9 minute read
Unit Mental Health
2 Signal Regiment LAD, Mental Health Awareness Month
Strong mental and physical health = Resilient Soldiers
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ASM: WO1 Benjamin Collins Scribe: Sgt Luke Eveson
To get the most out of Regimental life we must fully immerse ourselves as a department in all events and opportunities. Like many units in the last two years, morale has been stretched and depleted, due to a lack of opportunity to integrate and bond due to the extra strain the pandemic placed on the world. As a collective, we were more determined than ever to ensure that in this month we fully bought into the Corps Mental Health initiative and supported the Corps theme of combating loneliness. Mental resilience is at the forefront of our minds following the pandemic with sustained periods of loneliness, being a consequence of self-isolation. Throughout the month, we took part in various events, constantly striving to involve the entire LAD. Go-Karting, Scribe: LCpl Bellerby
With ‘Lifting the Decks’ in mind I thought it was an appropriate time to bring 2 Signal Regiment LAD together, with the aim of improving team cohesion and morale in the workplace. With a personal interest in motorsports and given the background of our Corps, I thought it apt to organise a Go Karting event for the LAD hosted by York Motorsport Village. This event comprised of every driver completing some practice laps, followed by 6 heat races, semi-finals and for those quick enough, the final race of the day. It’s fair to say the day was full of friendly rivalries and old scores were settled. The most intense battle of the day was between Cpl Irvine, who had previously raced around the York Motorsport Village circuit and Cfn Broster. Cfn Broster had only been in the LAD for 3 days, but he certainly wasn’t shy and committed to the battle. The overall results for the final race
of the day didn’t go as expected, Cpl Irvine received multiple penalties for contact which meant although he crossed the line in P2, he finished P6. All the battles benefited Sgt Eveson who crossed the line in P5 but capitalised on other’s time penalties and finished in P2. In the build up to this event, the lads had taken great pleasure in telling me they wouldn’t let me win, this was due to me being on the Army Karting Team and even asked trackside staff to give me time caps on the day. However, much to their dismay I was still able to take the overall win. We as a LAD were fortunate enough to receive funding for this event from the Commander ES fund, a fund I personally wasn’t aware of but found it easy to apply for and I can happily say on behalf of the 2 Signal Regiment LAD how grateful we were to receive this, the money was well spent with closer team cohesion and marked increase in morale within the LAD.
Race the Sun, Scribe: SSgt Davidson
The preparation for Race the Sun 2022 started months ago; as one of the highlights of the Royal Signals calendar, the event is something that brings pride and cohesion to the corps of Signals. Traditionally the event had been run in a format of a team relay race across North Yorkshire. The first event participants would set off first thing, and the next team would not start until their team had completed their previous event. This year 2 Signals decided to step it up a gear as they had already proved from the 2021 virtual race due to COVID that it is possible to run a traditional event whilst also experimenting with the format. This year saw eleven events across three locations: York Sports Village, the beautiful Dalby Forest, and Imphal Barracks.
The REME contingent had a critical part to play within our Regiments events, with one of our own, Sgt Kitching, with the help of numerous LAD personnel, organising and managing events at the York Sports Village, facilitating a faultless cycling event. With over sixty participants crowding onto a 1km track, the event could have resulted in a pile reminiscent of the Tour de France, but it passed without any trouble. Cpl Hancock and I were part of the 2 Sig Regt cycling team that performed admirably; finishing in the middle third after a hard-fought race.
We also had participants and coordinators engaged in the events at Dalby Forest, with Sgt Eveson and LCpl Bellerby competing in the
Driver Position Best Lap Time LCpl Bellerby 1st 0:20.06 Sgt Eveson 2nd 0:20.94 LCpl Jones 3rd 0:20.73 LCpl Forknall 4th 0:20.23 Cfn Broster 5th 0.20.63 Cpl Irvine 6th 0:20.29 X-country mixed relay with positive results. Our coordinators assisted in transporting competitors, with our newest LAD member Cfn Broster enjoying another venture out of the LAD as a timekeeper this time. As with any event, things did not always go to plan. With the half-marathon pacemaker deciding he knew a better route than what had already agreed upon, taking personnel on a scenic run around Dalby Forest with the race reset due to the slight navigation error (not REME).
Events culminated with a stretcher race around Imphal Bks where teams of six previous competitors raced around a mile and a half route carrying 40kg with myself as part of the team; we left our hearts and lungs on the road and managed a middle third finished. To properly celebrate our achievements and tribulations, the evening ended with music on the big stage with plenty of food and drink to enjoy being together again after a tumultuous two years. These types of events ask a lot of us. Still, we could not be prouder of the efforts of the LAD with the level of participation and assistance provided to a genuinely successful Race the Sun.
Lifting the Decks 10K, Scribe: Sgt Eveson
Amidst an already busy month we had planned to participate in the REME “Lifting the Deck” 10K as a collective, to support the Corps theme of combating loneliness. To achieve this Sgt Morris and myself would have to come out of our self-proclaimed retirement and don the dreaded “Red Belts”. The event organiser LCpl Forknall and I had conducted a recce around Studley Royal, Deer Park in Ripon. A truly scenic back drop for a collective run aimed at bringing us all together to reflect on loneliness and the mental health struggles we can all face daily. The 10K run was over undulating ground, which resulted in Sgt Morris having to head back into retirement. The run had triggered an old injury resulting in him getting in the “Jack wagon”. We did not let this halt the entire groups effort however and we pushed on to complete with the remaining members of the LAD. The 10K was completed in a respectable time of 59 minutes 29 seconds. Many of the Junior tradesman had not conducted a run of this distance previously, which only added to the feeling of achievement. As with all events of this nature we had to find a positive spin for the
WO1 Collins 59:29 Sgt Eveson 59:29 Sgt Kitching 59:29 Sgt Morris 59:29 Cpl Carr 59:29 Cpl Cline 59:29 Cpl Hancock 59:29 LCpl Bannister 59:29 LCpl Forknall 59:29 Cfn Byrne 59:29 Cfn Pringle 59:29
Conducted Remotely
SSgt Davidson 57.31
LCpl Bellerby 1:07:17
Cfn Broster 57.31
Cfn Finnegan 57.31 younger members, so a well-earned brew and cake was sought prior to departing back to York.
As a collective, we raised £610 towards the Corps “Lifting the Decks” Charity.
Unfortunately, due to a conflict in forecasting, some members of the LAD had to carry out their 10K runs at a later time. This was due to drill rehearsals for the “Freedom of York” parade. Freedom of York Parade, Scribe: Cpl Curtis
We were given the honour of being given the Freedom of the City of York with about a month’s notice. Approximately 100 personnel from 2 Signal Regt and Attached Arms would be chosen to represent the Regt in the parade. This accolade was first given to the Regt after they assisted the residents of the City of York in a major clean-up operation after severe flooding which breached the rivers walls back in the early 2000’s.
After previously partaking in this event in 2019, I knew it was going to be long and painful on both the day of the parade and during the dreaded drill practice.
As I was one of six LAD personnel that manged to fit into the number 2s and already have them at a good standard, not bad for a Recy Mech to actually fit in his 2s. SSgt ‘Tiff’ Davidson, LCpl Jones, Cfn Nightingale, Cfn Finnegan and Cfn Broster joined me in representing the LAD. The first drill session began withdrawing rifles from the armoury and making a hollow square for the Drill Sergeants to begin the impossible task of turning us into absolute rifle drill gods, it’s safe to say they were still shouting and bawling at us all until the day before the parade. This took slightly longer for some, like Cfn Broster who had completed his Basic Training through the COVID period. After roughly 7hrs of drill a day (drill is NOT a pill that should be taken twice a day!), things started to get a bit easier as we were slowing conditioning to holding the weight of the rifles in the different positions, until they added the magazines and bayonets and it all started again. Thankfully, no one lost any ears or had impromptu haircuts with the addition of bayonets.
After a couple of weeks, the training ramped up slightly as the officers started joining us and we had been informed that The Princess Royal, HRH Princess Anne, was going to be in attendance for the parade.
A list was then formed for personnel to meet Princess Anne after the parade, myself, LCpl Jones and the Tiff had been put forward to meet HRH in the confines of York Minster surrounded by plenty of armed police and bodyguards.
The day of the parade finally came, and after losing Cfn Finnegan due to a ‘’dodgy curry’’ 2 nights before and Cfn Nightingale the day before as he had to ‘’book out for posting’’ we were transported to York via coaches, which turned out to be the most uncomfortable journey since we were in our 2s.
The day was a massive success as we completed the parade with a small lap of honour to a massive applause from the residents and visitors of York.
HRH certainly took a shine to the REME when she chatted to us with her entourage during the parade and in the Minster after. The Tiff had also brought his wife and two boys, who had the task of presenting HRH with a bouquet of flowers at the end.
