38 NAVY NEWS, FEBRUARY 2011


Donations welcomed by Buxton


BUXTON unit was delighted to receive donations of two items of equipment which have vastly improved their training capabilities.


● AC Michael Carroll


Charles Kitchen, president of Buxton and District Lions Club, and Nick Townsend, chairman of their Charity Committee, presented the unit with an overhead projector, while Andrew Naden, director of AJ Naden Haulage Ltd, presented a laptop computer.


The combination of the projector and the laptop enables staff to give PowerPoint presentations to groups of cadets, and senior cadets can learn how to create and deliver PowerPoint presentations themselves.


War poem strikes a chord


Yachting Association training for Sea Cadets and for Errwood Sailing Club, it can now use DVDs which demonstrate a variety of skills.


As the unit carries out Royal


● Members of Bristol Avonmouth unit perform a hornpipe amidst the snow – real and fake – at the Victorian Festival of Christmas in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard


were able to see it in use by enthusiastic cadets and were impressed with the results. Buxton unit has also expressed its thanks to all the people who supported them in a bag pack at Morrisons, which raised £690, and in ‘Community Matters’ at Waitrose, which will result in a donation of £321.


Frigate offers sea-time for RM cadets


SIX members of the Lympstone Detachment of the Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps recently experienced the open sea aboard HMS Campbeltown. Meeting the frigate in Holyhead,


North Wales, the cadets had a fun- packed programme, visiting many areas of the ship.


Hosted on board by Cdr Keri


Harris, they were shown the engine rooms, participated in some first aid training, were given a comprehensive brief by 206 Flight, who were embarked with their Lynx, and were allowed to drive the ship – under the close direction of the Quartermaster and the Officer of the Watch. There were two elements of the visit which the cadets would class as their highlight; one was firing a general purpose machine gun from the flight deck, and the other was being invited to have dinner with the Captain in his personal quarters.


HMS Campbeltown is to be decommissioned this year,


so


this was a real opportunity for the cadets to see life aboard a warship.


Poppy cash handed over


REPRESENTATIVES from Whitehaven unit were able to provide a cash boost of over £350 to the Poppy Appeal at the Kells, Whitehaven branch of the Royal British Legion. The money was raised through a concert by the Royal Marines Band Scotland, held in the town’s Civic Hall. Speaking at the presentation the unit’s vice chairman, David Abbott, said that it was a great pleasure for the Sea Cadets to make the donation to the appeal. “We are honouring a promise


we made that we would share the concert proceeds with the Legion,” he said. “It is a very great pleasure for us to be able to give a little bit back to our community, which has supported us so generously for many years.”


The cheque was presented to Bill Mawson, chairman of the Kells Branch of the Legion, and secretary Alan Barnes by CPO (SCC) Maureen McEuan.


● ACs Maisy Welsman and Jasmine Walker with Santa and Lauran the Elf


The donors of the equipment


A burst of publicity for frozen hornpipes


BRISTOL Avonmouth


cadets kept the cold at bay with vigorous displays of the hornpipe at a festival in


Portsmouth. And their efforts, at the Historic


Dockyard’s Victorian Festival of Christmas, put the youngsters in the spotlight as almost 30,000 visitors turned up to enjoy traditional festive attractions. The cadets of TS Enterprise


were invited to bring their Hornpipe Display Team and a party of cadets to demonstrate the traditional form of naval exercise and entertainment. They performed two displays in the main entertainment arena and a further eight displays up and down the ‘Main Road’. And whereas in previous years


the event has relied on snow machines for a wintry appearance, this time there was real snow falling as the cadets showed off their skills. AC Siobhan McAnaspie said:


“It was really cold but the dancing kept you warm and the snow gave everything a real Christmas feel.” POC Ollie Hillier added: “It


was amazing the interest shown by the visitors. “I don’t think that I have ever been photographed so much in my life.” In between displays cadets and


staff were able to visit permanent displays at the dockyard, including HMS Victory, Action Stations and Father Christmas’ grotto on board HMS Warrior 1860. The party was also given a tour of one of the Royal Navy’s newest ships, Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless. Avonmouth’s Commanding


Officer, Lt (SCC) Barbara Hiller RNR, said: “The cadets were, as always,


brilliant and members of the public made numerous comments about the politeness and smartness of the cadets. “Visits like this one are an excellent way of developing the confidence and interpersonal skills of our cadets in a fun and exciting environment. “Many of our visits to sites like


Portsmouth and London involve activities that you just could not do otherwise.”


Lt Hiller continued: “We would like to thank the Commanding


● Bristol Avonmouth cadets with HMS Daring – sister ship of HMS Dauntless, which they visited – behind them


Officer and the ship’s company of HMS Dauntless, Richmond Events Management, Terri at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, our accommodation hosts and WO Bill Parr at ACACTO, without whose help the visit could not


Falls give unit a lift


STAFF and a handful of hardy cadets from Canonteign unit attended the recent Canonteign Falls Estate Winter Country Fair, during which Father Christmas made a surprise visit.


Christmas fielded requests and shopping lists from his young visitors while other cadets performed car parking duties and helped out in the estate’s restaurant. Unlike the other Service cadets forces, each Sea Cadet unit is an individual charity affiliated to the Marine Society and Sea Cadets; the units receive no direct Government funding but are logistically supported by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, so the trustees rely on partnership support from the local community, schools and businesses to keep the units going. The trustees’


mysteriously disappeared just before Father Christmas turned up – said: “Without the help and support of local businesses like Canonteign Falls we would be unable to provide Sea Cadet activities throughout Teignbridge. “We are happy to support those who support us and help out at events like this”.


Canonteign Sea Cadets are in the process of finalising a number of major community projects supported by both Teignmouth Community College and Teign School and local statutory bodies which will enhance their ability to provide marine training to the youth of Teignbridge. In addition these projects will provide practical support to


pupils attending both schools and the wider community. If you are interested in finding out more, or in supporting the unit, please contact the unit chairman on 01626 879467 or the Officer in Charge, PO Julie Morrison, on 07590 994274.


chairman Nicholas Maylam – who Assisted by Lauran the Elf and two senior cadets, Father ● The spruced-up Medway Towns unit minibus Smart set of wheels THE Medway


minibus was donated by Chatham branch of the RNA and the RNBT in 2007, when it was already seven years old. By 2010, after ten years service,


the bus was beginning to look a little bit worn and drab.


Group, they have a new spruced set of wheels following a full refresh of the livery, which tied


But thanks to the Berkeley Towns unit


Unit chairman Ian Spreadborough said: “It was good timing for us and we are very grateful to Berkeleys for their support.


part, but we needed to smarten up our image when out and about in the community – and now heads turn wherever we go.”


“The Cadets always look the


in with the new Sea Cadet branding.


have taken place. “A big thank-you must go to TS


Hornet, the Gosport Sea Cadets, who quickly obtained a spare CD of the hornpipe music when ours became U/S on the way to Portsmouth.”


A CADET from Widnes unit was invited to recite a poem which he wrote on local radio in the North- West. AC Michael Carroll’s poem, The Last I Heard, portrays a soldier and his bride-to-be’s perspective on war. Michael gave the poem its


first airing at the unit’s annual inspection, but after the BBC obtained a copy they invited him to go into the studio to record an interview for the Roger Phillips Show on BBC Radio Merseyside, and to recite the poem himself. On the day, Michael said: “You


don’t expect that someone from Widnes would get to be on the radio. “It’s a really nice surprise – and my mum is so excited!”


the Navy News website at www. navynews.co.uk/letters/420- the-last-i-heard.aspx


The Commanding Officer at TS Eskimo, Lt (SCC) Danny Yates RNR, said: “We’re all really proud of Michael – this is such an achievement.” Michael’s poem can be found on


Corps supports Red Nose team


THE Sea Cadet Corps is teaming up with Comic Relief for Red Nose Day, Friday March 18. The Red Nose Day team is


at a refugee camp in Sudan on Christmas Day in 1985 with a simple objective – comedians would make people laugh while raising money for good causes at home and in Africa. Red Nose Day arrived in 1988, raising £15m that year and starting a tradition that has since raised more than £450m in total


working with youth groups across the UK, and is challenging every Sea Cadet unit to get involved. To help units come up with good ideas there’s a fundraising activity kit designed specifically for young people, available at www. rednoseday.com/youthgroups To find out more about Sea Cadets teaming up with Comic Relief visit www.sea-cadets. org/comicrelief.aspx Comic Relief was launched


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