Cadet RSM Murtagh, a teenager from Lincolnshire, has been named the top Army Cadet in the United Kingdom after winning the annual national competition at Frimley Park. The contest brought together 26 of the highest-performing young cadets from across the country to compete in a week of gruelling physical and mental challenges, including fieldcraft, navigation, and leadership tests.
A Shocking Victory
For Cadet RSM Murtagh, hearing his name announced as the overall winner came as a complete surprise. “I probably haven’t felt the full effect of it yet. I was very surprised that my name was called out,” he said. “I thought I did well enough to be a contender, but I never really came here expecting to win it. I feel amazing.”
He added: “I feel like I’ve achieved what, when I started cadets, I wanted to achieve.” His journey began shortly after the pandemic lockdowns, when he was looking for a new hobby to stay active. “I was just really bored. We'd just come out of lockdown, and I couldn't go out with mates or play sports. My dad had also been a cadet and always spoke highly of it, so I thought, 'Sign me up.'”
Overcoming Tough Challenges
Despite his background in sports like basketball, rugby, and boxing, Murtagh admitted that maintaining a strong mindset was the hardest part of the challenge. “The day navigation exercise was probably the toughest. It was about pushing through and knowing I had to keep competing,” he explained.
He also learned to evaluate his own performance without immediate feedback, a key lesson from the week. “You don't get feedback after every stand. You have to assess yourself. I learned to think about what I'd done well, what I could improve and then move on. If one stand didn't go well, I couldn't let it affect the next one.”
Advice for Future Competitors
Murtagh urged future competitors to focus heavily on their physical condition before taking on the national contest. “It's easy to focus on the skills and drills, but physical fitness makes everything easier. Navigation, shooting, everything benefits if you're physically prepared.”
The prize ceremony marked the first official cadet engagement for Major General Justin Stenhouse CBE DSO as Commander Cadets. He praised the finalists, saying: “At the start of the week, 26 cadets stood on the start line out of approximately 70,000 cadets nationally. Every one of you passed the Master Cadet course. Every one of you came personally recommended by your County Commandant or your Contingent Commander. Just to get here is a really impressive achievement, and you and your families should be really, really proud of that.”
