Page 54 - QDG Year of 2022 CREST

52 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
Regimental Christmas Day 2022
Gunfire, a Carol service and the Regiment all back in Robertson Barracks together as one. This year’s Christmas Day was going to be a good one! With COVID 19 out of the way, it was a great opportunity to take part in one of the very best days in the calendar and build on the cohesion of the Unit and bring us closer together. At a time in which we are constantly being pulled to the four corners, days like this are fully embraced!
Christmas week began with St Eligius Day, a day which Cpl Downey put together under the watchful eye of the ASM. Command tasks, cart races and a quiz were all on the agenda, along with a good period in the REME refreshments area. A fantastic day and a brilliant start to the festive week. After St Eligius Day there were various activities held within the Messes and then it was time for the main event.
Regimental Christmas Day began with the usual gunfire, and sausage baps being delivered by the Sqn Chain of Command. After this, we then conducted a Regimental Promotions and Awards Parade. Three LCpl promotions were given, along with Sgt Maj Hazelwood picking up his SSgt – Congratulations to everyone! Once the promotions were made, we then moved onto Sports Colours and Regimental Awards. The winners for these have been listed in a tabular format for ease as there were many.
With the parade now complete, it was time to form up and head to the All Saints Church, Swanton Morley. Padre Whorton gave a brilliant service, and it wasn’t too long before we were heading back up the road. Christmas Dinner was the next serial. The Seniors and Officers were already a bound ahead of the Troops and found their way into the Cookhouse where the Catering Team had done an amazing job of setting the place up. Nothing was left to chance and the whole place was looking spot on. Once in the Cookhouse the soldiers were greeted with their two cans. Everything was ready, and it was minutes before everyone was tucking into their food. As far as the eating went, many of the regiment found a rogue sprout hitting the back of their heads, but it was all in good humour and the meal was a success. During the dinner, the Padre instigated a sing off, which saw the Regiment rage verbal war against each other and sing the 12 Days of Christmas. A brilliant way to end the festivities and then move onto the relevant Messes.
After a period of rehearsal, each mess opened their doors to their opposite
numbers and enjoyed a few Christmas drinks together. A fantastic way to end what was a brilliant day. Without days such as this, we really would struggle to foster that ‘Espirit de Corps’ that we sometimes take for granted. As we now go onto leave, we hope everyone has a good bit of time with their loved ones and enjoys the Christmas period with their own families. Nadolig Llawen!
DC
Award/Trophy
Recipient
Gomer Lloyd Trophy
WO2 Roberts 089
Queen Elizabeth
Sgt Williams
Leathersellers
Cpl
Mann Trophy
LCpl Moore
Sports Colours
Capt Kite, WO2 Fisher, Capt Kite & Capt Groome
SSgt
Sgt Maj Hazelwood
LCpl
LCpl Baker
LCpl
LCpl Dempsey
LCpl
LCpl Bennison