time into this stance, and worked hard on
making our versatile camouflage jackets.
However, this did not work out, as we bunched
up, and subsequently got pinged within
minutes. Only two out of our eight that started
stayed covered - at this point we hit a low and
thought we had ruined our chances with such
a low score.
For the Leadership Stance, the aim was to get
everyone, including a selected casualty, across
a 'river' to the safe ground on the other side in
a certain time limit. If you stepped in the river
at any time during the way across, points were
deducted. With good teamwork we got
everyone over to the other side just inside the
time limit, a big improvement on the previous
stance.
The Section Attack was the last hurdle on the
first day. After I was briefed, we got into an
all-round defence, again going through the
drills before we moved out on patrol. Once we
came under contact from the front, we carried
out a left flanking under smoke and fire cover
to assault the position. Looking back, we felt it
had gone well, with few mistakes made.
It was all to play for the following day. We said
at the start, it would be naïve to think that
everything would go to plan on the first day,
and of course it didn't. Even after the day's
tiring events, it was still hard to get any rest,
with anxious feelings about all that had
unfolded and could not be undone.
It was all or nothing going into the endurance
course. We had worked hard as a team to get
fit, but fitness doesn't matter on a course like
that. It's about going beyond what you think
you can take, and being in that mindset for it.
Teamwork is essential to success, dragging
each other on through the pain. As predicted,
the rain had made the course even boggier.
We set off, through the dry tunnels, Peter's
pool, sheep dip, bogs and swamps. The end
was a relieving sight. We had put everything
into it, with no one left standing.
Having scrubbed all the grime and mud off and
out of our ears, we dressed into our Lovats and
Drill Boots. Most of our early-morning sessions
had been taken up by drill - with some sharp
in-time turns and synchronised saluting, the
guys did a fantastic job at the display. We
moved on to the ten Corps questions, with noone
making a mistake, and that concluded
everything that we had trained for. The second
day had gone as well as we could have asked.
Sheer tiredness set in, and as we realised that
it was over, it all sank in how much we had
put in.
The prizegiving - as WO1 Bates read the
winners out, we were ecstatic to have picked up
the weapon handling trophy plus both the
endurance course A and B team awards. But
then it was time for the main award, the award
that everyone sat in anticipation for, waiting for
the words of the winning school. The silence
was broken by "King's College". The words
didn't really sink in straight away, and it was
not shock that we experienced either. It was
more of an immense relief, that all the training
we had done had been worth it. When
collecting the tankards and cufflinks, sheer pride
hit us all, and most of all for me, pride in the
guys who had achieved what we dreamed for.
We are so grateful to Captain Pete Belfield and
Lt Steve King for all the hours they put into
training us. Looking back on all that we
worked towards, there are two main things
learnt through doing the Pringle Trophy. Firstly,
what you put into something, you will get out
of it, and secondly, if you want something, and
you work hard for it, then there's little to stop
you! Good luck to all doing it next year!Aluredian
25
… and hard at work
in the competition
First for
King's
by
Charles
Morris,
Pringle
Trophy
team captain