Keeping in Touch
Royal Signaller playing Premier 15s rugby at Gloucester-
Hartpury
Anabelle Whitecross is a
talented rugby player with her
eye on the ball.
The 23-year-old lance corporal
has risen through the ranks of her
adopted sport, and in just three
seasons already earned her first
Army cap. She has now set her
sights on a place in the Scottish
national team.
“It’d be an honour to play for my
country – that’s the ambition,” she
admits during a conversation with
the imjin.
“I’d like to establish myself in the
Army team, and eventually see if I
can get recognised by Scotland. I
know they’re keen to develop new
players.”
GO WEST
There’s no doubting the soldier’s
commitment to her sport. She
requested a posting to Imjin
Barracks just so she could train
more regularly with her club,
Gloucester-Hartpury.
“After work I run from here to get
straight into my car to Hartpury to
train. And I’ll often not get back till
9, 9.30pm,” continues Whitecross.
“I used to be posted to Bulford
(on Salisbury Plain), so coming to
Gloucestershire has completely
cut my travel times down. The
two-hour journey from Bulford just
wasn’t working. I was travelling up
to 400 miles per week.”
I.T. GIRL
Lance Corporal Whitecross
currently serves as a member
of 252 Signal Squadron, part
10
SUMMER 2019 the imjin
of 22nd Signal Regiment. As a
member of the I.T. service desk
within Headquarters Allied Rapid
Reaction Corps, she is a well-
known member of the Royal
Signals team, regularly seen
fixing computers across the Imjin
Barracks site.
She credits her Army discipline for
her success on the rugby pitch.
“They complement each other,”
she explains. “It’s good being in the
Army as we’re big into sport.
“And what you find with rugby is
that you get a certain discipline
from the Army, and then you get
a different aspect from playing
rugby. I think it ties in very well.
“In rugby you put your body on the
line for someone, it’s instinctive as
a soldier. You just don’t think about
it, you’re part of the team.”
@HQARRC
Allied Rapid Reaction Corps