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Albuhera Memorial
city. This culminated in the massacre of thousands of Republicans and sympathisers in the city’s bull ring by the Nationalists.
The final phase turned our attentions to the Peninsula War and the battles fought
in Albuhera and in Badajoz itself and in particular visiting the site of Lt Macpherson’s (45th Nottinghamshire Regiment) actions (commemorated on 6 April annually by
The Mercian Regiment) and the enormous
Alcazar of Toledo
ramparts he and countless others scaled to break into the fortress under constant French bombardment. Once at the top of the tower and to signify that the British had taken control, he lowered the French tri- colour and raised his red tunic; a substitute for the British Flag.
On our last night we crossed the border into the Portuguese town of Elvas where a beautifully kept British Church and cemetery
resides that commemorates those who fought and fell in the Peninsula Wars. There we conducted a small act of remembrance in honour of those who fell and fought in the campaign but also those who have since fallen in our most recent conflict.
A fantastic week of learning through history and Regimental reflection. Our sincere thanks and gratitude to our fantastic guide, John Cotterill.
a parachute jump, to scoring a goal on a Premiership football pitch.
We were briefed to think laterally in
order to achieve our mission. Each task
had points accredited to it. The aim; gain more points than the other teams. We
were briefed to meet up with our Company Commander and Company Sergeant Major each evening in a different city location at 2000hrs, namely Manchester on Monday, London on Tuesday, and Birmingham on Wednesday. Like its namesake, the Exercise was a challenge. It tested how resourceful and ambitious we were. It confirmed if our decision making was risk-averse, or if we were tolerant of risk. Ultimately, it taught us that confidence, goodwill and an ability to manage that risk against the reward yielded the best results.
Lt Sones and Sgt Narukutabua, BBC Studios, Jan 16
Ex CHALLENGE BAYONET Lt PT Price, OC 5 Pl
“Report to the Company Office at 1500
on Sunday. Bergen, wet kit, warm kit, sleeping bag. On arrival, relinquish your mobile phone, cash and debit cards. Warn off family that you will be uncontactable
for the week. More information to follow.” This basic instruction was received by the Platoon Commander and Platoon Sergeant of 4 Platoon, 5 Platoon and 6 Platoon at 1500 on the previous Friday, 48 hours before reporting for what became known
as Ex CHALLENGE BAYONET, a week long exercise that had been planned by B (Malta) Coy HQ, up until that moment, in complete secrecy.
As the Platoon Commander and Platoon Sergeant of the respective Platoons in
the Company arrived at the stated time on the Sunday, all curious as to what was to be
Lt Ireland and Sgt Katia, RMAS, New College, Jan 16
conducted, the predicament which we were to shortly find ourselves in was certainly unexpected. Having completed a kit check and relinquishing our phones, money and credit cards, we received our brief.
The Platoon Commander and Platoon Sergeant from each Platoon were to work together as a team, in competition against the other two Platoons. The aim of the exercise was to test our initiative and our ability to operate and adapt by exploiting and utilising local resources to achieve
our aim. Further to this, we received a number of tasks to complete whilst on this exercise, 55 in total. These tasks varied from driving a high performance sports
car, to visiting the US Embassy in London, to having a brew made for us by the New College Commander, RMAS, to conducting
Lt Price and Sgt Hodgkinson, Manchester City F.C, Jan 16
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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