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NAVY NEWS, SEPTEMBER 2011


Big night for New Romney


THROUGHOUT the year New Romney and District unit, under the guidance of their commanders and trainers, works towards one particular night – the Royal Naval Unit Parade Night, when they are inspected by a senior officer and all the training hard work and discipline is examined. This year, in the presence of


the Mayor and Mayoress of New Romney, the Mayor of Lydd, Area President Chris Ledger and many other local dignitaries, parents and families, the cadets were inspected by Maj Andrew Henderson RM, Southern Deputy Area Officer. After inspecting the guard of


of cadets gave a display of carrying the parts of a field gun over obstacles; the guns were finally assembled in short order and fired. Cadets then demonstrated


dealing with field injuries and casualties – the two demonstrations were in no way connected... The unit band then played with


the RNLI sandcastle-building competition, cadets presented a cheque for £280, raised through sponsorship, to representatives of the RNLI.


a wide range of music. Having some time ago won


honour Maj Henderson spoke to each cadet in turn. After the inspection two teams


Scarborough engineers new course


SEVEN cadets from Scarborough unit gathered for a weekend Marine Engineering course. This was the first such course run at the unit


in 15 years, although cadets had been to other units and to the national centres for training in the past. The cadets – five female and two male –


were keen to learn this new specialization being offered locally. The course was run by PO Ken Lomas, newly-appointed as Scarborough’s engineering


Instructor; PO Lomas is no stranger to engineering, having served in the Royal Navy as an engineer. ASO MarE S/Lt David Nichol oversaw the


course.


Although much of the time was spent in the classroom, a special treat had been arranged by the instructors – the cadets visited the Scarborough lifeboat station and were given their own special tour. They were first shown round the inshore inflatable, with special interest in the 50hp


outboard motor, before graduating to the Mersey-class offshore; here special attention was paid to the powerful turbo-diesel engine. All the cadets worked hard throughout the


days and evenings and were rewarded for their efforts with a pass; they are now firmly on the ladder in the engineering specialisation. Officer-in-Charge CPO (SCC) Julie Davies


congratulated the cadets and instructors, especially PO Lomas, for a successful first course, and hoped these were the first of many cadets to get their engineering badge.


Thames Fueller aids yacht in difficulty


SEA Cadets on board the Thames Fueller off the Essex coast got rather more training than they bargained for on a


recent course. The Sea Cadet crew were


undertaking Day Skipper training when they were alerted to a yacht which had got into difficulties. The 25ft Constance, with a


Ark link for Reigate


REIGATE unit have been presented with two framed pictures of HMS Ark Royal, together with other items of memorabilia including a copy of the speech made by the Queen at the launch of the carrier. The items were presented by


David Lodrick, who served in the ship as Fleet Master-at-Arms and also served in the Southern Area Sea Cadet Office. Mr Lodrick told officers and


cadets that he could think of no better place for these treasured items than Reigate, whose training ship bears the name Ark Royal. The decommissioned carrier


was the unit’s adopted ship, and cadets and staff had made many trips to see her. The connection between the


Ark and Reigate dates back to the Armada, when Lord Howard of Effingham lived in Reigate Priory and acquired the Ship Ark Raleigh from Sir Walter Raleigh, changing the name to Ark Royal.


Top achiever


POC CHARLOTTE Robinson, of Hereford unit, has won the CVQO’s ILM Achievement Award. The awards recognise the most outstanding cadet from the four cadet forces – the CCF, the Sea Cadet Corps, the Army Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps. Nine finalists were selected


from 300 nominations, from over 20,000 eligible CVQO learners nationwide. Although the top prize, the


Duke of Westminster’s Award, went to an air cadet, Charlotte’s award put her in the handful of cadets at the top of the pile – and she also had a trip to South Africa to look forward to, part of the overall prize package.


First trophy


JARROW unit has its first district trophy under the guiding hand of LC Kyle. In one of the highlights of


the year so far, the Tyne and Wear unit took the honours in the Powerboat Handling regatta at Derwenthaugh Boat Station. S/Lt (SCC) Peel RNR, the new


officer in charge, said: “This was an excellent achievement by the cadets after a difficult year. “I am so proud of them.” The team was travelling to Scotland to take on the rest of the Northern Area as Navy News went to press.


Southampton unit’s female team in action on the Hamble River Hamble River challenge


WORD of the Sea Cadets’ new Trinity 500 pulling boat is spreading, and led to a challenge to the Southampton unit. The organisers of the annual River Raid race on


the Hamble River, and the local Sea Scouts troop, challenged the Sea Cadets to take part in the seven- mile rowing race. Challenge accepted, two teams from the unit


arrived with two boats to take part, and the new Trinity 500 class for the race was born.


The female cadet crew finishing in 1h 26m, with


their male counterparts finishing six minutes later; therefore the first winners of the T500 Trophy were the female Trinity 2 crew. The eighth Hamble River Raid will be held in May


2012, and the organisers and Southampton unit are looking for more Trinity 500 challengers to join them and make the competition bigger. If your unit is up for the challenge visit www. hambleriverraid.com for more details.


Gosforth girls beat their opponents – and weather


WHILE the rest of the country basked in a spell of glorious summer weather, the Northern Area rowing regatta was staged in high winds and driving rain at Greenock in Scotland. But the weather posed few problems for the 12- and 13-year- olds who made up Gosforth unit’s junior girls team – Cdts Bowman, Herbert, Garside, Jordan and Grey, who rowed to victory and were presented with their winners’ trophy by temporary area officer


Cdr Giles RN. The unit’s medal haul was increased by the junior boys’ Trinity 500 and junior Yole teams, who both finished second and gave Northumberland District a very satisfying second place overall. Gosforth’s CO, CPO (SCC)


Chris Healy, said it was a fantastic achievement by his young crew, and they were already back on the Tyne preparing for the National Combined Regatta this month.


Good show all round


FINCHLEY unit were celebrating a month of sporting success as well as their annual RN Inspection. The London Area unit’s


athletics team put on a good show in the London Northern District competition. And there were first places in


both the boys’ and girls’ canoeing competitions. Guest of honour at the parade


night was the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Michael Bear, who congratulated the unit on their achievements and


their enduring enthusiasm. The Lord Mayor and other VIP


guests – which included Deputy Lord Lieutenant of London Martin Russell and the Chairman of the Institute of Seamanship, John Johnson-Allen – were treated to a number of displays and demonstrations, including a race based on seamanship skills which involved the safe transportation of an egg, and a drill display which showed why the Finchley Armed Guard won the District drill competition earlier this year.


Medal for Ady


C/SGT (SCC) Ady Higgs from Oxford unit’s Royal Marine Cadets was presented with his 12-year good conduct medal by Capt Mark Durkin (Captain MFP) on board patrol boat HMS Tracker (above). C/Sgt Higgs has been involved


with the unit since the 1980s when he was a Marine Cadet and he has continued being involved with all sectors of the cadet force ever since. He became an adult instructor


in June 1999 (12 years to the day of the presentation) with TS Euryalus and he wanted to get more involved with the joint activities that went on. “Becoming an instructor


seemed to be the next logical step – I have been with various units for so long I just knew I had more


to offer,” he said. Oxford unit is affiliated to HMS


Tracker and the Oxford University RN Unit, and the cadets were onboard the boat for a sea day to see what the P2000 craft can do and to get a better understanding of life at sea. “Most of the cadets have never


been to sea, and the time spent onboard was a memorable one with the presentation adding to the whole experience,” said C/Sgt Higgs. “I would like to extend my


thanks to the Commanding Officer, Lt Brian Drewett, the ship’s company of HMS Tracker and the URNU Coxswain, CPO Gary Maskell, for their hospitality.” For details of Oxford URNU see www.ournu.co.uk


crew of two adults and a child, was unable to make way against strong winds and surfing seas off the approach to Harwich Harbour. A distress call was made by


mobile phone, which was passed on to the Thames Fueller. The Constance was found


around two miles from her original reported position, and with a tow safely secured, the


yacht was brought to the safety of the moorings in the backwaters of Walton-on-the-Naze. Thames Fueller skipper Nick Moulton said: “The cadets did all the deck work in very difficult conditions. “They were a credit to the Sea


Cadet Corps.” A spokesman for HM Coastguard Thames Marine


is supported by the Worshipful Company of Fuellers and operated by the TS Rebel Cadet Sea School at Walton-on-the-Naze. Each year it provides more than


350 places to cadets from London and the surrounding counties – in 2009 cadets achieved more than 220 qualifications as well as 96 Duke of Edinburgh certificates. The fact that Thames Fueller is


relatively small makes her ideally suited to cadet training in terms of boat-handling skills – she has a maximum speed of 13.5kt, a range of over 450 miles and her rating means she can make voyages of up to 60 miles from safe haven, putting continental ports within her reach.


Best RN cadet


JOSIE Lockwood was awarded the prize as Best Royal Navy Cadet during the Annual General Inspection of Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College. More than 300 students took


part in the Combined Cadet Force parade, and Josie – who was also part of the Colour Party – said: “After the last few months of hard work and study, Saturday was a day of celebration.” Josie, who was presented with


Michael reaches pinnacle


Rescue Coordination Centre said: “Without the timely and competent intervention of the cadet vessel this could easily have become very nasty situation for the yacht.” The 31ft Thames Fueller


A STONEHAVEN cadet has been presented with his Petty Officer Cadet gold badges by the Grampian District Sea Cadets Officer. Lt Cdr (SCC) Brian Mair RNR presented the badges to Michael Blacklaw, the Lord Lieutenant of Kincardine’s Cadet (pictured above) at a ceremony held in Stonehaven’s HQ. POC Blacklaw achieved


the pinnacle of his Sea Cadet career by attending and passing a national selection board at MOD Caledonia in Rosyth, where he was assessed over a week in a number of areas including dress and bearing, parade and ceremonial, leadership, fire prevention and safety, instructional methods and Corps organisation. The final piece in the jigsaw was


a First Aid 1st Class course, which Michael attended at HMS Raleigh at the beginning of July.


Plant nursery


TAUNTON unit manned a crèche with a difference at the Taunton Flower Show. The youngsters ran a plant


crèche, where people could leave their purchases from the show, allowing them to wander round without fear of damaging their new acquisitions and then collect thm just before they left. A small donation to the unit


her prize by Air Marshal Andy Pulford, the RAF’s Air Member for Personnel & Deputy CINC Personnel, plans to study civil engineering at the University of Birmingham, then join the Royal Navy as a marine or air engineer.


was made for the service. The show also provided the


platform for Taunton’s fledgling band to make its public debut. Many members of the band


had never even picked up an instrument just eight months before. But putting any nerves aside,


the group performed under the direction of APO Paul Frazer, by kind permission of the unit’s Commanding Officer CPO (SCC) Geoff Kerswell, on both days of the show – a total of six sets in both the main arena and at the bandstand. As it was a completely new


experience for nearly all TS Roebuck’s band, they were supported by members of Portland unit’s band, who travelled up each day of the show – a gesture that was very much appreciated.


Burgee for


Venomous FOLLOWING their annual RN inspection Loughborough unit has been awarded burgee status, putting them in the top 25 per cent of units in the country. During an evening at TS


Venomous cadets, watched by parents and friends, undertook a boatwork evolution which included a capsize drill in a sailing boat, a man overboard rescue, a towing exercise and a ceremonial ‘Toss Oars’ (oars brought to the vertical, blades trimmed fore and aft) in one of the unit’s boats. The Junior section then


performed a Crossing the Line ceremony which involved a great deal of fun and lots of people getting very wet.


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