Page 7 - Flaming Cauldron – Issue 61

ACC ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
about why you started this. When I thought why I
started it, I knew I had to finish it!
“I remember standing proudly on the parade
square at Pirbright a couple of weeks later, thinking,
despite the gruelling 14 weeks of training, you’ve
done it. It was a great moment in my life.”
As a Chef, Sgt Kaur completed her 14-week
initial trade training at Food Services Training
Wing (FSW) at DCPLA Worthy Down. Her first
posting was to 16 Air Defence Regiment Royal
Artillery in Rutland. “After 12 months with 16
Regiment I volunteered to work with the Army
Diversity Action Recruiting Team [DART] in
Aldershot. There were soldiers from all cap badges,
from all backgrounds and faiths and our job was
to change perceptions of the Army. In teams of
two or four we visited schools, colleges, Sikh tem-
ples (Gurdwaras), mosques and Hindu temples.
We gave presentations about the Army, the differ-
ent religions and cultures in the Army and about
our own lived experience. Given my colour, reli- Sgt Kaur showing the
gion, I am a Sikh, and nationality; I used to get
all about
so many people asking why was I in the British
Army? My answer was, it’s not about being in the
British Army or the Indian Forces, it’s about what
you want from your life. For me, I was inspired by
my forefathers fighting in WWI and WW2 and I
wanted to continue that legacy and stand proud in
uniform and say this is who I am.”
Following her tour with DART, Sgt Kaur was
posted to the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR)
in Windsor, working in the Sergeant’s Mess. During
this time Sgt Kaur became pregnant and following
the birth of her son Udai Singh and maternity leave
she returned to Windsor. She says: “After returning
to work at the HCR, I was selected for promotion
to Lance Corporal. Following my promotion, I was
posted to 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards in
Aldershot. It was a very good unit to work in and
I gained so much experience and confidence as a
chef and soldier as we were always on the move,
going on overseas exercises, to places like Kenya
Sgt Kaur in Estonia with
her Scouts March medal. to raise money for the NHS Ambulance during
SECRETARY@ACCASSOCIATION.ORG | WWW.ACCASSOCIATION.ORG
and Latvia. Latvia was a big exercise, where I was
Army what Punjabi food is involved in feeding the battlegroup. From there I
volunteered to go with 36 Engineer Regiment to
South Sudan. This changed my whole lifestyle,
because I was working with the Gurkhas and
Sudanese and I gained so much experience from
the way the Nepalese cook. While Nepalese food
is similar to Indian cooking, it has so many subtle
differences in the way it is made. South Sudan was
my first time on operations and we fed over 1,000
people at our base, which as much as it was chal-
lenging was really good for my own development
as a chef. While I was there, I organised a charity
event for McMillan Cancer. My Mum had cancer
and survived, so I decided to make 500 cakes in the
field kitchen and raised over £400 with the money
being donated by the multi-national forces there.”
On her return to the UK in 2019, Sgt Kaur
was promoted to Corporal and was posted to
1st Battalion the Royal Welsh as a production
supervisor. She continues: “At this time, along
with my normal duties, I became involved with the
Defence Sikh Network as the female representative
and helped with the Army Multi Cultural Network
and Army Service Women’s Network, promot-
ing diversity and inclusion. I am often asked: do
women get treated differently in the Army to men?
My answer is no! We get treated the same as long
as we are playing as part of the whole team and
accept, we are part of one army family. Through my
work with the networks, I have done lots of live TV
and radio interviews with Asian channels, BFBS
and the BBC. The BBC was a programme where
we set up a field kitchen with the Royal Welsh
and demonstrated how they cooked for the troops
during WW1. I was helped by WO2 Kerry Bale,
who is the training officer at FSTW and WO2 Lee
Lawrence the RCWO at the Royal Welsh. While
at the Royal Welsh, I also set up a fundraising page
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