Page 68 - Mercian Eagle 2016

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especially the one who decided to leave the track and drive into the hedge! Considering we had one non-driver with us they certainly stepped up to the mark and gave it their all.
Archery proved to be the trickiest
activity of the day with some members of the Company demonstrating their archery prowess while others proving they should stick to the rifle. At the end of the morning two of the groups were tied for points so it was decided an archery ‘penalty’ shoot out would decide the winner with the SNCO’s and Officer’s team being narrowly beaten by one of the Fusilier teams.
We then made our way to Nottingham City centre for lunch to recharge our batteries ready for the afternoon activity at a place called Escapologic. This was an underground complex that housed several rooms each with a different theme but all with a common goal.....
to escape! Designed to test team work, communication skills and logical thinking your team is locked in a room and has 60 minutes to find its way out by finding clues, solving problems, building machines and cracking codes. This proved to be a great hit with the lads and was a great test of their training.
A (Fusilier) Company preparing for a morning of White Water Rafting
Maj Comery & Capt Heath rescuing WO2 Heywood from the doors of death
To conclude the weekend we decided to hire three rafts and try our hands at White Water Rafting. Following a safety brief and some practice drills on the training pond
to make sure everyone was up to speed on the skills and drills needed to keep
the raft upright and everyone on board, we proceeded to enter the white water course. The instructors put us through our paces giving us ever trickier manoeuvre’s to accomplish without (hopefully) capsizing or falling out of the boat. Suffice it say, not
everyone managed to finish the course without getting their feet wet and one boat managed to empty itself of all its occupants but everyone was soon back on board and raring to crack on. This was the first time rafting for many of us and proved to be a big success with everyone hoping to do it again. The perfect end to a successful day’s adventure training was supplied by a well deserved ice cream waiting for us at the end.
Annual St George’s Day Dinner 2016 WO2 Robert Lee Heywood (CSM)
The annual St George’s Day Dinner was once again held at the Army Reserve Centre (ARC) in Sheldon on the evening of the 23rd April. The night was attended by 94 guests which included current and former serving members of the Company along with their friends and family and special invitations were extended to other officers and seniors of 4 (V) Bn The Mercian Regiment whom
A Coy currently serve alongside.
The evening began with a few ‘lively’ rounds of “heads and tails” where the CSM breathed a sigh of relief as there were no
collapsing tables or other health and safety issues sometimes associated with the game! It was specifically planned at the start of the evening to avoid any inadvertent alcohol induced nose dives! This year, a Fusilier won both games as opposed to
last year where a Mercian officer somehow defied the odds and won both games!
With the meal completed, the annual awards and dining out ceremony were undertaken. The Champion Fusilier Award for 2016 went to LCpl Clowes with a mention for LCpl Armour. The Newman
Cup – which is dedicated to the memory
of CSgt Phil Newman who was killed in 2007 and is the only loss to the Company in all the Herrick and Telic Tours, and is awarded to any member of the Company who has gone above and beyond the call
of duty for the Company – was awarded
to WO2 Heywood (CSM) for the second time since the cup was introduced to the dinner in 2009. To be awarded the Newman Cup once never mind twice, is a massive honour to any member of the Company and WO2 Heywood was suitably moved to
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