in BIPSOT has since fed directly into teaching

Drs Edwards, Flint, Staff and Students at ANEPE

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The classroom at ANEPE, Chile

here at Sandhurst on the United Nations and the use of force, as well as informing our thinking on the Law of Armed Conflict and Rules of Engagement on contemporary UN deployments.

The second DIA course was delivered in Oman, working directly for the Royal Office, training over 20 personnel from different branches of the armed services and some civilian intelligence personnel.

Again, the Omani students were drawn from a wide range of services, covering civilian government departments and military services, all of whom were preparing for a major exercise. It was very successful and saw the lecturers interact with the students in a way that enabled both to learn from one another. It has quickly emerged that the British Army’s approach to ‘coaching’ and adult learning seems to accord well around the world.

The idea of reaching a level of sophistication in analysis and problem-solving became evident in a course delivered in

Chile. Here the DIA instructors taught a range of personnel from across Chile’s government and armed services. Working through translators, both members of the DIA team explored a wide-range of issues, including democratic transition, which had much resonance with our hosts. Indeed, on their R&R day at the end of the course, the DIA instructors visited the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, which aims to capture the stories of 11 September 1973, when a coup d’état led by General Augusto Pinochet removed the Marxist government of Salvador Allende from power. The opportunity to interact with Chilean officials closely involved in the democratic transition was one of the highlights of the visit. Indeed, the interest in what we do at Sandhurst became the common talking point at lunch and enabled the DIA team to get real insight into the security issues facing Chile and Latin America more broadly. Again, this is one of the key benefits of teaching in a dynamic defence and security environment and would seem particularly central to our job of preparing and equipping our students at RMAS and in the wider Field Army. The world is undoubtedly becoming much more uncertain and it is, therefore, vital that we develop a real appreciation and understanding of an increasingly complex contemporary operating environment in which our armed forces will be operating in the 21st Century.

Nowhere has this in greater evidence than in the most recent DIA defence engagement course in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. James Higgs and Aaron Edwards slightly adjusted their course to take into account the significant differences and challenges to KSA’s security. The Middle East is an amazing part of the world – with

a complex and varying human terrain – and is, consequently, also one of the most unstable. This fact was not lost on the DIA instructors, both of whom emphasised the British approach to dealing with terrorism, insurgency and other security threats and risks, an approach that adheres to a very different framework from our partners in the region. Our students on this occasion were all members of the Permanent Staff of the Saudi Arabian National Guard Staff College and were as intrigued to learn how we approached instruction of military students as the specific content of our course. Indeed, so appealing was the phenomenon of the ‘Sandhurst approach’ that we were observed throughout the week, not only by the Commandant of the new Staff College (a two-star general) but also several of our uniformed colleagues from the United States! This was particularly fortunate, as it allowed us to speak comfortably about the similarities and differences in terms of military education and training, particularly since they are intimately involved in delivering a course closely based on the Command and Staff Course in the US.

It is extremely evident that, in our contridevelop a second course on Counter-Terbution to defence engagement, Sandrorism: Principles and Practice. As Lieuhurst is regarded around the world as a tenant-Colonel Simpson’s DIA defence world-class centre for military training and diplomacy trip to Sierra Leone attests, the education. The emphasis on sharing best introduction of students to ‘how Britain practice via the medium of applied interapplied Crisis Management and Counnational relations – as ter Terrorism principles opposed to scholasticin practice’ worked well based ‘pure’ education and helped to present the It is important, first, – is one of the cornerUK’s approach to a wider because it helps to stones of DIA’s approach audience. In all of DIA’s reinforce Sandhurst’s to teaching, whether it defence diplomacy work is delivered by its staff to date, the opportunity reputation as a worldin Camberley, Herford, to interact, listen, learn class institution for York, Episkopi, Riyadh or and instruct members of military training and Santiago. Indeed, there is overseas armed forces a very evident correlation has proved extremely education in our delivery of the Lanvaluable to all concerned. guage and Cultural Fair It is important, first, course in Faraday Hall (which emphasises because it helps to reinforce Sandhurst’s cultural sensitivity and harnessing the reputation as a world-class institution for intellectual abilities of our overseas stumilitary training and education and, secdents) and what we are trying to achieve ond, because it enables the DIA teams with defence diplomacy. deployed overseas to feed back into their teaching at home how people from a However, DIA’s contribution to the IPP/ diverse array of cultures approach serious RMAS defence engagement effort is still issues affecting their own security. in its early stages and we are keen to

ESRC Seminar Series: ‘NATO after Afghanistan’ Dr Martin A Smith (DIA) In March 2012, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) announced that it had agreed to fund a seminar series on the theme of ‘NATO after Afghanistan’. The DIA Department – through Dr Martin Smith – is a co-award holder in this project, alongside the School of Government and Society at the University of Birmingham and the Defence Studies Department at JSCSC Shrivenham.

This is a significant feather in the Department’s cap. Not only does it represent the first time that we have applied for – and been granted – external research funding, but the money comes from one of the UK government’s leading grant-giving agencies for promoting academic research. Naturally the process was highly competitive. From 157 bids originally received, only nine grants were awarded across the social sciences as a whole. Of these, three were awarded in the fields of politics and international relations. ‘NATO after Afghanistan’ was one of the three.

Our successful bid envisaged a series of five seminars, of which four have been held at the time of writing. A central feature of the bid – one that was key to its success – was that the series would aim to bring together academics and think-tank analysts with ‘practitioners’ of various hues – such as serving officers, and officials from NATO and the MoD and FCO. This provides for a more diverse, interesting and challenging series of conversations than would a conventional academic seminar format. The four seminars organised thus far (between November 2012 and January 2014) have amply fulfilled expectations. In addition to European security specialists from academia in the UK, Europe and the US, the panels have featured senior NATO officials, serving military officers from SHAPE, the Allied Maritime Command at Northwood, the Kosovo Security Forces and a variety of officials from the MoD and FCO.

DIA hosted the second seminar in the series on a sunny Tuesday in June 2013. The specific theme was ‘NATO and the Responsibility to Protect’. RtoP (or R2P as some prefer) is an international framework adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2005, under which the Security Council may authorise international intervention (including by military means) to prevent or halt serious human rights violations within sovereign states. As one would expect with a topic of this nature, the RMAS seminar produced a series of detailed and lively exchanges of perspectives and views. Perhaps most memorable was the panel on possible western military intervention in Syria – the hot political topic of summer 2013. Here Dr Alan Mendoza, Director of the Henry Jackson Society succeeded in provoking an extremely robust response from attendees to his strong advocacy of the case for intervention – much to his evident delight.

As the series draws to a close, with the final seminar scheduled for Brussels in May 2014, attention is already turning to follow-up work. This will include a major article on NATO’s current challenges, co-written by Dr Smith, Professor Mark Webber from Birmingham and Dr Ellen Hallams from JSCSC. This is scheduled for publication in the leading academic journal International Affairs in July 2014 – purposely timed to coincide with the build-up to the NATO summit in Newport, Wales in the autumn. Plans for an edited book, drawing together the best papers presented across the five seminars, are also in the works.

The success of the series has also enabled DIA to establish links with a major Politics and International Studies Department at Birmingham. Discussions are ongoing about consolidating and developing these links, to provide possible opportunities for DIA contributions to MA course teaching in Birmingham and joint supervision of PhD students.

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Between a Rock and a Cold Place?

NATO and the Arctic Dr Page Wilson At a press conference marking the visit of the North Atlantic Council to Norway in May 2013, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced that ‘at this present time, NATO has no intention of raising its presence and activities in the High North.’

For some, this may have come as a surprise, given the growing interest and resources allocated to the region by actors including NATO’s own Arctic member states, non-NATO Arctic states, nonArctic states and international organisations alike. However, the decision by NATO not to follow suit for now is a sound strategy, justifiable on three key grounds.

Since 2006, all of NATO’s Arctic member states – the United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Iceland – have released Arctic policies recognising the challenges and opportunities faced by the region and outlining how they intend to respond. While the primary focus of these policies has been on non-military measures, to address the broad range of effects triggered by greater ice melt, some have also explicitly acknowledged a role for the military and have already taken steps to reinforce their Arctic defence capabilities. Thus, for instance, Norway relocated its Armed Forces Operational Headquarters to Bodo, north of the Arctic Circle, in 2009, and has been open about the greater focus of its armed forces on their ‘tasks in the north.’6 Canada expects a new polar icebreaker to replace the Louis St Laurent in 2017 and has plans to upgrade a refueling facility in Nanisivik,7 while Denmark has established its Arctic Command in Nuuk, Greenland. In addition, it announced that it will acquire a new inspection vessel of the ice-capable Knud Rasmussen class this year.8

It is worth sketching out some of the key developments within the region before considering NATO’s reluctance in more depth.

It is beyond dispute that the ‘High North’ has attracted increasing worldwide attention in recent years. For instance, in its 2013 Yearbook, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) reported that the record low Arctic summer ice coverage of 2012 was 50 percent below the average in the 1980s and 1990s.1 For Against this backdrop, NATO’s reluctance to increase its focus on this reason, UNEP has expressed concern about the likely impact the Arctic may appear curious. In fact, it is emiof more human activity in the Arctic, where econently sensible, for three reasons. Firstly, NATO’s systems are already fragile. The European Union existing presence and activities in the Arctic are has also turned its attention to the Arctic: in a Firstly, NATO’s existing not inconsiderable. Joint training, such as the 2008 Communication2, the European Compresence and activities mission specifically identified three EU interests 2009 Exercise Loyal Arrow in Swedish Lapland, in the Arctic are not in the Arctic, proposing a series of actions in brings together NATO and non-NATO states support. The EU-led Northern Dimension initiato test their mettle in one of the world’s coldinconsiderable. tive has also sought to promote economic and est and harshest environments. Exercise Cold environmental cooperation in areas including the Response, held regularly in Norway since 2006, Arctic.3 is one of the largest training events; last year, 14 NATO and nonNATO states participated, totaling over 16,000 troops.9 Apart States, too, are shifting their gaze northwards. This year’s admisfrom training, NATO also coordinates member states regular air sion of China, India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore as perpolicing duties over Iceland. In terms of assets, NATO’s Active manent observers to the Arctic Council is just one indicator of Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence System (ALTBMD) relies their rising interest in the region’s commercial potential, including on radar and tracking stations in Alaska, Northern Canada and a quicker and cheaper transit route for Asian products destined Greenland.10 Taken together, these examples suggest that reassurance of Arctic member states is already a significant concern for Europe, and access to untapped natural resources. Long the within NATO’s planning and decision-making and that capabilimost dominant Arctic state by virtue of its sprawling coastline and ties in the Arctic remain important to the proper functioning of strong historic and cultural ties to the area, Russia is also reasthe alliance itself. As a result, there seems little need currently to serting its Arctic interests, following the release of its Arctic policy redouble efforts. in 2008.4 In September 2013, a convoy of military and support vessels started re-establishing a presence on Kotelny Island, a former military base, closed in 1993. In addition, there are plans Secondly, it is important to note that there is little consensus to form – within the next two years – an Arctic brigade based near about the role of international organisations and multilateral fora Russia’s border with Norway.5 in the Arctic generally. As the international spotlight has increasingly shone on the Arctic, the work of fora such as the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, the ‘A5’ group of states 1 UNEP 2013 Yearbook, p 15, available at http://www.unep.org/pdf/ uyb_2013.pdf.

2 ‘Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council – the European Union and the Arctic Region’, 20 November 2008, available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/ LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52008DC0763:EN:NOT 3 Northern Dimension webpage, http://www.eeas.europa.eu/north_ dim/ .

4 ‘Basics of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic for the Period till 2020 and for a Further Perspective’, 18 September 2008, available at http://www.arctis-search.com/Russian+Federation +Policy+for+the+Arctic+to+2020 5 Atle Staalesen, ‘In Remotest Russian Arctic, A New Navy Base’, 18 September 2013, available at http://barentsobserver.com/en/ security/2013/09/remotest-russian-arctic-new-navy-base-17-09 and Trude Pettersen, ‘Russian Arctic Brigades Put Off To 2015′, 22 February 2012, available at http://barentsobserver.com/en/topics/ russian-arctic-brigades-put-2015 .

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6 Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ‘The High North: Visions and Strategies’, 2011, p 19, available at http://www.regjeringen.no/ upload/UD/Vedlegg/Nordområdene/UD_nordomrodene_innmat_EN_ web.pdf.

7 Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada.

‘Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy’, available at http://www.international. gc.ca/arctic-arctique/arctic_policy-canada-politique_arctique. aspx?lang=eng last updated 3 June 2013 8 Danish Ministry of Defence, ‘Danish Defence Agreement 2013-2017, pp 15, 10, available at http://www.fmn.dk/eng/allabout/Documents/ TheDanishDefenceAgrement2013-2017english-version.pdf 9 Exercise Cold Response webpage, http://mil.no/excercises/ coldresponse2012/Pages/participants.aspx .

10 Helga Haftendorn, ‘NATO and the Arctic: Is the Atlantic Alliance a Cold War Relic in a Peaceful Region Now Faced With Non-Military Challenges?’ European Security September 2011 20(3) 337-361, p 343.

littoral to the Arctic Ocean, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the newly-formed Arctic Circle has come into focus. These bodies all aim to promote technical cooperation on social, economic and environmental issues within the Arctic, but differ with respect to membership and geographical scope. Their overlapping workloads and lack of coordination reflect divisions among Arctic and non-Arctic states as to the shape, role and purpose of Arctic governance and thus the proper source of legitimate authority in the region. Although none of these Arctic bodies is specifically tasked to deal with military and defence matters, rather than jumping into this perceived security gap, NATO is wise to continue to tread its own path until such time as greater clarity and agreement emerges about the nature of the Arctic as a political space.

Finally, the vast number of unknowns with respect to the Arctic militates against an enhanced NATO presence for the moment. Geographically, the fundamentals of the Arctic are still being gripped: to what extent, and in what timeframe, the ice sheet will continue to melt remains debatable, though an overall downward trajectory in ice coverage is clear. Large swathes of territory and water are yet to be charted and mapped in the Arctic.

In 2009, the Canadian Hydrographic Service estimated that only ten percent of the Canadian Arctic has been surveyed to mod-

ern standards.11 Thus far, politically, the renewed military focus of Arctic states on the region is consistent with the defence of their national borders and maritime jurisdiction. However, where claims to Arctic waters and continental shelves remain contested, and greater accessibility to the region means more human activity, interests, perceptions and intentions can shift quickly. In the midst of such uncertainty, NATO has made the pragmatic choice – neither to retreat from the challenges ahead, nor to expand to fill the Arctic’s security governance vacuum. Instead, it will continue with the role it performs best – namely, ongoing provision of the security guarantee to its members and maintaining a ‘watching brief’.

Dr Page Wilson is a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, UK. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the Author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the UK Ministry of Defence, or any other office within the Government of the United Kingdom. This article is based on a published article on E-International Relations on November 28 2013 11 US Coast Guard. ‘Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment’, 29 April 2009, p 157, available at http://www.arctic.gov/publications/AMSA/ infrastructure.pdf .

Le Sous – Marin “Faraday” Dr Anthony Clayton, Curator, The Sandhurst Collection The distinguished Royal Military Academy Woolwich Professor Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) had in 1907 the unusual posthumous honour of having a French Navy Submarine named after him. ‘Faraday’ was one of a class built in 1907-9 all named after famous historic scientists, both French and international.

Designed by Laubeul, a leading Submarine designer, ‘Faraday’ was built at Rochefort, a small submarine of only 398 tons on the surface and 550 tons submerged; propelled by oil motors that could manage 13 knots on the surface but only 7 1/2 submerged. She was armed with seven 18 inch torpedoes, but no guns. One of a service of thirty eight boats she was seen as a limited range, inexpensive, defensive submarine rather than an ocean-going attack unit.

Faraday served in the Mediterranean in the First World War, as did most of the French Navy, so leaving the Royal Navy to contain the German High Seas Fleet in the North Sea. In the Mediterranean the Allies (France, Great Britain and Italy) had the Ottoman Turkish and the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian empires as enemies, the latter in control of the East Coast of the Adriatic with a powerful surface Navy, together with its own and German U-Boats. ‘Faraday’ was part of a French, Italian and Royal Navy Force based

at Brindisi, a unit in a squadron of six submarines. The Allied navies had created a not very effective anti-submarine net barrage to try and prevent enemy submarines leaving the Adriatic to attack Allied transports carrying men and materiel to the French and British troops engaged in the Salonika/Macedonia Company.

Occasionally Austrian Cruisers and Destroyers would set out to attack the trawlers and drifters controlling the net, the French submarines were kept on patrol to attack such raiders.

On 2 October 1918 ‘Faraday’ and three others of the Brindisi Squadron were involved in a large operation. An Air Allied Force headed by an Italian battleship were tasked to bombard the Austrian occupied Albanian coast port of Durazzo, used by Austrian Navy Light Force. The submarines were to provide a security patrol against any Austrian surface warship counter-attack, which did not happen, though a German U-Boat badly damaged a British Cruiser.

The War ended a month later. Faraday was scrapped, the Marine Nationale having learnt from the Germans that effective submarine warfare needed larger boats. She did however play her part in the Mediterranean Naval War.

The crew atop the Brumaire, the boat that gave its name to the class

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British Army Officer Training Missions: A Short History.

Duncan Anderson MA D Phil (Oxon), Academic Mentor, ANAOA The British Army has unrivalled experience in establishing officer corps for imperial, commonwealth and allied armies. From Beresford’s mission to Portugal in 1808 to the current mission at ANAOA in 2013 the British Army has played a key role in the establishment of officer training institutions in more than 30 countries. Thus far, there has been no systematic study of this process. Material is widely dispersed, incorporated into the military histories of individual countries. This paper will look at these developments from a different perspective, that of the success or otherwise of the various training teams concerned mainly with the production of officers on first appointment and will indentify certain common features which exemplify British Army best practice.

The Evolutionary Peculiarities of British Officer Training Culture: The NCO, the Environment and Academic Study.

British officer training evolved very differently from the systems adopted by continental states like France, Spain, Prussia or Russia. The fact that Britain was an island, did not require an army as a first line of defence, and had experienced 18 years of civil war and military dictatorship in the middle of the Seventeenth Century, led Britain to accept a regular army only reluctantly. The military system which evolved in the late seventeenth century was designed to make the army politically reliable, not necessarily militarily efficient. Thus officers purchased their commissions, ensuring that a military caste which was separate from the elite of society would not emerge. The officer was expected to be first and foremost a gentleman, not necessarily a professional soldier.

The NCO In this situation a caste of non-commissioned emerged, longservice soldiers who were professionals, and who actually ran the administration of the army. A cartoon of Marlborough’s period graphically depicted this relationship, the image of a small, young officer on a leash being held by a giant, tough looking sergeant.

When Britain established its first military academy for gunners and engineers at Woolwich in 1741 the administration and instruction was largely in the hands of the NCOs. In 1812, when the crisis of 1807 finally compelled the British government to begin to professionalize the training of officers for the infantry and cavalry, and accept officers from non-traditional sources, the NCOs of the British Army were accorded a key role in the process. It remains so to this day. No other system of officer training in the world affords such power and influence to the NCO. The Training Environment When drawing up plans for what was to become the Royal Military College, Colonel John Gaspard Le Marchant devoted considerable time to the design of the academy buildings and their landscaping. Imbued with Eighteenth Century theories about the effects of the physical environment on the development of the personality and social attitudes, le Marchant argued that training in the physical environment of the English country house could turn cadets from non-traditional backgrounds into British country gentlemen, imbued with all the attitudes of that class.

Academic Education and Training.

The education given to cadets was to be broadly that of English gentlemen, with the difference that academic subjects were to be studied not for their own sake but for their practical utility in producing effective young officers. Thus history and Classics were to be the study of great commanders and their campaigns, drawing was to concentrate on sketching landscapes, geometry 86

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and trigonometry was geared towards the construction of fortifications and the more effective employment of artillery, French and German to the translation of hastily scribbled orders, geography to the analysis of a landscape with a view to preparing defensive position or attacking such positions, and so on. Although the subjects have changed the approach of the modern academic departments remains essentially the same.

Three important features of the British system are the prominence given to the NCO, both as trainer and exemplar of values, the use of the physical environment to reinforce these values and to socialize the cadets into the acceptance of certain mores, and the remorselessly utilitarian approach to academic subjects.

The Establishment of Academies.

The British Army’s establishment of officer academies within the Empire and spheres of influence falls into four main sectors, the colonies of European settlement,( Canada, Australia, New Zealand and to a lesser extent South Africa and Zimbabwe,) South and South East Asia, (India, Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Bangla Desh, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei), the Middle East, (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia), and sub-Saharan West, East and Central Africa, (Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia and Botswana). At one extreme there are the colonies of European settlement, which were essentially British, making the adoption of a British model relatively straightforward, with institutions like RMC in Kingston and Duntroon in Canberra evolving into Canadian and Australian versions of Sandhurst. At the other extreme, there are the colonies of sub-Saharan Africa, where attempts to create officer academies came on the very eve of independence in countries which had virtually no indigenous officers. As late as 1958, for example, the Nigerian officer corps consisted of one major and two lieutenants. The rapid promotion of African non commissioned officers to senior officer rank proved disastrous, with all but one African country falling prey to civil war and military dictatorship in the decade after independence.

For present purposes it is more valuable to examine developments in two other areas, Asia and the Middle East. These were both areas of ancient and sophisticated civilizations, with military traditions which predated those of Europe by thousands of years, and which in modern times had been strongly influenced by non European military powers like the Ottoman, Persian and Sikh empires. In this environment the implantation of systems of British officer training faced innumerable cultural hurdles. The process of implantation was carried out by two quite culturally distinct British armies, in Asia by the British Indian Army, formed from the wreckage of the East India Company army in 1858, and in the Middle East by the British ‘metropolitan’ army, following the conquest of Egypt in 1882.

THE ASIAN EXPERIENCE. 1858–1967.

India 1858–1947 In the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny the reconstructed units of the Indian Army were given strong corps of locally trained long service NCOs, men who had proved their loyalty in 1857. Above them was a new officer rank, the Viceroy’s Commissioned Officer (VCO), who was to act primarily as a gearbox between the Indian ranks and the European officers. In addition to the Indian Army of the Raj, there were armies of the Princely States, for exam-

ple Hyderabad and Kashmir, some of whose princes attended Sandhurst in a purely private capacity. In 1900 the new viceroy, Lord Curzon, set up an Imperial Cadet Corps in which a few dozen highly born Indians, most sons of maharajas were given two years of military training, and then appointed to largely honorific positions as supernumerary ADCs. The performance of the Indian Army in the First World War, with Indian generals in command of Princely State contingents, but with no officer other than a VCO in the ranks of the army of the Raj, fuelled increasingly strident nationalist demands for the ‘Indianisation’ of the officer corps.

Dehradun Indian Military Academy

In order to meet these demands the initial response was to send suitably qualified Indian candidates direct to Sandhurst, who would then be commissioned back into the Indian army. The first 25, selected by a board established by the Viceroy, arrived at RMC in 1918. Of these, only ten survived the course to be commissioned – two actually found they course so rigorous they died.

As a result of this experience a feeder academy, the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College – a proto-type Rowallan Company – was established in March 1922 in the Doon Valley near Dehradun where young Indians could be brought up to a physical and educational standard which put them on a par with British cadets. The College was staffed by British officers and school masters, and the first intake of 37 boys was divided into three houses, Rawlinson, Roberts and Kitchener.

During the 1920s nationalists began to demand an acceleration of the Indianisation of the officer corps. They calculated that at the present rate of commissioning it would take more than a century to complete the process. The government of India’s response

was to re-create Sandhurst in India, purchasing the handsome colonial buildings and the 206 acre grounds of the Indian Railways Staff College at Dehradun, blessed with breath-taking views of the Himalayas, and appointing a largely British staff headed by a former Gurkha officer Brigadier L P Collins. The first batch of 40 gentleman cadets began their training in October 1932, and two months later the college was officially opened by Field Marshal Chetwode, commander-in-chief India.

The Indian Military Academy was essentially a British institution transposed to the sub-continent. The cadets curriculum on Indian military history included Field Marshal Lord Robert’s Robert’s ‘Forty One Years in India’(1891), Sir John Kaye’ and George Malleson: ‘History of the Indian Mutiny (1888), and Mervyn Davies: ‘Clive of Plassey’ (1939)’, while the library contained full sets of Sir John Fortescue’s monumental ‘History of the British Army’ and William Napier’s ‘History of the Peninsular War’. The essentially British culture was reinforced as Indian King’s Commissioned Officers, the products of Sandhurst, returning to India

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to appointments at Dehradun. By the beginning of the Second World War the Indian Military Academy had commissioned 524 officers. Between then and 1946 it was to commission another 3887 Indian officers, but it also commissioned 710 British officers, so that the culture remained essentially that of Sandhurst.

When India became independent in 1947 and Dehradun got its first Indian commandant a large minority of the staff remained British, though in many respects it was the Indians who clung to the British traditions. The central assembly hall, for example, was named Chetwode Hall, in which was inscribed in oak paneling at the entrance the Academy’s creed, excerpted from Chetwode’s speech at the inauguration of the academy in 1932: ‘The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time.

The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next.

Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time’.* The first two cadet battalions formed after independence had eight companies named after famous battles of the Indian army.

Given a military history extending over 3,000 years the choice was vast, but the new commandant settled on the following: Keren (1941), Alamein (1942), Sangro (1943) Cassino (1944), Imphal (1944) , Kohima (1944) and Meiktila (1945).

Pakistan 1947–1951 In 1947 Brigadier Francis Ingall, a graduate of Sandhurst and officer of the Bengal Lancers, was given the task of creating a cadet academy for the new state of Pakistan. He had modest but adequate funds, a choice of some highly experienced British and Indian Army personnel, and the enthusiastic support of the new government. Like Chetwode in 1930 he chose an existing educational institution, a training school for the Royal Indian Army Service Corps, in the wooded hills above Abbottabad, a place of considerable natural beauty, with plenty of room to expand for sports fields and a polo ground.

Ingall followed the model already established at Dehradun. He secured the service of an experienced British Guards RSM, and

Abbottabad Pakistan Military Academy

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a number of Moslem ex Indian Army officers, many of them commissioned from Dehradun and senor NCOs. He also managed to recruit a number of highly qualified Moslem academics, who had had to flee India during partition, for who he secured honorary military rank, and the foundations of an adequate library thanks to controlled looting of libraries in Lahore and Rawalpindi which would otherwise have been destroyed.

To a much greater extent than his contemporaries at Dehradun, Ingall was conscious of the need to create symbolism which would encapsulate the values of the new state. For this reason he linked the academy’s banner to Pakistan’s founder, Mohammed Jinnah, and insisted that the cadet companies be named not after the battles of the Indian Army but after Moslem leaders and battles of the remote past. In some ways he was more conscious of the need to create a distinctively Moslem tradition, than were his ex-Indian army comrades, who like the staff at Dehradun clung to British tradition. In the creation of the Pakistan Military Academy British staff were less in evidence than they were at Dehradun, but they didn’t have to be. The Officers and NCOs who staffed the academy were themselves the product either of Dehradun or Sandhurst, and like the Indians of Dehra Dun they insisted on honouring their founder, naming their central lecture theatre Ingall Hall.

Royal Military College Malaysia 1952–1967 To an extent not fully appreciated the Malayan campaign (194860) was the last victory of the British Indian Army, in that many of the officers and regular soldiers had spent much of their military careers in India, including the COC General Urqhart and the C-InC General Harold Briggs. It was these men who laid the foundation of the plans which were to be successfully implemented by Gerald Templar. The British high command had realized by the early 1950s that the only way they would be able to generate the forces necessary to swamp the insurgency would be by a massive expansion of local forces. The existing Malay regiment was to be expanded from two battalions to ten, while a new multi-racial regiment, to be recruited from Chinese and Tamils as well as Malays, named the Federation Regiment, was to be recruited up to three battalions. In the event the Malay Regiment never grew beyond seven battalions, while the Federation Regiment was able to recruit only one battalion.

New battalions needed officers. In July 1952 the Malay Regiment Training Depot at Port Dickson was expanded into the Malay Regiment Training centre, with an additional section, The Pre-Officer Cadet Training Unit. Shortly thereafter a cadre of 18 military and academic staff from RMA Sandhurst arrived to establish courses, while 12 soldiers of the Federation Regiment were sent to Eaton Hall, soon followed by another 24 from both the Malay and Federation Regiment who went directly to Sandhurst. In the mid and late 1950s more than 100 Malayan cadets of all races were commissioned from Sandhurst, who were then posted back to the various battalions and after operational experience spent time as directing staff at Port Dickson.

In 1958 a new site was chosen for what was going to be the

Army. A soldier of great military experience (Crimea, Indian Mutiny, Ashanti, Zulu and First Boer Wars) Wood found that the numerous influences to which the Egyptian army had been exposed had left it thoroughly confused. He formed a training team of 25 British officers and around 30 NCOs who were given extra pay and/ or Egyptian ranks one or two grades higher than their British ranks, disbanded the remnants of the existing Egyptian army, and began reconstruction from the ground up.

Royal Military College Malaysia

Royal Military College, 1200 acres on a range of hills ten miles from Kuala Lumpur which overlooked a disused mining pool, which was landscaped and converted into an artificial lake. The construction of the buildings, assembly halls, dormitories, classrooms, a gymnasium, laboratories, along with the leveling of parade grounds and rifle ranges took three years and was funded entirely by the British government to the tune of $20 million. The last British commandant left in 1967, along with the majority of the remaining British staff, leaving behind an institution which like the Indian and Pakistan military academies was essentially British in its values and its traditions. And like Dehradun and Abbottabad the Royal Military Academy Malaysia honoured the man it saw as instrumental in its foundation, naming its central Assembly Hall after Field Marshal Gerald Templar.

THE MIDDLE EASTERN EXPERIENCE: 1882 – PRESENT. Egypt 1882-1922 The British Army’s involvement in the Middle East began in 1882 with the invasion of Egypt. At the time the Gladstone government had no intention of allowing this intervention to turn into a long-term commitment; doubtless that the parsimonious prime minister would be horrified to learn that the British Army is still heavily involved in the area, more than 130 years later. The defeat at Tel el Kabir precipitated the total collapse of the Egyptian Army.

One of the first tasks which faced the British occupiers was to rebuild it.

In 1808 Mohammad Ali, the Ottoman officer of Albanian parentage who had seized control of Egypt, began the process of remodeling Egyptian Army on European lines. He had founded an officer academy 1811, first located in Cairo, and then shifted south to Aswan in 1820, where officer cadets were less likely to be affected by the social and political distractions of the capital.

In the middle years of the nineteenth century a number of training missions worked with the Egyptian Army, though the Turkish influence predominated until the arrival of an American mission under the command of Civil War veteran General Charles P. Stone in 1868, which came to an end with the British invasion of 1882.

In December 1882 the British appointed the much-wounded General Sir Evelyn Wood as sirdar (commander) of the Egyptian

The British training mission to Egypt had some success in the 1880s and 90s, improving the performance of the Egyptian Army. Defeated in the Sudan in 1883, in 1898 the Anglo-Egyptian Army (8,000 British and 17,000 Egyptians) achieved a crushing victory over the Mahdi’s forces, killing more than 10,000. British influence in Egypt’s military academy undoubtedly improved the quality of Egyptian officers, but as in the case of India the British ensured that admission to the academy was restricted to the traditional elite.

In the short-term this was a wise policy. In June 1906 in the village of Denshawai, Egyptian peasants, outraged at the shooting of some of their pigeons, set upon a hunting party of British officers, killing two. In retaliation the British hanged seven of the villagers, sentenced two more to life imprisonment, and 26 more to floggings and various terms of imprisonment with hard-labour.

The incident served as a flash-point for a nationalist explosion.

Anti-British riots were to become a regular feature of Egyptian life, particularly serious in 1914 and 1919, until in 1922 Britain declared that Egypt was independent. Though Britain maintained substantial forces in the country, she disengaged increasingly from attempting to train Egyptian forces, possibly on the grounds that Britain had no desire to increase the efficiency of an army which might one day be turned against her. The Egyptian officer corps, increasingly divorced from the rank and file, remained generally pro British until 1936 when the military academy began to admit cadets drawn from the well educated middle classes, like Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat. In the summer of 1942, with Axis forces only 70 miles from Cairo, groups of junior officers attempted an uprising, which the British easily suppressed. Ten years later this new class of officer, now reaching the rank of colonel, conducted a rather better organized coup which overthrew the monarchy and set Egypt on a collision course with Britain.

The Arab Revolt 1916-18 Unlike the situation in India or Malaya, the Egyptian training mission was of relatively short duration, and operating in a volatile political situation over which it had little control. Its importance lay not in any transformation it could effect in the Egyptian Army, but in the creation of a relatively large number of British officers who were fluent in Arabic and who understood Arab culture. Thanks to the propagandizing of American journalist Lowell Thomas and his own literary abilities, Colonel Tom Lawrence is now fixed permanently in the public imagination as the organizer and leader of the Arab revolt against the Ottomans in the Hejaz. In reality, the mission was well supported by dozens of officers and NCOs seconded from Egyptian training organisations, men whose own

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tried again in 1941. When this attempt was crushed, largely by the rapid deployment of the Arab Legion (see below), a new generation grew up, even more extreme in its radicalism, and in 1958 finally succeeded in removing the British imposed monarchy.

Brig Sheen, Gen Karimi and Dr Anderson at the ANAOA

knowledge of the Arabic language and Bedouin customs was at least the equal of that of Lawrence.

Iraq 1921-1935 When Anglo-Indian soldiers entered Baghdad in March 1917 they were treated as liberators. Three years later, when it became apparent that the new country of Iraq, formed from the three Mesopotamian provinces of the Ottoman Empire was going to be little more than a British colony, the Arab tribes of the lower Tigris and upper Euphrates rose in revolt. During the course of 1920 the British poured troops, eventually numbering more than 100,000, into their new territory, gradually crushing the revolt. At a conference held in Cairo in March 1921, the Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill, decided to embark on an ambitious plan of nation building, even as such a scheme was being abandoned in Egypt.

The first thing a new nation needs is an army. During the Arab Revolt, Lawrence’s chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Pierce Joyce, who had been attached to the Egyptian Army since 1907, had befriended two of the revolts Arab leaders, Jafar al Askari and Nuri al Said, both of whom had been Baghdad born officers in the Ottoman army. In 1921, with both his Arab friends now holding prominent positions in the new administration in Iraq (ultimately Nuri al Said was to become prime minister and Jafar al Askari minister of defence), Joyce was invited to Baghdad to establish an officer corps for the new Iraqi Army. Drawing on the Egyptian training mission, but with support from Sandhurst, by 1924 Joyce had established an Iraqi Military Academy on the banks of the Tigris, which after disastrous floods in the early 1940s was moved to its present site of Ar Rustamiyah, to the south east of Baghdad. Appointed inspector general of the Iraqi Army Joyce retired in 1927, but the Iraqi Military Academy retained many British features, including a system of cadet selection which was actually fairer than that employed by Sandhurst at the time.

Nuri and Jafar both saw the academy, and consequently the army, as the mechanism from which a sense of Iraqi national identity would emerge, and like Egyptian reformers ensured that young men from all social backgrounds with the requisite educational qualifications could enter. The result was that the academy became a hotbed of radical agitation, in which the first generation of cadets attempted to overthrow the government in 1935, and 90

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Arab Legion – Jordan 1920 to Present.

Another of Lawrence’s officers, Captain Frederick Peake, who had been serving with the Sudan Camel Corps, was tasked in 1920 with forming a Reserve Mobile Force of Bedouin Arabs to police the new mandate of Transjordan.

This force, renamed the Arab Legion, grew to the size of a brigade. By the early 1950s, although senior appointments remained the preserve of the British, an increasing number of positions were held by Arab officers, some of whom were locally trained at an embryonic cadet academy outside Amman, and others trained at Sandhurst, most notably Crown Prince Hussein. With the death of his father in 1956, the young king replaced those British officers in senior positions with Arabs, though the British influence in both what was now Jordan’s Royal Military Academy and in other training institutions remained strong. Over the last 60 years some 400 Jordanian officers have been admitted to Sandhurst, which has helped maintain and strengthen the link between the British and Jordanian armies.

Indeed, so strong is this link that Jordan has been accused by radical Arab regimes from time to time of being little more than a Western ‘crusader state’, a veritable ‘Trojan Horse’ within the Arab camp. At any one time there are some 300 Jordanian ‘loan’ officers and NCOs serving in key positions in the armies of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.

Oman – The Sultan’s Armed Forces 1951 to Present.

In 1951 a training team of Arab Legion officers, British and Jordanian, began recruiting and training the Trucial Oman Scouts, which grew over the first ten years to more than 1,000 soldiers commanded and advised by some 160 British officers and NCOs. By the late 1960s, with a South Yemen supported Marxist insurgency threatening to overthrow the Sultanate of Oman, the British land-force commander in the Persian Gulf, General Sir Roland Gibbs, reorganised the Scouts into two new units, one which became the army of the United Arab Emirates, the other which grew into Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces.

A graduate of Sandhurst, the sultan’s son, Qaboos, engineered a bloodless coup in 1970, removed his ultra conservative father, and with substantial British and Jordanian assistance expanded and improved his army. While a large number of Omani cadets were sent to Sandhurst in the 1970s (for a time they eclipsed the number of Jordanian cadets at the academy), others were trained at the new Sultan Qaboos Military Academy built north of Salalah in Dohfar province, 550 miles from Muscat. The majority of staff was recruited initially from Jordan, with assistance from British ‘loan’ officers, though by the 1990s increasingly large numbers of Sandhurst trained Omani officers were sufficiently senior to take over an ever larger number of positions on the directing staff.

Conclusion.

This brief history of the British role in establishing officer academies reveals a number of recurring features.

times having to beg, borrow and steal to maintain momentum, but unlike Brigadier Ingall, the political terrain in which the Qargha team must operate is much less well known.

First, in India (1932-47), Jordan (1940-56) and Malaya (1952-67) British officers and NCOs took the dominant role in educating and training cadet officers, roughly fifteen years in each case. In Pakistan (1947-51) and Oman (1970 – to present) a relatively small number of British officers and NCOs were assisted by directing staff who were British trained, Moslem British Indian Army officers and NCOs in Pakistan and Jordanian Army personnel, many of who were Sandhurst trained, in Oman.

Third, on the basis of the historical evidence, the assumption that ‘mentoring’ would be effective in an environment like that of Afghanistan is at best overly optimistic. In all the cases examined British teams actually ran the training programmes, in the most successful cases for fifteen years, before gradually handing their roles to Indians, Malaysians or Jordanians. Like the Egyptian Army of the early 1880s, which was imbued with a mixture of Turkish and American (Union and Confederate) military culture, the Afghan Army is the product of many over-lapping influences, Turkish, Russian, American, with a pronounced irregular culture, not unlike that once affected by the armies of Cuba, Israel, or other nations which believe themselves to be the product of successful guerrilla wars.

Second, in Egypt and Iraq, British training teams were attempting to reconstruct armies in countries which they had invaded, Egypt in 1882 as conquerors, Iraq in 1916-18 as ostensible liberators, which very quickly turned to occupation once the British had suppressed the Iraqi revolt of 1920. In both cases the British improved the efficiency of the armies, but relied on officers drawn from an elite, who were increasingly divorced from their own societies. The introduction of officers from a wider background led to an attempted revolt in Iraq in 1941 and in Egypt in 1942, with a successful revolt in Egypt in 1952 followed by one in Iraq in 1958.

Third, all these missions were conducted by teams imbued with the same military culture. Whether they were British, Indian, Pakistani, Malayan, Jordanian or Omani, they all spoke the same military language, and all shared the same military values. This was the language and these were the values which had been developed at Woolwich and Sandhurst in earlier centuries.

Fourth, there is a strong correlation between the success of these missions and the political support afforded them. Indian nationalists, the Government of India in New Delhi, and the British government in London all backed the establishment of Dehradun, the new government of Pakistan gave its full support to Abbottobad, and the British government and the nascent Malayan government backed the establishment of the Royal Military Academy Malaysia. In the Middle East the establishment of a Jordanian military academy, and later an academy in Oman, were regarded as vital not just by the Hashemite monarchy and Sultan Qaboos, but by the Foreign and Colonial Offices in London. With the notable exception of Abbottabad, where Brigadier Ingall had to beg, borrow and sometimes steal the resources he required, in India, Malaya, Jordan and Oman governments appeared to be willing to fund every request.

In Egypt and Iraq political support for the training missions was less in evidence. The granting of independence to Egypt in 1922, and to Iraq in 1935, was accompanied by a withdrawal of support for efforts to create Egyptian and Iraqi officer corps on a British model. Both countries remained vital for imperial communications, but in Egypt this amounted to holding a naval base at Alexandria and the Canal Zone, and in Iraq of airfields at Habbaniyah and Basra.

The ANAOA Mission in the Light of Historical Experience The British lead ISAF mission to ANAOA is very different in most respects from its historical antecedents.

First, the team is part of a complex coalition. Although the core team of mentors, British, Australians and New Zealanders share a common military culture, they operate within an alliance system dependent on the United States. Unlike all the historical missions examined, in Qargha the British are not in the driving-seat.

Fourth, in all the cases examined an infrastructure was in place before training commenced. In India, Pakistan and Malaya great care was taken to provide cadets with an environment which reinforced the values the courses were designed to inculcate. There has often been a need to expand accommodation very rapidly – in Sandhurst, for example, the ‘Redoubt’ was pressed into service during the First World War, and Nissan huts mushroomed in the areas behind New College during the Second, but there was always a central core of buildings which exemplified the culture of the army. In Qargha the training team is in a unique situation, at least for a regular army, of having to build and maintain the infrastructure while conducting the training and education.

Postscript Although the British Army has established more officer academies throughout the world in the last century than any other army, the conditions the team faces at Qargha are unusual. They represent a combination of difficulties, some of which have never been faced by training teams in the past. Despite these difficulties, the team has made progress which many visitors have described as ‘astonishing’. On what was a bare hillside as recently as the summer of 2013, there is now a tent city where two cadet Kandaks are under instruction, testimony to the legendary flexibility and improvisation displayed by the British soldier in the face of apparently insuperable difficulties. In the distance the new buildings, encased in scaffolding, are getting ever closer to completion. And on the far-off hillsides, on the parade grounds, and in the lecture tents, ANAOA’s cadets are being trained and educated in a curriculum which any graduate of Sandhurst would recognize immediately. It is clear now that the eventual success of ANAOA depends on only one factor-time. The academy and its training team needs time, and that is the one commodity which all the genius, all the flexibility, and all the improvisation of the British soldier cannot supply. We are keeping our fingers crossed.’

30 December 2013 *An indication of the extent to which training at Sandhurst and Dehradun inculcated the values of ‘officership’ came with the fall of Singapore in February 1942, and the surrender of more than 80,000 British, Indian and Australian troops to the Japanese.

Of the 45,000 Indians who surrendered 40,000 volunteered to join the Japanese sponsored Indian National Army. This number included many VCOs, but only two Indian officers commissioned from Dehradun, and none who had been commissioned from RMC Sandhurst or RMA Woolwich.

Second, there is doubt over the strength of the coalition’s commitment to the training mission. Like Egypt in the 1920s and Iraq in the 1930s governments may find it expedient to cut their losses very rapidly, particularly if the United States decides to leave. Like the situation in Pakistan in 1947, the training team finds itself at

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Major-General Douglas Neil Wimberley CB, DSO, MC: Divisional Commander, 1941–43 Dr Christopher Mann, Department of War Studies Major-General Douglas Wimberley was General Officer ComDouglas Wimberley was born in Inverness in 1896. He commismanding (GOC) 51st Highland Division from June 1941 to August sioned into the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders in 1915 (see 1943, leading it through the North African and Sicilian Campaign.

Dr Frances Hurd’s article for his time at Sandhurst). He served My research on Wimberley and 51st Highland Division has doveon the Western Front fighting in the Battle of the Somme and the tailed quite fortuitously with some of the work going on historical third Battle of Ypres. In 1917 as a Machine Corps officer in 51st and contemporary divisional structure in the Department of War Highland Division he was wounded and won a Military Cross at Studies, particularly the work done Dr Paul Latawski for the Land Cambrai. In the inter-war years he saw service in Ireland, RusWarfare Centre. There are plenty of divisional histories – and 51st sia and on the North-West Frontier. Wimberley attended staff colHighland is particularly well served in this respect lege in 1926 where the instructors included Alan – and some of them are very good. However, Brooke, Bernard Montgomery, Henry Pownall these books do not set out to address what the and Bernard Paget and some of his fellow stuIn the inter-war years he divisional commander actually does other than in dents were Harold Alexander, Oliver Leese, Miles saw service in Ireland, passing. There are plenty of good military biogDempsey and Brian Robertson. He took comRussia and on the North- mand of the 1st Camerons in 1938, taking them raphies but mainly of people who go on higher things and their period of divisional command to France with the outbreak of war but missed West Frontier. usually receives fairly perfunctory coverage. Disthe French Campaign. He received brigade comcussion of doctrinal and practical issues relatmand in the Home Forces in the summer of 1940, ing to the division and how it is commanded has thrown some before taking over the Highland Division in June 1941. Wimberley interesting issues and there is not a lot of literature specifically was a prodigious collector of nicknames – he was ‘Tartan Tam’, about it. The division has been the corner stone of mid-twentieth ‘Lang Tam’ and even ‘The Loch Ness Monster’ to his men– most century armies and is probably the largest formation for which a of which alluded to his size and Scottishness. Harold Alexander solider feels real affection. It is also, in words of Field Marshal Bill referred to him as ‘Wimbles’ but that was unique to Alexander.

Slim ‘one of the best for commands in the service...the smallest formation that is a complete orchestra of war and the largest in As GOC Wimberley brought a real sense of identity based around which every man can know you.’ Therefore, the character of diviScotland and particularly the Highlands to his division. He recogsional commander is of vital importance. As the 1953 Highland nised the importance of ‘pipes and tartan’ and felt that ‘the effect Division history says: ‘A fighting Division takes not a little of its they had on battle efficiency was great indeed.’ He had always colour from its commanding officer.’ keen advocate of the kilt as combat dress. His old battalion, the 1st Camerons, was the last British unit to wear it in combat. As to the pipes and drums these were a central part of the division’s

Douglas Wimberley’s grandson, Mike, explains the Battle of Wadi Akarit atop of the Roumana Ridge to the staff of 51st Scottish Brigade in 2009

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The Highway Decorators

Wimberley at an O Group prior the Battle of Wadi Akarit, April 1943

identity. The pipers famously lead the division into its first battle at El Alamein in October 1942. Captain Charles Barker of the 1st Gordons recalled that ‘It was a fantastic experience going into such an action with such a splendid Division accompanied by the pipes.’ The sheer spectacle of the pipes and drums were invaluable on ceremonial occasions such as the victory parade at Tripoli on 4 February 1943. There ‘every single kilt in the division was on display’. The Prime Minster Winston Churchill and Chief of the Imperial General Staff General Sir Alan Brooke were both much moved by the occasion and Wimberley recalled that their notes of congratulation ‘gave an even greater fill-up to our very high morale.’ There was also the famous HD divisional sign which was painted on road signs and almost any available surface earning the division the sobriquet of the ‘Highway Decorators’. This was very much encouraged by the general. Indeed as the first division into Tripoli Wimberley is reputed to have asked a Gordon’s sergeant where they intended to paint the HD sign and was told ‘We have no paint, sir’. ‘Oh that’s alright’ said Wimberley ‘I’ve got it’ producing a pot of paint from his jeep’

the arc of fire required. That was his way.’ It remained so at higher levels. His GSO 1 for most the African Campaign was Roy Urquhart who reckoned that Wimberley ‘ran the [division] as if it was a battalion. He commanded everything and everybody.’ His careful planning was evident at Alamein where he used a large model to take his commanders through their part in the operation. He insisted that all battalions Major-General Douglas Wimberley, replicate his measures. The division GOC 51st Highland Division undertook four full-scale rehearsals. He took a careful interest in the ground and at Medenine in Tunisia in March 1943 he insisted that two of his brigadiers change their dispositions, undoubtedly for the better, after surveying their positions. At Wadi Akarit in April he and a fellow divisional commander, Francis Tuker, demanded and got major changes to the Corps plan ‘after studying the ground’ including the provision of an extra division. Perhaps Wimberley could over do it. Urquhart noted at Alamein that the divisional Commander Royal Artillery, Brigadier George Elliot, had ‘spent hours producing a very detailed sketch of his fire plan, for which he was hoping to get final approval. DW started to mark it with a china-graph pencil. Most things he handled got covered with scribbles. But this was ready to go to press, and between us we snatched from him. George and I afterwards reckoned we had saved the battle.’

This behaviour was certainly not mission command but it worked as the division’s success in battle proved.

The 51st Highland Division could fight a first class set piece battle.

Alamein and Wadi Akarit were the prime examples. This success was down to careful preparation. Echoing the thoughts of both OliThis pride in all things Scottish also manifested itself in his famous, ver Leese, his Corps Commander, and the 8th Army commander, or perhaps infamous. policy of appointing Scots and particularly Montgomery, Wimberley commented at the start of Alamein ’There Highlanders where ever possible. This has been overstated at was nothing more I could do…it was only possible to pray for their least in terms of individual personnel. Major Richmond Gorle, success.’ The actual conduct of the battle was largely determined the second-in-command of one of his artillery regiments and a by his lower level commanders and bravery of his men, but his non-Scottish member of the division, said ‘he was never anycareful management of the division’s resources over eleven days thing but friendly to us “mercenaries in the pay fighting was vital. He was not just a careful planer of the King of Scotland.” He tolerated us and but also an assured leader under the pressures of in the end admitted that we had deserved our command in battle. The most decisive battlefield He tolerated us and in place in the division.’ It could be a slightly differhe made in the North African Camthe end admitted that we intervention ent matter when it came to larger bodies of men. paign was the commitment of his reserve during had deserved our place Wimberley himself recounted his ‘fury when I the Battle of Wadi Akarit on 6 April 1943. Sending heard we were to be sent a purely English Antithe 5th Black Watch into action at precisely the in the division.

Aircraft regiment.’ Eventually he took the issue right moment saved the key position on Roumana to Anti-Aircraft (AA) Command, berating General Ridge when the commanding brigadier seemed Timothy Pile until he released 40th Light AA Regiment, a territorial not appreciate the seriousness of the situation. regiment recruited in the north of Scotland. When the division was mobilised for service in the Middle-East he wrote to every Therefore, a real sense of regional and national identity and espirit divisional commander in Home Forces asking them ‘to comb’ de corps coupled with a careful, fastidious, tightly controlled, even their units for ‘the Jocks I needed.’ His only failure, if it can be rigid style, of command – all of which were a product of Wimbercalled that, was in the case of the division’s machine gun battalley’s leadership – produced the best and most successful British ion, the 1/7th Middlesex , as there being no Scottish units in this infantry division, possibly any type division, of this period in North specialised role. This he characteristically rationalised that they Africa. However, Wimberley was also lucky. This was physical; his ‘could be absorbed rather as “mascots” by the Jocks.’ Andrew jeep ran over a mine at Alamein and of the three other occupants Dunlop, his General Staff Officer 1 (chief of staff in modern partwo were killed and the other spent a year in hospital. Wimberley lance) in Sicily reckoned that he ‘inspired the highest standard of was back in action that afternoon. It was also temporal. He and espirit de corps within his Division, achieving a Divisional loyalty his division also arrived Egypt at the right time, a month or two such as I have experienced in none other.’ earlier and 51st Highland might have been thrown piecemeal into to the confused fighting of the spring and early summer of 1942.

Given Wimberley’s attention detail with regards to appearance, Instead under the new commander of the 8th Army, Montgomery, it was hardly surprising that he took a similar attitude to planWimberley and his division had the time to prepare thoroughly for ning and command. Certainly as was common in Montgomery’s their first battle and thereafter prospered. Also it is worth noting 8th Army, he paid very close attention to what his subordinates that the under division’s next commander it faired considerably were doing. This was a trait that had manifested itself as a batless well, admittedly in very trying circumstances. As Wimberley’s talion commander. The Cameron regimental history had noted of old corps commander, Oliver Leese wrote to Montgomery durhis period of battalion command that he ‘preferred to site secing the Normandy Campaign: ‘I am very sorry to hear about the tion posts himself; and when the post was being made, to look 51st Division. I always wondered how they would fight without the through the sights of the Bren gun to satisfy himself that it covered strong personal influence of Douglas Wimberley.

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Book Reviews

Agent Rose Bernard O’Connor: Amberley Publishers, 2012 Anita Morgan, CABS This book is a tribute to the life and work of Eileen Nearne. Nearne, whose hermit like existence up until her death in 2010 belied the vital and dangerous role she embraced in WW II, working undercover in occupied France for the Secret Operations Executive (SOE).

The author has focussed upon her military training and work for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), where she was actively recruited for the SOE due to her earlier childhood, spent in France. Nearne was a fluent French speaker – a vital pre-requisite for SOE recruiters and in high demand because of the competition for French speakers generated by differing segments of the security forces, at home and abroad.

The writer describes the SOE recruitment, selection and training of agents, where Nearne had to undertake field skills, weapon handling, physical and psychological training and intelligence work as a preliminary stage of her assessment. SOE were thorough in the rigours of their training, because they wanted to ensure that only those who could endure such hardships, would progress to secondary training in sabotage, spying and code-work. Nearne, though not the hardiest of her group, possessed natural qualities of determination, reflex thinking and lying which her instructors felt compensated for any shortfalls in physical fitness: the latter quality, they noted, Nearne had in abundance. Under interrogation Nearne never revealed compromising information to her instructors, preferring to create background details to evade further questioning and which even her instructors felt compelled to check up on because she appeared so credible.

Despite contrasting opinions about Nearne’s readiness for operations from her instructors, the head of SOE (French section) was Maurice Buckmaster and under intense pressure to deliver more agents into occupied France, he decided to send Nearne to France early in 1944. The author describes her role as an undercover wireless operator, disseminating information back and forth from London, from where she was deployed on the outskirts of Paris. Her role was fraught with danger because Paris, at that time, was heavily populated by the Gestapo and the SS who had been sent to intimidate the population and undermine the Resistance movement. Nearne proved to be an asset to the SOE, maintaining her cover and remaining productive long after the estimated ‘3 month expected life’ of field operatives at that time, even when her own spy-ring was infiltrated and finally collapsed.

She was eventually captured by the Gestapo but evaded execution by claiming she was French and had been blackmailed to work for the Resistance. She was imprisoned in Ravensbruck concentration camp, as the allies were landing on French beaches and despite the harsh conditions, Nearne still retained her indominatable spirit; she escaped from a working party, across snow laden forests, to reach the American lines at Leipzig. However, liberty with the Americans was hard to come by; she was interrogated and imprisoned with SS female officers because they believed she was a collaborator or double agent.

It was testament to her patience and resolve that she survived this ordeal and was eventually turned over to the British forces by her American captors, who still believed she was an enemy agent. She was repatriated to the UK within weeks and hailed as a heroine for her work by the SOE but sadly Nearne never recovered from the ordeal of her ‘captivity’ by two foreign powers.

The book does give valuable insights into how SOE agents were generally trained but frustratingly for a biography, the author has made many unsupported assumptions and compensates for this by engaging the reader to creatively ‘imagine’ in order to fill the void. Given that this book was intended to give an account of Nearne’s wartime achievements, being constantly reminded that ‘one can imagine’ only served to highlight the limited depth of research apparent.

Moreover, the balance on the focus between Nearne and the SOE organisation itself, logically favoured the latter which could be due to the wealth of information readily available. However, for a more expansive and definitive work on the SOE, readers would be far better informed by reading SOE In France by Michael Foot (1996). As stated at the beginning of this review, Agent Rose is a tribute to Eileen Nearne, rather than presenting in-depth research, its aim is to celebrate and give credit to a heroine whose WWII exploits may have remained in obscurity, but for this text.

British Generals in Blair’s Wars Jonathan Bailey, Richard Iron and Hew Strachan (eds) (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013) Dr Martin A. Smith (DIA) This book has already made waves far beyond those normally engendered by works published by academic presses. In the summer of 2013 it emerged that the MoD had refused permission for six serving senior officers to have chapters included in it.

Whilst the book’s editors understandably professed themselves ‘incensed’ by this decision, the publishers were probably grateful for the free publicity, whilst the attempt at gagging has been at best only partly successful over the longer term. Those seeking informed, cogent and frequently controversial comment and 94

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analysis of recent British military operations and the failure to effectively learn and identify lessons arising from them, will hardly be disappointed by what they will find here.

As one might expect, the focus of many of the chapters

is on Iraq and Afghanistan. However, additional range and depth is provided by individual chapters covering other interventions too. These include Kosovo in 1999, with General Sir Mike Jackson revisiting and throwing fresh light on his well-known clash with then SACEUR, US General Wesley Clark, over what to do about a Russian move to deploy troops pre-emptively to Pristina airport. General Sir David Richards writes on the British intervention in Sierra Leone the following year, which he commanded.

From this experience, Richards addresses the issue of state failure, an increasingly evident and significant threat to regional and international security. He offers the provocative conclusion that the Sierra Leone experience suggests that ‘to paraphrase Winston Churchill, a little ‘less jaw-jaw’ and a little ‘more war-war’ is required if the failed or failing state is to recover in a time frame that will satisfy its people and our consciences’.

Although – refreshingly – there is little evidence to suggest that the generals have been given a set template to work from in putting together their individual chapters, several core underlying themes nevertheless emerge from their analyses. Chief amongst these is the ongoing challenge of developing an effective ‘comprehensive approach’ in operational practice. This hinges on creating a more coherent and effective synergy between the Army, FCO, and DfID on the ground. Its underdevelopment has been much remarkedupon in the context of Iraq and Afghanistan, but the problem is not new. Here Lieutenant General Sir Alistair Irwin offers an unusual and interesting perspective based on his various tours in Northern Ireland. He concludes that there were enduring, frustrating, and potentially harmful failures by different organisations to work together effectively, including the Army and police.

Whilst, overall, the generals are trenchant in criticising the absence of an effective comprehensive approach during their times in command, they often have less to say on what may be done to improve matters. Indeed some civilians have argued that prevailing military attitudes have contributed to the problem. An exception is Lieutenant General Sir Barney White-Spunner, who commanded in Iraq in 2003 and again in 2008. He argues cogently that ‘Armies must accept that the task of defence has changed since 1989. They must not only destroy but also rebuild’. He suggests that reconstruction work might be a principal task for a reconstituted Army Reserve.

The generals who served in Iraq strongly reinforce the criticisms aired by academics and other commentators that the US

and UK undertook the 2003 invasion with no effective plan for post-conflict stabilisation and reconstruction. Major General Tim Cross, who served in the small and under-resourced team set up under retired US General Jay Garner in early 2003, is particularly insightful – and scathing – about this. The wilful disregard of the Bush administration for post-war planning is staggering and the failure of the Blair government to consider the issue more seriously itself is similarly deplorable. One of the most interesting chapters is written by Brigadier Justin Maciejewski, who commanded in Basra during the climatic crises there in 2007-8. He makes a strong argument to the effect that the scale and nature of the whole British effort in southern Iraq was ‘designed to do just enough to underpin the credibility of the political and military relationship with the US, whilst minimising the domestic political consequences of financial and tactical overexposure to events on the ground’. As such it could be argued that the British effort was almost set up to fail – or at least fail to achieve lasting and positive strategic effects. This notion – of disconnect between politicians, civil servants, and senior officers in the UK and those charged with command on the ground – recurs throughout the book.

If there is one principal theme running through the contributions to this book it is of the lack of coherence between officials in London and commanders on the ground, between civil agencies and the military in the field, and – by no means least importantly – within the MoD and the Army itself. The latter is evident in terms of failing to engender the culture and machinery necessary to enable an effective process of learning lessons (and learning from them) to be established and developed. This issue is addressed by Lieutenant General Sir Paul Newton – the first head of the Army’s Force Development and Training Command and now Director of the Strategic Studies Institute at Exeter University – in a concluding chapter. Newton is not sparing in his criticisms, including of RMAS, for sometimes emphasising the ‘venerable’ and being leery of the new and innovative.

Anybody – in or out of uniform – with an interest in contemporary defence and international affairs will find much to inform, provoke, and challenge them here. The chapters, originally based on presentations given at Oxford University, are short, pithy, and generally well-written. The publishers have also done readers a favour by bringing the book out in paperback and therefore at a reasonable price.

Defending the Realm:

The politics of Britain’s small wars since 1945 Aaron Edwards (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2012) Lt Col Harold Simpson (DIA) This stimulating book, published in 2012, is undoubtedly a good read for anyone interested in the politics of Great Britain’s small wars since 1945 and in the conduct of these campaigns at the operational level. Aaron Edwards chooses eight case studies and devotes a chapter to each.

The first five (Palestine, Malaya, Kenya, Cyprus and Aden) have very much an “End of Empire” flavour. The other three examples are much more contemporary, being Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. The book is written in such a way that it is perfectly

possible for the reader to just “dip in” and read one chapter or a selection of chapters that happen to be of greatest interest. I would contend, however, the book is best enjoyed if the reader reads all eight chapters chronologically. In this way, the comparisons, commonalities and differences that distinguish the various campaigns become clearer and it is possible to evaluate the evolution of British strategy in prosecuting its small wars over the 66 years that have elapsed between exit from Palestine in 1948 and impending withdrawal later this year from Afghanistan.

A central theme that emerges throughout this book is that there is no one historical ‘grand narrative’ underpinning the course of events over the seven decade long period covered in the book. Superfi

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cially, it might be possible to advance a historical narrative of declining colonialism giving way to indigenous liberation movements as a result of armed struggle but Edwards demonstrates that such a paradigm is overwhelmingly simplistic and belies the local complexities and dynamics inherent in each of the campaigns, which the British political and military authorities, both locally and back in London, often struggled to understand and keep pace with.

Palestine was as much a struggle between Arab and Jew as it was a liberation movement to end British colonial rule. In Malaya and Cyprus, the local societies were also polarised along ethnic lines, reflecting ancient blood feuds that often predated British colonial rule. In Malaya, the insurgents were ethnic Chinese communist revolutionaries who received support and encouragement from the People’s Republic of China. Ranged against them were the British colonial state solidly supported by the more conservative ethnic Malay population. The Greek supported EOKA campaign for ending British rule in Cyprus was as much about ethnically cleansing the ancient enemies of the Greeks (the Turks and Turkish Cypriots) as it was about ridding Cyprus of British imperialism. Repeated attempts by the post independence Greek Cypriot government and its allies in EOKA ‘B’ to completely remove or destroy the Turkish Cypriot community would prove this.

In Kenya, the local schism was not even between different tribes but rather within one fractured tribe, the Kikuyu, the largest single ethnic group in Kenya. Nearly 80 years of British rule had caused the Kikuyu to divide into those who had gained (often a great deal) from collaboration with their colonial masters and those, principally the young, landless and unemployed who had not.

Significantly, the principal focus of the Kikuyu rebels (popularly known as the Mau Mau) were their tribal elders and African “big men” although the popular rhetoric and media coverage at the time often presented the struggle as one between black insurgents and white settlers. In fact, only 32 white settlers were killed during the entire campaign, compared to over 25,000 Africans.

Subsequent tensions and periodic explosions of violence in post independence Kenya appear to indicate that many of the root causes of the Mau Mau conflict (land tenure, social justice and wider economic opportunities) have not gone away, despite the ending of British colonial rule more than fifty years ago.

Aden, and the hurried British withdrawal in 1967, perhaps comes closest to the classic scenario of indigenous peoples freeing themselves from colonial rule through armed struggle, although even here the campaign was complicated by the Cold War backdrop and geopolitical concerns over securing oil supplies. Very much in the modern postcolonial period, Iraq and Afghanistan nevertheless have considerable local complexities and unfore-

seen poisonous internal dynamics, which have made British and Allied success much harder to achieve in both theatres. Finally, Edwards’ analysis of Northern Ireland clearly shows that it has not simply been an anti-imperialist armed struggle waged by Irish nationalists against British rule. There is a complex and polarised local political scene compounded by stark divisions along religious lines that successive governments in London failed to appreciate properly, especially during the early years of “the troubles”.

He rigorously subjects all his chosen case studies to the Clausewitzian dictum of war being a continuation of politics by other means. He asks the critical question of whether the exercise of British military force was in the pursuit of valid political objectives.

In most cases, Edwards’ analysis suggests that there were not valid political objectives and that grand strategy in London lagged behind increasingly fast moving events on the spot. For example, the 19th century imperial posture of defending the sea route to India via the Suez Canal and Aden continued to dominate strategic assumptions well into the 1960s, despite the fact that India had become independent in 1947. In many cases, Edwards argues that the exercise of military force by the local commanders was actually a substitute for the lack of any coherent political strategy coming out of central government in London. This, he contends, was the case in Aden and in the early years of the Northern Ireland campaign and, most recently, in Iraq. The clear conclusion is that successive British governments have not “done” strategy well and that, without clear political objectives, the military have often had to muddle through as best they could, often facing very difficult, complex and deteriorating local situations.

Interestingly, the two campaigns (notably the Falklands in 1982 and the First Gulf War in 1990-91) where British political strategy was perhaps most coherent and provided the military with clear and unambiguous objectives to achieve are not among those featured in this book. Nevertheless, his essential point is that Britain’s small wars have amply demonstrated that where there is a mismatch between strategy and military objectives (or worst of all, an absence of strategy), all the military can really do is to muddle through and make the best of a bad job. Aaron Edwards is evidently a disciple of the most famous dead Prussian in that his book clearly shows that, where coherent political aims are articulated and linked through a meaningful strategy to the exercise of military force, the chances of success are much higher.

Overall, this is an informative and enjoyable book to read, whether the reader is interested primarily in the individual case studies and accompanying campaigns or in the wider themes of the evolution of post WW2 grand strategy and the applicability of the Clausewitzian dictum of war as a continuation of politics by other means.

From East of Suez to the Eastern Atlantic: British Naval Policy 1964–70 Edward Hampshire (Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2013) Dr Alistair Noble (DIA) Controversy over the procurement of expensive aircraft carriers is not a new phenomenon. We have been down this road before. In his new monograph, based on hitherto untapped archival sources, Edward Hampshire tells the story of the cancellation of the large CVA-01 strike aircraft carrier in the mid-1960s. This decision was taken against the backdrop of the Royal Navy’s realignment to take into account Britain’s reduced global role.

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The action commences with the unification of the four defence ministries into the Ministry of Defence in 1964.

However, self preservation remained paramount for the individual services. The intense inter-service rivalry is

a theme which permeates this study. A rich cast of characters are introduced. The new Defence Secretary Denis Healey was a champion of the transatlantic relationship but was determined to cut the defence budget. Though nakedly pro-Navy, Lord Mountbatten, the Chief of the Defence Staff, was past his prime and seemingly more focused on his own legacy.

The naval leadership made it a priority to keep the carrier programme alive, even when support was not forthcoming from any other quarter. They hoped in vain that a Conservative administration would be returned to power in 1966 but Healey remained at Defence and the cancellation of February 1966 was never reversed.

case against carriers remained consistent and was effectively lobbied. Unsurprisingly, cost issues also contributed. As a £1.4 billion project it was a natural target for cuts. Moreover, the Navy’s justification for the intervention role of the carrier was adversely affected by the Government’s decision not to provide the capability to intervene ashore east of Suez against a sophisticated foe without the support of allies. Similarly, manpower considerations also played a part – this was cited by Healey as the decisive factor. Ultimately, the Royal Navy would slowly but surely recover from the carrier cancellation and Hampshire argues that the service’s shift to a focus on the Eastern Atlantic would only develop in earnest from the 1970s.

Hampshire points to poor bureaucratic tactics and a lack of coordination of arguments on the naval side. Human factors also ensured there was no united naval front. In contrast, the RAF’s

This work will become standard reading on policy and strategic matters relating to the Royal Navy of the 1960s and provides a fascinating comparison with contemporary carrier developments.

Multipolarity in the 21st century: a new world order Donette Murray and David Brown (eds) (Abingdon: Routledge, 2013) Dr Edward Hampshire (DIA)

In the last six or seven years, it has seemed that the pre-dominant power of the United States in the international arena is now beginning to give way to a multi-polar world of jostling greater powers, including not only the US, but also China, India, Russia and the European Union. This timely book – edited by two Senior Lecturers in the Department of Defence and International Affairs here at Sandhurst, Drs Donette Murray and David Brown – assesses this perceived change in the international system. It includes a useful introduction by Dr Murray that sets out the nature of power and then follows with chapters that analyse the position of each of these world players and assesses whether a multi-polar world is actually about to come to pass.

Professor Robert Singh’s fluently written and compelling chapter makes a strong case for the continued raw power and wide influence of the United States: its military capabilities are still pre-eminent and are likely to be so for many decades. Its economy bounced back from the financial crisis much quicker than had been expected by many analysts and it continues to maintain a bipartisan commitment to continued engagement with the outside world. Professor Singh ascribes much of the talk of American decline to over-pessimistic extrapolations from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the initial impact of the financial crisis, which ignored the underlying continuance of the factors that support US power.

Dr Murray’s chapter deftly analyses China’s startling economic growth in the last thirty years, the impact of this in terms of the Middle Kingdom’s growing influence in Asia and beyond and the difficulties faced by a rising state attempting both to protect its burgeoning interests whilst also negotiating how best to use its power; in effect, whether to coerce or co-operate. Dr Murray also highlights the fact that China’s greatest challenges in the next decade are likely to be internal, as economic imbalances, demographic shifts and a ‘democratic deficit’ in an era of lower growth come to dominate the calculations of China’s leadership.

Dmitry Polikanov’s contribution includes a fascinating survey of how Russia views itself in the international arena: a cross-continental empire ‘doomed to be a great power’ because of its geographical position and inherent vulnerability to outside interference, offering a political and even moral alternative to US world leadership. Polikanov also highlights the realities of Russian power behind the activist and sometimes aggressive stance on the world stage: a largely unmodernised state-focused economy dependent on high oil prices just to maintain stability and an only partly-reformed, bloated and brutalised military.

Professor John McCormick makes a spirited attempt to argue in favour of the EU as a unified and rising actor in the international system, stating that economic power has greater significance in a post-Cold War world, that the EU now acts as a single entity on trade matters and in a number of foreign policy areas (such as Iran and Palestine), that the prospect of EU membership or association in Central and Eastern Europe has had a much greater impact than any military capability and that the EU currently, and for many decades to come, will have more international influence than many of the BRIC states, such as India, Brazil and Russia.

Whether you agree or not with this analysis, Professor McCormick puts his case coherently and effectively.

Professor Ganguly and Manjeet Pardesi’s chapter on India analyses India’s approach to its security and foreign relations. That Ganguly and Pardesi begin by focusing on the protection of India’s territorial integrity (which has been threatened in Kashmir, along the Chinese border, in the Sikh Punjab, and north-eastern insurgencies in the last thirty years) indicates that, like China, the greatest challenges for India remain internal. Democracy and secularism are, in their analysis, essential to bind Indians together and they therefore have concerns about rising religious tensions and Hindu nationalism. India’s overarching foreign policy aim is to maintain its strategic autonomy by ensuring hegemony in the south Asian region, combined with a risk-averse and cautious approach to potential threats.

Dr Brown rounds up these chapters with a conclusion that argues, in support of Professor Singh’s assessment, that the US is still ‘the indispensable nation’ in the international system – its economic,

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military and diplomatic preponderance still remain largely intact despite bruising wars in the Middle East and Central Asia and the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression. However, concerns about the internal cohesion of the United States – in this case increasing partisanship in Congress preventing effective governmental action – are raised, which could compromise the use of its power internationally.

This book is strongly recommended, not only as an effective analysis of the leading powers in the international system but also as a detailed exploration of the concept and nature of ‘polarity’ in its many forms.

Power in the Changing Global Order Martin A Smith (London: Polity Press, 2012) Dr David Brown (DIA) Power is a central concept of international relations. It colours the political and academic debate in multiple manifestations, from the development of Joseph Nye’s difficult to discern ‘soft power’ to the plethora of predictions about the shift away from an American dominated world to a more multipolar arrangement, built primarily on assumptions regarding the rhetoric emerging from Russia and the Chinese challenge in a number of arenas, from high finance to resource allocation. Yet, as Smith demonstrates all too clearly in this timely and well regarded volume, familiarity may in fact breed contempt, as the conceptual debate has thus far generated more heat than light and the predictive power of an academic and practitioner community that didn’t foresee either the end of the Cold War or the development of a global terrorist threat remains intact, with their misguided musings on the emergence of a multipolar world based on inappropriate historical experiences, theoretical modelling or simple wishful thinking.

campaign without balancing it with a wider appreciation of the disdain shown by the Clinton administration for previous multilateral efforts to resolve the Bosnian crisis – and then to nuance the traditional critique of the controversial Bush year, demonstrating the shifts between the two terms – which he terms ‘pragmatic corrective learning’ – and their impact on the US relative standing and therefore power potential in the wider international system. Consideration is also given to the early part of the Obama era – given the hesitation over red lines with regard to Syria, it would be interesting to know how Smith views the impact of American power in Obama’s second term and whether he has altered his views as a result.

Instead of falling into these well-worn traps, Smith takes us back to basics, dedicating the first section of his analysis to considering in a more comprehensive fashion the underlying definitional foundations of such a fundamental concept. He draws on sources outside the traditional International Relations world, particularly from the related field of sociology and even classics, to shine a light on power as a social construction, with a particular focus on the value of legitimacy as a source of power, earned by effective multilateralism and endowed by others. Although blending a range of different disciplines and appraising theoretical debates, this is written in an accessible and informative manner, making it of value to both the layman and the learned.

The final section of the book considers first the Russian and then Chinese views on power, applying the constructs created in the first half with a critical eye to contemporary Russian and Chinese foreign and security policy. Considering how their views of multipolarity have developed, particularly in elite discourse, adds value to the sometimes sloppy understanding of the prospects of multipolarity that appear in some of the existing literature. Again, it would have been interesting – although beyond the broad confines of this volume – to consider other putative poles of a multipolar order, such as India, the EU and possibly even Brazil – but that should not detract from the quality of the analysis contained within.

Having established his conceptual credentials in a field littered with lazy assumptions and fuzzy constructs, Smith then moves on to apply such definitional elements, first to the power of the United States and then to two of its main challengers, the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. Drawing on his extensive experience as a European Security specialist, with a particular interest in NATO, he proceeds to assess first the Clinton administration – perhaps a little too kindly for this reviewer’s tastes, focusing in on the muscular multilateralism of the Kosovo

This book has already, rightly, garlanded positive reviews for its incisive analysis of both conceptual and contemporary developments, being considered one of Polity’s best books of the year.

If it were not for the fact that this author has been involved in a related volume critiquing the development of multipolarity – and reaching much the same conclusions as Smith, who concludes that it remains difficult to foresee a shift away from the unipolar moment that Charles Krauthammer noted over twenty years ago – I would say it is the best book on power written in recent times!

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The Paris Embassy: British Ambassadors and Anglo-French relations 1944–1979 Rogelia Pastor Castro and John W Young (eds) (Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke, 2013) Dr David Brown (DIA) At first glance, this may not seem like the most interesting or relevant of titles for a scholar of international relations. Overtly historical in its coverage, although admittedly covering a tumultuous period in Anglo-French relations, embracing the aftermath of war, the Suez Crisis, the Soames Affairs, the development of and ultimate divergence over each step of European integration, leading to the UK’s eventual belated, and twice delayed, entrance on the formal European stage in 1973. Seemingly narrowly focused on diplomatic, as opposed to explicitly political activity, the book is able to add new insights by considering the relationship through the prism of embassy life, rather than the partisan political exchanges that have already been extensively covered elsewhere. Indeed, as becomes clear as the authors consider each of the respective British Ambassadors in Paris individually, this is an artificial division anyway, with some appointments made explicitly on the basis of the individual’s political skills and connections, such as Christopher Soames. As a result, as you read each of the respective pen pictures of ambassadorial life – two of which were expertly penned by members of the Department of Defence and International Affairs here at RMAS, Drs Hampshire and Noble – such cynical suppositions fade away, as you are drawn into the worlds of each successive ambassador, from the end of the Second World War to the dawning of the age of Euroscepticism in the UK. In fact, each chapter has a great deal to offer those with an interest in both how and why British Foreign Policy has developed in the manner it has, whether dealing with the more well known of the Ambassadors – Edward Hampshire, for example, tackles the immediate post World War Two years in his detailed assessment of the career of Alfred Duff Cooper – or the more obscure office holders, who tended to ‘mind the shop’ rather than wrestle with issues of high politics. Into this category would fall Alistair Noble’s

chapter, which deals with the career of Edward Tompkins, who held the post in the early 1970s. Each chapter considers how the ambassadors dealt with everything from the high politics of managing relations with a suspicious and troubled neighbour to the social activities that made up a central part of ambassadorial life, providing new insights on the skills necessary to prosper (or not) within the diplomatic service. As well as considering the nature of this important bilateral relationship, the later chapters also assess the wider, although still nascent, context of the developing European integration project, which both offers opportunities for ambassadors to place their stamp on foreign policy, particularly in the era of negotiation with de Gaulle and Pompidou, but also ultimately provides an alternative and competing channel for AngloFrench relations to play out. Additionally, by placing the ambassador at the centre of the analysis, the volume also has much to offer for those interested in the mechanics of British foreign policy more generally, contrasting political and civil service appointees and dissecting the detail of day to day diplomatic activity.

The only downside to the volume is that it ends where it does, with the emergence of Margaret Thatcher as a political force within UK politics. In fact, it is to be hoped that the editors – and authors – will, in due course, update their existing analysis (which is also complemented with a related volume on UK ambassadors in Washington) to bring it closer to the present day. While there are archival restrictions, there is surely plenty of traction in considering the different challenges faced by our man (or woman) in Paris in an era that includes Mrs Thatcher’s Bruges speech, Blair’s initial Francophilia – which peaked with the St Malo defence initiative and soured over developments within Brussels and Baghdad – and the surprise Anglo-French Defence initiative between the Coalition and successive French governments.

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For the record

Visits Official Visits to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst June 2011 – Sept 2012 Date

Visitors

29 Jun 11 Sudanese delegation headed by Brig Gen Ahmed Mohamed Awal Al Karim 20 Jul 11

Maj Gen Taj Mohammad Jahid, Comd Afghan National Security University

28 Jul 11

Iraq delegation headed by Maj Gen Luay Saleh Mahdi

29 Sep 11 Lt Gen Hussain Jassim Dohi, Dep COS for Trg & Doctrine, Iraq Army 25 to 27 Oct 11

Maj Gen Mazhar Jamil, Commandant Pakistan Military Academy

21 Nov 11 Maj Gen Payenda Mohammad Nazim, Inspector General, Afghanistan MoD 29 Nov 11 Brig Akram Rajoub, Head of leadership Trg, Palestine Authority Security Forces 13 Dec 11 Maj Gen Abdulaziz Al Khalid, Commandant King Abdulaziz Military Academy, Saudi Arabia 18 Jan 12 Maj Gen Anthony Anderson, CDS Jamaica 16 Feb 12 Gen Vijay Kumar Singh, Chief of Staff Indian Army 22 Feb 12 Hon Lord Tu’ivakano, Prime Minister of Tonga 22 Feb 12 Brig Gen Thomas S James, Comdt US Army Armour School 29 Feb 12 HE Archbishop Antonio Mennini, Apostolic Nuncio to GB 21 Mar 12 Maj Gen Salem Al Hilal, Commandant Zayed Military College, UAE 24 May 12 Gen Robert W Cone, Comd Gen US Army Trg & Doctrine Comd 11 Jun 12 Delegation from Chinese PLA headed by Maj Gen Lu Jiayuan 21 Jun 12 Lt Gen Othmar Commennda, Dep CDS Austria, accompanied by Gen Sir Richard Shirreff, DSACEUR 6 Jul 12

Brig Sheren Shah Kobadi, Comd 3 Bde ANA

13 Sep 12 Brig Hamad Ahmad Al Nuaimi, Commandant Ahmad bin Mohammed Mil College, Qatar 13 Sep 12 Maj Gen P J Forgues, Comd Canadian Defence Academy

Maj Gen Payenda, Inspector General Afghan MoD, signs the Visitors Book, 21 Nov 11

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Official Visits to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst September 2012 – December 2013 Date

Visitors

13 Sep 12 Comdt Ahmed bin Mohammed Mil College Qatar, Brig Hamad Ahmad Al Naimi 13 Sep 12 Commander Canadian Defence Ac, Maj Gen P J Forgues OMM CD 24 Sep 12 Afghanistan National Army Offr Ac Steering Gp (Maj Gen Payenda Mohammed Nazim, Maj Gen Aminullah Karim, Maj Gen Nematullah Khoshewal, Maj Gen Ghulam Sakhi Asifi 25 Sep 12 Gen Jean Kahwagi, Comd Lebanese Armed Forces 11 Oct 12 Delegation from Iraq MoD headed by Maj Gen Abdulamer Al Zuhari 16 Oct 12 Delegation from Bosnia-Herzegovina, headed by Mr Sead Muratovic, Asst Min for Personnel 13 Nov 12 Maj Gen Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Muluk Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin, Comd Royal Brunei Armed Forces 22 Nov 12 HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, to open Zayed Lines 22 Nov 12 Middle East Monarchies Dinner 27 Nov 12 HH Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, Amir of Kuwait 3 Dec 12 Maj Gen Mohammed Al Khayder, Director Ali Al Sabah Mil College, Kuwait 13 Jan 13 FM The Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank GCB LVO OBE DL to dedicate the bi-centennial Memorial Panel in the RMC 31 Jan 13 West Point delegation headed by Brig Gen Richard D Clarke 31 Jan 13 Delegation from Uzbekistan headed by Lt Col Ilkhom Khamdamov 7 Feb 13 Gen Sher Mohammed Karimi, Chief of the General Staff Afghanistan National Army 25 Feb 13 His Excellency Gen Bismellah Mohammadi, Min of Nat Def Afghanistan 5-7 Mar 13 Maj Gen Sadiq Ali, Comdt Pakistan Mil Academy 12 Mar 13 Gen Mashal Mohammed Al Zaben, Chaiman Joint Chiefs of Staff Jordan 13 May 13 HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa (Crown Prince Bahrain) to open the King Hamad Hall 22 May 13 Col Humaid Al Shamsi, Col Trg, Zayed Mil College, UAE 12 Jun 13 Lt Gen David G Perkins, Commanding General US Army Combined Arms Centre (Kermit Roosevelt Lecture) 3 Jul 13 Mr Jon Thompson, Permanent Under Secretary of State, MoD 24 Sep 13 Brig Gen Martin Mumbi, Zambian DA in London 25/26 Oct Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (Burmese Opposition 13 Leader) 31 Oct 13 HE President Hamid Karzai GCMG (President of Afghanistan) 22 Nov 13 Mohammed Hamayon Fawzi, Afghanistan Asst Min of Def (Strategy & Policy) 4 Dec 13 Maj Gen Yilmaz Uyar and delegation, Comdt Turkish Mil Academy 11 Dec 13 Brig Hamad Al Nuaimi, Comdt Ahmed bin Mohammed Mil College, Qatar, to present the State of Qatar Overseas Award

The Chinese PLA delegation with the Comdt, 11 Jun 12

The Comdt of the Afghan National Security University, Maj Gen Taj Mohammad Jahid, at the Grand Entrance of Old College, 20 Jul 11

The delegation from the UAE Military College with the Assistant Comdt, 21 Mar 12

Maj Gen Abdulaziz Al Khalid, Commandant King Abdulaziz Military Academy, Saudi Arabia, at RMAS, 13 Dec 11

The Prime Minister of Tonga (in raincoat) on the steps of old College, 22 Feb 12

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The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst – The Sovereign’s Parade Friday 12 April 2013 – Commissioning Course 122 General Sir Nick Parker KCB CBE ADC Gen represented Her Majesty the Queen at the Sovereign’s Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on Friday 12 April 2013

The Royal Dragoon Guards BG Moag COT Ritchie

Commissioning Course 122 Prize Winners The Sword of Honour, awarded to the Officer Cadet considered by the Commandant to be the best of the course, was presented to Senior Under Officer (SUO) Gethin Davies who is to commission into The Royal Welsh.

The Queen’s Royal Hussars (The Queen’s Own and Royal Irish) DJ Graham AE North

The Overseas Sword, awarded to the Overseas Cadet considered by the Commandant to be the best of the intake, was presented to Cadet Sergeant (Cdt Sgt) Anwar Ross, from the USA. Before coming to the RMAS Cdt Sgt Ross was commissioned into the US Army Infantry.

The Queen’s Medal, awarded to the Officer Cadet who gains the highest score in military, practical and academic subjects, was presented to Junior Under Officer (JUO) Thomas Marshall.

JUO Marshall is to be commissioned into The Rifles.

The following have been granted commissions in the Regiments and Corps shown, having successfully completed Commissioning Course No 122: The Life Guards CE Lewis The Queen’s Dragoon Guards MAJ Mckechnie FCL Woolland The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) JC Dawson RJ Nurick

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TD Sanders

9th / 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) CA Randle The King’s Royal Hussars DJ Gregory The Light Dragoons E.F.A. Holford-walker Royal Tank Regiment WN Chisholm P Last Royal Regiment of Artillery TJ Ayles SM Bonella D.W.R. Brame IWS Chanter TE Daw CJ Eldridge GA Foster R Goffin JA Hook BW Ingram MG Ireland HTJ Irving

HR Williams

SE Kennedy CE Lower ARK Nickless SC Parsons CC Wilson JM Wood ST Woosey N Yuldasheva

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Corps of Royal Engineers CM Adams ME Ankers JW Bass RH Cork F Cross SC Evans LJ Garfield E.J.D. Goodall MJ Harris AK Higgins Royal Corps of Signals DK Baxter JT Blee ZM Brookmier CD Gammond AT Jackson HV Jones A Kane PS Limbrick

CD Leafe M Mcleod DR Mitchell A Motion LD Parker SE Piper AJ Rickard JM Smales SJ Thorp

MV Mahoney OR Miller JR Murphy AD Orme KD O’sullivan HC Painter WJ Thorogood JM Woulfe

Grenadier Guards CLJ Wright Coldstream Guards HCC Bucknall JC Bucknall

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G.O.L. Cazalet

Scots Guards TD Montgomery

OJB Tillard

The Royal Regiment of Scotland NJT Coles GJD Ross AP Guzowski CJP Wilkinson IM Hunter JA Young The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires) TE Scriven Baker The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment GPR Cleave A.Z. Millard The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers J Cox The Royal Anglian Regiment CL Miles MN Tovey The Yorkshire Regiment MA Smith The Mercian Regiment OJAC Elliott MJ Ellison CJA Parry SG Randall

DJH Stewart

The Royal Welsh GG Davies

WR Jones

The Royal Irish Regiment JC Gamble RJA Mcculloch

MD Riley PT Sawford

The Parachute Regiment AMS Nunkoosing TGR Whittle

AJ Young

The Royal Gurkha Rifles CR Jones

JA Millar

The Rifles TDA Bossom JE Cantrell ATM Crichton

AR Jenkinson TW Marshall TJ Quayle

Army Air Corps NWG Birrell E. Du Plessis EM Grundy LRDG Hunt JP Lindley

JS Miller RA Pannell AJW Pollard JJ Rawsthorne

Royal Logistics Corps M.L. Abbott F.C.S. Beveridge F.F. Blair J.A. Boyce G Darrington T.P. Davies SJ Durrant D.S. Forsyth H.S. Gates A.J. Gutzu AR Hardaker N.A. Hemsworth

S.S. Kennedy F. Mcleod F.J.G. Mitchell S. Patterson C.G. Pfleiderer MR Reeves JWJA Reynolds HP Stearne JC Stevenson TWF Stevenson-coulshaw M.G.G. Williams T.F. Winskill

Royal Army Medical Corps MJ Croton JPA Culley AJ Dench

TDL Harcourt EJ Mitchell RJW Winstanley

The following Overseas Cadets also passed out with a view to being commissioned into the Armed Forces of their countries: Anamullah Baryalay Afghanistan Hashmat Azimi Afghanistan Shaikh Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Bahrain HE Shaikh Nader bin Mohammed bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Bahrain Jasmin Colic Bosnia Mohammad Asri bin Haji Awang Ahmad Brunei Majdi Mohammed Elyyan Al Khalayleh Jordan Mentor Ibrahimi Kosovo Joseph Samir Charbel Lebanon Joseph Tabone Malta Uddip Singh Gurung Nepal Abdalla Abdulrahman Khalil Ali Sudan Muhammad Muddassir Aijaz Bari Pakistan Muhammad Mohkum bin Shabbir Pakistan Noppadol Udomprasertkul Thailand Marwan Abdullah Al Raeesi UAE Shaima Mohammed Khamis Al Kaabi UAE Anwar Shane Ross USA

Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers J.W. Arrowsmith G.W. Main B.A.L. Daniels A.J. Shand M.E. Edwards AT Starr T.W. Jackson C.C. White Adjutant General’s Corps(Staff & Personnel Support) SP Adcock AJ Haworth EM Exley MI Stewart DHF Fewster Adjutant General’s Corps(Royal Military Police) PJ Crossland J Thomas M Keenan LN Thompson M.S. Nayagam MA Worthington Adjutant General’s Corps(Educational & Training Services) TA Collier ST Manuel MA Johnston VL Maymon Intelligence Corps RFJ Campbell R.D. O’sullivan

JG Studwell

The Gibraltar Regiment JE Roberts

FOR THE RECORD

105

106

FOR THE RECORD

The Royal Academy Sandhurst – The Sovereign’s Parade Friday 9 August 2013 – Commissioning Course 123 Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex GCVO DStJ, representing Her Majesty The Queen, was the Reviewing Officer at the 172nd Sovereign’s Parade on Friday 9 August 2013.

H See WM Smith PJ Stanley

Commissioning Course 123 prize winners

Royal Engineers CJM Aitken RC Breslin AS Broadfoot C Butler TJ Doyle MJ Forrester MA Heather CES Jarvis AJM Marshall JJ Mistry

AH Osment R Parry AD Paske CE Peters AJ Posner AJ Rushton CJ Swanwick RS Willis HJ Woods JWK Wray

Royal Signals MJ Cantell CC Dorling LA Hall JP Hodder SJ Hodgson MR Lumby MS Mccabe

SJ Miskelly PE Moffat LA Parsons DC Tarbox PF Walker JAG Willden LE Wood

The Sword of Honour, awarded to the Officer Cadet considered by the Commandant to be the best of the course, was presented to Senior Under Officer Peter Gornall. He is commissioning into the King’s Royal Hussars.

The Overseas Sword, awarded to the Overseas Cadet considered by the Commandant to be the best of the intake, was presented to Cadet Corporal Asad Mushtaq from Pakistan. He is to join the 57th Cavalry, his father’s regiment.

The Queen’s Medal, awarded to the Officer Cadet who gains the highest score in military, practical and academic subjects, was presented to Officer Cadet James Ramsay.

The following have been granted commissions in the Regiments and Corps shown, having successfully completed Commissioning Course No 123: Life Guards JE Pile Blues and Royals JRG Faire

Grenadier Guards THR Hargreaves NZB Huda

Queen’s Dragoon Guards RW Mckellar The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) WPH Brazier RMSJ Sheehan Royal Dragoon Guards AKN Jack Queen’s Royal Hussars BJ Fyfe 9th/12th Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) JP Cowie King’s Royal Hussars OV Churton W Cowell De Gruchy

PA Gornall

The Light Dragoons H.J.R. Geaves

Coldstream Guards JE Brown

WE Stinton

Irish Guards JJG Ronan

DJC Stodel

Welsh Guards JWB Webster The Royal Regiment of Scotland CJS Dickie JII Ramsay JPO Forbes MAR Roberts J.P.N. Graham MC Rupasinha NR Holmes A Whelan ADS Pearson The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment DJ Heads TC Wilson The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment LS Farrell-southin JM Sanders The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers ST Booth PW Roberts GS Fairhall GE Sweetman

The Queen’s Royal Lancers AR Humphreys

The Royal Anglian Regiment SAC Forse LJ Sheaf JH Gordon

Royal Tank Regiment SJ Robertson RTR Royal Artillery CTA Ashford BJR Budd R Clark OJ Davies J Duncan AJ Glynn WT Hill

S Thompson JF Walley

BJ Hughes RL Knowles R May EJ Mcguinness TPJ Nolan BJ Rogers TM Sayer

The Yorkshire Regiment IR Hodgson The Mercian Regiment JDN Cartwright RSM Jones JJ Russell

FOR THE RECORD

107

AOMY Sabha TG Saddleton CD Stephenson

N.E.T.T. Travers DAW Wilson JM Wright

Royal Army Medical Corps CJ Lee L.J. Scrafton

M Troeller RJW Winstanley

Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers J.D. Aubrey J. Keenan O.J. Cartwright JS Lawson CJ Cornes S.K.L. Leakey JK English S.P. Maloney S.J. Granqvist-ahmed SG Mchutchon TAA Gunn A.J. Ritchie AK Harrison-wolff JC Turner KL Jasper AEL West CD Jones Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff & Personnel Sp) G Coulson JM Heayes RJ Cryer VM Hurst PL Foster WO Watson DPO Hart Adjutant General’s Corps (Royal Military Police) JW Powell J Thomas AGC JF Stribling AGC Adjutant General’s Corps (Educational and Training Services) JA Fergusson Fripp CD Malekpour MJ Heavyside MC Rampton MA Johnston NL Raw The Royal Welsh JJ Edis

TC Williams

The Parachute Regiment BL Balch CR Braithwaite HOC Mackarness JPG Metcalfe

HW Mitchell CR Poppleton LJJ Shaw PD Tibble

The Royal Gurkha Rifles WJD Patrick The Rifles CT Ashurst FW Coltart DR Coombs TG Joyce RAA Makepeace

NS Massey MJ O’connor TS Reynolds DJF Watson HJ Wootton

Army Air Corps JP Bull JAM Duffus EL Gorwood RM Haves LA Hurley

JT Johnston JA Kiernan RJW Levien MD Marshall SM Taggart

Royal Logistics Corps M. Cassily A Cole MJP Coleman R.E. Cooke TG Costin NJ Covington J Da Costa Nathanielsz WJFK Douglas J.D. Doyle-Tanner

R.M. Dunbar J.J. Guest AR Hardaker AD Hobson RS Jenner Z Lester D.J. Mccurdy R. Mcgarrity FO O’connell

108

FOR THE RECORD

Intelligence Corps OT Churton EP French JMW Irving MM Richardson

FM Tevlin DG Ward BA Wilcox

The following Overseas Cadets also passed out with a view to being commissioned into the Armed Forces of their countries: Amanullah Joya Afghanistan Mohammad Yasin Abbasy Afghanistan Sh Hamad Khalifa Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Khalifa Bahrain Hasan Mahbub Morshed Bangladesh Sun Haoyuan China Wang Tuo China Dassney Vaneck Kangoungou Ntouga Gabon Adonteng Isaac Kwaku Abuaku Ghana Mikael Dimas Yanuar Indonesia Jihad Duair Haichal Al-Khazaali Iraq Saif Majid Abed Al-Jumaili Iraq Tameka Uhandi Stewart Jamaica Ali Fakhri Ali Al-Omari Jordan Shitanda Terence Soita Kenya Manushaqe Nura Kosovo Mimoza Budeci Kosovo Ahmad Farhan bin Hassan Malaysia Saroj Koirala Nepal Ahmed Mohammed Abdallah Al Masrouri Oman Hamed bin Mohammed Al Wahaibi Oman Khalid Said Mohamed Al-Braiki Oman Asad Mushtaq Pakistan Abdulla bin Abdulaziz Al Attiyah Qatar Talal bin Saqr Al Mansouri Qatar Robert Majier Manyang Kuir South Sudan Ali Saleh Ahmed Al Ali UAE James Oglesby USA Ahmed Abdullah Nasser Ahmed Yemen

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst – The Sovereign’s Parade Friday 13 December 2013 – Commissioning Course 131 Field Marshal The Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank GCB LVO OBE, representing Her Majesty The Queen, was the Reviewing Officer at the 173rd Sovereign’s Parade on Friday 13 December 2013.

Speech given by Field Marshal The Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank GCB LVO OBE, representing Her Majesty The Queen, at the 173rd Sovereign’s Parade on Friday 13 December 2013.

“Commandant, Officer Cadets the Staff of The Royal Military Academy, Distinguished Guests, Parents and Friends.

I am very honoured to have been invited by Her Majesty to represent her on her Sovereign’s Parade.

The standards you have demonstrated today are of the highest order and reflect great credit to both you and your instructors.

All of us who have been cadets here know, all too well, that to achieve such standards requires a great deal of hard work. High standards don’t just happen and I congratulate all of you on an outstanding parade.

Officers have been trained here at Sandhurst since the beginning of the 19th Century, before the Battle of Waterloo, and you are joining a long and distinguished line of Officers who have led the Army in good times and hard times, in both war and peace. Life at Sandhurst is demanding and challenging and it needs to be if it is to prepare you to lead your soldiers who remain our greatest asset, especially in times which are difficult, frightening and dangerous. The Army is about people, mostly young, and although equipment and technology are obviously key, it is the servicemen and servicewomen who will be your most important responsibility.

There are those who feel that after our withdrawal from Afghanistan the Army will have little to do operationally. Nobody who has seriously studied our country’s history and who looks at today’s volatile world would believe that. It is unlikely that peaceful solutions will always be attainable for the world’s problems and you will find yourselves deployed on missions which vary from conflict to peacekeeping and to humanitarian tasks. So don’t worry that in some ways tomorrow’s Army will be very different with fewer challenges. You will still deploy overseas, you will still be confronted with the unexpected and should enjoy the variety and fun of Army life.

I hope those of you who are shortly to leave Sandhurst will have fond memories of your time here and will have made friends, as I did, who will remain with you for the rest of your life.

I would like to pay tribute to those of you from overseas who have been cadets here and contributed to Sandhurst in so many ways.

We have representatives from 29 different countries on parade.

Sandhurst benefits greatly from your presence here and the way you adapt to life here is much admired.

The profession of arms is a noble one and I congratulate you all, but particularly those of you who are passing out today.”

Some of you, in a short time, will be commanding soldiers, perhaps on operations, and, like I was, somewhat apprehensive but you should remember that here at the Royal Military Academy you learned how to lead and are well equipped to command, and new responsibilities should hold more for you.

FOR THE RECORD

109

The Queen’s Royal Hussars (The Queen’s Own and Royal Irish) W. Kemp EH Wood 9th / 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) WPM Harnett The King’s Royal Hussars S Pryor The Light Dragoons JR Gray

GWSJ Tibbitts

The Queen’s Royal Lancers JRG Parker

S White

Royal Tank Regiment KB Mcilroy Royal Regiment of Artillery OG Cox JA Dimmer JG Goring WD Hawkes-rossi AR Mason JJA Millar

Commissioning Course 131 prize winners The Sword of Honour, awarded to the Officer Cadet considered by the Commandant to be the best of the course, was presented to Senior Under Officer Matthew Barnes. He is to be commissioned into The Parachute Regiment.

The Overseas Sword, awarded to the Overseas Cadet considered by the Commandant to be the best of the intake, was presented to a Junior Under Officer from Afghanistan.

The Queen’s Medal, awarded to the Officer Cadet who gains the highest score in military, practical and academic subjects, was presented to OCdt Richard Whittle.

The Overseas Award for the overseas Officer Cadet with the highest score in military, academic and practical tests during the course, went to OCdt Noel Shekoduza Moses from Nigeria.

The following have been granted commissions in the Regiments and Corps shown, having successfully completed Commissioning Course No 131: Life Guards KRE McAllister ST Penrose Blues and Royals RB Hunt-Grubbe ETG Nicole

AC Soames

The Queen’s Dragoon Guards HWL Barcroft The Royal Dragoon Guards TJ Anderson 110

FOR THE RECORD

AG Kerr

Corps of Royal Engineers AJS Bartt DJ Bergman AH Bradford S Cannons W.L. Clegg JN Conlon JC Curry MCT Dennehy MJ Finnie

J Moxley JD Moyle TJ Mury C Potts ES Smith PM Wright LT Fountain CA Haley EO Holman S Longstone GE Pugh ECC Ruddy MJ West AR Willis

Royal Corps of Signals D Ciborowski JR Gillespie LS Kuizinas KA Macaulay JS Mason

MR Patterson CA Robins JA Rose CP Sumner TJ Tippett

Grenadier Guards TR Parkes BRN Tracey

KMD Varmuza OM Wace

Coldstream Guards HR Barttelot

HRM Dutton

Scots Guards J Curtis AEJA Forrest

CE Pawson SJS Wesley

Irish Guards RGF Grant IG

MCW Hamilton IG

Welsh Guards EJ Clarke WG

JR Farmelo WG

The Royal Regiment of Scotland CM Bickerton KIS Robinson AJN Christie MA Sarfraz MP Payne The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires) WC Happel D.A. Lauder SE Hare RJ Smith SBJ Jefferies

FOR THE RECORD

111

112

FOR THE RECORD

The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment LEJ Ainsworth DR Mckane GO Clark AHJ Webb

Royal Army Medical Corps TP Casey GF Froehlich

The Royal Anglian Regiment MJ Brunsdon TM Shea JSJ Rowden

Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers Y. Angbo W.J. Lowe G.R. Barnes C.M. Mumby R.G. Ciesielczuk D. Thompson D.C.R. Douglas

The Yorkshire Regiment JS Borley NC Harrison

MI Saunders

The Mercian Regiment DD Brown CJM Lloyd

MB Sones

The Parachute Regiment C Austin M Barnes T Clark JL Courtney

SJ Lee MAJ Marshall RS Whittle

The Royal Gurkha Rifles CR Boote RA Cassini

W.A. Louw

The Rifles TI Jamison JM Leccia JW Miers

RMG Prince SJG Reed

Royal Logistics Corps JRN Binskin-barnes DM Bleakman ME Boardley MR Davies TE Day RJ Draper TM Furlong AJ Head AKL Nicholls

Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff & Personnel Support) D.W.E. Coombes J.A. Upton ED Crunkhorn D.M. Walker JHP Rasbash Adjutant General’s Corps (Royal Military Police) JA Clifford C.W.A. Crawford DA Coombs AW Kerr

The Royal Irish Regiment RJ Smee

Army Air Corps SL Cray AJ Doherty CJ-A Fuke

JP Humphrey RA McFarlane

Adjutant General’s Corps (Educational & Training Services) VJK Condron AG Holderness CCA Hayton MLG Howe Intelligence Corps DW Eadon-rayner AI Ferrier ZK Hillier MK Proctor

R.L.G. Rosen B Simmons CD Williams

Corps of Army Music BM Wheeler CA MUS

DE Gellender JW Harrop LDA Wallace M.F.R. Nutine A.J. Richardson JL Salmon OJ Todd GR Turner K.G. Whitby B.M. Williams J Wills

The following Overseas Cadets also passed out with a view to being commissioned into the Armed Forces of their countries: Hashmatullah Khesrow Afghanistan Sevak Virabyan Armenia Mohammed Hatem Kareem Al Ta’ayi Iraq Sanzhar Abishev Kazakhstan Leah Wairimu Nyagah Kenya Othman Adnan Abdullah Al Attar Kuwait Nidal Naji Shafiq Hassanieh Lebanon Noel Shekoduza Moses Nigeria Ayoub Mansoor Aziz Al Rahbi Oman RAO Sultan Khasib Nasser Al Mayahi Oman RAO Sultan Saif Hamed Al Jahwari Oman RAO Bryan Tan Say Chye Singapore Koh Yi Thong Singapore Makuei Paul Mawut Makuei South Sudan Abdulla Sultan Mohamed Al Otaiba UAE Ahmed Rashed Ali Ghanem Al-Ali UAE Abigail Renee Lovlien USA

FOR THE RECORD

113

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LEOC 2013 Rank Capt Maj Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt

Name Bagley J A Barclay R M Brown M L Bush D S Carmichael S J Catchpole S R Davies R Doyle A Evans P J Frost E E Furmidge-Owen A Hall A M Hall D J Herbert G P John S Lee L Lowes A E McMullan M R Mullaney P O’Kane J P Rai B Rai D Rider J M Ridgway J R Rowlandson C T Scoullar M J Stokoe G A Styles Travis Whitehead Wiggins Wright Yates Berry B Blakey R Boardman G Christoforou-Hazelwood J Cronin J P D Farrant K B Green M Gurung G Harrison J Jobling M D Jones P A Levick P J Macpherson S A Matthews D S McGlynn S Newman A W Phagami M Powell J D Proctor D Riasat N Robertson A I Rodway A Rowan G M

Cap Badge RLC RE AGC (ETS) AAC PARA RIFLES RA RAMC INT CORPS CAMUS SASC AGV (SPS) RAMC RLC REME REME RA R SIGNALS AGC (RMP) RE RGR RGR RA RLC LANCS RA R SIGNALS 9/12L MERCIAN 9/12L RE PARA RE R SIGNALS RAC, 1 RTR RRF SASC R IRISH RE RAMC QGE AGC (RMP) RE COLDM GDS R SIGNALS RE RLC REME RAC, QRL RGR RA REME AGC (SPS) RLC R SIGNALS SCOTS

Unit 16 Sqn, 7 Regt.

75 Engr Regt LDO 41 AEC Group 1 Regt AAC SRR SRR 5 Regt RA HQ Sp Comd JSSU DIGBY – OPS PARA BAND Frimley CTC SCOTS DG 1 MED REGT 29 Regt 2 CS Bn REME 2 CS Bn REME 39 Regt RA HQ R SIGNALS RHQ 3 RMP 23 Engr Regt 2 RGR RMAS Gurkha Coy 16 Regt RA NI Ops 2 LANCS 19 Regt RA LF CAP INFO 9/12L 3 MERCIAN 9/12L RSME 2 Para 26 Engr Regt 18(UKSF) Sig Regt 1 RTR A SQN LWC BG 2 RRF SWS 1 R IRISH 1 RE 4 Med Regt 36 Engr Regt 158 Pro Coy RMP 1 RE 1 COLDM GDS 22 Sig Regt 32 Engr Regt 1 Med Regt 4 CS Bn REME QRL RHQ RMAS 7 Para 101 FS Bn REME 9 Regt AAC 4/12 LSR 16 Sig Regt ASBM and HD

Rank Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt

Name Scott D A Scott M Thompson K Wallis P Weedall L A Williams D E Birrell M R Bourne G E Broom A N Brown S Collins-Lindsay S R Cotton M B Evans J E Fish I T Gurung M Heslop M R Heynes R D Hosken J Jenkinson P A Kendall J S Kidd R G Lawer J Mulvihull C J Park D W M Potts M E Rai M Robinson S Scaife D A Stewart D B Swift C J Tickle S J Walker S R G Acklam M E Boughen D Bullivant G P Burnett R Byrne T J Carvell-Shepherd R M J Chester P Collins G M Featherstone M S R Foster A Hamilton L I MBE Harvard J S Hearne K A Jeynes P C Jones N V Kelly B Lee S J McLaughlin S Moger G J Owens M D Plant S J Sandle A J Saunders D R Smith C

Cap Badge RLC YORKS INT CORPS AGC (ETS) RLC RAPTC AGC (SPS) RAMC RE AGC (ETS) RLC REME RE PARA RGR RTR R SIGNALS REME R SIGNALS RAMC RAMC R SIGNALS PARA SCOTS INT CORPS RGR RE R SIGNALS RLC RLC LANCS RE RSIGNALS RSIGNALS RAMC RA SASC AAC R SIGNALS RA INT CORPS REME RE RA PARA INT CORPS RLC PWRR RE AGC (SPS) RAMC RE AGC (SPS) RLC AGC (RMP) AGC (ETS)

Unit 4 LSR 2 YORKS DSI 42 AEC 3 UK Div Sig Regt CI HQ ASPT 1 R WELSH 2 Med Regt 39 Engr Regt 77 AEC Gp TTO, HQ DFSS 7 Air Asslt Bn 23 Engr Regt 22 SAS RMAS 2 RTR 1 UK Div SEAE, 11 Trg Bn 21 Sig Regt RCDM 1 Med Regt 14 Sig Regt (EW) SRR IBS HQ Coy 4 MI Bn ITC DISC DES/ISS 10 QOGLR 132 Avn Sp Sqn 1 YORKS RSME 18 (UKSF) Sig Regt 22 Sig Regt AMD EHT 19 Regt RA IBS RAF Shrewsbury CF(H) 14 Sig Regt (EW) 12 Regt RA ARRC SEAE, REME AS 63 WksRE 19 Regt RA 22 SAS DISC-HQ-RSM 13 AASp Regt RLC 2 R ANGLIAN 3 CDOX 23 Pioneer Regt RLC 2 Med Regt 63 WksRE 16 SR 2 Med Regt OC 33 Section Catterick 10 AEC Group

FOR THE RECORD

115

Rank Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt 116

Name Smith G Smith J M Taylor G J Vickers C J Yendall M C D Anderson P Beacom M Blaylock J Clement J Crawford D Dale P Ellis M Gronn J Gurung R Gurung S Hazel C Hill G Jakeway S Joyce D Lindley N Main K Morgan A Morrell D Palmer G Parker S Peebles A Pun N Richards A Roberts C Shears C Simmons J Strutt M Truscott S Walker J Wright J Barker S Barron A Batchelor G Birchnall S Cox M MBE Doree T Dunne J Edmondson P Francis R Fuller W Gray P Hayles D Hill M Jones S Jordan P Leeds R MC Matthews B McClelland N McCluskey T Moyle A Oliver S Pote C Pun V Rigg P Robinson S FOR THE RECORD

Cap Badge REME RA RLC AAC RSIGNALS RLC REME RE AAC RA RADC RLC R SIGNALS QGS QGS REME RE INT CORPS PARA RIFLES R ANGLIAN RAMC COLDM GDS SASC RLC RE R SIGNALS RA RAPTC RA RA RIFLES RAMC RE AGC (RMP) R SIGNALS SCOTS PARA RLC PARA RAPTC QDG RE RLC RLC AGC (SPS) AAC R SIGNALS RAVC REME PARA R SIGNALS SG REME SASC INT CORPS RAMC QGS RE RE

Unit SEME, 10 TRG BN 39 Regt RA 23 Pioneer Regt RLC 3 Regt AAC 16 Sig Regt Air Ops Gp 1 CS Bn REME 21 Engr Regt 1 Regt AAC 5 Regt RA 22 FH 16 Med Regt 3 (UK) Div Sig Regt 30 Sig Regt 22 Sig Regt 28 Engr Regt Wksp 521 STRE HQ BFC 2 PARA 1 ITB, ITC 1 R ANGLIAN 3 Med Regt 1 IG IBS 11 EOD Regt (721 sqn) 28 Engr Regt ITC 5 Regt RA ATR Winchester 19 Regt RA 4 Regt RA 5 RIFLES 2 Med Bde 21 Engr Regt HQ SIB Regt 22 Sig Regt 2 YORKS 22 SAS 25 Regt RLC 22 SAS ASPT QDG 62 WksRE 24 Regt RLC 27 Regt RLC 1 Regt AAC 5 Regt AAC 2 Sig Regt 1 MWD 1 CS Bn REME 22 SAS 14 Sig Regt (EW) 1 SG 101 FS Bn REM IBS 2 MI Bn 3 Med Regt 2 Sig Regt 33 Engr Regt (EOD) 62 WksRE

Rank Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt

Name Semple S Smith D Stanford B Taylor P Tibbetts G White G Barlow Blackshaw Campbell Case Crago Dunwell Fatchett Grewal Haughton Jones Jones Kretzschmar Longmate Marsden McLeish Murphy Owens Patrick Pollard Quigley Ross Secker Stott Tomlinson Waring Wilkinson Yates Barlow Blackshaw Campbell Case Crago Dunwell Fatchett Grewal Haughton Jones Jones Kretzschmar Longmate Marsden McLeish Murphy Owens Patrick Pollard Quigley Ross Secker Stott Tomlinson Waring Wilkinson Yates

Cap Badge RAPTC AAC AGC (RMP) KRH R SIGNALS SG RLC MERCIAN RA RIFLES RE RLC R SIGNALS REME GREN GDS AGC (ETS) RA R WELSH RIFLES RLC R SIGNALS RE HCR R SIGNALS WG RAVC RE RLC LD AGC (SPS) MERCIAN RA RAPTC RLC MERCIAN RA RIFLES RE RLC R SIGNALS REME GREN GDS AGC (ETS) RA R WELSH RIFLES RLC R SIGNALS RE HCR R SIGNALS WG RAVC RE RLC LD AGC (SPS) MERCIAN RA RAPTC

Unit HQ 51 (Scottish) Bde 25 Flt AAC (Kenya) 72 Sec SIB KRH 38 (Irish) Bde 1 SG 17 P&M Regt RLC 1 MERC 26 Regt RA 1 RIFLES RSME 7 Regt RLC BFSAI 11 Trg Bn REME 1 GG 20 AEC Gp 4 Regt RA 1 R WELSH 4 RIFLES 3 Med Regt 3 (UK) Div HQ and Sig Sqn 64 Wks RE HCR 18 Sig Regt 1 IG 102 MWD Regt 66 Wks RE 20 Sqn LD 2 RRF 1 MERC 12 Regt RA HQ 42 (NW) Bde 17 P&M Regt RLC 1 MERC 26 Regt RA 1 RIFLES RSME 7 Regt RLC BFSAI 11 Trg Bn REME 1 GG 20 AEC Gp 4 Regt RA 1 R WELSH 4 RIFLES 3 Med Regt 3 (UK) Div HQ and Sig Sqn 64 Wks RE HCR 18 Sig Regt 1 IG 102 MWD Regt 66 Wks RE 20 Sqn LD 2 RRF 1 MERC 12 Regt RA HQ 42 (NW) Bde

TA OFFICERS ATTENDING LEOC Rank Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt

Name ALLEYNE AMARTEIFIO ANDERSON CAIRNS CHAMBERS CONEY CONROY FAIRWEATHER FORBES JONES KILL MacISAAC MALLON McQUILLAN NORGROVE O’HARA OXLEY RICHARDSON SMALLEY TUCKETT WYATT KNIGHT LAMB LOADER McNAB NAYLOR PRATT MBE SCAMMELL SCOTT SHARMAN-DAVIES

Regt/Corps R Sigs (V) Gen List (SF) RE (V) RAMC (V) RLC (V) RA (V) RLC (V) Gen List (SF) Infantry (V) Infantry (V) RLC (V) Gen List (SF) Infantry (V) RA (V) RE (V) Gen List (SF) Int Corps (V) RAMC (V) RE (V) RE (V) R Sigs (V) RWxY LANCS RA AGC (SPS) R SIGNALS Infantry (V) RLC (V) RAMC (V) AGC ETS

Unit 38 Sig Regt (V) 21 SAS (V) R Mon RE (M) Jersey Fd Sqn 204 Fd Hosp (V) 152 (Ulster) Tpt Regt (V) 106 Regt RA (V) 158 Tpt Regt RLC (V) 21 SAS (V) 4 Mercian (V) 4 Mercian (V) 498 LSU (Lab Sp) (V) 23 SAS (V) 2 Royal Irish (V) 106 Regt RA (V) R Mon RE (M) 23 SAS (V) 5 MI Bn (V) 306 Fd Hosp (V) R Mon RE (V) 225 Fd Sqn R Mon RE (M) 108 Fd Sqn 38 Sig Regt (V) RWxY 4 LANCS 101 Regt RA 5 RRF 71 Sig Regt Wales UOTC 155 (Wx) Tpt Regt RLC 205 Fd Hosp (V) CVQH AGC ETS Pool

Cse 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 131(V) 13/9(V) 13/9(V) 13/9(V) 13/9(V) 13/9(V) 13/9(V) 13/9(V) 13/9(V) 13/9(V)

TAPQO 131 11 Jan – 26 Jan 13 Rank Capt Capt Maj Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Maj Capt

Name Arthur Brookes Bull Crockett Eckersley Ekpa Fisher Martin Mayne McLoughlin McKay Morgan Murray

Initials RMA R J A TM J A K J TM NP P D

Unit 205 Fd Hosp(V) 207(M) Fd Hosp CVHQ AMS HQ 2nd Med Bde 208 Fd Hosp(V) 254 Med Regt A Det 256(CofL) Fd Hsp 201(N) Fd Hosp (V) 204 Fd Hosp(V) 243 Provost Company 253(NI) Med Regt (V) 212 Fd Hosp 205 Fd Hosp(V)

Rank Lt 2Lt Capt Lt Capt Capt Capt Capt 2Lt Capt 2Lt Maj Capt

Name Ohringer Pallett Patching Peart Poussa Reeves Riddell Saunderson-Browne Thompson Vint Weir Wilson Yourston

Initials G S.L S.L JA M K RNJ LA D H S.L PDJ DJ

Unit 202 Fd Hosp (V) CVHQ AMS 243 Fd Hosp (V) 207(M) Fd Hosp CVHQ Royal Signals 212 Fd Hosp 243 Fd Hosp 204 Fd Hosp(V) 201 Fd Hosp 203 Fd Hosp (V) 205 Fd Hosp 253(NI) Med Regt (V) 204 Fd Hosp(V)

FOR THE RECORD

117

PQO 131 30 Jan – 11 Apr 13 Rank

Name

Initials

Unit

Lt

AL Bufalah

SA

BDFMS (Bahrain Defence Force Medical Services) RAMC

Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Lt Capt Lt

AlMusalam Al Shafei AL Shaiji Barr Blessley Bond Bujelaia Fox-Leonard Hutchinson

NK AE HD SJ CJ AJ NA M A

BDFMS BDFMS BDFMS RAVC ALS ALS BDFMS ALS QARANC

Rank Lt Maj Lt Rev Rev Lt Lt Capt Capt Rev

Name Hyslop Isherwood Lawson McLay Neiland Patel Phillips Precious Walker Wilson

Initials AC SC EJ N P PJ LA D HNJ A

Unit RAVC RAMC RAMC RAChD RAChD RAMC RAMC QARANC RADC RAChD

Initials P I D J R CK LE D M DM D J NDC T A A D

Unit CVHQ R Sigs 256 Fd Hosp 2 Med Bde CVHQ 243 Fd Hosp 153 Med Sqn 203 Fd Hosp 203(Welsh) Fd Hosp (V) 201 Fd Hosp 256 (CoL) Fd Hosp 203(Welsh) Fd Hosp (V) CHAPS(A) HQ LF 205 Fd Hosp (V) 256 Fd Hosp CVHQ R Sigs 254 Med Regt 256 Fd Hosp 2 Med Bde CVHQ

J

158 (R Ang) Tpt Regt

TAPQO 132 21 – 06 Jul 13 Rank Capt Lt Capt Capt Lt Capt Capt Maj Capt 2Lt Capt Maj Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt

118

Name Canty Chandi Clements Cooke D’Abreu-Hayling Duff Durrant Eardley Haden Holmes Jones Knights Krause Lerman Lewis Main McGowan McQueen Meek

FOR THE RECORD

Initials MJ P M S SA L H K M L L RM J DA M A I S DJ

Unit 205 Fd Hosp (V) 222 Med Sqn 202 Fd Hosp CVHQ 212 Fd Hosp CVHQ R Sigs 207(M) Fd Hosp 202 Fd Hosp 256 Fd Hosp 256 Fd Hosp CVHQ R Sigs 203(Welsh) Fd Hosp (V) 2 Med Bde CVHQ 205 Fd Hosp (V) 203(Welsh) Fd Hosp (V) 3 MI CVHQ R Sigs 205 Fd Hosp (V) 144 Para Med Sqn

Rank Capt Capt Maj Capt Capt Capt Lt Capt 2Lt Capt Capt Lt Lt Capt Lt Maj Capt

Name Mitchell Murdoch Pall Patel Pottie Poh Pritchard Pye Rahman Rees Reilly Ross Shah Shipp Sunder Turner Wilcox

Capt Wylie (Rev’d)

Reserve Commissions 2013 Name Adamson Anderson Andrews Arnold Atkins Aynsley-Smyth Bagshaw Bailey Baker Baldwin Beek Bennett Biety-Eggert Bisset Black Borland Boyd Bramwell Brett Burns Cann Chandler Charlesworth Christopher Clarke Cogdell-Brooke Cognolato Connors Cottrill Cranmer Cruttenden Daley Dower Duncan Edge Farrow Forsyth Gladwin Goodhind Hankinson Hardman Harris Haydon Heawood Henriques Hill Hoddinott Howard Howell Hucks Hutcheson King Kite Kittler Knight

Unit LUOTC Aberdeen OTC 3 R Welsh Birmingham OTC NW OTR (Manchester) East Midlands Northumbria OTC NWOTR (Manchester) East Midlands OTC Northumbria OTC Exeter UOTC LUOTC YOTR – Leeds 7 SCOTS London OTC Glasgow OTC Glasgow OTC 3 MI YOTR – Leeds NUOTC 580 Tpt Sqn RLC NW OTR (Liverpool) NUOTC 155 Tpt Reg RLC EMUOTC Bristol OTR Queens OTC RWxY (Exeter OTC) East Midlands OTC (4 Yorks) Yorkshire OTR (Sheffield) Yorkshire OTR (Leeds) Glasgow OTC YOTR – Leeds Tayforth OTC HAC Birmingham OTC East Midlands OTC OTC Edinburgh 3 MI YOTR – Sheffield Wales OTC Birmingham OTC (RY) NUOTC East Midlands OTC (5 MI) Oxford OTC Tayforth OTC 4 LANCS (NWOTR) Tayforth OTC Birmingham OTC (4 Mercian) Queens OTC NUOTC MOD Kingstanding London OTC Yorkshire OTR (Leeds) Wales OTC

Name Landells Lane Lawson Learmond Lelliott Lewis Logan Long Lovegrove MacInnes Maughan Mellis Mooney Moore Moore Morris Moulding Nason Naylor Needham Newbould Newman Ogden Ollenshaw Orr Orr Osment Parks Paxton Petty Reid Rew Roddis Rye Scarsbrook Selfridge Sherburne Sikora Slack Smyth Stephenson Stradis Strain Tew Thomson Toase Vachha Warner Wharton Wilson Wyn-Jones Yardy Zeal Zhao

Unit Birmingham OTC (158 RLC) Cambridge OTC Birmingham OTC (158 RLC) GSUOTC Wales OTC London OTC Exeter OTC East Midlands OTC East Midlands OTC Bristol OTR CUOTC Tayforth OTC Oxford OTC (5MI) 100 Regt RA East Midlands OTC 39 Sigs 100 Regt RA 3 MI Wales OTC Wales OTC Wales OTC YOTR – Leeds LUOTC 166 Regt RLC 5 MI (Queen’s UOTC) Tayforth OTC 71 SIGS (ULOTC) East Midlands OTC (73 Engr) 3 MI Wales OTC NWOTR (Liverpool) NWOTR (Liverpool) 5 MI Wales OTC YOTR – Leeds Edinburgh OTC London OTC GSUOTC London OTC Queens OTC 103 Regt RA(NWOTR) HAC East Midlands OTC (3 R Ang) B Sqn RY Edinburgh OTC 5 MI Exeter UOTC Exeter OTC HAC 5 RRF (NUOTC) Yorkshire OTR (Sheffield) Southampton OTC 4 LANCS (NWOTR) CUOTC

FOR THE RECORD

119

Professionally Qualified Officers Course 132 Rank Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt

120

Name Abbott Archibald Barker Baum Dews Dick Esmaili Evans Evans Farnworth Farrell Forbes Galvin Gillham Gough Greene Groves Howard Jefferys Kerans

FOR THE RECORD

Unit RAMC RAChD RAMC RAMC QARANC QARANC RADC AGC(ALS) RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAChD RAMC RAMC RAChD RAMC RAMC RAMC

Rank Capt Capt Lt Capt Capt Capt Lt 2Lt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt Capt

Name Kevan Kinch Knox Lamb Law Livingston McRink Moll Nicholls Peart Reader Saveker Shaw Smedley Taylor Taylor Vijayakumar Williams Williams

Unit AGC(ALS) RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAVC QARANC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC RAMC

The THE WISH STREAM

Wish Stream The Journal of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the Sandhurst Trust

Leadership...

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Year of 2013

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Year of 2013