Page 75 - RSDG Year of 2023

EAGLE AND CARBINE 73
CROSS COUNTRY
Lt Adam
The Eagle and Carbine reporting period cuts in half the Cross Country season which runs over winter each year. There are therefore, two half seasons to report on. Our attendance in each season has been incomplete due to large scale deployments on either operations or exercise. However, when we have competed, we have generally performed very well. Perhaps most notably a win away in Perth demon- strated that given a full season we would once again win the Tri-service Scottish Cross Country Championships.
The single biggest moment of the year from the Cross Country perspective has been the arrival of Trooper Jackson. A future Mo Farah, Trooper Jackson has
raced for the RAC and can proudly claim to be its fastest runner. He has also competed for the Army U23 side, placing 4th in the Inter-Services Cross Country Championship. This has been somewhat demoralising for the mere mortals of the Regiment. In the Moncreiff Shield inter-squadron race, Jackson beat a second placed me and third placed Mr Jarret by an entire kilometre. Although B Sqn won the event overall with consistent placing throughout. As we catch the tail end of the 2023-2024 season now I hope to be able to report some good results in the next edition!
STALKING
Lt Baker-Cresswell
Following a long week of post Wessex Storm admin, ten soldiers and I managed to sneak away for a dreamy week of winter stalking in both Northumberland and Glen Lyon. Having manged to overcome the trials and tribulations of getting ourselves to the remote Mounthooly Bunkhouse, with Tpr Cant and Sgt Major Jarrett having to be dramati- cally rescued from snow drifts, we settled in and came up with a plan of attack.
There were pairs of soldiers stalking across various estates in the area and due to the generosity of local game keepers and landowners we were able to have everyone stalking at all times. Tpr Cant and Cpl Machattie headed out at first light to stalk with Matty, the head keeper on Lilburn Estate and rapidly got stuck into a herd of Cheviot wild goats with two big billies meeting their demise. These were quickly followed up with two Roe Does, both expertly shot and meeting a similar fate.
After a slightly more leisurely morning, further pairs were collected by Stephen and Mark Crees, the managers at College Valley estates and taken off for hardcore days of stalking in the blistering cold and rain up the side of Cheviot. Sgt Major Jarrett and Tprs Cobbett, Jolly and Kempster quickly found that the upland Roe deer of
North Northumberland make for a challenging quarry. It was testament to their skill as stalkers that even in such difficult conditions, Stephen and Mark were able to get all four soldiers onto deer at various points during the day. The pair hosted by Tom Fairfax and his Keeper Michael also had a particularly challenging time with the conditions causing the deer to hunker down for cover. Similar problems were encountered by myself, LCpl Mcgarry and Tpr Sharpe on Cresswell Farms, under the shadow of Bamburgh Castle. Regardless of the weather