Commandant’s Parade at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

In April 2019, myself and some volunteers were invited to the Commandant’s parade at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as guests of Armed Forces Diversity Team. I have worked closely with the team on raising awareness on Commonwealth contribution to the World War. I had never attended the parade before, and it was a great experience for us.

The Commandant’s parade is the full-dress rehearsal for the Sovereign’s parade which in held 2 days later. The parade marks the passing of Officer cadets at Sandhurst who have completed the commissioning course. The cadets are presented to the official representative of the Queen.

The first Sovereign’s parade was held on 14th July 1948, in front of Kind George VI, so this a tradition for the army cadets. The parade started with Officer cadets marching into the Parade Square in front of the Old College. There were men and women in full uniform, some were carrying their guns and there was a marching band. The cadets marching into Old College were followed by the College Adjutant on horseback. The music was provided by The Royal Artillery and The Band and Corps of Drum of the Royal Logistics Corps. The seated stadium was full with family and invited guests all watching as the cadets were being commissioned. In order for the Cadets to be commissioned they have to complete an intensive 44 week training course. The Cadets come from all over the world to take their training at Sandhurst.

At the end of the parade the Commandant selects three cadets who will be awarded for being the best intake. This three cadets are presented with ‘Queen’s Medal’ (Awarded to the Officer cadet who attains the highest scores in military, academic and practical test), ‘International Sword’ (Awarded to the Officer cadet considered the best of their intake by the Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst) and ‘International Award’ (Awarded to the international cadet with the best overall results in military, academic and practical studies.) The International Award is donated by State of Qatar.

We were invited to the Commandant’s parade to understand how the British Army has evolved over the years to cater to different cadets and showing diversity. In 2018, British Army announced that all its roles would be opened to women. This was recognising that all should be treated equally, before this announcement women were not allowed on the front line.

After lunch we were taken on a tour and a presentation by the Army Diversity Team. We were taken to the Indian Memorial Room which is full of rich history. The presentation we were shown how the Army Diversity Team are trying to encourage young people into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and move away from the image that the British Army is ‘white’. The afternoon was full of discussion of how we can all work together to ensure community heritage projects are able to work in community spaces with support of British Army this is to encourage more diverse audiences.

Finishing for the day it was great to discuss how our project had been able to work with young people who are cadets at their schools. Working together with the diversity team gave me a better insight of my own view of the Army. Growing up I had not come across anyone in the Army came from the same background as but being part of this day allowed me to be part of a much needed discussion of helping the Army become more diverse and approachable to the minority communities in Britain.