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Manchester and Salford Universities Officer Training Corps (MSUOTC) win Derby Trophy

The Derby Trophy competition, which began in 1975, is organised by 42 ( North West ) Brigade to test the military skills and expertise of the North West ‘s biggest Territorial Army units. The event was undertaken by 12 teams comprising of eight soldiers each. This year’s event was won by Manchester and Salford Universities Officer Training Corps (MSUOTC) whose members are university students by day and Officer Cadets training to be TA soldiers in their spare time. A team from 4th Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment finished second and 75 Engineer Regiment came in third.The competition took place over two days at Catterick Garrison, Yorkshire, and the demanding challenges the teams had to face included delivering ammunition boxes to the front line after navigating an over and underground course, which meant crawling through the disused sewage pipes, rescuing ‘hostages’, retrieving sensitive data following a ‘plane crash’, and a two kilometre run, with each soldier carrying 25lbs (11.3kg).

MSUOTC is one of 19 Officer Training Corps in the UK . Its members are students first and foremost, but are also officer cadets. They train as TA soldiers, but are not deployed on operations. After graduating, some will join the full-time [Regular] Army while others may stay in the TA.

The remainder may have no direct further contact with the military. The latter group, however, are the next generation of leaders in the community, industry and public sectors – so this taste of Army life, with its commitment to developing leadership and teamwork, brings benefits for their future chosen careers.

Second Lieutenant Mark Hayward, who led the winning team, said:
“It was a tough weekend but all members of the team put in a lot of hard work. In the end, our training and effort was rewarded with a convincing victory. I am proud of each member of the team and am happy to have brought the Derby Trophy back to MSUOTC.”