Junior soldiers in Harrogate have become some of the first British army service personnel to swear the oath to King Charles III.

A total of 211 junior entry soldiers at the Army Foundation College, on Penny Pot Lane in Harrogate, swore the oath on Sunday night, signifying their enlistment into the army.

The college provides basic training to recruits aged 16 and 17. The courses last for either 23 or 49 weeks.

credit MOD Crown Copyright 2022

Read more:

• Junior soldiers graduate at Harrogate’s Army Foundation College
• Harrogate’s Royal Hall to broadcast Queen’s funeral live

Twenty-two junior soldiers at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate said they were raped or sexually assaulted last year.

Figures released by ministers reveal 47 British army recruits under the age of 18 claimed to have been raped or sexually assaulted last year.

Dave Doogan, the Scottish National Party MP for Angus, asked armed forces minister Leo Docherty how many of those were from the Harrogate college.

Mr Docherty replied:

“Of the 47 victims in those statistics, 37 were female and of those cases one has been proven, four are ongoing, and 11 have been transferred to the civilian police.

“Twenty-two were based at the Army Foundation College at the time of the offence.”

The Harrogate college, which recruits about 1,500 recruits each year, is the only British army establishment that delivers military training to junior soldiers aged 16 and 17. Recruits undertake 23-week or 49-week basic training at the college on Penny Pot Lane.

The college on Penny Pot Lane.

Colonel Philip Ingram a former army commanding officer and NATO planner was quoted in The Sun saying:

“These statistics are shocking whatever way you look at them.

“They highlight the most basic of failures in command at a number of different levels and yet it takes a parliamentary question to get the information into the public domain, delivered by the very minister who continuously says the MoD is making huge progress in addressing inappropriate behaviours.

“It is clear that either he is lying or is being lied to in his briefings and the result is the lifetime of trauma imposed on the victims, some of whom are still children. Until defence gets some form of independent oversight then it will continue to cover up what can only be described as atrocious acts.”

Read more:

• Junior soldiers graduate at Harrogate’s Army Foundation College
• Abuse allegations at Harrogate Army Foundation College raised in House of Lords

The Stray Ferret asked the Ministry of Defence to respond to the allegations and asked why so many abuse claims were made by recruits at Harrogate.

An MoD spokesperson said:

“There is absolutely no place for unacceptable behaviour in the army. We recognise the great courage it takes to come forward and report a sexual offence and commanding officers will always refer any allegation of rape and sexual assault, or any other offence which may have a sexual element, to the service police. All allegations are thoroughly investigated, and support provided to alleged victims.

 “At the Army Foundation College emotional, psychological and the physical safety of our young junior soldiers is taken extremely seriously and is central to the ethos at the college. Junior soldiers are empowered to call out unacceptable behaviour and should have confidence that their complaint will be investigated.”

Series of claims

This is not the first time concerns have been expressed about behaviour towards junior soldiers at the Army Foundation College.

Claims of bullying and abuse were raised in the House of Lords in November last year.

Last year also saw a female instructor at the college demoted after being convicted of punching teenage soldiers and three parents call for the college to be closed after claiming their children were abused.

But the college was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted last year. Government inspectors gave positive feedback on safeguarding at the college, saying it investigated incidents thoroughly and made necessary improvements.

Last year Carol Monaghan, the Scottish National Party’s spokesperson for the armed forces, attempted to introduce a clause in the Armed Forces Bill preventing 16 and 17-year-olds enlisting in the army. Anyone under the age of 18 in the UK is legally classified as a child.

But Kevan Jones, Labour MP for North Durham, defended the college. He said:

“I suggest that anyone who wants to see the positive way individuals can and do improve their lives visits the Army Foundation College in Harrogate.”

Ripon Royal Engineers embark on subterranean warfare training

Ripon Royal Engineers have embarked on a subterranean warfare training exercise in Leeds.

Around 20 personnel from the 21 Engineer Regiment embraced the hot weather earlier this week and slipped into an array of tunnels as part of the training known as Hypogeal Bear.

The Ripon-based unit made their way through 2km of knee-high water for what is seen as one of the Army’s most innovative exercises of the training year.

Read more:

• Ripon Vision Support receives £7,000 boost from mayor’s appeal
• Ripon’s Spa Baths to be returned to its former glory

Starting off from near the Royal Armouries Museum, and supported all the way by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, the troops made their way through the winding underground route until they reached Harewood Barracks.

Sergeant Mottley, one of the masterminds behind the exercise, said:

“We are trialling subterranean tactics, techniques, and procedures in a real-world environment, with the aim to build a specialist engineering capability that can augment the infantry and civilian services.

“This is not a sterile training area! It is not easy-going underfoot, it is not easy to manoeuvre down. We are in the middle of Leeds and it is something completely different. The links that this has built with Leeds City Council and the Fire and Rescue Service have also been a big plus.”

Pictures by Sgt Ben Maher RLC / MOD Crown Copyright 2022

Ripon-based soldiers in the 21 Engineer Regiment have begun a deployment in Cyprus as part of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force.

The soldiers will spend the next six months carrying out patrols on the buffer zone that runs between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

The UN force was set up in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the two island communities.

Sappers from the regiment took up their duties on Monday in a ceremony in the country’s capital, Nicosia.

Lieutenant colonel Perry Bishop, commanding officer of 21 Engineer Regiment said:

“Peacekeeping poses some unique challenges that I have not experienced elsewhere in my career.”

“The Regiment’s soldiers understand the importance of this mission, and are eager to put the British Army’s world-leading training to good effect.”

Read more:

• Government gives Harrogate district private school £8m a year to educate army children
• Police launch crackdown on underage drinking in Ripon

21 Engineer Regiment has three squadrons based in Ripon.

In recent years, it has seen a significant focus on support to UN peacekeeping operations.

This has included deployments to Cyprus, Somalia, and South Sudan.

A graduation parade in Harrogate today marked the completion of training for over 400 of the British Army’s newest soldiers.

A crowd of around 2,000 family members and friends witnessed the occasion at the Army Foundation College on Penny Pot Lane.

The college provides training tailored exclusively to junior soldiers, who are all under the age of 18 when they join up.

Junior soldiers stand on parade for graduation at AFC Harrogate. Pic MOD Crown Copyright 2022 / Cpl Danielle Dawson RLC

Lieutenant Colonel Simon Farebrother MC, commanding officer of the college, said:

“Those graduating today have proved equal to the test and represent the very best of our nation’s young people.

“They are now ready for their second phase of training which will hone the skills learnt here and develop those required for their chosen trade.”

Pic: MOD Crown Copyright 2022 / Cpl Danielle Dawson RLC

Read more:

• Parents call for Harrogate army college to be closed after abuse claims
• Harrogate army college ‘outstanding’ in new Ofsted report

The event was presided over by Lieutenant General Sir Christopher Tickell, deputy chief of the general staff in the British Army.

The parade, which featured music from the British Army Band Catterick, marked the culmination of months of military training and education at the college.

Families look on at the graduation parade. MOD Crown Copyright 2022 / Cpl Danielle Dawson RLC

A statement by the Military of Defence said:

“Through leadership development, The Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme accreditation, sporting prowess, adventurous training, and education — no other military invests the time, energy, and breadth of resources into its soldiers as the British Army does through the Army Foundation College.

“The college is also one of the most effective education establishments in the United Kingdom and, as an Ofsted outstanding institution, it represents the jewel in the crown of the British Army’s training engine.”

Five females aged 16 and 17 based at Harrogate’s Army Foundation College have reported rape or sexual assault since 2015.

Sexual assault allegations by junior soldiers in the British Army came to light in October following a freedom of information request to the Ministry of Defence by the charity Child Rights International Network (CRIN).

The MOD revealed there had been 41 complaints of rape or sexual assault by under 18s in the army since 2015.

Government junior defence minister Leo Docherty said yesterday in a written response to a question on the subject that five of these complaints were from young females based at Harrogate.

The college on Pennypot Lane recruits about 1,500 young men and women each year. It is the only British Army establishment that delivers military training to soldiers under the age of 18.

Allegations of bullying and abuse at the college were raised in the House of Lords last month.

Read more:

• Abuse allegations at Harrogate Army Foundation College raised in House of Lords
• Harrogate Army Foundation College instructor demoted for punching teenage soldiers

The college was recently rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, which gave positive feedback on safeguarding at the college, saying it investigated incidents thoroughly and made necessary improvements.

A British Army spokesperson said:

“We have very strong duty of care and safeguarding mechanisms at AFC (Harrogate) to ensure junior soldiers have the right support structures.  This includes multiple methods of accessing welfare support, including confidential support lines. We take every incident seriously and will refer an allegation to the Royal Military Police for investigation. We also have a Ministry of Defence police officer based at AFC (Harrogate) to assist in education and investigation.

“The armed forces takes any allegation of rape or sexual assault very seriously, and investigates all allegations thoroughly, taking action where appropriate.

“Since 2018 the Royal Military Police has provided sexual offence and consent training at all army basic training establishments in support of the army’s approach to eradicating offending amongst its ranks and educating on the complexities of consent. So far this year, sexual offence and consent training has been delivered to over 600 soldiers at AFC (Harrogate).”

Three parents have called for Harrogate Army Foundation College to be closed after claiming their children were abused.

Alison Blackwell, Charlotte Poad and another parent, known only as Kevin, expressed their concerns to the Child Rights International Network, which is a think tank that focuses on the human rights of young people.

The college on Penny Pot Lane, which provides basic training for the British Army for 16 and 17-year-olds, was recently rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

CRIN sent an open letter to Ofsted yesterday questioning its rating and claiming the college is unsafe. The letter says:

“The ‘outstanding’ grade leads potential recruits and their parents to assume that the college offers the highest standard of care.

“With this open letter, we wish to repeat our concern that the college is unsafe, as evidenced by multiple formal complaints of abuse by staff, the routine use of stressors in training, and the imposition on recruits of legal obligations that deny them the right to leave at will.

“We believe that a civilian college with a similar record would be closed.”

The letter adds the army’s Joint Personnel Administration system had recorded 60 formal alleged incidents of violence against recruits aged under 18 by members of college staff since 2014, including assault and battery, and that 10 of the allegations were made since Ofsted’s inspection in 2017.

It also raises concerns about the college’s “very high attrition rate”, saying 30 percent of recruits aged under 18
drop out before they complete their training and that recruits have no legal right to leave during the first six weeks.

It claims the college operates daily use of physical and psychological stressors, such as the interruption of sleep and privacy and the use of humiliation to induce obedience.

Son died aged 17

Alison Blackwell is waiting for a Ministry of Defence inquiry into her son’s death. He died aged 17 while serving in the army.

She told the CRIN:

“My son told me he was hit, slapped, pushed, kicked and verbally abused by staff. He said he felt humiliated by this treatment and he never expected to be treated this way. He knew the training would be tough but this was abuse and the staff were power crazy.

“My son started drinking heavily and was very withdrawn, he rang me to tell me he was handing in his letter to leave. He told me his request was ripped up in his face. He was only 17 years old and devastated at not being able to leave. My son died last year while still serving in the army.”

Kevin, the father of a recruit who joined the college in 2015 said:

Coronation Street actor Antony Cotton said yesterday was one of the “proudest days of his life” as he inspected graduating soldiers at the Army Foundation College.

The college on Pennypot Lane recruits about 1,500 men and women each year. It’s the only British Army establishment that delivers military training to junior soldiers aged 16 and 17.

Around 750 soldiers graduated yesterday and the accompanying parade, which is the largest of its kind in Europe, featured a flypast from an RAF Typhoon.

The actor, who is gay and a LGBT campaigner, was invited to the event by the British Army and tweeted his pride at being asked:

“To think that 20 years ago a man like me wasn’t even allowed to serve, let alone officially inspect a pass off on the parade square. I’m incredibly proud to be part of the British Army’s tribe.”

Read more:

• Trees planted to honour Captain Tom at Harrogate’s army college

• Harrogate pupils plant roses in memory of Captain Tom

It was the first graduation to take place where soldiers walked under a memorial walkway dedicated to Captain Sir Tom Moore.

Lieutenant Colonel Farebrother MC, commanding officer at the AFC, praised the graduating soldiers.

He said:

“They have had an extremely tough year, coping with long periods away from their families and loved ones whilst becoming the trained soldiers you see before you today.”