Page 136 - Wish Stream 2023 CREST

The Sandhurst Trust... Sprinting
Vaughan Kent-Payne
2023 was another excellent year for The Trust following on from our best ever year in 2022. The core of our business, private events, con- tinued to thrive with 190 events of all types. We were pleased to welcome several new leadership training outfits in addition to old friends, Forward Institute and IDG providing a rich vein of retired officers as mentors and tutors including one for- mer Chief of The General Staff and one former Commandant.
Our tour guides provide the backbone of our vol- unteer community with three of the more vener- able ones retiring from front line duties but still attending the termly training day and enjoying the social occasion of lunch afterwards. These lunches are always leavened with personnel from around the Academy and we were pleased to host the out- going Old College Commander as well as several OCdts from Lucknow Platoon.
Reunions continue to be as popular as ever. With the limitations on availability during recess periods and parade weeks, the maximum number of pos-
sible reunion slots is around 40. The team equalled the 2022 record of 42 reunions. One especially convivial gathering was the 30th reunion of mem- bers of CC923.
The 70th reunion for intakes 10 and 11 (commis- sioned 1953) proved popular with eight nona- genarian veterans and their families attending. Members of the Academy staff also attended with the Academy Sergeant Major hearing tales of his illustrious predecessor, WO1 AcSM J C Lord MVO MBE.
Membership has now topped 5,500 and I am pleased to report that 10% of our members have taken the plunge and made a lifetime donation.
Our charitable disbursement was wide ranging. Our decision to invest in a new website slightly reduced our total but we still provided almost two thousand grants totalling £113,503 as follows:
Welfare
1. UK Officer Cadets
2. International Cadets
3. RMAS community
4. Grants to other charities
£53,926
£6,320 £45,693 £1,614 £419
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