SLt Matt Bate, from HMS Ceres, Leeds, is presented with the MacRobert sword by Admiral Tim Fraser CB, Chief of Joint Operations, at Lord High Admiral’s Divisions, BRNC.
SLt Matt Bate, from Batley, West Yorks, is the first Young Officer to be awarded the MacRobert Sword having gone through the Royal Naval Reserve’s Accelerated Officer Programme (AOP - fast track training route), rather than the traditional, longer, officer training route.
The MacRobert Sword is funded at the kind behest of the MacRobert Trust, and is one of a suite of three swords that the Trust provides annually to Young Officers across all Reserve Forces.
The Sword forms part of the Trust’s on-going support to the Reserve Forces.
This year’s winner is Sub-Lieutenant Matthew Bate, from the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR ) unit, HMS Ceres in Leeds.
He commenced RNR Initial Naval Training in November 2016, and completed the fast-track Accelerated Officer Programme.
He passed out as a Midshipman in September 2017 and successfully passed Fleet Board in 2018, subsequently joining the RNR Submarine Operations specialisation.
As winner of the 2019 MacRobert Sword he scored the highest combined score across all aspects of RNR Phase 1 training, in the previous year.
A motivated and assured Young Officer; he is already demonstrating clear leadership in his RNR unit, where he is employed as Initial Naval Training Officer, overseeing the training and coaching of all new recruits.
In civilian life he is the Operations Director of Backstage Academy, a Higher Education provider which specialises in degrees for the live entertainment industry.
The presentation took place at the BRNC Passing out Parade/ Lord High Admiral’s Divisions, alongside other RN and RFA prizes.
