PORTSMOUTH CUP COMPETITION
Discover the past. Build skills. Represent your unit.
Competition Aim
The Portsmouth Cup Competition aims to celebrate and preserve the heritage, ethos, and spirit of the Royal Marines by encouraging cadets to explore, interpret, and present elements of Corps history, values, and family through creative and original work.
BACKGROUND
The competition is a heritage-focused initiative open to all Royal Marines Cadet units and detachments and is delivered in partnership with the Royal Navy Museum and Royal Marines Historical Society.
It is designed to foster pride, understanding, and connection to the traditions of the Royal Marines and its wider family, past and present.
FOREWARD FROM THE COMMANDANT GENERAL ROYAL MARINES
It gives me immense pride to introduce this year’s Royal Marines Cadets Heritage Competition - an initiative that could not be more timely as we prepare to open the new Royal Marines Experience Museum later this year. The museum will stand as a living testament to the extraordinary history of our Corps: a history written not only in major battles and famous operations, but in the character, grit, and determination that define every Royal Marine, past and present.
Understanding our heritage is not about looking backwards - it is about knowing where we as a Corps come from so we can move forward with clarity, purpose, and confidence. The values that shape the Corps today were forged on beaches, in mountains, across seas, and in the quiet professionalism of everyday service. They are your inheritance as Royal Marines Cadets, and they will shape the leaders you become.
This competition is an invitation to explore that heritage - to study it, question it, interpret it, and bring it to life in your own way. I am particularly looking forward to seeing how you capture the spirit of the Corps: our humour, our resilience, our adaptability, and our unbreakable sense of family.
Whether your contribution is creative, analytical, artistic, or technical, what matters most is that it reflects your understanding of what it means to be part of this remarkable Royal Marines family. Your ideas, your energy, and your curiosity will help ensure that the story of the Royal Marines continues to be told with authenticity and pride.
I wish you the very best of luck. I cannot wait to see how you honour our past—and how you help shape our future.
Per Mare, Per Terram
General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, KCB, OBE, ADC
THE COMPETITION
This year, you're invited to take part in the Royal Marines Cadet Heritage Challenge - a competition that will test your teamwork, research skills and creativity.
COMPETITION CATEGORIES
Units and detachments may submit entries in one or more of the following categories.
- Photography/visual image
- Living history / interview
- Creative Interpretation
- Historic project/presentation
JUDGING CRITERIA, AWARDS AND SUBMISSION
Entries will be assessed against the following:
- Relevance: Connection to Royal Marines heritage and ethos.
- Originality: Creativity and uniqueness of the submission.
- Effort and Presentation: Quality, clarity, and professionalism.
- Understanding: Demonstrated knowledge or insight into the subject.
Impact: Ability to engage, inform, or inspire.
| Name | Website Link |
|---|---|
| Royal Navy Museums | https://www.royalnavymuseums.org.uk/ |
| Royal Marines Historical Society | https://www.rmhistoricalsociety.org/ |
| The Royal Marines Charity | https://rma-trmc.org/ |
| Royal Navy - Royal Marines Band Service | https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/organisation/rmbs |
| Royal British Legion | https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved |
| Imperial War Museums | https://www.iwm.org.uk/ |
| Forces War Records - Historical Military Records | https://uk.forceswarrecords.com/ |
| Volunteer Vacancies - Volunteer Cadet Corps | https://www.volunteercadetcorps.org/volunteer-vacancies |
| The National Archives | https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ |
| Commonwealth War Graves Commission | https://www.cwgc.org/ |
Here's a list of organisations and sources that you could draw on to help support your competition research.