Officer training at the Queen Alexandra's Training Centre, Aldershot 1989.
I really enjoyed the eight week training programme, I think because of the variety every day from drill, PT, military classes and so much more. Spending all that time on ironing, bulling shoes and starching veils was a great discipline and I loved being smart. My biggest problem was dealing with my curly whirly hair, with wisps always escaping and I became determined not to be caught out again. One of the girls had a great way of stretching her head during inspections so her hair was off the collar.
The girls I joined with were such fun and the social side was great, we seemed to have a party every week. It is sad all these years later to only be in touch with one of them. We should have a reunion.
As a mature entrant I had to keep up with the younger ones, so the effort to not be last on runs made me push hard to be at the front, with first place occasionally. I loved the challenges. I didn't need to be the best, but I was motivated to do well.
At the end I was awarded with the Sash of Merit. It was a shock, but of course I felt very proud. The picture below was taken for the local newspaper.
There were a couple of disappointments, in that we could not have our last parade with our families in attendance outside. It absolutely poured with rain and we had to march into the gym. That was a challenge trying to keep in step. The other disappointment was that my parents were in the Caribbean on holiday, so missed the whole event. My closest friends were to attend, but they were stuck in Cheltenham, snowed in. However, it meant I could circulate with everyone else and still enjoyed the special lunch.
Happy days.
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