The Sandhurst Trust recently facilitated a very special private tour of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. 

Arranged by a family member, the group included former alumni David Bolton and was the perfect opportunity for him to reminisce about his time as an Officer Cadet at the Academy in the 1950s.

During the tour. The group were shown the prestige rooms of Old College and learnt about some of the varied history of the Academy over the past 200 years.

Their tour guide, Dick, also showed the group around the Royal Memorial Chapel and the Catholic Chapel before heading to the Wellington Room to see Sir William Allan’s famous painting of the Battle of Waterloo.

The Sandhurst Trust team then surprised David with his personal records which had been retrieved from the Old College archive. As the photo below shows this was an amazing surprise!

The group then had much fun reading through the comments and even saw a photo of David upon entry to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

"Well, what can I say other than a huge thank you to [the Sandhurst Trust team].

As I hope you saw, David had a brilliant time, his ability to share his reminiscences with those able to appreciate them perhaps even more than us is always a great joy.  Then to top that off by bringing out his Sandhurst records was just fantastic.”

Although the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is an enclosed establishment, hundreds of visitors are welcomed each year on historical tours organised by the Sandhurst Trust.

Tours include visits to the main prestige room of Old College including the Indian Army Memorial Room, Wellington Room, History Room, and the Old College Grand Entrance. Also included are the two chapels on site -The Royal Memorial Chapel and Roman Catholic Chapel. Tours can now include a visit to the new Queen Elizabeth II statue that was installed in 2022 to commemorate Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Tours take place throughout the year and are led by experienced tour guides, most of whom are retired officers. These guides who share their extensive knowledge on the history of the Academy and its buildings plus personal stories of their time here at RMAS. Typical tours last 2.5 hours, giving visitors plenty of time to take in the history of the buildings and rooms.

To read more about tours and how to book please visit our Tour Page