RAF Wittering visits Canada for The Duchess of Edinburgh Cup 2023
RAF Wittering personnel represented the Royal Air Force in The Duchess of Edinburgh Cup 2023.
The event, hosted by last year’s winners, the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, took place at their home base in Ontario, Canada.
Nine personnel from Wittering joined seven British Army teams in the competition.
This year’s event included the use of C7A2 service rifle, an assault course, an eight-mile orienteering navigating exercise, and a casualty evacuation race.
RAF Wittering won the navigating exercise and, while all teams were impressive, the home team won again overall.
Those taking part met Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
The following day, RAF Wittering station commander Wg Cdr Nikki Duncan, attended a service of Remembrance with HRH the Duchess of Edinburgh, Canadian dignitaries and service representatives.
The final day was spent in Toronto, where the RAF team were invited to the unveiling of a Queen Elizabeth II statue and received a tour of the Royal Canadian Military Institute, which included a talk on the history of the building and military artefacts, including the seat of the Fokker triplane in which Baron Manfred von Richthofen - the Red Baron - made his final flight. The seat was donated by Captain A Roy Brown, credited with shooting down the German flying ace two years earlier.
Speaking about the visit to Canada, Wg Cdr Duncan said: “This was an incredible experience for all those involved. Not only did it promote and foster teamwork, but we also learnt a lot and made some great friendships.
“When we set off on this amazing journey, we did not think we would finish in Toronto, learning so much about Canadian military history and how it was intertwined with ours – just fabulous. Thank you so much to our hosts.”
The Duchess of Edinburgh is the RAF Wittering Honorary Air Commodore and Colonel-in-Chief for the respective Army and Canadian units.
The Duchess of Edinburgh Cup is an annual competition in which Her Royal Highness’s honorary military appointments compete against each other in a series of challenges, fostering cooperation between them. The aim of the competition is to test military skills under pressure.
