Jacqui calls the shots at parade

Jacqui beat 600 boys and 40 girls to be named best junior soldier

The first female junior Regimental Sergeant Major commanded the passing out parade at her Army college on Friday.

Jacqui Fidler, 17, from Plymouth, beat 600 boys and 40 girls to be named best junior soldier after a gruelling 42-week training course.

The teenager put her fellow junior soldiers through their paces at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate.

Dressed in her military uniform, Miss Fidler showed no signs of nerves.

She barked out orders to the hundreds of boys she beat to the prize at a dress rehearsal on Thursday.

She also beat her male peers to win the coveted Physical Training prize for her consistently high performance during the training regime, an Army spokeswoman said.