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Trafalgar Night
Cdr Chris L’Amie
FOR ACSC 23’S FIRST formal dining experience, the Trafalgar Night
committee knew that a high standard must be set for the 340 attendees,
reflecting the finest traditions of the Royal Navy.
They therefore set to work to produce a spectacular and memorable evening to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson. On arrival, guest of honour, RAdm Warrender (Flag Officer Sea Training) along with the other guests, were greeted with drinks in the forum and a rousing performance from the Royal Marine Corps of Drums before the bugler called “hands to dinner”.
At dinner, the ‘Baron of Beef’ was paraded with due ceremony by a guard of Sea Cadets and a Royal Marines Band drummer before “permission
to carve” was granted by the Master
of Ceremonies. Throughout the meal, rousing naval music was provided by the Royal Marines Band, interspersed with vignettes recounting the story of the battle as it progressed. After the tables were cleared, port was passed and toasts were drunk, including the toast of the day to “a bloody war and a sickly season”.
After a much needed “ease springs” for those replete with excellent food and drink, the Guest of Honour provided a moving speech remembering all those who fought and died on both sides of the Battle of Trafalgar. After the Immortal Memory, the by now quite exuberant guests produced a rousing series of sea shanties before finally retiring to the bar.
The evening was a great success, which allowed guests from all nations and Services to experience Royal Navy traditions and history in a marvellous setting which it is hoped will be remembered for many years to come.
International Reflections
on ACSC: Germany
FOUR GERMAN STAFF OFFICERS participated in ACSC 23. Similar to, but shorter than the German General Staff Course, ACSC provided insights
into UK defence and security perspectives. The full service package (living accommodation, schools etc), as initially outlined to us by the Head of International Student Liaison, made life easy and enabled a swift start to the course. The offer to graduate from King’s College London’s postgraduate Master’s programme was recognised and gratefully cherished by all of us - one of the stunning advantages of the ACSC.
The course was also extremely beneficial in terms of networking, international peer- to-peer learning, and widening our individual mind sets. Challenging long and dark November nights with extensive workloads were usually quickly forgotten when comradeship and splendid drinks came into play! We enjoyed British hospitality, politeness and culture. Indeed, the UK’s multicultural society is a good example
of integration and cohabitation; however, we were surprised to see a country as politically divided as the UK was during the course. Emotions seemed to us to be a huge driver in the UK’s political decision making, which seemed to contrast with Germany’s rather more rational approach. However, some of the expected quite negative stereotypes regarding British weather and food turned out to be, in our experience, definitely not true.
Finally, we will never forget the highly appreciated social events such as balls, dinners and bar nights, and, as such, we would like to give a special thanks to the staff of the Fieldhouse and the Henderson Bar. Overall, we were all highly satisfied to be part of the Defence Academy’s wider community during our year in the UK and we will stay faithful and loyal as alumni.
Lieutenant Colonel (GS) Markus Danisch, Lieutenant Colonel (GS) Anja Buresch-Hamann, Commander Stefan Mayer, Lieutenant Colonel (GS) Florian Beerenkämper