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Hurry Up and Wait

The Secret Life of a Sandhurst Cadet

Geordie Stewart author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Unicorn Publishing Group

Published:12th Sep '22

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Hurry Up and Wait cover

Nobody forgets Sandhurst.


The perception from outside is of matchless professionalism, organisation and military efficiency. Sandhurst embodies all these qualities. But they aren’t the whole story. Nor are they what makes it unique.


Hurry Up and Wait provides a captivating peek behind the curtain of the 44-week course that shapes the future officers of the British Army. It’s the story of overachieving instructors meeting underperforming cadets. There’s the stuff you’d expect: parades, marching, making beds, shouting, shooting and standing up straight, all in the name of serving your country.


But the book is also about the people, relationships, laughter, contradictions, chaos and frantic reality that exists below the serene surface. It’s Hogwarts with guns, 140-hour weeks, endless acronyms and half-smoked cigarettes. It is, above all, about playing the game.


Welcome to the finest military academy in the world.

“Hurry Up and Wait is the most accurate and amusing account of Sandhurst I’ve read” – Sir Chris Bonington 

 

“Funny but true – an observant and human reflection of RMAS’s benchmark for leadership” – Josh Lewsey MBE

 

“Irreverent, honest, hilarious, but serious too. Geordie Stewart brilliantly captures the life of a Sandhurst officer cadet…. I cannot recommend this highly readable and authentic book enough.” – General Lord Richards of Herstmonceux GCB CBE DSO

 

"Geordie captures the essence of what goes on at Sandhurst… Humour, heartache, frustration, pride, challenge and adventure; all the ingredients for a cracking read." – Major General Paul Nanson – Sandhurst Commandant 2015-2020 and author of ’Stand Up Straight.'

 

“Geordie tells the story of Sandhurst just as it is… It draws out the madness, the emotion, the challenge, the reward and the humour. It is a triumph. And just as I recall it, as an Officer Cadet and as the Commandant.” – Major General David Rutherford-Jones – Sandhurst Commandant 2007-2009

 

"With detail and humour, and an insider's knowledge, Geordie Stewart takes the reader within the machine where the British Army makes its officers." – Simon Akam – Author of ‘The Changing of the Guard’ 

 

“Hurry Up and Wait is a laugh out loud autobiographical comedy… ’Hurry Up and Wait' will be, for many years, the classic book on this remarkable British institution.” – Frank Ledwidge – Author of 'Losing Small Wars'

 

“I loved this book and promise anyone who has passed out of ‘The Idiot Factory’, that they will too.” – Bryn Parry OBE – Soldier, cartoonist and founder of Help for Heroes

 

“Hurry Up and Wait is a funny, illuminating and authentic story of what life at Sandhurst entails… I highly recommend it to those that want to understand what makes Sandhurst the successful institution it is.” – Johnny Mercer MP – Cabinet Minister for Veterans’ Affair

 

“Geordie’s account captures the exceptionally funny and intensely serious elements of choosing to serve and lead in the British Army” – Dan Jarvis MBE MP

ISBN: 9781914414961

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

220 pages