Page 86 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

84 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
route started in Langdale, taking one of the longer more scenic routes to the top, via Angle Tarn and over the back of Great End before the final rocky assent to the summit. The weather was incredible, and the views from the top were excellent. The route down went into Borrow Dale past Styhead Tarn, which provided the irresistible opportunity for a cooling swim, and on to the campsite at Rosthwaite.
Day Two – After a night of BBQ and Ales at the local pub, the members of C Squadron headed to Bowder Crag for a morning of climbing. Everyone jumped in with enthusiasm, pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones, with most managing to reach the top. The day was a warm one again, so for lunch we moved to a beach for another BBQ and an ice bath in Derwent Water to finish, before heading back to Catterick.
RJG
The end of November saw coach loads of Royal Lancers make the journey down to the beating heart of all things Armoured Corps for the eagerly anticipated Exercise Hodson’s Horse 18 in Bovington. It was not only a chance to compete against our fellow Armoured Corps regiments but also an opportunity for Lancers from across the Regiment to exercise their sporting prowess from the pitch to the pool finally reunited after six months apart. This year the exercise, or perhaps more appropriately named competi- tion, consisted of: indoor triathlon, rugby union, rugby league, cross country, water polo, football, hockey, a military event, mountain biking, golf, clay pigeon shooting and boxing.
The rugby teams, both union and league, put in sterling perfor- mances at the beginning of the week finishing second in both variations. The weather only helped to dramatically frame a number of hard fought matches against a number of tough op- positions most notably being ARMCEN who went on to win both titles. In true Jason Robinson-esque fashion a surprising number of union players managed to cross the cultural, social, competitive and emotional divide and compete in league. Spe- cial mentions must go to Sergeant Nagorski, Lieutenants Bat- terbury, Marriott and Reed who all went on to play Corps rugby after their performance that week.
On the hockey pitch the Lancers performed admirably making their way through the group stages to the final. It proved to be a fierce encounter between the Lancers and the Armour Centre (ARMCEN) not helped by ferocious weather conditions. Early goals from Lance Corporal Whitaker and Lieutenant Marriott saw the Lancers 2–0 up after the first quarter. ARMCEN were quick to draw even and as the match drew to a close they man- aged a last-minute winning goal from the top of the D.
Perhaps the most niche and certainly the newest sport to be in- cluded in the competition was clay pigeon shooting. The team trained over two days through torrential rain before the compe- tition on the Wednesday, unfortunately due to a strong field of other teams containing a number of competitors who compete at Army level and an inexperienced Lancer team the Regiment managed to clinch fifth place. A special mention should go to Lance Corporal Lowe, Corporal Williams-Tanton and Sergeant France(s) for their enthusiasm and support.
The football team was severely weakened by the absence of B Squadron and several other key players in HQ Squadron, how-
ever they managed a gallant second place overall. After strolling past the Household Cavalry (HCR) 3–0 with a hat trick from debutant Trooper Gilmore, the inclement weather forced the second match vs ARMCEN to be postponed until the next day at a local 3G pitch. The match against ARMCEN was billed as a grudge match – with a large number of Lancers playing against their regiment. The match was a decidedly one way affair – end- ing 5–0 to ARMCEN with Sergeant Blakeley (RL) scoring two against the Regiment.
The team then played the Royal Dragoon Guards (RDG) in the semi final and won 3-1, despite having their captain Sergeant Atherley who was sent off for dissent, leading to a frantic last 15 minutes. The final against the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), never really got going. Losing 7-0 at half time, the Lancers fi- nally showed up in the second half and avoided conceding anymore. Final score 7–0 to the RTR. There were tremendous performances from our attached arms brethren especially Lance Corporal Baker, playing out of position at right back and Lance Corporal Lea, who was constantly asking questions of all the op- position defences.
The Lancers started the waterpolo competition with a big win against the Light Dragoon’s (LD), the next game was against the reigning champions, The RTR. It was a hard fought match with the Lancers just losing out. Not to be disheartened the team went full tilt into the next match where they beat the HCR 22-1! Big wins over the RDG and LDs saw the RL take second place overall behind the RTR. The team is already looking to the next Hodson’s Horse to become overall winners and the whole team was also asked to come back and play for the RAC team, testa- ment to their skill and hard work.
The final competition of the week was the military event, a somewhat dark art unknown to even those who were compet- ing in it. The event consisted of a booted run to a number of check points where a task had to be carried out and a burden col- lected, spurred on by a huge showing of Lancers in support the team gave their all and were rewarded handsomely for their hard work finishing first overall. Congratulations go to Lieutenant Titcomb, Warrant Officer Class II Lucas, Corporal Bott, Trooper Simcox, Trooper Jacques-Smith and Trooper Bilsland for their hard work.
WFHC
Hodson’s Horse