40 NAVY NEWS, MARCH 2011


Volunteer cadet group


flourishes


THE Sea Cadet Corps is not the only show in town. A sister organisation, offering a broadly similar experience, exists in the form of the Volunteer Cadet Corps, which is officially recognised by the Ministry of Defence. The VCC was formed in the


first decade of the 20th century, to encourage the children of sailors to do something useful rather than cause trouble on the streets. One version of the story traces


the Corps’ foundation back to the Royal Marines Barracks at Eastney in Portsmouth; a senior officer’s window was broken by the son of a senior NCO who was kicking a football around, and the VCC was set up to provide an alternative and more edifying pastime for the bored lads. The HMS Sultan VCC formed


rather more recently; it has provided a safe environment for boys and girls aged between nine and 18 since 1979, and is based at Fort Grange Keep within the boundaries of the Gosport establishment.


It is one of only a handful


of VCC units still operating, alongside another RN unit at HMS Collingwood in Fareham and Royal Marine VCC units at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Poole. In addition to Royal Navy- based activities, the organisation also teaches youngsters to become ‘good and meaningful citizens’. Sultan VCC unit currently has 80 cadets on its books, with another 15 due to join this month, while 21 adult staff man the unit and teach skills to the youngsters.


Among the unit’s activities are twice-weekly sports and training nights, field gun displays staged throughout the country, attendance at the Brickwoods field gun competition and the Sultan Show, Remembrance Day parades and Easter and summer activity camps at various locations.


There is also the opportunity


to try their hand at activities such as gliding, sailing, boating, climbing, orienteering and survival weekends. Sultan unit’s first four


registered cadets for the CVQO BTEC in Public Services all passed with a rating of Distinction*, equivalent to four grade As at GCSE. And an ex-PO cadet, Jordan Wilshire, has been selected for the GB ladies ice hockey team, and is in the squad for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which will be hosted by the city of Sochi, in Russia. Two of the unit’s cadets,


Joshua and Zachary Bentley- Allen, were introduced to the Queen when she visited HMS Ark Royal last November – and the monarch posed with them for a photo, definitely one for the family album.


Northampton keep the winning habit


ALL things considered, 2010 was a pretty good year for Northampton and Wellingborough unit – but don’t imagine for a moment that they are going to take


their foot off the gas. The year had ended on a high


when TS Laforey was declared the winner of the Canada Trophy, the prize for the top Sea Cadet unit in the country, and took a further three prizes – the paddle Trophy for the best canoeing unit, the Falcon Trophy for best community participation and the Cleverly Trophy for the best junior section in the UK.


of Rushden in harness – got back into the winning habit, this time taking on and beating the best of Eastern Area in the drill competition, the unit’s sixth area win in a row. As well as winning the armed guard event, the unit also won Best Guard Commander and POC Lara Jolley was awarded the trophy for outstanding ceremonial leadership.


Meanwhile, 15-year-old LC


Joe Barley took the top spot in the piping competition, where he had to demonstrate the use of the traditional boatswain’s (or bosun’s) call.


Commanding Officer Lt (SCC) Chris Read RNR said: “These awards are an outstanding achievement for an inland unit, in competing at the highest levels with units often based in coastal locations, and speak volumes for what our young people achieve locally on the River Nene.” The final competition of 2010 saw the Laforey teams travel to Leicester unit for the Northamptonshire and Leicestershire drill competition – and it is perhaps no surprise that the piping teams and an armed drill squad took the honours and moved on to the Eastern Area competition.


2011 began with messages of thanks from the front line, all a result of the 51 Christmas boxes which had been put together by the cadets as part of Operation Shoebox.


Then the training ship – with the TS Diamond satellite division


Double success for Megan


PROBATIONARY PO Megan Duxbury, of Accrington unit, has been awarded the Cornwell Medal for achieving the highest score on her cadet examinations last year. Megan, who was a Petty Officer Cadet at the time, also took the Pollock Memorial Prize the year before for attaining the highest scores in her exams. It is believed to be the first time


anyone has won the two awards consecutively.


Megan has now become a


volunteer at the unit, hence the change from POC to PPO. She was presented with the


award, which has been given to high-achieving cadets since 1918, by the Senior Staff Officer for Sea Cadets in the North West, Cdr (SCC) Janet Evans RNR. Megan, who also picked up two


unit awards for good measure, has now set herself another challenge – she aims to train as a doctor.


● Barrow, Kendal and Workington cadets and staff in front of submarine Ambush at the Devonshire Dock Hall in Barrow Three units involved with Ambush


CADETS from three units in the North West performed route-lining duties at the naming ceremony for the latest Royal Navy submarine. The Barrow unit drum and bugle band led a parade of some 70 cadets through the BAE Submarine Solutions shipyard to the Devonshire Dock Hall, where the second of the Astute-class boats was waiting to emerge into the cold light of day.


And a bitterly cold day it was in Barrow-in-


Furness, making it a tough programme for the band and marchers, which also featured cadets and staff from Cumbria District units Kendal and Workington. The group also lined the guest routes inside the massive hall both before and after the naming ceremony, which – as reported in last month’s edition of Navy News – could not include the new boat’s roll-out as her


Getting to grips with weapons


STAFF from Tewkesbury unit were amongst those attending a recent South West Area weapons handling course for cadets and volunteers. More than 60 cadets and staff signed up for the course, which was held at HMS Raleigh and led by Capt and Sgt Scholes of the Royal Marines Cadet Corps.


Amongst those at the Sea Cadet Training Centre in Torpoint, which is located within the Royal Navy’s New Entry training establishment and shares some of its facilities, was Tewkesbury’s chaplain, Canon Roger Gray, who has attended various courses to familiarise himself with the roles and activities of cadets and volunteers.


● (Left) PO (SCC) Marianne Cottee, of Tewkesbury unit, on the rifl e range


● (Right) Weapons instructor PO (SCC) Stuart McGhee shows the fi ner points of an L98A1/2 (Cadet GP Rifl e) to Canon Roger Gray, chaplain of Tewkesbury unit


transporter was playing up. Six cadets performed car door-opening duties


for the VIPs, which included Commander- in-Chief Fleet Admiral Sir Trevor Soar and his wife Lady Soar, who is the sponsor of Ambush.


The submarine was rolled out earlier this


year and lowered into the water, in preparation for an extensive programme of trials before she can join her home port of Faslane.


The team will now go on to


represent the Eastern Area at the National Finals, which are to be held at HMS Raleigh near Plymouth in May. Another highlight of January was


the formal recognition of the unit’s Royal Marines Cadet detachment, and Maj Stuart Taylor RM was expected at the unit to present the formal Certificate of Recognition to the cadets.


Lt (SCC) Read said: “The strength of the Sea Cadets is the variety of activities and opportunities we offer the young people. “Having a strong Royal Marines Cadet detachment and Junior Sea Cadet section enables us to


proudly offer the largest range of adventurous youth training activities to young people of all abilities from ten to 18 years.” Northampton Sea Cadets and


Royal Marines Cadets meet on Tuesday and Friday evenings at their headquarters in Nunn Mills Road, Northampton.


The Rushden Diamond Division cadets – who are aiming to gain full independence as a unit in their own right in due course, and also work closely with Kettering unit to the north of the county of Northamptonshire – meet on the same nights as their parent unit at the Cadet Forces Building, Victoria Road in Rushden.


Lord West pays a call


FORMER First Sea Lord Lord West of Spithead paid a visit to Warsash unit to inspect the cadets and present some of them with awards including Duke of Edinburgh Awards, Royal Yachting Association certificates and Sea Cadet specialisations. During the evening Lord


West, who is also Chancellor of Southampton Solent University, was given a tour of the facilities at the unit’s headquarters in the Warsash Maritime Academy. Groups of cadets staged demonstrations to illustrate the type of skills they develop during their twice-weekly training evenings.


There were two key presentations. The first was by the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award team, outlining their assessment in the New Forest.


The second was by OC Naomi Manger on her once-in-a-lifetime trip to Lesotho, South Africa, as featured in the January edition of Navy News.


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