On 19th December ten Sandhurst alumni sat down to dinner at the British High Commissioner’s Residence in Barbados. All of them Barbadians, or ‘Bajans’ in local parlance, and all of them having served either with the Barbados Defence Force or the British Army. The participants included the British Defence Advisor to the Caribbean, Lt Colonel Keith Brewster – himself a Bajan.

It’s the beginnings of a Caribbean Chapter of the Sandhurst Trust and, over the coming year(s), the expectation is that - wherever there is a Sandhurst graduate, in the Caribbean - they will, if they wish - find a home and a network within this Chapter.

Two Bajans, represented at the table, had attended the Academy in 1980, while the most recent had attended in 2018. In 1980, Officer Cadet Kurt Archer – accompanied by Officer Cadet Jeffrrey Bostic - arrived at Sandhurst. Kurt had a letter from his mother
agreeing that he could take part in all activities; plucked from the Barbados Cadets to help generate the newly established Defence Force, he was only 17.5 years old! The most recent graduate, Pierre Braithwaite, was at Sandhurst in 2018, while his brother was metaphorically down the road, at Dartmouth.

The stories that were told around the table, about shared experiences, would be immediately familiar to any Sandhurst graduate, from almost any age: show parades; change parades; the delights of Sennybridge; days of digging; the first five weeks; rain and more rain; Long Reach; room inspections; memories – both of aUection and fear - of the Directing Staff; running with full kit on Barossa; guard duty; Chapel; the individual steeplechase; wet sleeping bags; stag at 3am; Sovereigns Competition; and on and on.

But if there were two common threads, both started with ‘C’. There wasn’t a soul from Barbados who didn’t describe – in some detail - the impact ‘the cold’ had on them. Rather more uplifting was the cohorts’ significant contribution to Academy and wider Army Cricket. Bowling a fast West Indian bouncer, at your Company Commander, a moment of particular satisfaction.

With thanks to His Excellency, the High Commissioner, for allowing the use of his Residence, the next gathering in Barbados is already being organized – at a rather more rustic location - with some appropriate fines already awarded, and graciously accepted,for ‘no shows’.

This newest Chapter of the Sandhurst Trust intends to reach out to other Caribbean nations in 2025 but if you are already a member of the Trust, and want to get in touch to join this wider network, the point of contact is Nigel Dakin:nigeljohndakin@mac.com.

Those present included: Kurt Archer (SMC 25), Jeffrey Bostic (SMC 25, 4 Platoon Normandy Company and RCC 25 Blenheim Company); Neville Braithwaite (SMC 28,11 Platoon Salerno Company), Nigel Dakin (SMC 31, 3 Platoon, Alamein Company) Mark Ince (SMC 34, 12 Platoon, Salerno Company); Dorson Franklyn (SMC 1/86, 4 Platoon, Normandy Company); Cedric Proverbs (SMC 98/1, Ypres Company); Marilyn Patrick nee Watson (WSC 911, Edinburgh Company), Keith Brewster (CC 012, 21 Platoon, Alamein Company); Joel Greenidge (CC 043, 24 Platoon, Normandy)Company) and Pierre Braithwaite (CC 181, 19 Platoon, Alamein Company).

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