Singaporean 'toy soldier' wins prestigious Sandhurst award

Despite being smaller in stature, armour officer tops gruelling 44-week course in UK

- Kolette Lim

As he toiled, digging trenches in sub-zero temperatures and transporting logs weighing up to 100kg over hilly roads, Lieutenant Nicholas Tang kept reminding himself: Do it for Dad.

The 26-year-old Singaporean soldier had to endure gruelling tasks during a 44-week commissioning course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England.

But he pushed himself through adversity to receive an award for being the best international cadet, fulfilling a promise he had made to his late father, who died four months before the end of the course.

"From the time I joined the military, my dad was very proud of me and my achievements," said the section officer at the Officer Cadet School. "It was the last thing I could do to honour him." On April 12, LTA Tang was awarded the International Sword for Best International Cadet at the course's passing out parade, referred to as the Sovereign Parade.

"I did not expect to win it. It's tough competition, you have talents from other countries as well," he said. "I felt a sense of pride to be able to represent the country well, and my family, and, most of all, the fulfilment of the promise I made to my dad." An engraving on the sword - the name of his father, Mr Jason Tang served as a final affirmation of his performance.

The infantry-based course at the academy, known simply as Sandhurst, comprises physical training exercises and academic modules such as war studies.

Sandhurst is among the world's most prestigious military academies, and its alumni include Prince William, Prince Harry, the Sultan of Brunei and Winston Churchill.

LTA Tang's cohort for the course, which began on May 5, 2023, comprised 26 international cadets from 19 nations such as the United States and Thailand.