The Junior Field Day is a chance for the pupils in Third Form, the newly inducted cadets, to experience their first taste of a field day. Plans are always fluid where the MOD is concerned – with the original plan altered, we were out in the field under bashas instead of nice warm comfy accommodation!

An afternoon of putting up tents, learning how to wear the uniform correctly and an introduction to drill was followed by lasagne cooked by the excellent SVS kitchen.

The weather, at this time, was good and things were looking up. The night navigation went well followed by the night exercise – incursion into enemy territory, captured cadets, escape, minibus crash and evasion back to the safety of “the huts”.

A reasonably dry night was followed by the heavens opening. We did struggle to start but managed to get through some of the activities before accepting the inevitable and calling in the transport early with a return to School. Hopefully the activities that were managed to be completed will have given a taste of what to expect and at least given some memories and something to talk about.

Major Millbery would like to give thanks to the NCOs and the staff who gave up their time to plan and prepare and to the cadets who, in spite of the weather, threw themselves into the activities with no grumbling or complaints.