- At the age of 11, Kidane Cousland could not read, and left school aged 15
- Now the 24-year-old is set to graduate from Sandhurst at the top of class
- Cadet told the Mail he would be dead or in prison if it had not been for army
 |
| Kidane Cousland will become one of only a handful of mixed-race officers to be awarded the prestigious ‘sword of honour’ |
At the age of 11, Kidane Cousland could still not read, and by 15 he had left school.
But
now the officer cadet, who grew up on a housing estate in Tottenham,
north London, is to graduate from Sandhurst at the top of his class –
having even beaten Oxbridge graduates in the academic challenges.
The
24-year-old, who served in Afghanistan, today became one of only a
handful of mixed-race officers to be awarded the prestigious ‘sword of
honour’ for being the best in his 200-strong intake.
 |
| He was handed the honour by his Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamd Al-Khalifa (pictured), from the Kingdom of Bahrain at Samdhurst today |
He was presented with the sword in a graduation ceremony at Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy today, when he will officially become a senior
under officer.
 |
| The son of a single mother and social worker, he worked his way up the ranks and today became one of only a handful of mixed-race officers to be given the award, graduating as the best of his 200-strong intake |
Last
night Officer Cadet Cousland – known as Danny to his comrades – told
the Mail that had it not been for joining the Army, he would have been
dead or in prison.
‘I
went to school, I was completely disconnected, I didn’t get on ... I
was in a bad way really,’ he said. ‘But something I always wanted to do
since I was a child was join the Army.
'And it felt like a bit of a pipe dream when I was in Tottenham, but then I said to myself if I’m good enough, they’ll pick me.
‘I
either did that or my anger issues and frustration would actually see
me move in a different direction, and probably end up killing me or I’d
be in prison.’
On
coming top of his class, he added: ‘All I have done is tried to be the
best that I can be every day. I was told I wouldn’t be able to be an
officer because of my educational background – I only had three GCSEs.
It just hasn’t had time to set in.’
His
platoon commander, Captain Lucy Mason, said he was one of the
‘relatively few’ former ordinary soldiers to have been selected to be an
officer and go on to win the accolade.
‘He is
incredibly professional, determined, and a great team player,’ she
said. ‘He’s one of the few ex-ranking soldiers to get the sword of
honour. He doesn’t have a degree like many of the others here.’
OCdt
Cousland revealed his mother had initially refused to sign his Army
application because she was ‘absolutely terrified by the prospect of her
young mixed-race son joining the Army’ – which she saw as a
‘predominantly white organisation made up of some potentially quite
aggressive working-class men ruled by some upper-class sorts’.
 |
| The officer cadet, who grew up on a housing estate in Tottenham, north London, is to graduate from Sandhurst at the top of his class – having even beaten Oxbridge graduates in the academic challenges |
However, she later relented, and aged 16 he came top of the Army selection board, later coming top of his Commando course at 18.
At
19, he was deployed to Afghanistan, where he served as a bombardier for
six months in the 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery.
After being recommended for officer training, he started at Sandhurst in May 2015.
After
graduating he will be commissioned into the Royal Artillery, and hopes
to complete a Bachelor’s degree in war studies before doing a Master’s.
Only a handful of black, Asian, minority ethnic people have received the sword of honour.
The last black officer cadet to receive it was Irish Guard Charlie Mulira in 2007.
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