The United Kingdom and Canada strengthened long-standing military bonds this month as teams from both nations converged on the Sandhurst Estate in Surrey for the annual Duchess of Edinburgh Competition.
Hosted jointly by the Royal Army Medical Service, RAMS, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the event brought together personnel from across the British Armed Forces and two teams from the Canadian Army.
Formerly known as The Countess of Wessex Cup, the competition is designed to rigorously test physical endurance, cognitive skill, teamwork, and military readiness. This year’s five scored events included swimming and lifesaving challenges, a demanding obstacle course, a medical triage and treat scenario followed by a 400 metre stretcher race, and a final high pressure tent building contest conducted against the clock.
A Royal Visit and a Spirit of Unity
Breezy autumn weather welcomed Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh, who spent the day observing all ten competing teams. The competition involved the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force, alongside the Canadian Army teams, reflecting the Duchess’s broad military affiliations.
Helen Winder, Corps Colonel, Royal Army Medical Service, said:
“Today has given us the opportunity to come together, to compete and to make friends with the other Corps and services that the Duchess is affiliated with.
Equally, they’ve come from all around the country, indeed all around the world. And so, an opportunity to come together, to work together and to bond is incredibly important.”
Throughout the day, Her Royal Highness met officers and soldiers from units with which she has formal associations. She serves as Colonel in Chief to the Royal Corps of Army Music, 1 Royal Irish, and The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Deputy Colonel in Chief to RAMS, Royal Colonel of 5th Battalion The Rifles, Lady Sponsor of HMS Daring, and holds the honorary title of Air Commodore, Royal Air Force, Wittering. In Canada, she is Colonel in Chief of both the South Alberta Light Horse and the Lincoln and Welland Regiment.
International Teams Push Their Limits
Lieutenant Colonel Phil Dyson, Commanding Officer of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment from Ontario, praised the demanding nature of the competition:
“This has been fantastic. There’s a great spirit of camaraderie, some great competition, and our people and their skills are being stretched too. This isn’t an individual competition, the whole team has to start and finish together, it is challenging, it is stressful.
The team has been training all summer long for this. I’m proud of them all, they’ve performed very well under pressure.”
The inclusion of Canadian teams highlighted the deep, historic partnership between the nations’ militaries and the ongoing commitment to interoperability and joint readiness.
Testing Medical Skills in Total Darkness
One of the most demanding phases of the competition involved a complex medical challenge conducted in complete darkness. Teams were required to triage and treat multiple casualties portrayed by actors with realistic trauma makeup before conducting a simulated stretcher evacuation over distance.
Captain Lizzie Willis of 144 Parachute Medical Squadron, 16 Medical Regiment, explained:
“We got a group of six casualties, who were to be cared for by the different groups as they came into the tent.
We wanted to make this as realistic as possible, so we got some actors who played double amputees and people with chest or head injuries.
Teams go in, treat the casualties, rank them in the order of priority, and then evacuate them. There’s a lot of adrenaline going on in there. It’s dark, there’s a lot of noise, and it’s all very disorientating. It’s a really good experience to get non medics into this environment and let them experience what we do.”
Final Results, A Narrow Margin
After a day of intense competition, only three points separated the top three teams.
Final standings:
- 1 Multi Role Medical Regiment (British)
- RAF Wittering (British)
- 1 Royal Irish (British)
- Royal Corps of Army Music (British)
- 3 Medical Regiment (British)
- 8 Training Battalion REME (British)
- South Alberta Light Horse, Alberta, Canada
- 5th Battalion The Rifles (British)
- HMS Daring (British)
- Lincoln and Welland Regiment, Ontario, Canada
The 2025 Duchess of Edinburgh Competition once again underscored the strength of international cooperation, the professionalism of British and Canadian forces, and the unifying power of shared military challenge and camaraderie.
