Rebecca Harding

It was the summer of 89'. I was in a team of 6 ATC cadets tackling the final day of our Gold Expedition in Llanbedr, Wales.

It was unseasonably hot for that part of Cymru, and the team had to take on the toughest part of the expedition, an 8-10 mile trek up a hill that got steeper and steeper as we climbed. The team began to space out little, taking it at their own pace to conquer the climb. At the front was myself and a Flight Sergeant.

As the top of the hill started to appear, I looked at the Flight Sergeant, he looked back at me, I looked back at him. "Can we run to the top, Flight Sergeant?" I said. "Yes, come on," he said, and we started to run. As we scrambled to the peak, an RAF Tornado came shooting over, you could not have asked for a more fitting celebration. We jumped and screamed with joy. We turned round and started shouting words of encouragement to the others to keep going, we all made it to the top and carried on to successfully complete the expedition.

It is thanks to Prince Philip that I have this wonderful memory, but importantly the DofE Scheme taught me to never give up. When I think of Prince Philip, I will always think of that day and what our team achieved. I am truly thankful.
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