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Announcing the Leadership Essay Prize 2024 winners

Essay prize winners stand with Museum Director, Justin Maciejewski, and Commandant General Zack Stenning

Monday, 17 June 2024

The Centre for Army Leadership (CAL) and the National Army Museum (NAM) proudly announce the winners of the Leadership Essay Prize 2024.

In the second year of the CAL X NAM Essay Prize, we asked for short essays exploring the theme of  Unsung Army Leaders.

The competition was open to everyone, military and civilian. We asked to hear unique perspectives, drawn from personal experiences of leadership, whether that was a leader in the entrant's own life or a historical role model.

Winners were given the opportunity to publish their work as an article in the NAM Muster magazine, as a NAM Research Paper, a CAL Occasional paper or a CAL Leadership Insight.

Essay prize results

Leadership Essay Prize 2024 (Junior Category)

Awards for the junior category were presented by Brigadier Justin Maciejewski (Retd), Director of the National Army Museum.

Runner-up

OCdt Luke Clark - 'Remembering Sir Dighton Macnaghten Probyn (1833-1924): The Quiet Power of Effective Leadership and His Relevance Today'

Luke is an Officer Cadet with Bristol University Training Corp. He is studying for MEng Engineering Mathematics at the University of Bristol and is in his second year. 

Winner

Miss Rebecca Jean Grant - 'Unsung Army Leaders: Royal Corps of Army Music: Heard but Not Seen'

Rebecca is serving with the Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM). Rebecca completed her British Army basic training in 2023 and is currently studying the euphonium at the Royal Military School of Music. 

Leadership Essay Prize 2024 (Main Category)

Awards for the main category were presented by Major General Zac Stenning OBE, Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Director of Leadership.

Second Runner-up 

Shahriar Sabet - 'Sir Percy Sykes: A Legacy of Unsung Leadership'

Shahriar holds a PhD in International Relations and an MA in Middle East Politics from Durham University and has focused academically and professionally on the Middle East.

First Runner-up 

Capt George Linfield-Brown - 'Navigating No Man’s Land: Female Doctors at War'

George is a doctor and commissioned officer in the Royal Army Medical Corp. He is currently undertaking postgraduate anaesthetics training at Joint Hospital Group South. In his spare time, George is an active member of the Army Medical Services polo team and is committed to increasing inclusion within the sport.

Winner

 2Lt Alec Cadzow - 'Man Cool: The Dale McCallum Leadership Story'

Alec is currently serving as a Platoon Commander in 1st Battalion, The Scots Guards. Outside of the Army, he is a keen writer, having several opinion articles published online.

Entry requirements

Leadership Essay Prize 2024 (Main Category)

This category was open to writers aged 22 and over.
Essays were no longer than 3,000 words, excluding notes and bibliography.
Essays that exceeded the word limit were not accepted.
Authors included a 200-word abstract and a short biographical note including their full name, rank/grade (if applicable), and basic information about their professional experience.

Leadership Essay Prize 2024 (Junior Category)

This category was open to young writers between the ages of 16 and 21.
Essays were no longer than 2,000 words, excluding notes and bibliography.
Essays that exceeded the word limit were not accepted.
Authors included a short abstract and a biographical note with their full name, age at time of submission, and any other relevant information.

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Notes

About the National Army Museum

Established in 1960 by Royal Charter, the National Army Museum is the United Kingdom’s leading authority on the history and traditions of the British Army. It explores the impact that soldiers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth have had throughout the world, from the 17th century to the present day. Through its world-class collections, the Museum safeguards and shares the stories and values of ordinary people who have been called upon to bear extraordinary responsibilities on behalf of others.

About the Centre for Army Leadership

The Centre For Army Leadership (CAL) exists to champion leadership excellence. It is the guardian of the Army Leadership Doctrine and acts as the Army’s leadership conscience, calibrating thinking across multiple sectors and, through the CAL Research Institute, ensuring conceptual rigour.

Our persistent engagement seeks to stimulate debate, awareness and critical thinking. We are committed to the betterment of the Whole Army – all ranks, Regular and Reserve, and civil servants, through-life – and altruistically, of our wider society.

We are a small and highly dedicated team and we are based at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Camberley.

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