Corps news

The 2020 First Sea Lord Cadets at their investiture

Meet the new First Sea Lord Cadets The new First Sea Lord Cadets for 2020 have been sworn in for duty. Their roles will include representing the First Sea Lord Adm Tony Radakin and attending events. The latest cadets to take up their roles are: Cdt Cpl Laurelle, Waltham Forest Unit (London Area), LC Emma, Inverness Unit (Northern Area), POC John, Connah’s Quay Unit (North West Area), POC Jonathan, Worksop Unit (Eastern Area), POC Poppy, Southampton Unit (Southern Area) and POC Ellie from Malvern Unit (South West Area). BZ to all, and we hope you get a chance to carry out your duties soon.

Generous donation for Sea Cadets

Cadets are set to benefit from a gift of £74,451 from the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve’s (RNVR) Youth Sailing Trust. This will go toward bursaries to help cadets have life-changing experiences with Sea Cadets, like realising their dreams of making that much-anticipated voyage on TS Royalist or any of our offshore fleet. Sea Cadets Chief Executive Martin Coles expressed his thanks: “This will ensure many young people get the opportunity of a lifetime, that would otherwise have been inaccessible to them.”

Highest honours for our amazing volunteers

The recognition of our volunteers remains one of the highlights of the Honours List, including three receiving British Empire Medals (BEM).

Jan Spicer (top) received an MBE for fundraising in Hull. Jan joined when girls were first admitted in the 1960s; 21 members of her family have now joined.

Emma Walton BEM (middle), from Grimsby, was honoured for supporting her local unit, including helping to raise £70,000 to secure its future.

Lieutenant Commander (SCC) George Wilson (bottom), London Region HQSO, and Chief Petty Officer (SCC) Stefen Wells, from Shirley, received BEMs for sterling work in their communities.

Marine Society and Sea Cadets (MSSC) Trustee John May DL has become an OBE for services to young people, while former trustee and current Vice-President Patrick Stewart MBE received a CVO for his work as Lord Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute.

Celebrating 70 years of service!

Weston Sea Cadets has recently marked a huge milestone for one of its members, Grace Monk, who has spent an amazing 70 years at the unit. Volunteers and lifelong friends marked Grace’s incredible service to the charity with a party.

Grace, aged 87, says she has had a “wonderful life” helping cadets over the years, and celebrated her milestone achievement at the unit’s headquarters in December with a cake and a buffet. “I joined Weston Sea Cadets in 1949 and that was also where I met my husband,” Grace says. “I’ve had such a wonderful life with the group – we have had the best time of our lives.”

Unsung heroes

Two volunteers have been recognised for their amazing contribution to Sea Cadets with a British Citizen Award. Bevan Johns, 80, is a Royal Navy veteran who has supported more than 3,000 young people during his 40 years as a volunteer at Islington Sea Cadets. Another veteran, Paul Townsend, from Orpington, was awarded for his contribution as CO of City of London Sea Cadets. He has been responsible for training more than 300 sea cadets in seamanship, navigation and engineering on board their HQ, HMS Belfast, for 30 years.

“I’m excited to receive this award,” said Mr Johns. “Between us, me, my wife and our two children have 100 years of service.” Mr Johns was instrumental in keeping the unit going. He helped raise £17,000 to renovate a disused electricity substation so they could have their own HQ. It was renovated in the design of a ship, and when they ran out of money, Mr Johns taught the cadets carpentry and bricklaying to get it finished.

“I got an awful lot from Sea Cadets,” he says. “I went on seamanship courses with the Royal Navy. They taught me everything about engineering. Young people should still get their hands dirty and look at the mechanical or electrical sides of things. Sea Cadets offers them that chance.”

The award, presented at The House of Lords, recognises the unsung heroes who have had a considerable impact on their local communities.

Get your motor running!

Cadets from Penarth will be able to get more hands-on engineering experience thanks to a donation from Ford: a fully assembled diesel engine. The gift will enable young people interested in gaining Marine Engineering (ME) qualifications a chance to explore all aspects of the engine, as it’s mounted on a special carriage. The donation came about after UMC member Andy Price heard about the cadets’ desire to gain experience with boat engines and asked Ford for help. CO, Midshipman Joshua Biundo (SCC) RNR, thanked Ford for their generosity and Mr Price for securing such a valuable asset.

Battling the elements

Units across England and Wales have been keeping their heads above water following flooding

With three storms in quick succession – Ciara, Dennis and Jorge – units have been prepared and taken extra precautions with severe weather and flood warnings in place. But others have just been unlucky.

Despite raising funds to update their building by the River Wye, including six-foot stilts, water levels rose high enough to flood Hereford Sea Cadets.

A £10,000 emergency grant from Hereford City Council will go towards fixing the damaged facilities. Help with the clean-up came from Hereford Rotary Club and nearby units, including Tewkesbury.

Worcester and Ross & Monmouth units were also among others that suffered flooding, while Burton Sea Cadets were flooded out for the second time in five months.

Hereford unit was one of those badly affected by the flooding this winter HMS Oardacious challenged cadets to match their Atlantic row of 3,000 miles

Sea Cadets across the country took on the challenge to collectively row 3,000 miles, and managed to surpass it Cadets smash their ‘Oardacious’ rowing target

Cadets enjoyed privileged access on board HMS Prince of Wales this spring. Thousands of people went to see the giant aircraft carrier on a week-long visit to Liverpool, but dozens of cadets got an even better look.

Cadets from North West Area who were competing in the ROW 3,000 challenge were invited to row inside the ship’s cavernous hangar.

The test for Sea Cadets from here and other venues across the country was to match the 3,000 miles rowed across the Atlantic by a team of Navy submariners, HMS Oardacious.

In all, 46 units entered and helped complete 5,628 miles, nearly double the target, and they were able to follow their progress on a live tracker, matching HMS Oardacious’ route.

Beccles Unit completed the most miles (562), with Altrincham, Sale and Stretford (458) in second, narrowly ahead of Morecambe & Heysham (455) and Fishguard (424).

Captain Sea Cadets, Captain Phil Russell RN, was present in Liverpool for the weekend: “This has been a unique event for many young people and it’s been wonderful to see the friendship and cooperation between groups, plus a touch of friendly competition,” he said. “Many thanks go to the Royal Navy and the crew of HMS Prince of Wales for hosting us. Only being part of Sea Cadets can offer this sort of experience.”

‘It’s been wonderful to see the friendship and cooperation between groups, plus a touch of friendly competition’

AREA NEWS

See what’s been happening across the UK. Share your news by emailing SCmag@ms-sc.org

Northern Ballymena Sea Cadets will be able to take part in the Duke Of Edinburgh's Award scheme this year, after funding provided them with much-needed equipment including roll mats, sleeping bags and all-weather jackets. The unit was among the first applicants to receive funding from local company the Donnelly Group. Ruth Verner, Chair of Ballymena Sea Cadets, said: “The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a superb opportunity for young people but due to the cost of equipment, it is inaccessible for many. The funding has allowed us to give more young people this opportunity.”

© Fleetwood Today

Eastern Wisbech Sea Cadets have become the first in the country to be affiliated with the Royal Society of St George. The society’s national and international chairman, Joanna Cadman, attended a presentation evening, which also highlighted the cadets’ hard work over the last 12 months. Sub Lt (SCC) Jade Merson, Officer in Charge, said: “It makes me super proud to celebrate all their hard work. They succeeded in many things over 2019, and I look forward to many more years to come.” © Bury Free Press

London Volunteers and cadets at Sunbury & Walton are showing how patience can be rewarded, after resuming work on their new building. Their fitfor-purpose waterborne centre, which will include an engineering centre and boat storage area, is intended to last for 70 years, but a flood in 2014 kept them out of the building for two years, forcing them to close temporarily, and fundraising has been a challenge. But, despite a flooding near-miss this winter, construction is finally under way.

North West Former cadets and volunteers from Fleetwood Sea Cadets came from around the country and Europe to attend a reception in honour of their leaders of many years. Chief among them is Lt Cdr (SCC) Derek Scrivener (pictured) who was at the centre of the celebrations. Ninety-two years young and a crucial part of Fleetwood Sea Cadets for decades, he was joined by cadets who travelled to Lancashire from across the UK and also from Spain and Cyprus.

South West Redditch and Bromsgrove Sea Cadets have received a £1,000 cash boost from Persimmon Homes South Midlands. The grant was awarded as part of the firm’s Community Champion scheme and will help buy equipment and extras to train cadets in catering and engineering. Lieutenant (SCC) James Sanders, who applied for the grant on behalf of Sea Cadets, said: “Our aim is to provide cadets with the best head start in life. We help young people gain skills in sailing, water sports, adventure training, engineering and much more.”

Southern Gosport Sea Cadets are looking forward to a new building, after cutting turf at Fort Blockhouse. After being moved from their building in Old Clarence Yard when it was sold for redevelopment, the unit is set for a new lease of life following a £400,000 grant from the Ministry of Defence. The new facility will include a large boat stowage building, a workshop and a purpose-built block with classroom, shower and changing facilities.

EASTERN AREA

Find out what’s been happening in your area and share your own stories to see them here next issue

HMS Vengeance crew celebrate Freedom of the Borough with Bury St Edmunds cadets Bury St Edmunds Sea Cadets and submariners from HMS Vengeance came together to mark the 20th year of their affiliation. The special link between the two was marked with a service and parade, led by Bury St Edmunds Sea Cadets band and crew from HMS Vengeance, including its Commanding Officer, Commander Darren Mason RN. HMS Vengeance’s relationship with Bury St Edmunds Sea Cadets began in the early 1980s, and in 2017 the submarine was awarded the Freedom of West Suffolk.

© Bury Free Press

First Sea Lord Cadets 2019 As we welcome six new First Sea Lord Cadets, it’s only right that we pay tribute to our outgoing First Sea Lord Cadets for 2019. Special Eastern Area thanks goes to Petty Officer Cadet Megan from Flitwick & Ampthill Sea Cadets, pictured here (top left) with her fellow First Sea Lord Cadets on her investiture in January 2019.

All aboard HMS Biter King’s Lynn Sea Cadets got a special tour of a Royal Navy patrol boat as it docked into the Norfolk town. HMS Biter is one of 14 units which form the First Patrol Boat Squadron. Cadets were shown around by HMS Biter Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Matthew Smith.

Chesterfield RMC is first local Civic Cadet Chesterfield Royal Marines Cadet John has become North East Derbyshire District Council’s first Civic Cadet. John signed pledges to support the Council Chair and Armed Forces Member Champion to carry out their duties and to be an ambassador for the Armed Forces Community and Cadet Detachments. BZ, John!

Share your stories!

Following your feedback, we’re changing the way The Sea Cadet looks to include more of your stories. We want to highlight every part of Eastern Area, its successes, achievements and, above all, YOU. If you want to see your unit featured in Area News, please email us your story and a photo to SCmag@ms-sc.org