A very Happy New Year to all Sandhurst Trust members

A round up of 2016:

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, representing Her Majesty The Queen, was the Reviewing Officer at the 182nd Sovereign’s Parade on Friday 16th December 2016.

Commissioning Course 161 prize winners:

The Sword of Honour winner
The Sword of Honour, awarded to the Officer Cadet considered by the Commandant to be the best of the Intake, was presented to Senior Under Officer R E Wild, who is commissioning into The Royal Artillery. The Sword of Honour is donated and crafted by Pooley Sword Ltd.

The Overseas Sword winner
The Overseas Sword, awarded to the Overseas Cadet considered by the Commandant to be the best of the Intake, was awarded to Officer Cadet Behzad Heidari from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Overseas Sword is donated by the Ministry of Defence, State of Kuwait, in memory of Sheikh Ali Al Sabah, the former Defence Minister, State of Kuwait.

The Queen's Medal winner
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 M D Spencer, who is commissioning into the Army Air Corps. The Queens Medal is presented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Overseas Award winner
The Overseas Award, awarded to the Overseas Cadet who has achieved the best overall results in military, academic and practical studies, was presented to Officer Nicholas Sarjeev Kunalan from the Republic of Singapore. The Overseas Award is donated by the State of Qatar.

The Sandhurst Trust 2016

2016 was the busiest year yet for The Trust.

We ran 134 events, a steady increase over the last three years from 118 in 2015 and 109 in 2016. This additional income has significantly enhanced the charity’s working capital and, indeed, £77,000 was disbursed in 2016, up from £20,000 in 2015.

Major successes were as follows:

£21,280 given in Adventure Training Grants to 491 cadets

£4,041 given in grants to The RMAS Rugby Tour, International Military Pilgrimage, Visit of cadets to the Pakistan Military Academy and the 44 Squadron RLC skiing exercise

£15,000 given in grants to the Officers’ Association assisting 23 retired officers

£3,700 in welfare payments to 41 overseas cadets

The Trust also ran 22 reunions, up from 20 in 2015 and 14 in 2014 and, sadly, four memorial services

With the regular provision of prizes for cadet activities, sponsorship of leadership debates and leadership encounters the Sandhurst Trust is now a well-established part of the fabric at the Academy.

Further afield, ST provides prizes for Army officers on the Intermediate Command and Staff Course and to the next instructor at the Afghan National Army officer Academy.

Overseas Medal

Overseas cadets commissioning from RMAS before December 2016 will be able to buy the medal from The Trust later this Spring when stocks become available and full details will appear on the website in due course.

This is a new initiative to provide every overseas cadet who successfully commissions from RMAS with a commemorative medal in the manner of other Officer Training Academies such as West Point. The medal is presented by the Commandant and several Governments have already given their cadets permission to wear themedal with uniform with the remainder authorising the medal as a keepsake of a year at Sandhurst. As the majority of overseas cadets do not take part in adventure training this is a great way for the charity to support our overseas comrades.

Commissioning Course 171

CC 171 formed up with Ironing Board Sunday on 9^thJanuary split into Borneo, Falklands and Imjin Companies.

The intake consists of 223 Officer Cadets including 28 from overseas. There are 20 female cadets on the course. The average age of cadets has returned to 23 after a dip last term with the youngest cadet 19 and the oldest 29. 76% of the intake are graduates and 33% were in an OTC with 51% of the British cadets having had experience in one or other of the cadet youth movements, ACF, CCF, ATC etc. 58% of cadets were educated at state schools, 21 are Regular Army entrants and 12 have fathers or stepfathers who were Senior NCOs and a further 6 who were Corporals and below.

The overseas cadets come from 22 countries including (in addition to the ‘usual’ countries) Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, China, Macedonia, Pakistan, Ukraine, USA and Vietnam.

Sandhurst Trust London Dinner & Debate with IDG
9th February 2017 at the Cavalry & Guards Club, London

"This House believes that security must be allowed to take priority over liberty."

Buy Tickets Here

Forthcoming Events

28/01/2017 - 4 Platoon CC 971 Reunion

09/02/2017 - IDG London Dinner & Debate
13/03/2017 - Leadership Encounter Evening at the HAC
31/03/2017 - 3 Platoon Somme Company SGC 913 Reunion
07/04/2017 - SGC/SMC 863 Reunion
22/04/2017 - WSC 921 Reunion
05/05/2017 - SMC 922 Reunion
06/05/2017 - 20 Platoon CC 072 Reunion
29/07/2017 - SMC 913 Reunion
09/09/2017 - 27 Platoon CC 973 Reunion
14/10/2017 - SMC 873 Reunion
03/11/2017 - 1 Platoon Waterloo Company SMC 921 Reunion

In Memorium

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Margaret Jones MBE whose funeral was held in the Royal Memorial Chapel last week. Margaret had been at the Academy for over 50 years providing welfare assistance to thousands of overseas cadets during this time. Perhaps the best epitaph comes from Officer Cadet Azmi Hamid Bidin from Malaysia who was at RMAS in 1968.

‘Margaret Jones – an institution within an institution.’ RIP

Farewell

Samantha Bossi has left the charity after nearly ten years, during which time she has overseen the growth of the Membership to its current levels. She has been an absolute stalwart and the current healthy state of The Trust owes much to her efforts. We wish her, husband Dino and the family, the very best for the future.

Hannah McInally, newly recruited to The Trust will be covering Membership until a full-time replacement for Sam is recruited and any queries regarding membership or reunions should be directed to Hannah on 01276 412000 or membership@sandhursttrust.org

New Items In The Shop:

Just in at the shop are our new, thin Sandhurst Trust socks. Made from the finest cotton, these striped socks are machine washable and fit sizes 8-12. Priced at just £10 they are sure to be a popular addition to our range.

Available now online or in our Old College shop.

Shop Now

Letter of Appreciation

The following is an extract from a letter of thanks received from an overseas cadet who the Trust assisted with a flight home:
‘This letter is to thank you for your overwhelming support and help in getting me home for this Christmas. It was entirely unexpected and a wonderful surprise. I was planning to stay here for Christmas due to financial constraints. With your assistance, I am now able to go home. My Mom is very happy to hear that I am going home and cannot wait to see me. It has been ten months now being away from home.’

And Finally…

Many older members will remember the issued bicycles or ‘Bogwheels’. It has been some years since cadets and staff were provided with bicycles but as can be seen from the scene outside Old College Headquarters during a College Commanders Conference, the latest mountain bikes are now the preferred method of transport.