Every December, the 3rd Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment holds a training weekend. This starts with exercises on the ranges in Hythe, and this year the Master and Freeman Marcus Laing were invited to join to watch the operations. The Company began with sighting exercises to ensure that all weaponry was properly calibrated before moving through a series of increasingly complex challenges that tested both accuracy and capability under pressure. Particularly impressive was watching a pair of Tigers spot and shoot 2 pop-up targets each, ranging from 20m to 800m, whilst moving cover between each pair of shots.

The key exercise for marksmanship, though, was the “falling plate” test, where Tigers ran 200m and then had 10 shots to drop ten metal plates 200m away. They made this look pretty straightforward, so as to give us some idea of how hard it actually is to shoot accurately at distance after running hard, Colonel Bowman challenged us to try and hit a much larger stationary target from 5m. Under expert tuition, I am pleased to say we did hit the target, but we’ve somehow lost the photos showing our (lack of) accuracy.

We were then taken to the simulation range, where we were taught how to use the SA80 A2 in target and simulation exercises. I’m afraid the Master failed dismally here, as he’s left-eye-dominant but right-handed, and struggled to get good use of the sights. Thankfully, the Colonel and the Adjutant joined us in the traps, significantly improving our performance.

The Sunday had a feeling of village fete, heightened by the appearance of a troop of bananas. The bananas did very well in the egg and spoon race, but not so well in British Bulldog or tug of war. The PTs put everyone through their paces, and then we retired to the Mess Hall for Christmas Lunch, where the officers served the troops whilst the regimental band played carols.
It was a real privilege to spend such a length of time with the regiment and for its senior officers to give so much of their time to the Master. We were able to chat about future plans, including the possibility of working with the Worshipful Company of Builders’ Merchants to provide much-needed building materials. We should hear more about their needs at the 750th Charity Ball.