RGS awarded Bronze in world’s toughest patrolling test
Congratulations to our cadets who were awarded a Bronze Medal at the prestigious Cambrian patrol.
On Friday 17th May, the RGSHW CCF team deployed to Sennybridge Training Area, Wales to take part in Cadet Cambrian Patrol 24. This is the premier Military Skills competition in the UK and is run by 160 (Wales) Brigade Cadet Training Team. The competition is the culmination of the very best teams earning their places through their regional Brigade Military Skills competitions, with teams training all year for the event.
The patrol, as it's known in the regular Army, is a physical and mental test of the best of the best from every regiment, and it’s the same for the cadet patrol. If you finish the patrol you can say you are in the top 1.3% of cadets in the UK. Let alone get placed with a very respectable Bronze medal!
Our cadets Luke Poulton, Kobe Spencer, Bok Pang, Seb Bocquet, Toby Spears-Webb, Tommy Tinkler and Hasan Ajaz gave a good account of the CCF and the school. Particularly Henry Prince for his sterling leadership.
The following report was written by the Patrol Commander, Cadet Colour Serjeant Henry Prince
05:30 - As first light crested over the Welsh valleys, eight cadets wearily dragged themselves out of the warm comfort of their sleeping bags and piled into a minibus set for the infamous ‘Dixies Corner’. Our first checkpoint of the day, with many more to come. Adrenaline pumping, we moved off at a brisk march heading south where we met our first active stand. Observation Posts combined with military knowledge. An almost relaxing and certainly well received experience hinting at nothing of the physical challenges to come. An 8km stretch of undulating moorland and steep rolling hillsides lay between our determined section and checkpoint 8. With a leading team in sight, and a gruelling hill climb under our issued belts, we arrived at target, indication 30 minutes ahead of schedule.
09:45 - Spirits high after a short period of respite we set off in search of the elusive stand 7. After cutting several corners and becoming far too familiar with the Welsh marshland, I could see our first opportunity for a desirable overtake. Culminating in a sickening run up Gelli-Gaeth, we arrived less than minutes ahead of an unknown ACF detachment into 7. Defence and withdrawal. Twenty minutes later, with little rest, the section hastily grabbed their kit and swiftly made their way to 6. A slow-moving team ahead gave us our next opportunity for passing, and so not long after the last, we were off at a fast jog again, closing on to the welcoming sight of checkpoint 6. The section continued forwards with speed, our minds trained on reaching the radios (Communications and Information Systems) stand at 5.
12:00 - An hour in the noon sun gave us our first opportunity at rest and even sleep for some, however it was not long before we were fighting our way through some sort of Christmas tree plantation halfway up a steep bank en-route to checkpoint 4. Looking out I planned the next leg to the penultimate stand which we knew to be First Aid and Casevac.. With 3 hours and 30 minutes until 1900h (our deadline for finishing the patrol) morale was high as the section traversed a lengthy 4km ridge backlit by the afternoon sun. However, this was never set to last. Arriving at our final active stand with over 2 hours and 30 minutes remaining paired with a brutal 200m ascent still to come, our team patiently waited before making a unanimous decision to pass up the 90 points in order to finish our patrol within the time constraints (this would guarantee us a podium finish). A determined pace and the proximity of the finish line forced us up the final incline where we arrived back at ‘Dixie’s Corner’ with a time of 11hrs 30 minutes.
20:00 - After marching into the creatively named ‘Woodblock 33’, it was swiftly onto the order writing process and preparing for a hopefully rain-free night in the small forest. With the section briefed, and a warm dinner, it was time to get as much sleep as possible for the final push on Sunday morning.
06:30 - Sunday, the last day. Waking up to thankfully dry surroundings gave us just enough motivation to form up and march back down the hill to take on our first enemy position, dug deep into a gorse bush. As the smoke finished clearing over the regroup, we took on water and advanced into contact on a second in-depth location before finishing our morning with a sudden briefing that a casualty was sustained and required immediate evacuation to a location 0.5 km north. With little energy left, other than that sustained off a few last minute Haribo’s, we sprinted into site. And with that after two days in the field, we concluded our 2024 Cambrian patrol.
We approached the weekend with an optimistic mindset and a keen desire to learn as much as possible. Therefore, I could not be prouder of our section and with the highest level of aggression and determination that they maintained and operated at over the course of a gruelling 28 hours.
- Sgt Poulton
- Sgt Spencer
- Cpl Bocquet
- Cpl Pang
- Lcpl Spears-Webb
- Cdt Ajaz
- Cdt Tinkler
I would be remiss if I were to not mention the recognisable effort applied by the RGSHW training team, in particular Sqn Ldr Mathews, Lt Mostyn, and SSI Barret whom we owe all our knowledge and skills to.
Best of luck to next year’s team on achieving a promising result in 2025.
