Our CCF cadets swapped their army fatigues for more formal attire at their Annual Mess Dinner to celebrate their many successes over the past year of training. Attended by many officers and Senior NCOs from the Regular Army who have supported the Corps’ training this year, the dinner marks the handover of the cadet command team, with this year’s Cadet Sergeant Major Minty handing over the pace stick to Mim.

The school chefs treated the cadets to a delightful three-course meal, while musical entertainment was provided by the Band and Fanfare Trumpet team of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, the school’s affiliated regiment. The etiquette of a formal army mess was followed, with toasts to His Majesty The King, who is Captain General of the Combined Cadet Force, and the Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment. The evening ended with a speech by Cadet Sergeant Major Minty thanking the staff and summarising the year’s training, highlights of which have included one cadet undertaking a skiing expedition crossing the Hardangervidda plateau and another cadet completing a weeklong mountain course in Bavaria. The cadets were also placed third in the Headquarters South East Annual Camp competition.

Major Goddard, the CCF Contingent Commander at King’s, commented: “The dinner is a very special evening, which the cadets look forward to all year. While the primary aim is to have fun, we also teach the cadets how to behave in the setting of a formal black-tie dinner. We are particularly grateful to the brilliant school chefs and to the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment for loaning their band and providing such entertaining musical accompaniment”.