1965. I heard of the DofE through family and just thought is sounded fun. My only choice was to do the award through a school that I didn't go to, so my first challenge was to join total strangers in a group where I was the outsider. Having overcome that I loved the challenges and especially the outdoor adventure sections. Walking across muddy fields and yes, one with a bull in it, carrying everything on our backs. I remember orienteering and camping at Easter in the snow and cooking over a tiny stove, worrying that our camping skills would not be good enough for our examiner. "Design for living" involved things like finance and how to support yourself and pay bills and work out tax as well as designing your own house and furniture - all actually very good training for the future. I made new friends and had the opportunity to meet and talk to the Duke at one of our exhibitions. He was so interested in what we had done as a group and in our individual hobbies sections. Time moved on and my experiences in DofE helped to prepare me for many different adult roles helping young people (from babies to teenagers) to explore, care for and interact with the world. Eventually the next generation of my family also did their DofE and my journey took me to the Palace as a parent. Good luck to all young people and wishing many happy hours of the DofE to the next generation.