The Volunteer - NWRFCA - Northwest Reserve Forces & Cadets ...

THE OFFICIAL FREE MAGAZINE OF THE RESERVE FORCES AND CADETS IN THE NORTH WEST 

the 

Issue 84 • Spring 2011 • FREE! 

FOCUS ON 

volunteer 

US ARMy TRAIN WITH TA MEDICS 

Freedom 

of City for 

Merseyside 

ACF 

PLUS... 

SPOT 

COMBAT 

FROG 

INSIDE! 

FROM CADET TO OFFICER // LUOTC ON TOP OF THE WORLD // ACF MEDALLION TAKES TO THE SKIES

ExERcIsE summER RIDE pAgE 24 

» 8 SUCCESS FOR HUyTON 

SqUADRON 

» 26 THE bEAR ESSENTIALS 

Write to the editor. 

All contributions for The Volunteer should be 

sent to The Editor, Reserve Forces and Cadets 

Association for the North West of England and 

the Isle of Man, Alexandra Court, Alexandra Drive, 

Liverpool, L17 8YE. Tel: 0151 727 4552. 

Website: www.nwrfca.org.uk 

Email: nw-deputy@nw.rfca.mod.uk. Contributions 

should be submitted in Word Format with clearly 

captioned photographs emailed by high resolution j-peg. 

A hard copy should also be sent where possible. 

The views expressed by the contributors to The Volunteer are not necessarily 

those of the Editor, MOD, Army or the publishers and do not reflect RFCA policy. 

All precautions are taken to ensure accuracy. Advertisements are accepted on the 

understanding that they conform to the British Code of Advertising Practice. This 

magazine is published by kind permission of the Chairman North West RFCA. 

» 56 

EDITORIAL 

Contents 

» 18 208 FD HOSP OFF TO » 20 

AFGHANISTAN 

» 39 FREEDOM OF CITy FOR 

MERSEySIDE ACF 

ABOuT THE REsERVE FORcEs AND cADETs AssOcIATION 

FOR THE NORTH WEsT OF ENgLAND AND THE IsLE OF mAN 

NW RFCA is a regional civilian body 

comprising voluntary members 

and a small full-time secretariat 

who are Crown Servants. It 

is established by statute to 

offer advice and support to 

the Defence Council on 

behalf of the Reserve 

Forces and the Cadet 

Forces. 

In particular, NW RFCA is 

responsible for: 

· The provision and maintenance 

of accommodation for the 

Territorial Army (TA), the Army 

Cadet Force (ACF) and the Air 

Training Corps (ATC) 

· Recruiting support and public 

relations especially for the TA 

and the ACF 

MEDICAL UNITS 

CONDUCT OP STARLIGHT 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 

LT COL STEVE WOTHERSPOON 

· Liaison and engagement with 

regional bodies, local authorities, 

business organisations, 

educational establishments and 

other relevant parties 

· Support to both reservist 

employees and their employers. 

· The management of the ACF 

· Welfare support to Reservists 

and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers 

Published by Big Spark Publishing Limited, Publishing House, 3 Bridgebank Industrial Estate, Taylor Street, Horwich, Bolton, BL6 7PD. Tel: 01204 478 817 Fax: 01204 667345 www.bigsparkpublishing.co.uk 

Advertising Sales Tony Holder tony@bigsparkpublishing.co.uk Account Manager Andy Forster andy@bigsparkpublishing.co.uk Art Director David Rowbottom david@bigsparkpublishing.co.uk 

Editor Mike Hulme mike@bigsparkpublishing.co.uk For NWRFCA Editor nw-deputy@nw.rfca.mod.uk 

Photography as indicated and with thanks to Major Roy Bevan Illustrations by ‘Chip’ Wood of Chipwood Cartoons, Colwyn Bay. Tel/Fax (01492) 546562 

www.nwrfca.org.uk THE VOLUNTEER 3

Welcome to the Volunteer 

Once again we enter a new 

year facing an unknown 

future and uncertainty 

over budgets and jobs but the good 

news, unlike last year, is that the 

Adult Volunteers of the ACF are 

being paid their due allowances. We 

now know that the study into the 

reserves, which was commissioned 

as part of Strategic Defence & 

Security Review (SDSR), will not 

report before June 2011 although 

there is likely to be some analysis 

of options before then. 

There is also a feeling around 

the bazaars (what a well-worn 

cliché that is) that some reservists 

and adult instructors are having 

4 THE VOLUNTEER www.nwrfca.org.uk 

to spend more time concentrating 

on their civilian jobs as the public 

sector cuts begin to bite rather 

than on their part-time calling. 

This is unfortunate, particularly 

in relation to cadets, for without 

the presence of hard-working 

volunteers, cadets will tend to 

drift away to the detriment of the 

movement. So it is all the more 

important that we keep training, 

keep turning up for parades and 

generally keep the ship on course 

until we know for definite what the 

review will mean. 

On a brighter note, it is 

marvellous to see such a wide 

variety of stories and photographs 

Developing Tomorrow’s 

Leaders Through Challenge 

Reg Charity No: 1012346 

The Ulysses Trust provides 

funding assistance to challenging 

expeditions and adventurous activities. 

Call 01264 381264 or email 

honsec@ulyssestrust.co.uk 

for more information 

www.ulyssestrust.co.uk 

Supporting UK’s Reserve Forces and Cadets 

in this edition. It really is good to 

read of epic adventures on foreign 

shores, of cadets giving their all 

to raise money for charities and 

of great sporting achievements. 

Surely there cannot be a better 

medium for spreading the word 

to those who are not involved so 

do make sure that this copy is left 

where the ‘uninitiated’ can read it 

and feel envious. GPs surgeries, 

dentists waiting rooms, fitness club 

receptions: all are places where 

someone might read all about it! 

So please do enjoy this 84 th 

edition of the Volunteer and let the 

Editor know of your views, opinions 

and suggested improvements.

Dinner time for 

Heritage Group 

The Lancaster Military Heritage Group 

celebrated their 10th Annual Dinner at the 

Lancaster Country Golf Club where the guest 

of honour and speaker was Lt Gen Robin 

Brims. 

The Group was first formed with the 

objective of maintaining and developing the 

historic links between the Armed Forces, their 

supporting civilian services and the local 

Lancaster community. 

Lt Gen Robin Brims explaining a point to Col 

Gerry Wells-Cole, CE of NW RFCA. 

The Group’s programme for fostering their 

links with the city and community is aimed 

at appealing to as many people as possible. 

It includes an annual cadet competition at 

Halton camp plus a military carol service as 

well as military lectures, outings and social 

events. Two projects completed have been a 

Book of Honour dedicated to local men and 

women who died in war plus a book on the 

local war memorials. 

Col Peter Dew, the Group’s Secretary said: 

“We have helped to keep the military in the 

public eye and our relationship with the city 

council is excellent.” 

The Dinner was well represented by the 

North West Military, including Col Charles 

Hillock, Col Gerry Wells-Cole and Col Alan 

Jolley. 

ROyAL SIGNALS ASSOCIATION 

SUPPORTS CHARITIES 

The Royal Signals Association held a 

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols 

at Liverpool Cathedral. The event was 

supported by the band of the Royal Corps 

of Signals and Merseyside ACF. ABF 

The Soldiers Charity, the Royal Signals 

Benevolent Fund and SSAFA Forces Help 

all benefited from the fundraising. 

pEOpLE EDITORIAL 

& pLAcEs 

C Sqn RMLY off to Afghanistan 

35 soldiers from the RMLY have deployed 

to Afghanistan for a six month tour with 5 

Regt Royal Artillery. One third are from C 

(Cheshire Yeomanry) Sqn based in Chester. 

The soldiers are part of a range of ISTAR 

(Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition 

and Reconnaissance) assets currently 

deployed in Afghanistan.Their role will 

be base surveillance at the 

forward operating bases 

(FOBs). 

Although the RMLY’s role 

remains Challenger 2, this 

additional ISTAR tasking has 

Maj Gen David Shaw, 

Comd 2 Division 

which covers 

Scotland, North 

East and North West 

England recently 

visited Altcar Camp. 

C (Cheshire yeomanry) 

Sqn are currently 

recruiting, training nights 

are Thursdays at Fox 

barracks Chester CH2 

4bU. Tel 01244 381050. 

been taken on by the Yeomanry for the 

past two years during the development, 

implementation and deployment phases 

of the equipment which was an Urgent 

Operational Requirement (UOR). 

This is the last ISTAR tasking for the 

Yeomanry, the role will be handed 

back to 5 Regt RA and the 

Yeomanry will revert to 

providing reinforcements 

to Royal Armoured Corps 

(RAC) Regiments with RMLY 

providing a further 50 soldiers 

in 2012 for Herrick 17. 

VIP VISITS ALTCAR TRAINING CAMP 

He was welcomed 

by Col Gerry Wells- 

Cole, CE of North West 

Reserve Forces and 

Cadets Association. 

After being introduced 

to a number of key 

personnel from the 

Camp, including the 

Colonel Wells - Cole welcomes the General to Altcar. 

Comdt Maj Bill Hunter, 

he listened to a presentation on the modern day role played by the camp in respect to 

training, supporting local rifle clubs and the environment. 


EDITORIAL 

pEOpLE & pLAcEs 

Cadets 

support 

new RBL 

Standard 

A church service was held at Great Crosby 

for the Royal British Legion Combined 

Laying up of Old Standard and Dedication of 

New Standard. 

The occasion was well supported by 

cadets from Merchant Taylors’ and St Mary’s 

CCF, Merseyside ACF and 1128 Sqn ATC. 

Among others attending were the Lord 

Lieutenant, the Mayor of Sefton, Col Sir 

Alan Waterworth RBL West Lancs County 

President and Col Graeme Bryson, RBL 

County Life President, plus many other 

dignitaries. 

75 Engr 

Regt Charity 

Truck Pull 

As part of an ongoing recruitment campaign 

soldiers from 75 Engr Regt (V) based in 

Failsworth, Manchester, were asked to 

put forward suggestions for possible high 

profile events. The usual suggestions of 

sponsored walks and bike rides where all 

suggested but only one stood out from the 

crowd, a Charity Truck Pull! 

Not wanting the task to appear too easy 

to passers-by, it was suggested we use 

a decent size vehicle for the event and 

as such, the 12 tonnes, Seddon Atkinson 

tractor unit was chosen. 

The TA Centre sits between Oldham 

and Manchester - a distance of four miles 

in either direction. It was put to the vote, 

which way the truck should be pulled 

either up hill to Oldham or down hill to 

Manchester. Strangely enough we had a 

unanimous decision to pull it down hill to 

Manchester. As we made our final approach 

to Manchester’s Albert Square we slowed 

down to maximize our money collecting 

activities. 


The new RbL Standard paraded at the end of the Service 

At Oldham Town Hall from left SSgt Jason Shawcross, Jemma Fitton from Francis House Children’s Hospice, 

Richard Knowles, Deputy Mayor of Oldham, and Maj Paul Grey OC 202 Fd Sqn 75 Engrs. 

From start to finish every one received 

an unparalleled amount of support from 

passers-by and we were able to raise in 

excess of £3,100. 

All proceeds collected on the day were 

split evenly between the Army Benevolent 

Fund, Help for Heroes and a local children’s 

hospice called Francis House.

Maghull Cadet’s 

African memories 

Cdt Cpl Andrew Flaherty, 17, of 2348 (Maghull) Sqn 

ATC has returned from Lesotho, Africa, where he 

helped celebrate Cadet 150. 

These celebrations have been taking place 

throughout the Marine Cadets, Army Cadets, Sea 

Cadets, Combined Cadet Force and the Air Training 

Corps to mark 150 years of the Cadet movement. 

The Cadets travelled to South Africa as part of a 

project that Prince Harry’s charity, Sentebale had set 

up. 

Cpl Flaherty said: “Lesotho was most probably the 

best month of my life. I never knew that just by doing 

something so small we can make such a difference 

to these children. The memories will last forever 

and so will all the people I met at the project and 

throughout my journey. From safari to teaching, it 

was all amazing.” 

The Sqn Comd, Flt Lt Ian Taylor was also pleased. 

“Cpl Flaherty has had an amazing experience. Not 

only has he gone away on the trip of a life time but 

he has returned and delivered a full presentation 

to the staff and cadets of 2348 about his time in 

Lesotho. It sounds like Cpl Flaherty is keen to return 

next year, and from his presentation, I can see why.” 

Staff and Cadets of 2348 (Maghull) Sqn are very 

proud of Cpl Flaherty and his great achievement. 

pEOpLE EDITORIAL 

& pLAcEs 

Come fly with 

me....OCdt Stef 

Smith makes 

friends with a 

barn owl 

Dickensian Day 

Each year Formby village on Merseyside turns back the clock and holds a Dickensian 

Day. Merseyside ACF Cadets were out in force to support the event and Liverpool 

University Air Squadron from RAF Woodvale also took advantage of the day to 

collect for Sefton Childrens’ Trust. 

MANDET REGIMENTAL DINNER 

Manchester Royal Marines 

Reserve (MANDET) held their 

Annual Regimental Dinner 

recently at their HQ. There were 

a number of special guests and 

the main toast on the evening 

was to those on deployment and 

those about to go. A number of 

presentations were made and at 

the end of the evening the quote 

was that they were a ‘True Band 

Of Brothers’ worthy of the title. 

The OC Maj Roger brown 

presents the best Performance 

Trophy to LCpl Simon bloor 


EDITORIAL 

Success for Huyton Sqn 

1982 (Huyton) Sqn ATC 

is celebrating success 

following the Merseyside 

Wing’s Field Training Day. 

The Cadets competed 

against the 29 other Sqns 

in a variety of activities 

on the day and during the 

summer. The activities 

included Foot Drill and 

Banner Drill, Uniform 

Inspection, First Aid, 

Model Making, Aircraft 

Recognition, a Design and 

Construction project and 

Shooting. The individual 

teams scored highly in 

each event and the Sqn 

was delighted to win the 

Overall Trophy for the 

whole competition. 

In addition the senior 

cadet in the Sqn, FS Mark 

Williams was awarded 

the Clive Wright Trophy 

as Best Male Cadet in 

Merseyside Wing. Both of 

these trophies represent a 

huge amount of work and 

commitment on behalf 

of the Cadets and Staff of 

1982 (Huyton) Sqn and 

they are very proud of their 

achievements. 


The Sqn is open to new members 

aged 13 to 18 and meets on Tuesday 

and Thursday evenings. For further 

information please contact Edd Vose on 

07766 810695 or the Sqn on 0151 449 3012 

or by email on 1982@aircadets.org 

Col David Kirkwood, Chief Executive at 

broughton House, Col Gerry Wells-Cole, Col 

Donald Gibbs, Surg Cdr John Curt and from 

127 Field Company, Capt Terry Ebo, Sgt Paul 

Grundy and Cpl Rowland Firchett. 

REME volunteers 

to the rescue 

127 Fd Coy REME (V) recently fitted new handrails at their 

Broughton House veterans home as part of their ‘Supporting 

the Community’ policy.

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pEOpLE & pLAcEs 

HMS EAGLET 

charity support 

Liverpool University Royal Naval Unit 

(LURNU) were in great numbers to support 

a full capacity audience for a Christmas 

Royal Marines Band Concert at the Liverpool 

Anglican Cathedral. 

However due to the Band being snowed in 

in Scotland rapid phone calls were made and 

alternative arrangements were made to fill 

the breach. 

The evening included a Maritime Carol 

Candles were lit as part of the service. Pictured is 

OCdt Phoebe Nockolds 

Squadron’s 

Christmas photo 

As temperatures plummeted to -14˚C, C Sqn RMLY 

headed for the Long Mynd hills in Shropshire to 

practice navigation and qualify for MATT 5. 

The snowy conditions meant that the opportunity 

for a Sqn Christmas photo could not be missed! 

Copies of the photograph were sent inside 

Christmas parcels to the rest of the Sqn who are 

serving on Op Herrick 13 in Helmand. 

Vacancies exist at Chester for Royal Army Corps Crewmen, 

Combat Medics, RLC Chefs and AGC SPS Clerk. Contact the 

PSAO on 01244 381050 or call in on a Thursday night. 


The Standards being 

paraded for the concert 

Service plus the story of Christmas. It also 

celebrated the International Year of the 

Seafarer. The large amount of money raised 

went to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines 

charities as well as Sea Cadets, Friends of the 

Sea, Mersey Mission to Seafarers and the 

Cathedral. An additional fund raising buffet 

reception took place after the service.

Southport Air 

Show pulls in 

record crowd 

The 2010 two-day Southport Air Show was 

restricted to just one day because of bad weather. 

However the Saturday had record crowds and 

proved excellent with 156 (NW) Tpt Regt RLC (V) 

‘flying the flag’ for the military. Visitors queued all 

day to visit the stand. 

The Air Cadets from 281 (Southport) Sqn did 

a brilliant job with both their turnout and selling 

hundreds of programmes. Even the ABF ‘The 

Soldiers Charity’ paint ball stand took over a £ 1,000 

in the one day. As always the Red Arrows stole the 

show with their impressive display. 

The Red Arrows 

Centurions hold 

annual dinner 

The Centurions of Merseyside, a group of 100 

military and business executives, together 

with soldiers from affiliated Merseyside TA 

Units and Cadets of CCF and ACF, is dedicated 

to fund raising for the ABF - The Soldiers’ 

Charity. 

Holding their 17th Annual Dinner at the 

Athenaeum in Liverpool, their President, 

Col Sir Alan Waterworth and guest speaker 

Brig Mike Wharmby welcomed the other 

74 Centurions and guests. Brig Wharmby, a 

previous North West Bde Comd, now National 

Secretary of the Army Cadet Force Association, 

gave an excellent speech about the role of the 

Cadets and their part played in fund raising. 

He also praised all the Cadet 150 events that 

had been going on both in the UK and world 

wide. 

Merseyside ACF also provided a guard of 

honour and a piper. 

Pte Lisa Connelly from 156 with 

‘future recruits’ ben (11) and Ellie 

(8) Procter at the wheel. 

The AbF paint ball stand with 

committee member Col Ian 

Thomson giving support. 

Col Sir Alan Waterworth and brig Mike Wharmby, escorted by 

Merseyside ACF Cdt CSgt Chris Daniels and Piper SMI Joe Davies 

207 EDITORIAL FD HOsp 


people & places 

Liverpool 

District 

Trafalgar 

Day Parade 

12 the volunteer www.nwrfca.org.uk 

Huyton Sea Cadets hosted this year’s 

Liverpool District Trafalgar Day Parade in 

remembrance of the Battle of Trafalgar. 

Liverpool District was supported in the 

parade by Huyton unit chaplain the Rev 

Malcolm Rogers and local police officers 

and police cadets. The parade was led by 

a South Liverpool marching band, a guard 

of honour, the Royal Colours supported 

by platoons of Sea Cadets, Royal Marines 

Cadets and Junior Cadets. 

The event was highly successful in raising 

the profile of Sea Cadets in our community 

and the opportunities which are on offer to 

young people within our district. 

The Parade was supported by cadets from 

all over Liverpool and provided a perfect 

opportunity for the newly presented district 

colours to be blessed and presented. 

volunteer 

the 

To AdverTise in THe 

nexT issue 

Call Tony Holder on 01204 478 817 or 

email tony@bigsparkpublishing.co.uk

Officers from C Sqn RMLy left to right Capt Will banes, Capt M Hodgkinson, 

Capt Robert Dunlea-Jones, Lt Col Christopher Ledsham and Maj Philip Morris 

RMLY Masquerade 

Dinner 

Lancashire and Cheshire Squadrons of the RMLY held an 

Officers’ Masquerade Dinner at the Baronial Hall on the 

Duke of Westminster’s Estate. With partners and invited 

guests approximately 100 were treated to an outstanding 

banquet meal, plus entertainment and dance music. 

“I may be wrong old boy but I think that went wrong when you agreed 

that she looked better with the mask on!” 



Lest we forget 

Remembrance Sunday Liverpool 2010

208 FD HOsp 


156 TpT REgT 

OP HERRICK 15 

Pre Deployment Training 

Remembrance Sunday 

The Regt had officers and soldiers on parade in Manchester, Liverpool, 

Birkenhead, Bootle and Southport. 

238 Sqn had the honour of hosting the Mayor of Sefton, Cllr Maureen Fearn 

who rushed back from the parade in Southport to visit the Squadron in Bootle. 

After visiting the War Memorial within the barracks, the Mayor and Consort 

met some of the current serving members, past veterans of the Squadron and 

Merseyside Army cadets before tucking into the famous curry lunch produced 

by Sgt Ford and the talented 238 Sqn chefs. 


The pre deployment training for the 

Op HERRICK 15 Regimental Cohort 

is well underway. This has seen an 

increase in the tempo of training in 

fitness, combat logistic patrol skills, 

battlefield casualty drills, range 

work and navigation. 

The training has been broken 

down into bite size chunks with 

training objectives being covered 

over a number of weekends. The 

training has been open to all 

members of the Regt, not just the 

soldiers who will be deploying. 

Maj bob Fraser and Capt Graham Dowling 

welcome the Mayor of Sefton and her Consort 

THE REGT bIDS FAREWELL TO 

WO1 (RSM) MCDOWALL 

The Regiment has bid a fond farewell to WO1 (RSM) 

Greg McDowall who is making the transition into civilian 

life. In his stead the Regt welcomes WO1 (RSM) Jason 

Broad into the fold. 

If you are interested in joining 156 Tpt Regt RLC you can ring the 

Hq on 0151 242 2044 or visit www.armyjobs.mod.uk

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207 FD HOsp 

Farewell to 

‘207’ personnel 

on deployment 

to Afghanistan 

The day finally arrived when families bade 

a fond and emotional farewell to their loved 

ones as they departed from 207 Fd Hosp 

(V) main RHQ at Stretford prior to their 

deployment to Afghanistan. 

In October, fifty volunteers and 

regulars from 207 joined colleagues 

from all three services, and forty nine 

US Navy regulars and reservists in York 

to undergo combined training before 

deploying to Camp Bastion, Afghanistan 

as part of Operation HERRICK 13A. 

207 took over from 34 Fd Hosp to run 

Bastion (BSN) Role 3 (UK), the British 

Military Hospital in Afghanistan. 

The hospital is the busiest trauma 

hospital and takes 60 percent of the 

casualties in Regional Command (South 

West), which includes Helmand province. 

Col Robin Jackson, CO 207 Field 

Hospital (V) took over command of the 

hospital and also the Medical Emergency 

Response Team (MERT). This is the 

UK’s ‘Flying Hospital’ which transports 

a doctor, nurse and paramedics in a 

Chinook helicopter to the front line so 

that casualties can receive excellent 

treatment on the flight back to Bastion. 

At Bastion, the casualties are 

treated and, if necessary, flown back to 

Birmingham for further treatment. 

Col Jackson says: “This has been 

the most challenging, but also the 

most rewarding thing I have ever 

done. It is a great privilege to be able 

to command one’s unit on operations 

and I am tremendously proud of my 

‘207’ soldiers, TA and Regular, and their 

British and US colleagues out here. 

If you are interested in joining 207 Fd Hosp 

you can ring the Hq on 0161 232 4985 or 

visit www.armyjobs.mod.uk 


They are doing a phenomenal job providing 

the very highest standards of care that our 

wounded soldiers deserve.” 

Uniquely, 207 has three COs serving 

simultaneously in the hospital. Col Deepak 

All the preparation we had 

undertaken 18 months prior 

to deployment was now 

going to be put in place as 

our journey to Afghanistan 

had begun. 

In theatre RSOI training 

was next and we spent 48 

hours at various lectures and 

zeroing our weapons on the 

range after which we were 

introduced to the ward staff 

that had nearly completed 

their tour of duty. They all 

seemed very pleased to see 

us. A long handover was 

welcomed allowing time to 

get used to the environment 

that we would be working in 

for the next three months. It 

did not take long to become 

orientated and before we 

knew it we were working on 

our various shifts. We have 

experienced both challenging 

and rewarding experiences 

some of which will stay with 

us for the rest of our lives. 

Soon everyone was talking 

about Christmas and what we 

were going to do to make it 

special. We all got together 

and made the most of this 

special occasion and formed 

a choir. We soon found 

ourselves singing Christmas 

Maj Linda Taberner followed by LCpl Helen Archer and other deploying 

personnel as they are about to board the coach for RTMC Chilwell 

Carols that made it feel just 

like Christmas at home. The 

departments made it special 

with lovely food that was sent 

by loved ones and the band 

of the Parachute Regiment 

entertained us all in the 

NAAFI on Christmas Evening. 

The military band was a 

huge success as they also 

kept everyone cheerful on 

Christmas morning with their 

upbeat music and singing, it 

was a real good atmosphere 

all round. The Christmas 

meal was a credit to our chefs 

and everyone that worked so 

hard to make it so special. It 

was topped with a good spirit 

in the cookhouse with lovely 

festive tables and everyone 

joined with good spirit. 

Maj Eddy Hardaker who 

is our Training Major and 

deployed 2IC, organised a 

Bhatnagar, serving as a Consultant Physician, 

was the previous CO with Col Robin Jackson 

as the current CO and Lt Col Kerry Trow, 

serving as Senior Nursing Officer who will 

take over command when 207 returns to the 

UK. 

A personal recollection by Maj’s Linda Taberner, Nicky Rice and 

Capt Janet Mills 

Soldiers watch the Family Christmas Message. 

lovely surprise with a DVD 

with Christmas Messages 

from our family and friends 

back in the UK. We all 

gathered in the Welfare Area 

and sat and watched our 

messages. Most were very 

funny and at times there was 

not a dry eye in the house. A 

big thank you must go to our 

Rear Party for recording this 

DVD and in particular to both 

Capts Alan Bethell and Alan 

Fortuin who worked hard to 

coordinate the production, 

editing and distribution of the 

final version of what was a 

wonderful DVD. 

All in all this has been an 

experience that we have all 

learned from, enjoyed and 

certainly felt proud to be part 

of the team who made up 

Bastion Role 3 (UK) Hospital.

REMEMbRANCE DAy 

SERVICE AND PARADES 

Despite the Unit being deployed on 

Ops in Afghanistan it still played a 

significant part in the Remembrance 

Services and Parades associated 

with our main TA Centre locations 

at Ashton, Bury, Stockport and 

Blackburn. 

One of the main features of the 

Remembrance Weekend celebrations 

was when the wife of our Training 

Major, whose husband Maj Eddy 

Hardaker was deployed on Ops, was 

invited by the Mayor of Oldham to 

attend The Festival of Remembrance 

celebrations and to lay a wreath at 

the town memorial on Remembrance 

Sunday. The wreath was kindly 

donated by Mr Norman Armstrong- 

Kirsch who is the Chief Executive of 

the ‘Look at Life’ Charity. 

CHRISTMAS TRAINING WEEKEND 

This year’s Christmas 

training weekend was 

based at our main 

HQ at Stretford with 

the main training 

activities being a 

navigational exercise 

in the Lake District 

followed by the 

traditional ‘Christmas 

Dinner’ with a Fancy 

Dress theme. 

Mrs Viv Hardaker pictured with Mr 

Norman Armstrong-Kirsch before the 

Wreath Laying ceremony. 

SSgt Krissy Chatterway and Sgt Gaynor bailey enjoying the Xmas party. Maj Eddy Hardaker 

flanked by the Soccer 

Lt Col John bennett and Maj Mary Nixon. 

207 FD HOsp 

WELFARE EVENTS 

bACK HOME 

In addition to the production 

of the Christmas DVD 

message from the families 

a number of welfare events 

have also been conducted 

throughout the period of 

deployment headed by the 

Welfare Officer, Maj Mary 

Nixon and her team in order 

to provide regular updates 

and support to the families 

and employers of those 

deployed on Ops. 

They organised parties 

for the children (the most 

notable one being a 

Halloween Party) and gave 

them the opportunity to 

make Christmas Cards for 

every member of the Unit 

on Ops. The events have 

been very well supported 

and appreciated by the 

families. 

TRAINING MAJOR’S ‘PREMIER’ CHRISTMAS 

AM film crew whilst 

firmly holding the 

barclays Premier 

League Trophy. 

Maj Eddy Hardaker, a staunch Manchester United supporter, had his 

dreams come true when he met the Soccer AM crew headed by the 

assistant producer James Long (commonly known as the ‘Rocket’) 

during their visit to Camp Bastion over the Christmas period. He is 

pictured holding the Barclays Premier League Trophy and is adamant 

that he will be reunited with the trophy as he is confident that it will 

heading back to Old Trafford this season. 


208 FD HOsp 

American and 

British medical 

units conduct 

Operation 

Starlight 

Soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 212th Combat 

Support Hospital and the 208 Fd Hosp (V), 

conducted Operation Starlight at the Joint 

Multinational Readiness Centre in Germany. 

The joint medical training – the first of its 

kind between the two countries – enabled the 

units to exercise a 44-bed medical facility as 

they conducted joint medical interoperability 

operations. The training also serves to 

validate the units’ training and readiness to 

support any future real-world missions. 

“We’re here to practice joint deployment 

of US and UK medical forces downrange 

in Afghanistan,” said Col Peter Jackson, the 

CO of the 208 Fd Hosp (V). “We are always 

preparing for the potential of being deployed 

to work at a hospital in theatre” 

While developing the partnership between 

the units, the training incorporated real- 


world scenarios and 

medical procedures 

into the exercise by 

injecting external, 

internal and clinical 

events throughout 

the operation. As 

the scenarios build 

and evolve, the units 

are able to identify 

things that need to be adjusted. The training 

also enabled them to recognize techniques 

that worked well during the evacuation, 

stabilization and resuscitation of severely 

wounded soldiers. 

“This is a very realistic look at what goes 

on in some of the most extreme stress points 

that a CSH staff will go through,” said Col 

Richard Jordan, the 212th CSH commander. 

By stressing the staff and identifying 

potential problems in this training 

environment, they are able to develop 

solutions that can be taken with them if 

deployed. 

“It’s been very successful. We’ve had 

the length of time to actually start working 

together, and now we’re identifying certain 

key areas that are going to be training points 

for the future,” explained Jackson. 

The training tested both units’ mettle 

while simultaneously building the confidence

and resolve needed to save lives of soldiers 

downrange. 

Looking forward, both commanders plan to 

maintain this relationship with more training 

planned in the United Kingdom. That training, 

like the training during Operation Starlight, 

has a single goal in Jackson’s mind. 

If you are interested in joining 208 Fd Hosp 

you can ring the Hq on 0151 488 1540 or visit 

www.armyjobs.mod.uk 

Territorial Army medics 

from Liverpool have 

welcomed US Army 

soldiers to the city 

ahead of a joint training 

operation which will 

benefit troops serving in 

Afghanistan. 

208 Fd Hosp (V), based 

in Belle Vale, is working 

with soldiers of the US 

Army’s 67th Forward 

Surgical Team (Airborne). 

Both units conducted 

Operation Starlight II, a 

joint hospital exercise 

(HOSPEX), at the Army Medical Simulation 

Training Centre in Strensall, York. 

The joint training will improve the way 

British and US medics work together in 

the field in readiness for 208 Fd Hosp’s 

deployment to Afghanistan later this year. 

The HOSPEX is designed to 

demonstrate readiness and an ability 

to integrate with other medical teams 

while providing emergency trauma care. 

During its deployment to Afghanistan 208 

Fd Hosp will work closely with many of 

the coalition forces, but in particular the 

Americans. 

Col Peter Jackson, CO of 208 Fd Hosp, 

said: “It’s a great pleasure working with 

our colleagues from the 67th Forward 

Surgical Team and particularly useful 

having them here on our home turf in 

Liverpool. 

“This week’s training, and the exercise 

that will follow, is all about forging a 

working partnership. The lessons we are 

learning from 

them, and that 

they are learning 

from us, are 

contributing to 

real improvements 

in medical care 

and new ways of 

working.” 

Lt Col Patrick 

McAndrew, of 

the US Army’s 

208 FD HOsp 

US Army in Liverpool to 

train with TA Medics 

Medics from the 212th Combat Support Hospital being briefed by Col 

Peter Jackson CO 208 Fd Hosp (V) at his Liverpool RHq. 

67th Forward Surgical Team (Airborne), 

added: “It’s great being here in Liverpool 

to see how 208 Fd Hosp works. Getting 

together like this ahead of deployment to 

Afghanistan is a key part of preparations 

on both sides of the Atlantic and we’re 

learning a lot from each other. 

“While continuing the partnership 

between the US and UK medical soldiers, 

the training will incorporate real-world 

scenarios and medical procedures 

designed to improve unit readiness by 

exercising joint medical team operations 

that mirror current and future deployment 

conditions in support of coalition 

operations.” 

This will be the second joint medical 

training exercise between UK medical 

troops and soldiers of the U.S. 30th 

Medical Command (MEDCOM). In 

October the 30th MEDCOM’s 212th 

Combat Support Hospital and 208 Fd 

Hosp conducted Operation Starlight I in 

Hohenfels, Germany. The exercise saw the 

units operate a 44-bed medical facility and 

tested their effectiveness. 

Medics of the 67th Field Surgical Team (Airborne) and the U16 Netherly british 

Legion football team who 208 Fd Hosp (V) sponsor, played a friendly. 


33 sIg sQN 4 mERcIAN 

Busy time for 33 Sig Sqn 

It has been an extremely busy 

period for 33 Sig Sqn with a 

number of exercises and live 

operations. 

It started with Exercise 

Orion - a three-day exercise 

with a fictional scenario of a 

major earthquake hitting the 

Merseyside area. The exercise 

had over 600 casualties for the 

emergency services to tackle. 

In this fictional scenario, the 

disaster was so severe that 

the British emergency services 

were overwhelmed forcing the 

Cabinet Office to issue an appeal 

LCpl Pearson on 

shift within the Op 

PROTECTOR Ops room 


for help from the EU with other 

Countries coming to the aid 

of the UK in the form of urban 

search and rescue teams. 

They then deployed Command 

Support Team elements to 

provide communications for 42 

(NW) Bde LOs who were tasked 

with running a Joint Military and 

Emergency services air cell. 

33 Sig Sqn were also tasked 

with providing two Command 

Support Teams on notice to 

move to support the Liberal 

Democrat Conference. 

Operation PROTECTOR 

The Sqn deployed a Command Support Team in support of the 

security at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester. 

The Sqn provided Information Communication Systems 

to deployed military LOs from 42 (NW) Bde. Throughout the 

Conference we worked alongside the Police in a specially 

constructed Ops Room. After the successful completion of 

the Conference we were visited by the Labour Party leader, Ed 

Milliband who thanked the team for their support. 

If you are interested in joining 33 Sig Sqn you can ring the unit on 

0151 489 8331 or visit www.armyjobs.mod.uk 

The Labour party 

leader Ed Miliband 

drops into the Ops 

Room to say thank 

you for the support. 

In the picture left to 

right the JRLO from 

42 (NW) bde Lt Col 

Ray Carolin, Sgt Sue 

Cornthwaite and LCpl 

Natasha Pinnock. 

Soldiers new to b Company, attempt not to look 

apprehensive prior to kayaking for the first time. 

B Coy 4 MERCIAN 

enjoy the delights 

of Wales 

B Coy 4 MERCIAN spent a hectic 

time on their annual Adventure 

Training weekend at Capel Curig. 

Thanks to some help from the 

excellent NRPS staff, tent space 

and feeding in the cookhouse 

was organised and, even better 

CQMS CSgt Ward persuaded 

Capel Curig’s RSM to let them 

sleep in a listed building just 

outside the Camp. It was a barn 

rather than a stately home but 

as soon as they realised they 

couldn’t be ‘gated’, the troops 

were reasonably pleased. 

Training itself consisted of a 

variety of round robin activities. 

Cpl Hickman ably led the 

mountain biking phase over the 

Marin Trail, a purpose built area 

west of Llanwrst. By the close 

of play, he had only managed to 

break one bike and cannibalise 

another, but had failed to do 

either to any of the soldiers! 

Cpl Dickinson relived his day 

job of taking unruly youths 

up and down mountains by 

executing a stunning walk 

around Tryfan, enabling Capt 

Wignall to concentrate on cutting 

around in a wetsuit and organise 

some kayaking with more than 

a little help from an instructor 

from LUOTC. 

The weather remained sunny, 

somewhat surprisingly for an 

area which had held its annual 

rain festival only a week before, 

enabling the day’s training 

activities to be rounded off in 

style with an excellent barbecue 

courtesy of WO2 McCurry. This 

culminated with the presentation 

of a birthday cake to our Hon 

Col, Brig John Thomson, who 

had eschewed a weekend with 

his wife to spend it with us. 

For many, the highlight of the 

weekend was the sad looks on 

the faces of soldiers from the 

other 4 MERCIAN Companies, 

who looked on as a coach 

arrived to take B Coy en mass 

for a well earned night out in the 

pubs and clubs of Bangor. 

Sunday morning was a casual 

affair, with the CQMS for one 

nursing a sore head. Again, 

sad looks on the faces of other 

Companies was evident as a 

game of football was initiated to 

sweat it out prior to our return 

to Widnes and Stockport TACs, 

whilst they went off tabbing up 

mountains. 

The weekend had proven a 

real morale builder, and was 

especially useful in introducing 

the new faces in the Company, 

fresh off CIC and Phase 1 

training, to the old sweats in a 

less formal environment. 

If you are interested in joining 

4 MERCIAN you can ring the unit 

on 0151 257 2470 or visit 

www.armyjobs.mod.uk

AB77 Magnum AB71 Magnum Elite 

Panther 8.0 £52.95 Spider 8.0 £89.50 

TAS-ID-OD Admin Pouch, 

olive green £10.50 

AA03M Multicam 

Rank Slides £5.25 

SP06MC Multicam Snugpak 

Sleeka Lite Jacket £95.45 

LL13 Lowa Urban 

GTX £147.95 

AC73 PLCE ID/Admin Pouch, 

Multicam £11.95 

ZT01 Zaptag Dog Tag,1GB 

£24.95 

AB67 Alt-Berg 

Warrior £145.95 

VAN3087BLK Roll pin 

belt buckle £5.25 

ACMA18 Multicam open top ACMA5 Multicam 5.56mm 

5.56mm Ammo Pouch £10.95 Ammo Pouch £12.95 

LL04 Lowa Combat 

GTX £174.50 

MUJP Large Union Jack 

Patch £1.95 

AB63 Magnum Stealth 

Force Leather £84.50 

TOR110 Pro-Force MIRA 

Tactical Headlamp £10.50 

ACMA42 Multicam 5.56mm 

Ammo Pouch £14.95 

AE99G British Forces 

Velcro Zap Badges £9.45 

AB73 Magnum Stealth 

Force Side Zip £79.50 

TC-008 Multicam 

Tactical Cap £12.15 

2851 Gorilla Box 

on Wheels £52.95 

A British Company 

VBAB British Army 

UBACS Badge £2.95 

Surefire Guardian 

6V G2 Nitrolon 

From SureFire, the makers of the World's finest torches, the 

Guardian 6 Volt G2 is a high-output military flashlight featuring 

a tough corrosion-proof Nitrolon® polymer body and bezel. 

It uses a precision micro-textured reflector and a SureFire incandescent lamp to 

produce a smooth, brilliant white beam with enough power to temporarily blind 

and disorient an aggressor by impairing his night-adapted vision. Standard high 

output is either 65 lumens. The tactically-correct pushbutton tailcap switch 

provides secure, ergonomic activation control: press for momentary-on, twist for 

constant-on. 

Also features coated tempered impact-resistant lens, deep grid pattern for secure 

grip and weatherproof O-ring and gasket sealing. Kit includes high-energy 123A 

lithium batteries with 10-year shelf life (also available separately). 

Weight: 116g. Lenght: 13cm. Diameter: 2.54cm. Colour: black. 

LAS-G2BK 

ONLY 

£39.99 

AB86 Alt-Berg Jungle 

Microlite £137.50 

AB67 Alt-Berg Warrier 

MK11 £145.95 

VRST Other Ranks 

UBACS Rank Badges £2.75 

KA-BON-NR-14 - Multi- MT11001001 Military Vest, 

Terrain Boonie Hat £9.95 Olive Green £4.25 

AC05MC PLCE Side 

Pouches, Multicam £62.95 

MUL005 

ONLY 

£12.75 

Telephone Orders: 01892 610 181 

Fax: 01892 662 280 

E-mail: enquiries@survivalaids.com 

Units 9/14 April Court Sybron Way 

Crowborough East Sussex TN6 3DZ UK 

LL16 Lowa Desert 

Elite £142.50 

VROT Officers UBACS GAP Allergy 

Rank Badges £2.75 Patches £1.95 

CR181C Camelbak 

Motherlode £105.95 

AC30MC PLCE NI Patrol 

Pack 50L, Multicam £99.95 

AB84 Alt-Berg Desert 

Mountain £137.50 

BGPS Blood Group 

Patches £1.95 

AC125-008 Large Assault 

Pack, Multicam £105.50 

Delivery charges to be added as follows: For order value less than £5 £2.99 For order value less than £25 £4.99 For order value more than £25 £7.50 For order value more than £100 £7.99 

SP153 Shock Stopper 

Double Strike £19.95 

TLRD Luminous Blood 

Group Patches £6.25 

CR158M Camelbak 

Trizip, Multicam £189.95 

CR181M Camelbak CB02MULT Camelbak 

Motherlode, Multicam £147.50 Thermobak Multicam 3L £73.95 

Harrier 

Multi-tool 

The Harrier Multi-Tool features robust 

folding aluminium handles with rubber 

inlay for a comfortable yet sure grip. 

Also features 8 steel tools including heavy duty 

spring-assisted pliers, knife blade, saw and can 

opener. Black oxide finish. 

Size: folded length 9.5cm. Weight 230g.

75 ENgR REgT 

EXERCISE SUMMER RIDE 

The Exercise was broken into various 

courses from the SNCO’s Course to the 

Combat Engineer Module 0-3, all held in 

sunny Weymouth. 

WO2 Ivan (The Terrible) Prescott and SSgt 

Joe (Angry) Sims were given the task of 

running the Cbt Engr Mod 3-2 Course. 

We were told by the Trial & Development 

Support Branch (TDSB), WO2 Joe Aldridge, 

that we would have 32 willing and able TA 

Students attending the course. After weeks of 

preliminary hard graft organising the course, 

we loaded up our G1098 and we were off! 


After arriving at Chickerell Camp, 

Weymouth, we settled in our outstanding 

accommodation and dispatched ourselves 

that night on a recce of Weymouth to ensure 

the pubs were fit for the men to drink in; well 

it had to be done! 

On Saturday the main party arrived for 

briefings and admin which was overseen by 

WO2 Eddy Render. About 150 TA students 

arrived for a variety of courses so we knew it 

was going to be a busy 2 weeks! 

All our TA soldiers paraded on Day 1 at 

0730hrs, well on time, keen and ready to 

go. The first few days were taken up with 

None Equipment Bridging (NEB), which the 

course constructed with plenty of heavy 

girders and wooden baulks which put every 

student’s leg muscles and upper body 

strength to the test. 

The next phase was Equipment Bridging, 

in which HGOB, LSB and 5 bay Push Launch 

MGB were constructed. We finished off the 

module with a night build where the rain and 

wind nearly washed the students down the 

hard into the Fleet! 

The instructors came from far and wide

and a brought with them a vast amount of 

experience. They were Sgt Mac McKenzie, 

SSgt Robo Roberts, Cpl Paddy Haggan, Cpl 

Dan Cootes (a 3 RSME Instructor), and LCpl 

Shippers Shipman of 131 Cdo Sqn. 

The next stage of the course saw the 

students tacking Basic Construction 

Techniques. The module was finished off 

with WO2 Ivan Prescott showing off his 

brickie skills by teaching block lying and 

concrete practice in laying a concrete slab on 

the Combat Engineering hard. 

To finish the two weeks off in the cracking 

sunshine, the course moved onto the final 

module, Watermanship. 

The module commenced with the 

old Mark 6 Assault Boat and Avon Red 

Crest boat race. Sgt Mac Mackenzie 

demonstrated how to start an OBM whilst 

dropping a radio into the water out of his 

jacket pocket! The students were broken 

into groups dealing with the Avon Red 

Crest, OBM and its general maintenance 

and finally handling the Mark 6 Assault 

boat. After a few recoveries of Avon Red 

Crest floating out of control down the Fleet, 

final testing soon came to an end and 

75 ENgR REgT 

all 24 students passed the 3 – 2 Combat 

Engineer Course. Just to finish the week off 

Maj Geoff Howard organised the Coast to 

Coast 10 Mile loaded march with 15 Kgs of 

weight to be carried. The march had to be 

completed in the quickest time and was run 

as a section competition. Ultimately, it was 

the SNCO’s team that won. 

If you are interested in joining 75 Engr Regt 

you can ring the Hq on 01925 636519 or visit 

www.armyjobs.mod.uk 


gmAcF 


THE BEAR 

ESSENTIALS 

SSGT LARRy HALLETT GMACF

“Mmm - I’m still concerned 

about bears,” said Cdt Sgt Maj 

Tom Holding as he gazed at me 

across the bench at Capel Curig 

Training Camp during training 

for Exercise Rattlesnake, the 

annual expedition to the United 

States mounted by Greater 

Manchester ACF. 

We had spent part of the 

training weekend, covering wild 

animal encounter drills, camp 

craft and trekking in mountain 

areas. Still – when you consider 

that hungry Californian Black 

Bears have a nose seven 

times more sensitive than a 

bloodhound, it does highlight 

the acute need for slick personal 

admin, such as tightly packing 

our rations in secure containers 

when in bear territory. 

An overview of this action 

packed expedition to explore 

the Grand Canyon, Death Valley 

National Park and California’s 

Sierra Nevada on foot over 2 

½ weeks, left me in no doubt 

that this was a trek that started 

where the tourist trail ends! 

After landing at Los Angeles, 

the expedition deployed to 

Mather Campground in Grand 

Canyon National Park and 

divided into three trekking 

teams and one support team. 

Here, all personnel spent 

time honing skills such as 

familiarisation with US 

Army issue MRE (Meals 

Ready to Eat) rations 

and water purification, 

together with wilderness 

first aid and hygiene with 

our expedition medical 

experts. 

Our first objective was 

to trek to the bottom of 

the Grand Canyon, camp 

overnight then return the 

following day. 

My team (Team 2) set 

off first but the others were 

never far behind. After five 

hours we arrived at the bottom 

of the Grand Canyon. 

We quickly made the best of 

our new home and the cadets 

were keen to learn something 

of the local area from Park 

Rangers; including scorpion 

hunting, returning with the 

photos to prove it. A long slow 

climb back to the South Rim 

came the following day. 

Next was Death Valley. In this 

area with the second highest 

temperature ever recorded, and 

the lowest point in the western 

gmAcF 

hemisphere, the 

team took no chances. We chose 

to hike the Panamint Mountain 

range to Telescope Peak – the 

highest part of the national park 

– and therefore the coolest. At 

Mahogany Flats campground, 

we had benches, but no 

local water. With two-hour 

turnarounds into Stovepipe 

Wells however, our support 

team kept us well supplied with 

water. 

Our training at Mahogany 

Flats completed, all teams 

regrouped to prepare for the 

next challenge. 

We crossed the Stateline into 


gmAcF 

California – and Onion Valley 

Campground. Expedition Leader, 

Col Les Webb had planned 

to stay here for two days to 

experience high altitudes and 

prepare our ration and re-supply 

plan for the forthcoming six 

day venture; the highlight being 

the ascent of one of the USA’s 

highest peaks – the 14,450ft Mt 

Whitney. 

The time to step onto the 

trail came far too soon – and 

as ever, Team 2 led off. With 

daytime temperatures of 27deg 

C, averaging 7.5 miles a day and 

ascents of 1500ft, we camped 

at curiously sounding places 


like Chicken Spring Lake and 

Crabtree Meadow. 

On our third night I was 

awoken by the sound of 

pattering on my tent. To 

my horror I saw that the 

precipitation was not rain, but 

snow – though the temperature 

had been in the high 20s just 

hours before; a sure sign that we 

were gaining altitude though. 

In the morning Mt Whitney 

was tantalisingly close – and 

after pitching tents as close 

as the Park Rangers would let 

us, all three teams made their 

way individually to the summit 

carrying only basic safety kit. 

The ascent took a surprisingly 

long and laborious three hours. 

After photographs, it was time 

to make our way down. 

Our last night by a quiet lake 

was shared with Neil and Jed, 

two retired Californian cowboys 

who were leisurely drifting north 

over three weeks. 

Before we knew it, it was onto 

Lone Pine; a real cowboy frontier 

town for a motel stay and our 

end of course dinner. It was 

there that a grateful expedition 

presented Col Webb with a 

Western hip flask and a fully 

signed expedition map. 

150 yEARS OF LEARNING 

The Cadet Forces have been celebrating this year the 150th 

Anniversary of the cadet movement. Greater Manchester Army 

Cadet Force (GMACF) helps 12-18 year olds to learn new skills, 

get real qualifications, make friends and enjoy adventures. It 

gives them a taste of Army life and the chance to develop away 

from home and see how much they can achieve while having a 

lot of fun in the process. 

Cadet Detachments do weekly training throughout the year 

plus weekends away and a two week annual camp. Training 

includes military skills, like shooting, fieldcraft, first aid and 

navigation, together with Adventurous Training, like climbing, 

canoeing and mountain biking. 

To ensure safety and good quality training, the staffing ratio is 

about one ACF adult volunteer instructor to every 6 cadets and 

female Cadets are supervised by female instructors. 

Recruiting is open now for both Cadets and adults who want to 

become instructors. Previous military experience is not essential 

as full training is given. For more details, call 0161 237 3839 or go 

to www.armycadets.com

Colours 

on parade 

at Salford 

Cathedral 

The cadets and adult instructors of 

Greater Manchester ACF held a carol 

service at Salford Cathedral in the 

presence of the Lord Lieutenant of 

Greater Manchester, Col Warren Smith, 

the Mayor of Salford, Councillor 

George Wilson, and the County Comdt, 

Col Les Webb. 

The service was also attended 

by representatives of sister youth 

organisations, the SCC and ATC. 

The service was presided over by 

the Bishop of Salford, the Right 

Reverend Terence Brain and by Father 

Fieldhouse-Byrne, padre to GMACF. 

gmAcF 

The Colour Parties behind the altar 


gmAcF 

Packages ready to go Captain Kirsty Topham with her Cadets 

Ashton Cadets have it all wrapped up 

Cadets from Ashton, GMACF 2 

Coy, inspired by their Det Comd 

Capt Kirsty Topham, wanted to 

do something special for soldiers 

serving in Afghanistan. 

After sending parcels out earlier 

this year Capt Topham suggested 

to troops who had received parcels 

if they would like us to send 

something to wives, girlfriends, 

partners, with a letter from loved 

ones. 

She got replies from 2 LANCS, 

Blenheim Coy, Chindit Coy, 

Dettingen Coy, 51 Para Sqn RE, 23 

Engr Regt, 23 Engr Regt – REME 

Workshop, TACP, and 97 Bty JFIC 

Lawson Coy. She soon received 86 

letters to be sent to loved ones with 

a special gift of a box of chocolates 

from the Ashton cadets. 

To raise the money the Cadets 

at Ashton invited parents, friends 

and relatives to a buffet evening 

with a raffle at Ashtons Old 

Comrades’ Association whose 

members donated £80 to the fund. 

Detachments in 2 Coy also each 

donated £25. 

In the raffle were some special 

prizes that had been donated by 

local businesses including 20 tickets 

to see the Belle Vue dogs, £15 gift 

voucher from Tesco in Stalybridge, 

and chocolates from Morrisons, 

plus another 20 gifts donated by 

Cadets and their parents and from 

staff . The evening raised a total of 

£612. 


MANCHESTER POPPy APPEAL LAUNCH 

The Lord Lieutenant of Greater 

Manchester, Col Warren Smith, 

launched the 2010 poppy 

appeal for Greater Manchester 

at Manchester Cathedral. 

Present were all the Lord 

Mayors of the county, Greater 

Manchester’s Chief of Police 

and 150 bikers, most from the 

Royal British Legion Bikers 

Club. 

The county rep for the RBL 

Bikers Club who organised the 

bikers at the event is Jimmy 

Torrante who nominated one 

bike to be placed inside the 

Cathedral. 

Cadets from 2 Coy GMACF 

performed a guard of honour 

with piper Kyle Calverly from 

GMACF Pipes and Drums 

Band. Also in attendance were 

Air and Sea Cadets.

Tucking in 

on school 

visit 

The weeks before Christmas 

were a busy time for the Cadets 

of 5 Coy, GMACF. 

The Coy, which recruits in 

and around Wigan, Leigh and 

Bolton, in addition to helping 

out with fund-raising for Help for 

Heroes, and supporting a Charity 

Celebrity football match in aid 

of SSAFA, held a parade and 

demonstration of its training at 

Westleigh High School in Leigh. 

The aim of the afternoon 

was to provide a glimpse of 

the breath of cadet training to 

friends and family. In addition 

to a formal parade, ably 

supported by GMACF’s own 

Corps of Pipes and Drums, 

there was a formal awards 

Cadets tackle Corrie star 

Pictured with Coronation Street Star Alan Halsall, are members of the Leigh Det of GMACF. The Cdts and their adult instructors had 

been asked to help out at a charity football match, held at the new Leigh Sports Village, which pitted a Forces team against a team 

of TV Celebrities with all proceeds going to SSAFA – the forces charity which provides help to past and present members of the 

Armed Forces. 

gmacf 

ceremony in which 

cadets were awarded 

some of the many 

badges of achievement 

they had earned over 

the previous year. 

There were 

also a number of 

demonstrations of 

some of the training 

undertaken by 

cadets, including 

weapon cleaning and 

maintenance, fieldcraft 

and first aid. There was 

also a highly polished 

drill display, worthy of 

the Edinburgh Military 

Tattoo. 

The Leigh Det, which 

wears the badge of 

the NW armoured 

regiment, the Kings 

Royal Hussars, has 

undergone a revival in 

recent years and now 

has a complement of 

around 30 cadets, but is 

always on the lookout 

for both cadets and 

adults willing to train as 

instructors. 

If you would like further 

information ring GMACF 

on 0161 237 3739. 


WHO HELPS 

THOSE WHO 

NEED IT MOST? 

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH ALL WHO SERVE 

Registered Charity No: 219279 www.britishlegion.org.uk 08457 725 725

Cdt Kirsty 

Edwards (Tenor) 

and Cdt Oliver 

bradley (Pipes) 

lead C Company 

Cheshire ACF 

Pipes and drums workshop success 

Cheshire ACF Force attended Annual Camp 

at Barry Buddon Training Camp, Carnoustie. 

As part of the Cadet 150 Celebrations a Fun 

Day was organised which included various 

sports, the assault course, clay pigeon 

shooting and a Pipes and Drums workshop. 

Maj Jim Stout, National Cadet Piping EO 

and Drum Major Simon Grant travelled up 

from Redford Barracks in Edinburgh to run 

the workshop. They were assisted by Cdt 

Kirsty Edwards (Tenor Drummer) and Cdt 

Oliver Bradley (Bagpipes) who were already 

established band members from Warrington 

Detachment Cheshire ACF. 

Two classrooms were booked in the 

Training Wing provided by Capt Kirsty 

Dunbar, County Training Officer Cheshire 

ACF. Practise Chanters, Sticks and Pads were 

brought by our visitors. Refreshments were 

provided throughout the morning. 

After lunch Maj Stout and Drum Maj 

Grant conducted refresher training to 

enable Cdt Bradley and Cdt Edwards and 

other members of Warrington Detachment 

to progress further in their APC Music Star 

Awards and further develop their standard of 

piping and drumming. 

On the debrief Maj Stout praised the 

attitude and enthusiasm of the cadets. He 

singled out Cdt Libby Ratcliffe (Neston 

Detachment) and Cdt Cpl Kashaani Van- 

Lancker (Wilmslow Detachment) for showing 

particular aptitude. 

Since the workshop Cdts Catterall, 

Ratcliffe and Van-Lancker have progressed 

to the practise chanter. Cdt Edwards 

completed another APC Music Star Awards 

Course and competed in the Cadet Force 

Piping Competition at The Army School of 

Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming in 

Edinburgh, winning the Kings Own Scottish 

HAT-TRICK FOR MACCLESFIELD CADETS 

Three Macclesfield Army 

Cadets have each secured 

places in the Army at very 

different locations. Cdt Cpl 

Spencer Mansfield,18, is off to 

Catterick to join 1 MERCIAN. 

His long term ambition is to 

complete one of the most 

arduous infantry courses, that 

of a sniper. 

Cdt Sgt Liberty Crawford, 

16, has gained a place at the 

prestigious defence sixth form 

college, at Welbeck. Liberty 

hopes to become an engineer. 

Seventeen-years-old Cdt 

Cpl Grace Fellowes has 

passed selection and has 

AcF 

Borders Cup for Novice Tenor. Both her and 

Cdt Bradley play regularly with Warrington 

Pipe Band and at the end of last year played 

at recruit passing out parades at Warrington 

and Widnes Detachment C Company 

Cheshire ACF. Finally SMI Ian Greason CSM 

C Company is trying to organise a similar 

workshop over a weekend possibly at Fox 

Barracks in Chester using local instructors 

and a team coming down from Scotland. 

been awarded an Army 

Bursary to study at college 

before commencing her 

career as a medic with the 

Royal Army Medical Corps. 

SSgt Laura Close 

(Macclesfield Detachment 

Commander) had nothing 

but praise for the trio and 

it was with a mixture of 

sadness and elation that 

two of the three were bid 

farewell as they embark on 

their new careers. 

Left to right: Grace Fellows, 

Liberty Crawford and 

Spencer Mansfield 


AcF 

Medallion takes 

to the skies 

Cpl Ruth 

Wade- 

Armstrong 

during preflight 

checks 

Sophie’s 

success 

Cdt Sgt Sophie Morsby, 17, swore her Oath 

of Allegiance in front of her fellow cadets at 

the Barrow in Furness detachment when she 

enlisted for service in the QARANC having 

completed the Army’s Further Education 

Bursary Scheme earlier in the year. She then 

gave a confident 30 minute presentation 

on the challenges she faced during the 30 

day expedition to the Himalayas that she 

successfully completed in July. 

On completion of her 14 weeks Phase One 

training at ATR, Pirbright, Sophie will then go 

on to study full time at the Defence School of 

Health and Care Studies at Birmingham City 

University for a nursing degree. 

The event was attended by Sophie’s 

family, officers and senior NCOs from the 

army careers organisation and officers 

and adult volunteers from Cumbria ACF 

in addition to cadets from the Barrow 

detachment. 

Senior army recruiter, Maj Lyndsey Wilson 

said: “Sophie passed all the required tests 

at the Army’s Development and Selection 

Centre with top A and B grades. Her 


The Walney Island detachment of the 

Cumbria ACF was the latest to take 

charge of the Bronze Medallion struck to 

commemorate Cadet 150. 

The concept of the medallion is that 

it will tour the county of Cumbria by 

detachments. Each detachment will 

take it to historical and topographically 

important sites. 

Walney Island’s detachment decided 

to link it with regimental dress. The Duke 

of Lancaster’s Regt wear a glider on their 

sleeve as a Tactical Recognition Flash so 

the detachment visited Walney Airfield 

successful expedition to the Himalayas is 

testament to her drive and desire to succeed 

at whatever she puts her hand to. I have no 

doubt that she will do extremely well in the 

QARANC.” 

(Left to Right) Army Recruiter, 

Sgt Ian Aspin and Sgt Sophie 

Morsby. Sgt Aspin was Sophie’s 

mentor for the Army Further 

Education Bursary.

Cdt Jordan Ashton displays the medallion high over Walney Island 

where they met glider pilot Rose Saunders. 

She then took the medallion on a flight 

accompanied by Cpl Ruth Armstrong-Wade. 

As the Regt’s collar badge is the Lion of 

England, they also took the medallion to South 

Lakes Wild Animal Park to meet real lions 

where they were given a guided tour by head 

keeper Karen Brewer. 

Lyke Wake Walk 

for charity cash 

D Sqn RMLY completed a 40 mile trek across 

the North York Moors in aid of Macmillan cancer 

support. 

The Lyke Wake Walk is a common route used 

to cross the whole of North York Moors from 

east to west. It includes 5000ft of climbing and is 

undulating with a section of Roman road, areas of 

bog and approximately five miles of cinder track. 

This route is generally considered a hard walk 

and a challenge to most people, with most people 

allowing themselves 24 hours to complete it. 

LCpl Scott 

Hunter, Cdts Zane 

Pickervance and 

Denis Finlayson 

display the 

medal at the 

South Lakes Wild 

Animal Park 

D Sqn wanted to achieve a time of around 18 

hours but beat all expectations by finishing in 14 

hours and 3 minutes with a few sore feet but all in 

good health and high sprits. D Sqn raised £979 for 

Macmillan cancer support and handed a cheque 

to Miss Becky Bainton at their headquarters on 

Woodhouse Lane, Wigan. (Left to Right) Sgt bruce Fraser, Miss becky bainton, Pte Sarah Whitehill and Sgt Ashley Kennedy. 

AcF 


AcF 

C Coy (Show me yer Warface) 

Outreach Projects 

During 2010 C Coy planned and 

ran two Outreach projects on 

behalf of Lancs ACF, which is 

a first for Lancs as these have 

previously only ever been run 

once a year. 

Our partner in the projects 

was Norden High School of 

Rishton, Blackburn. As well as 

providing the children they also 

sent along two staff members, 

Simon Moorehouse and Cat 

Martins who proved to be 

absolute stars that joined in on 

most of the activities. 

Both projects ran with the 

same programme which first 

saw them conduct a taster 

weekend up at Halton, to confirm 

suitability, then followed by 

a project week, which thankfully 

everyone passed with flying 

colours. 

On arrival they were given 

a reminder of the Rules of 

Conduct by Capt Mac McDool 

and an introduction to “the 

Warface” before being issued 

with combats and then taken 

straight onto the “Square” to put 


them through their paces on Drill 

with the four stars. 

The afternoon consisted of 

command tasks, climbing wall 

and then an introduction to the 

obstacle course. The evening 

was spent doing a mixture of 

Heartstart training and map 

reading/orienteering skills. On 

the Sunday they conducted a 

round robin of archery, sports 

competition and orienteering. 

On the Monday after arrival 

and settling in we started work 

in earnest on preparing them for 

the inter sect drill competition 

that would take place on the 

Friday. After lunch we then 

went into a round robin of 

activities such as command 

tasks, climbing wall, obstacle 

course and potted sports. In the 

evening they were taken to an 

indoor climbing wall by Katie 

Heatlie-Jackson for a couple of 

hours climbing instruction and 

practice. 

Tuesday was the adventure 

training day where they all had 

a go at kayaking with Lt Chris 

Williams and Paula O’Connor, 

mountain biking with SSI 

Sean Delaney and Cdt SSgt 

Scouse Johnson and archery 

with Simon Moorehouse/Capt 

Danny Cassidy before being 

put through their paces on an 

evening sports competition run 

by WSIs Sarah Haworth and 

Chrissy Jepson. 

Wednesday was spent walking 

the Yorkshire Dales around 

Malham Tarn led by Maj Steve 

Whittaker and assisted by CSMI 

Chris Ratcliffe. 

Thursday was campcraft day 

where they spent plenty of 

time doing fieldcraft activities, 

tent and basha erection, field 

cooking/hygiene, and even got a 

demo of rabbit skinning! In the 

evening they went out on a short 

patrol and conducted a first aid 

scenario. 

Friday, after they’d cooked 

their own breakfasts and broke 

camp, it was all about handing 

over stores and accommodation 

before finally competing in their 

Sects for the honour of being 

Crowned “Drill Champions” of 

the Course and for the best team 

and individual “Warfaces” a very 

keenly contested activity!


help 

Race 

for 

Life 

Blackburn Somme 

Detachment of the Lancashire 

ACF took part in the Blackburn 

event for Race for Life. 

However, the cadets didn’t 

run ….. 

As is usual for any large 

event the cadets volunteered 

their time to help the 

organisers. Lt Shelley 

Whitehead, Detachment Comd, 

said “The cadets wanted to do 

something for the event, but 

with it being an all-female race 

many of the cadets couldn’t 

take part, so we volunteered 

to help out at the finish line 

instead.” 

The cadets packed and 

handed out more than 1700 

goody bags, bottles of water 

and medals to the ladies who 

completed the race at Witton 

Park. 

Lancs ACF celebrate successful year 

Lt Sian McCann presented with her Cadet 

Force Medal for 12 years of service by 

Hon Col, Lady Ann Shuttleworth. 

Lancashire ACF again finished 

the year with a social evening 

to celebrate the successes of 

2010. Amongst those presented 

with various awards were Cdt 

Sgt Maj Buckley who was 

presented with her Master 

The cadets at the start of the event... another challenge for 150 years! 

Cdt Sgt Maj buckley presented with her Master Cadet badge 

by the Hon Col, Lady Ann Shuttleworth. 

Cadet badge by the Hon Col, 

Lady Ann Shuttleworth. 

Lt Lara McKinney and Lt Sian 

McCann were presented with 

their Cadet Force Medals for 12 

years of service by the Hon Col. 

The Comdt of Lancs ACF, Col 

Hilary Williams had the very 

pleasing duty of presenting 

two cheques of £500 to Help for 

Heroes and ABF, The Soldiers’ 

Charity. This money was raised 

at a charity auction whilst at 

Annual Camp in July. Whilst 

there were some nice items 

up for auction, auctioneer 

Maj Andy Gray did very well 

to attract large bids for some 

barely desirable items and 

others of dubious value! 

AcF 

If anyone is interested in joining 

Somme Detachment please come 

down to Somme barracks, Moss Street, 

blackburn any Tuesday or Thursday 

evening at 7pm. 

For further details email the detachment 

on thesomme1916@aol.com 

Lt Lara McKinney presented with her Cadet 

Force Medal for 12 years of service by Hon Col, 

Lady Ann Shuttleworth. 


Merseyside ACF 

honoured with 

Freedom of city 

Merseyside ACF have been honoured with the Freedom of the 

City of Liverpool due to their outstanding commitment and 

dedication given to the local youth to become better citizens 

and leaders in their community. 

Marching through the City, preceded by the Duke of 

Lancaster’s Volunteer Band, they paraded at the Town 

Hall where the four Coys were inspected by the Lord 

Lieutenant of Merseyside and Hon Col, Dame 

Lorna Muirhead, The Lord Mayor, Councillor 

Hazel Williams, the Merseyside Garrison 

Commander, Lt Col Dominic Morgan and the 

Comdt Col Richard Goodwin. 

The historic ceremony took place 

in the Town Hall and it all formed a 

brilliant part of the Merseyside 

ACF Cadet 150 diary of 

celebrations. 

Outstanding letters of 

support were received 

from HRH The Duke of 

Edinburgh, Patron of 

The Army Cadet 

Force, plus 

Gen Sir Jack 

Deverell, 

President 

ACFA. 

Marching through 

the City of Liverpool. 

AcF 

The Lord Mayor of Liverpool. Councillor Hazel Williams and the 

Comdt Col Richard Goodwin with the historic Freedom Scroll 


AcF 

Life after the TA 

Town Hall Cadet 150 

One of the Merseyside ACF programmed Cadet 150 celebrations was 

at Liverpool Town Hall as past and present dignitaries joined in the 

historic occasion. 

The event was supported by the Lord Mayor and Consort, 

Councillor Hazel and Michael Williams - an ex 4 PARA volunteer and 

an instructor with Merseyside ACF. They, together with the Comdt 

Col Richard Goodwin, welcomed everyone with the cadets forming 

a guard of honour. During the evening the Comdt presented a 

Cadet 150 montage to the Lord Mayor and expressed thanks for her 

outstanding support to the Cadets. 


ALDER CENTRE CANDLE SERVICE 

Two of the cadets placing the named ‘leaves’ on the 

Alder Tree, Cpls Ian Williams and Lewis Hayes 

These are the latest 

instructors to Pass Out 

with Merseyside ACF. 

Why not consider joining 

them, especially if you 

are near the end of your 

service with the TA. See 

their web site on www. 

merseysidearmycadets. 

com and also get details 

from NW RFCA on 0151 

727 4552. 

The Alder Hey Alder Centre held a Candle Service at the Liverpool 

Anglican Cathedral. The very moving service was supported by the 

Merseyside Army Cadets from 1 Royal Irish Regiment Cadet Platoon. 

Before the service, families and relatives wrote the names of 

their children who had sadly died on ‘leaves’ which the cadets then 

collected. During the service all the children’s names were read out and 

the cadets then placed the ‘leaves’ one by one on a special Alder Tree.

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ccF 

Lt Col Irvine 

with some 

of his Army 

section cadets 

Cadets brave ‘Arctic’ Altcar 

‘Charlies Angels’ at the 

camp, Ruth Evans, Anna 

Maher and Emily bruchez. 

Cadets enjoy first camp 

St Mary’s College CCF 

attended a five day Autumn 

Camp at Altcar Training Camp 

where 68 cadets covering a 

comprehensive programme of 

events. 

Supporting them were TA 

soldiers from 4 PARA, 33 Sig 

Sqn (V) with hi tech ‘space age’ 

equipment, plus a 16 ton DROP 


Vehicle from 156 Tpt Regt 

(V) at Bootle demonstrating 

the role which they have 

carried out in both Iraq and 

Afghanistan. 

A large number of 

parents were there for the final 

parade when promotions were 

made and trophies presented. 

On the following two days 

after the Camp a number of 

the RAF section attended 

RAF Woodvale and had the 

opportunity to fly in a Grob 

Eighty five members of 

Merchant Taylors’ School CCF 

Army section braved Arctic 

conditions at Altcar to complete 

their end of year testing. 

The Contingent Comd, Lt Col 

Paul Irvine said: “Although it was 

extremely cold all the cadets 

were in good spirit and the 

final results were excellent and 

completed another record year. 

Para Volunteer Sgt Joe Keenan, just returned from Afghanistan, demonstrates the 

equipment required for their combat role with Stephen Mallinso and Gareth Abbott. 

trainer aircraft. The following day 

a party went up to Cumbria and 

completed parachute training 

followed by a jump out of a 

plane.

Birkenhead 

CCF on a wave 

Birkenhead School CCF held 

their bi-annual review at HMS 

EAGLET with the Inspecting 

Officer being the CO, Cdr Mike 

Thomason. 

Cdt James Thompson at the 

wheel with Lt Jeremy brettell 

explaining how it all operates 

Firstly he inspected the cadets, 

escorted by teacher Sub Lt Karen 

Green. This was followed by 

individual presentations. They 

then had the opportunity of a 

tour of HMS 

EAGLET, to see 

how the whole 

ship operates. 

After various 

groups rotated 

through different 

lectures they had 

the opportunity 

to embark on 

HMS CHARGER 

and were given 

details of its 

operational role. 

The final parade 

concluded a very 

interesting and 

successful day. 

ccF 

Cdt Georgina Hiorns enjoying HMS CHARGER 

Annabel 

strikes 

gold 

Comd 42 (NW) Bde, Brig Bill 

Aldridge, visited Merchant 

Taylors School CCF where he 

presented Cdt Sgt Annabel 

Fox, 17, with her Gold Duke 

of Edinburgh Award. She will 

now go to London for a Royal 

presentation of her certificate. 


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LuOTc 

Officer Cadets go up in the 

world on climbing trip 

by OCDT H FRANCIS 

AND OCDT J MCKEEN. 


LuOTc 

Liverpool UOTC’s 2010 annual climbing 

trip – Exercise Northern Mountain Warrior 

III - began with an extremely entertaining 

drive to Dover and onwards to JHQ involving 

u-turns and detours galore! 

The convoy left Crawford Hall bound for 

Dover picking up our instructors, Mark, John, 

Matt and Smokey along the way. 

The ferry crossing was uneventful but 

the drive from Calais to Rheindahlen was 

a different story involving a two hour drive 

diversion into Antwerp due to an unnamed 

2Lt, deciding he ‘desperately’ needed the 

toilet. 

We finally arrived at Joint HQ sometime 

later on the Monday night where everyone 

got some rest in preparation for the second 

leg of the journey. The next day saw the group 

arriving in Garmisch-Partenkirchen early 

evening and after setting up camp on the 

Edelweiss Lodge Wilderness Campground, we 

met our neighbours for the next two weeks 

which happened to be a group of 250 children, 

who were children of US forces personnel. 

Following this the group decided to venture 

out to explore Garmisch-Partenkirchen town 

for the evening. 

Day One brought a beautiful sunrise 

and glorious sunshine as the group set off 

climbing at a crag approximately 30 minutes 

drive away from base camp. The instructors 

went through all the basics with everyone 

and checked they all knew what they were 

doing before everyone ventured their first 

climb. The weather held off till early evening 

until a thunderstorm, very frequent in the 

Alps rained the group off the crags. 

Day Two of climbing was at an impressive 

crag right down south in Austria, a bit more 

of a drive than the previous day. The evening 

brought heavy rain, and unfortunately we 

had experienced pretty much all of the good 

weather we were going to experience in the 

two weeks. 

However despite the bad weather spirits 

were not dampened, in true ‘If it’s not raining 

then it’s not training’ style, morale remained 

high. The group then split in two, this 

allowed one half of the group to go do some 

walking in order to qualify for their Summer 

Mountaineering Proficiency meanwhile the 

other half would do some climbing, then in 

three days both groups would swap over 

activities. 

So off the walkers went navigating around 

the picturesque Walchensee lake area for the 


next few days despite the rainy weather. The 

climbing group had to resort to spending the 

next three days climbing inside on a local 

indoor wall. Ideally not the best situation but 

it provided a much better atmosphere and 

environment for development and honing 

of climbing skills, far better than an outdoor 

crag would. 

A few days later there was a sudden break 

in the weather and this allowed for the group 

to get out and do some more climbing. The 

crag we visited tested different abilities and 

everyone had to put in maximum effort. 

Glad to be back outside, the crag allowed the 

development which had been undertaken 

indoors to be put into practice. This break in 

the weather didn’t seem to last long however 

and it resulted in us resorting to going back 

inside at the climbing wall again. 

During the evenings we all got back 

together as a group back at camp and cooked 

dinner, mostly on a BBQ and large grill. The 

cooking took the form of the TV show ‘Come 

Dine With Me’ with about four participants 

being designated every night to cook for the 

whole group. 

There was also an educational part to the 

expedition, on one of the days the group 

visited Dachau concentration camp which 

was about an hour drive from Garmisch- 

Partenkirchen. 

The camp is now a museum dedicated to

preserving the horrors of the Nazi Regime 

and serves as a monument that such things 

should never happen again. An afternoon 

was spent looking around the former 

blockhouses that were once overcrowded 

with prisoners, as well as the gas chambers 

and crematorium which are as infamous as 

those at Auschwitz, Birkenau and Treblinka. 

The group also visited the Eagle’s Nest, 

Hitler’s mountain top eyrie, where he spent 

time during the war. The tour included a ride 

up a narrow mountain road to just below the 

summit. From there a solid gold elevator as 

used by Hitler himself took the group up the 

rest of the way. 

One particular achievement for the 

expedition was that everyone achieved their 

SMP qualification. Some of the hardest 

climbing the group did and where the 

highest grades were hit was the indoor wall. 

It was a good alternative on the rainy days 

and we bouldered, climbed and slacklined 

for hours. 

On the final day, we were finally granted 

LuOTc 

a day of perfect weather! As an entire group 

we took the cable car up Zugspitze, the 

highest mountain in Germany. The cable 

car took us almost to the very top which 

enabled some of the group to climb to the 

top. The day finished with the instructors led 

by Smoky cooking a delicious meal and an 

award ceremony organised by 2Lt Lyon and 

OCdt Smith. 

Notable awards were most improved 

climber to OCdt Katy Bristow, best cooking 

to Smoky, the ‘All the gear, no idea’ award 

to OCdt Dave Sanders-Ellis and ‘biggest 

biff’ OCdt James Williams for putting his 

reason for coming off a crag as being due to 

‘moderately moist rock.’ 

All in all, we had a remarkable trip filled 

with unforgettable climbing, walking and 

educational experiences, the expedition 

provided great banter that we’ll all remember 

and the good memories will do much to 

promote next year’s trip. 

My first weekend in the field 

OCdt Jonathan Collison from 

Liverpool University OTC 

recently spent his first weekend 

in the field. 

He said: “I had never been 

camping before, so I was happy 

to be given the chance to go 

up to Warcop and give it a try. 

The B and C wingers gave 

everyone advice on what to 

bring along to make yourself 

more comfortable in the field 

and keep up morale. 

“After we checked that we all 

had the right kit, we set off to 

Warcop. 

“When we arrived we were 

given a warm bed for the night 

so we could get plenty of rest 

for the day ahead. 

“After a hearty breakfast we 

were taken by mini bus to our 

first lesson on harbours; where 

we learnt what made a good 

area to stay in for a long period 

of time. We practiced how to 

enter and set up the area with 

things like a communication 

string all around the perimeter 

so that you can find you way 

safely in the dark. 

“After quick cuppa we moved 

on to cover formations. I 

thought this was a good way 

of showing how to command a 

section as we got the chance to 

use the skills and see how they 

work in a team. 

“Next we had a Pyrotechnics 

lesson, and shown the BFA 

(blank firing attachment) and 

trip flares. Next we were shown 

the smoke grenades, which can 

have multiple uses, like alerting 

aircraft to your location and 

as a smoke screen to blind the 

enemy. We were shown how 

to set them off safely and then 

some of us were given the 

chance to throw them. 

“After lunch we moved on 

to orienteering. This was really 

good fun and helped me with 

my map reading. When we got 

back from the map reading 

exercise we went and set up our 

bivvys for the night. 

“Before dark we set up a stag 

rota for sentry duty, I was lucky 

enough to get 22.00 till 23.00 so 

I could get a good night’s sleep 

before having to get up at 03.30 

for another hours stag. 

“We woke up at 05.30 and 

after breakfast we met up 

with the other sections ready 

for the 4 mile march. I felt I 

accomplished a lot over two 

days and earned a good nights 

kip. 


scc 

Huyton 

Sea Cadets 

strike silver 

The junior girls pulling team of Huyton with Roby Sea 

Cadets are fast on their way to becoming one of the most 

successful teams in the unit’s history, after becoming silver 

medallists at the Sea Cadet National Regatta. 

With some new crew members and a new boat (Trinity 

500) the girls had to adapt their skills and techniques and 

continue to grow together. Hard training paid off as they 

gained silver medallist positions at the National Regatta in 

London where they competed against teams from England, 

Scotland and Northern Ireland. 


spend 

week in Gib 

Huyton Sea Cadets and Royal Marine Cadets spent a 

well deserved week in Gibraltar where they stayed at the 

operational military base, viewed the sights and enjoyed 

time relaxing away from their hectic unit schedule. It was 

an opportunity to recharge their batteries prior to the 

busy autumn/winter training schedule kicking in. 


Huyton Sea Cadets 

Junior Girls’ team 

SUCCESSFUL PLUNGE FOR CADETS 

Huyton Sea Cadets continued 

their winning ways when they 

attended the district swimming 

competition. 

The squad won many gold, 

silver and bronze medals while 

racing against sea cadets from 

all over Liverpool. The squad 

won overall the junior 

girls trophy, senior boys 

trophy and were the 

overall winners of the 

competition. 

Cadets will now travel 

to Blackpool for the next 

stage of the competition 

where they will compete 

against cadets from throughout 

the NW of England. 

To celebrate their success 

the cadets took the opportunity 

to throw their commanding 

officer Lt (SCC) Farrell RNR in 

the pool!!!

G Sqn 23 SAS ® 

Tel 0161 862 9237 www.uksfr.net 

Open for business with a strong future - Be part of It 

EDITORIAL 


25-26 JUNE 2011 

SCOTLAND’S BIG WALK 

54 MILES IN 24 HOURS. PERTHSHIRE, SCOTLAND 

To fi nd out more, sign up or register as a volunteer go 

to soldierscharity.org/yomp or call 0845 504 6616 

ABF The Soldiers’ Charity is a Registered Charity No: 211645 and a Scottish Registered Charity No: SC039189

Snow 

fun for 

103 Regt 

Christopher makes a splash 

Col Dennis Hickey, Comdt Cheshire ACF who 

sponsored the NW Region Swimming Gala 

presented one of several medals won by Cdt 

Christopher Davey, Northwich Detachment 

Cheshire ACF. 

Cdt Davey went on to represent the North 

West at the Cadet 150 National Championships 

at RMAS where he won the gold medal in the 

Senior Boys Freestyle. 

soldies from 103 regt 

ra during exerCise 

snowstorm, the roYal 

artillerY’s snowboarding 

ChampionshipsCfn warren hewitt - admiring the view after another fall 

Liverpool based 208 Fd Hosp (V) joined 

forces with their local Royal British 

Legion football team to develop the 

awareness of the role of the military 

medics and bring together closer 

community ties. 

Capt Smith-Straney, who runs the 

TA centre in Childwall explained that 

the initiative allows the community and 

the Army to come closer together and 

support each other in a year when we 

the unit will be deploying to Afghanistan. 

Colin Cull, manager of the Saturday 

team, believes the initiative is 

outstanding. “The Army lads have 

provided links to strip sponsorship and 

some good quality coaching, it’s really 

benefitting the team.” 

sport 

Army medics team 

up junior 

teams 

The Army also plan to support the 

U12 and U16 teams by taking them on 

a mini tour of Army bases in Germany, 

playing matches and meeting the 

families. Ian Harrison, manager of the 

U12 &U16 Sunday team commented: 

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity 

for the players and staff to join Army 

families for a week in Germany, It 

will provide an excellent platform for 

developing team cohesion using tried 

and tested Army methods.” 

www.nwrfca.org.uk the volunteer 51

BADA-uk 

A DV E RTO R I A L 

A Mini 

Menace! 

There is nothing more 

invigorating than getting outside 

and at one with nature - BUT did 

you know that one of nature’s 

mini menaces is causing up to 

3,000 people in the UK every 

year to become ill? 

Ticks are tiny parasites which 

feed on wildlife, domestic 

1. Know where to expect 

ticks. Many areas in the UK 

with good ground cover 

and diverse wildlife (such 

as squirrels, hedgehogs, 

birds and deer) can pose 

a potential risk as wildlife 

feeds any ticks and allows 

their population to increase. 

Animals also transport these 

parasites to new areas. Ticks 

can be actively searching for 

a blood meal from 3.5°C. 

2. Use a repellent, reading the 

instructions carefully. 

3. Carry a tick remover. By 

having a tick remover (and 

antiseptic wipes) with you, 

any attached ticks can be 

removed sooner, lessening 

the chance of disease 

transmission. 

4. Tuck your trouser legs into 

your socks. This helps to 

deter ticks from crawling 

inside your trouser legs, 


animals and people. There are 

over 20 species of tick in the UK 

and over 800 worldwide. Ticks 

which have a varied taste in prey 

are perfect vectors to spread 

infection from animals to people. 

Cases of Lyme disease 

(Borreliosis) have been reported 

from most regions of the UK and 

top tips to proteCt Yourself 

down into shoes and through 

most socks. Wearing gaiters 

will also help to prevent 

this. Light-coloured clothing 

makes it easier to see ticks 

on it. 

5. Shake the vegetation ahead 

of you. Where you can’t keep 

to the centre of paths to 

avoid ticks on overhanging 

vegetation, you can use a 

stick to tap the vegetation 

ahead of you, knocking off 

any waiting ticks. 

6. Check your body carefully 

for ticks after being 

outdoors, taking special care 

to check all over the body. 

7. Don’t bring ticks home. 

Check clothing and pets for 

ticks to avoid bringing them 

inside. 

8. Carefully remove ticks. Use 

a specialist tick-removal tool 

or fine-tipped tweezers. 

9. Be a ‘Tick Buddy’. You can 

help your companions by 

checking for ticks in places 

they can’t see, such as the 

back of the head and behind 

their ears. 

10. Protect your pets. Talk 

to your vet about tick 

treatments. 

have escalated year on year as 

tick numbers increase and more 

people come into contact with 

them. The increase is not caused 

by any one factor, but a number 

combined. Changes in farming 

practices and the climate are just 

two contributing factors. With 

do the 

‘tiCk CheCk’! 

Ticks prefer warm, moist, dark 

areas of the body. 

1. Check the whole body. It is 

helpful to have someone 

else inspect areas that are 

hard to see, or if you are 

alone use a mirror. 

2. Preferred areas include: 

Hidden in: belly button, 

around or in the ear, hairline 

and scalp. 

Parts that bend: back of knee, 

elbow, between fingers and 

toes, underarms. 

Pressure points where 

clothing presses against skin: 

underwear elastic, belts, 

collar. 

to find out more, and to purchase tick-removal 

and repellent products, visit www.bada-uk.org 

spread the word and join in with national tick 

bite prevention week (april 11th - 17th 2011) 

www.tickbitepreventionweek.org 

not every tick carries infection but it helps to 

be ‘tick aware - prepared - protected’! 

no vaccine to defend against 

Lyme disease, awareness is key 

to preventing infection. 

Simple, sensible precaution 

can help to prevent tick bites, 

and your knowing how to 

correctly remove a tick can 

make the difference between 

becoming infected or not. 

how to safelY 

remove a tiCk 

When using a tickremoval 

tool, follow the 

manufacturer’s instructions. 

When using fine-tipped 

tweezers, grasp the tick 

as close to the skin as 

possible. Steadily pull the tick 

outwards without jerking or 

twisting. 

Never squeeze the tick’s 

body, burn, freeze, or smother 

it in substances such as 

petroleum jelly, spirits or 

oils. This is thought to induce 

back-flow of infective agents.

From 

Cadet to 

Officer 

experienCes of the ta Commissioning 

Course bY 2lt dan lihou 

The culmination of 

the 2 years of officer 

training in the OTC is 

assessment on the 3 week long Territorial 

Army Commissioning Course (TACC) 

at Sandhurst. Royal Military Academy 

Sandhurst is recognised as one of the best 

centres for leadership training in the world, 

and many of the greatest British military 

leaders have trained here. The grandeur of 

the place is evident from the moment you 

arrive, with the iconic neoclassical building 

of Old College, and the spectacular New 

College. Above all, reputation is maintained 

by having the best Colour Sergeants and 

officers in the army, who must go through 

a brutal selection themselves to become 

instructors there. 

The course is focussed on assessing your 

performance rather than giving you training, 

as you are expected now to be at the level 

where you can perform as an officer, and 

the aim is to push you to your physical and 

mental limits. In our opening address, the 

College Commandant, Lt Col McCutcheon, 

gave an inspirational speech in which he 

informed us that the instructors were going 

to push us so hard that we would reach a 

‘dark place’ inside ourselves and we’d be 

faced with a choice; to ‘curl up and die’ or to 

find the inner strength to continue despite all 

adversity. And if we could do that we’d have 

what it takes to become an officer. 

Within days of arriving we deployed on 

our first field exercise. The moment we 

stepped off the coach we had a two mile run, 

in full kit, to our first activity. What followed 

was a non stop three days of platoon attacks, 

recce patrols, fighting patrols, running up 

and down hills, crawling through mud and 

gorse bushes. And throughout, the DS 

would tear us to pieces for not being up to 

standard. We also had to dig in every night, 

which meant digging a knee deep trench to 

sleep in, though since we only had a couple 

of hours at best to sleep, most of it was 

spent digging a hole that you wouldn’t even 

get to sleep in. By the end of the exercise, 

though it had only been two days long, 

people were already exhausted and feeling 

the effects of sleep deprivation, and there 

was a foreboding feeling about the next two 

weeks of the course. 

Back in camp, we were able to enjoy once 

again such luxuries as sleeping, sometimes 

for as much as five hours a night! But the 

pace didn’t let up. We were introduced to 

the formalities of barrack life: marching 

everywhere, saluting everyone, and wearing 

msuotc 

immaculately ironed uniforms and polished 

boots at all times. The week spent back 

in camp was a blur of marching between 

lectures, assessments, running to the 

cookhouse and swallowing a three course 

meal within five minutes, late night boot 

polishing, etc. as the seven day exercise 

loomed ever closer. 

Soon enough D-Day arrived, and we 

deployed on the seven-day-long Final 

Test Exercise. We were all approaching 

this with a mixture of excitement and 

apprehension – knowing that this was the 

crux of our assessment at Sandhurst, and 

our performance here would be the make 

or break factor for commissioning, with 

the vivid memories of the previous tough 

exercise in our minds. The exercise formula 

was now a familiar one – platoon attacks, 

platoon attacks, platoon attacks, night time 

activities, and digging shell-scrapes to sleep 

in, thereby losing our brief opportunity 

to sleep (the delicious irony of which was 

not lost on the colour sergeants). For me, 

the toughest part was dealing with sleep 

deprivation, particularly at night. At one 

point I was leading a section patrol through a 

forest of trees that kept morphing into Father 

Christmases, clowns, gothic buildings and so 

on. All of which is incredibly distracting when 


msuotc 

you are trying to navigate and stay tactical. 

Col McCutcheon was right; over 

the next week we all at some point 

encountered our own ‘dark place’. 

Somehow though, most of us – but 

not all – found the willpower to carry 

on. It was a great morale booster 

when you eventually realised that 

whatever challenges the staff threw 

at you, you were going to be able 

to power through it and make it to 

the end of the course. It was a long 

seven days, but eventually the end 

arrived, culminating in an enormous 

company attack involving everyone 

on the course - around 70 people. At 

the end of the exercise we had been 

in the field for 168 hours, and during 

the whole exercise I had slept for 

only 4 hours. 

The commissioning parade was 

now in sight. Even back in camp we didn’t 

have time to catch up on sleep, as the next 

four days were filled with relentless drill, 

fitting out our blues, and bulling boots ready 

for the parade. The final day was the moment 

of glory for all the cadets on the course – this 

was when we would become commissioned 

officers in the British Army. We were dressed 

in blues – looking awesome. Everyone 

MSuOTC 

do Tignes 


Members of MSUOTC 

spent the first week of the 

New Year in the French 

Alps. 32 officer cadets, two 

members of staff and four instructors 

travelled to the Tignes Val Claret ski 

met their families before 

attending a church service 

in the Old College chapel. 

Then the commissioning 

parade took place. It was 

held in front of Old College 

– the iconic image of Sandhurst – with 

families, dignitaries, and the course staff 

watching. To the music of a military band we 

marched on, came to attention, and received 

an inspection and inspiring speech from a 

General, about our achievements and the 

future experiences of leadership we could 

look forward to. Finally, we were ordered to 

slow march up the steps and through the 

resort on New Year’s Day and hit the 

slopes as soon as they got there. 

Cadets were split into four groups, 

including beginners and advanced 

skiers. Those who were new to the 

sport attended lessons on avalanche 

door of Old College, at which point we would 

become Officers. It was one of the most 

rewarding feelings of my life. Reflecting back, 

as I marched toward the steps, on all the 

hurdles I’d had to overcome to get here and 

knowing that this was it, there were no more 

tests to pass, and all the hard work over the 

last two years had paid off. 

I can’t honestly say that I enjoyed my 

three weeks at Sandhurst. But it was without 

doubt the most rewarding achievement of 

my life, and it is an opportunity that I would 

recommend to anyone to seize if they have 

the chance. 

awareness, weather states and skiing 

techniques in order to gain their BSP 

– British Ski Proficiency – enabling 

them to ski without an instructor in 

groups of a minimum of three by the 

end of the week.

msuotc 

JuNGLE MARATHON 2010 

in the heart of the amazon 

bY Juo tom bloor 

It’s six o’clock in the morning and 

I’m meticulously preparing my 

feet, following a ritual which must 

be done in order to keep them going. First, 

I clean my feet with an anti-bacterial wipe; 

not a trace of dust, dirt or jungle crud can 

be between the toes or anywhere else, or 

it could be causing me a whole world of 

pain in the next few hours. Next, burst the 

blisters, being careful to soak up the plasma 

and liquid with a sterile gauze swab. Then, 

get a syringe of Friar’s Balsam (basically an 

alcohol) and inject it into the blister. At this 

point, it will feel like someone has taken an 

iron and is holding your foot against it, so 

you scream and swear and get laughed at 

by your mates. Finally, coat the whole foot 

in Vaseline, put on fresh socks, then another 

pair of thicker socks, and cram your swollen 

feet into a pair of shoes now too small 

for you. We’re ready. The crowds build up 

around the start line, the gun fires and you 

set off. Five minutes later you’ve plunged 

into swamp where the water comes up to 

your neck and the mud is so thick you sink in 

waist deep. Your feet are soaked and coated 

in stinking viscous gloop that only the jungle 

can produce. 

The Jungle Marathon is a unique event 

in the world, the only race of its kind which 

takes place in the jungle. Since its inception 

in 2004, it has become a legendary challenge 

that few athletes ever complete. Hardened 

ultra-runners from across the world, who 

have run the infamous ‘Marathon des 

Sables’ and Atacama Crossing, come here 

to test themselves in a way only the jungle 

can. The total distance of 222km takes a 

week of running through dense rainforest 

in the heart of the Amazon. Racers carry 

all of their food, sleeping kit, first aid and 

equipment, weighing about 15 kg in total; 

the only thing they are given is water and 

medical attention. They then plough through 

swamps and cross rivers, and attempt to 

avoid getting stung, bitten, electrocuted or 

eaten by any of the unique flora and fauna 

which inhabit this far-flung corner of the 

planet. The temperature sits at around 50 

degrees Celsius every day and humidity 

at a suffocating 80% means that people 

struggle to cool down, as what they sweat 

goes nowhere and sits as a slick on the skin. 

Stages of the race vary greatly from half 

marathons one day to 55 miles non-stop the 

next. Only about half the people that start the 

race actually manage to finish it. During the 

week I ran, countless people collapsed from 

heat exhaustion and I’m now somewhat of a 

pro at cooling people down. 

From the off I knew it was a big ask, I 

was a small fish in a very big pond and few 

runners ever contemplate this challenge. 

For over a year I went out every gloomy 

grey day in Manchester to run, it became 

part of the routine and if ever I questioned 

myself I would simply read the numbers of 

the race description, slip on my trainers and 

step out the door. The race was incredible, 

days were spent panting, climbing, drinking 

and constantly listening for anything that 

might be larger than a lizard hiding in the 

undergrowth nearby. The canopy contained 

a hot-house of wildlife that never stopped 

making noise, trees the size of houses 

climbed up to this green roof and at night the 

sound of howler monkeys kept us awake and 

made for an eerie darkness. 

I was doing well, surprisingly well. On 

the first day I took it easy, I was the rookie, 

un-acclimatised and clueless. I drank my 

water, jogged lightly and walked. At the end 

of the day I broke out of the jungle onto the 

white sands and palm trees of the Rio de 

Tapajos, set up the hammock and drank the 

milk of a coconut fresh from a tree. During 

the following days I seemed to get faster 

and faster as my body needed less to drink, 

and slowly I climbed the rankings until I 

was consistently finishing in the first five. I 

guessed the gloomy days in Manchester had 

paid off, as I was now the fastest Brit there. 

On the second day I ran, literally, into 

trouble. I was following the Spaniards, 

head down, ploughing the jungle trail, so 

I didn’t see a piece of rusty barbed wire 

at head height. I ran into it face first and 

what followed was a black eye, a deep cut 

that had me narrowly miss losing my sight 

and a fistful of antibiotics to munch on 

for the following week. Evenings spent in 

hammocks were interrupted by tarantula 

and the occasional banana spider (the most 

venomous thing in the world apparently). 

We talked about our cravings - cold juice, 

some fresh fruit, anything apart from salt 

tablets and freeze dried rations. 

The longest stage was a lick-out of epic 

proportions; I ran all day and all night trying 

to keep morale high even when it was just 

me, a head torch and the cacophony of noise 

that is the jungle at night for company. We 

all teased a mate, Phil, as we heard his story 

of stumbling across a jaguar preening itself 

on the forest trail. ‘What did you do?’ we 

asked. ‘I s**t myself,’ he replied. Fair enough. 

Phil had turned around, ran back to the last 

checkpoint to tell the locals, but they had just 

shrugged their shoulders. He slowly made 

his way back to find that the cat had decided 

to preen itself elsewhere. Towards the end 

of the longest day I started hallucinating. I 

found a frog the size of my head and stared 

at him for 20 minutes in a trance, branches 

snapping around me became the sound of a 

puma stalking me, while I joyfully told myself 

that ‘a lot of things here have never even 

been discovered by science’, as I imagined 

bumping into some fantastic new species 

of carnivore that would destroy me. Finally 

inspired after seeing the glowing lights of the 

camp through the undergrowth, I sprinted 

my way into what turned out to be an empty 

patch of ground with a few fire flies. It was 

getting silly and I was having to dig deep to 

find any scrap of morale I had left. 


Acf 

JuNGLE 

MARATHON 

2010 continued... 

But the long stage did have an end in 

sight; the days went past faster as my 

fury to get out of the sweltering canopy 

and into the cool breeze, swaying in 

my hammock, drove me on. Once there 

we all laughed at the stupidity of the 

situation, had a boil-in-the-bag and were 

happy. Before I knew it, I was clambering 

through the streets of ‘Alter do Chao’ 

and crossing the finish line to a cup of 

coke and some ice-cream. I had come 

8th out of 80 other runners who started, 

only 45 of whom finished, and I was one 

of the youngest and fastest Brits ever to 

compete. Happy days. 

Feet and legs swollen to a suitable 

size, opted for the wheelchairs at Sao 

Paulo airport. 

Derby trophy 2010 

The Derby Trophy competition, which 

began in 1975, is organised by 42 (NW) Bde 

to test the military skills and expertise of 

the TA units. 

The competition concluded with an 

awards presentation with Comd 42 

(NW) Bde congratulating the teams and 

individuals for their performances over 


Remembrance weekend 

and charity successes 

Cadets from MSUOTC, spearheaded by 

charities secretary OCdt Vicky Usher, have 

been raising money for forces charities this 

winter. During two Saturdays in November, 

teams of officer cadets sold poppies for the 

Royal British Legion at Manchester Piccadilly 

Rail Station. They managed to collect the very 

impressive sum of £3,445. 

On remembrance weekend University 

Barracks was opened up to the families, 

friends and guests of the MSOUTC. The 

evening served two purposes, first and 

foremost to inform and introduce the new 

OCdts and their families to the MSUOTC and 

the weekend. The team consisted of JUOs 

Tooth, Roughton, Mealor and Walsh, as 

well as OCdts Matthews, Hurden, Crabtree, 

Knox, Addison and Woods. 

A team also entered Cambrian Patrol 

in October and were awarded a Bronze 

certificate - quite an achievement, as the 

team was training for only 3 weekends. 

secondly to allow the OCdts to host official 

guests in a formal setting in a way fitting of 

a young officer. The official guests included 

the Comd 42 (NW) Bde, Brig and Mrs Bill 

Aldridge and members of the MEC. 

SSAFA – Forces Help was another charity 

with a military connection that the officer 

cadets were able to help, simply by making 

a cup of tea. For ‘The Big Brew-Up’, everyone 

who came in to University Barracks was 

encouraged to take advantage of tea, coffee 

and biscuits laid out in the mess – as long as 

they donated. This raised £53 for SSAFA. 

Double whammy 

for officer cadet 

JUO Laurie Hams, a member of MSUOTC 

for more than four years, has recently 

been awarded the national Council of 

Military Education (COMEC) award for his 

contribution to OTC life. 

The award, which comes with a cheque for 

£500 together with the COMEC Cup on which 

the prizewinner’s name is engraved, was 

presented at the COMEC AGM in Shrivenham, 

and collected on his behalf by Lt Col Suzanne 

Anderson, CO of MSUOTC. 

The year has been yet more successful for 

JUO Hams, who was also nominated for the 

Manchester and Salford Military Education 

Committee (MEC) Trophy. He came away 

with this one too, which earned him another 

cheque, this time for £250. 

JUO Hams is using the money to fund a 

trip of a lifetime around Australia, before he 

begins officer training at RMA Sandhurst in 

September.

up close and 

personal with 

Steve Wotherspoon 

Name: 

Lt Col Steve Wotherspoon Rm 

(Retd) 

age: 56 

LoCatioN: 

Born and bred on merseyside. 

RoLe: 

Regional Sabre Campaign Director 

CaReeR So faR: 

College & trainee manager with a 

Dutch engineering firm, 33 years 

Regular Service with the Royal 

marine Commandos, postings in 

italy and germany, ten winters in 

Norway and 2 years in Northern 

ireland. in addition, many varied 

operational tours of duty world 

wide. tour adviser/manager 

and alpine Walking guide for 

an adventure holiday company. 

Nuclear & maritime Security 

Consultant. 

Up CLoSe aND peRSoNaL: 

i have been married to Liz for 

28 years and we have 4 children; 

Rachel, 25 (Raf), David, 23 (Rm), 

and twins Hetty and Charley, 

21, who are slowly maturing at 

university. Since retirement from 

the Royal marines, i have seen a lot 

more of my children and suffered 

the financial consequences. 

favoURite pLaCe: 

porth Ceiriad in North Wales – it 

is my favourite place as it has one 

of the few beaches in Wales that 

is still unspoilt because it is ‘a bit 

of a trek’ to get to it. i have fond 

memories of the days we spent on 

the beach as a family when the 

children were young. 

favoURite fooD: 

my next meal! 

HappieSt memoRy: 

arriving at manchester airport 

from an operational tour in Ni 

to be told by the British airways 

staff on landing that my twins 

had arrived and Liz and the 

children were all fine. 

gUiLty pLeaSURe: 

escaping domestic bliss to 

‘swan off’ walking in the 

hills or sailing. also, going to 

concerts to watch ageing rock 

stars with my sons. 

favoURite metHoD of 

CommUNiCatioN: 

the english language: there 

is nothing like lively, vigorous 

discussion preferably over a beer. 

amBitioN: 

i intend to continue to support 

youth development especially 

within our cadet forces. i would 

also like to maintain and enhance 

the support that has been given to 

employers and Reservists by the 

association. as a past beneficiary 

of the association’s support, i will 

endeavour to use my experience to 

reach out and support employers 

and Reservists where i can. 

iNSpiRatioN: 

i am inspired by the young men 

and women i meet in the armed 

forces who show great moral and 

physical commitment. When i 

in the spotlight 

visit our cadets and listen to their 

experiences, i have a great sense 

of pride in the youth of today and 

have no worries about the future. 

fiNaL WoRDS: 

i have to thank the Royal marine 

Recruiting Sergeant in Liverpool 

who advised me, that with a name 

like Wotherspoon, i needed to get a 

sense of humour or get tough and 

join the Royal marines. from that 

day i have enjoyed the wonderful 

comradeship which comes 

from working with high grade, 

motivated, selfless people who 

taught me how to be a professional 

sea soldier in a grounded, good 

humoured way. 

if i can help our Units, Reservists 

or employers in anyway to cope 

with the demands of current 

operations or mobilisation, or if i 

can raise the profile of the armed 

forces in the North West; i stand 

ready to help. 


EMPLOYER 

SuPPORT 

uPDATE 

The Employers in the North West of England 

remain remarkably supportive, of the on going 

need for mobilisation of our Reservists for 

operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cyprus. There 

have been no applications for call outs refused 

by Employers but all Compulsory Call Out Orders 

continue to be monitored most carefully to ensure 

fairness and operational effectiveness. 

North West units continue to contribute a large 

number of mobilised soldiers to both Iraq and 

Afghanistan. Specifically during the last 12 months, 

207 (Manchester) Field Hospital have deployed 

to Afghanistan, providing the command and 

control element as well as individuals for the Field 

Hospital. 18 Royal Marines from Royal Marines 

Reserve Merseyside were mobilised in support 

of 40 Commando Royal Marines who deployed 

to Sangin, Afghanistan from October 2009 to 

April 2010 and the 4th Battalion of The Duke of 

Lancaster’s Regiment mobilised a platoon as part 

of a Force Protection Company for Afghanistan. 

There are currently 163 Reservists deployed or 

about to be deployed from local Units. All other 

North West Units have provided individual sailors 

and soldiers for both theatres of operation, whose 

number include Lieutenant Colonel Nick Ledsham 

Royal Mercian & Lancastrian Yeomanry, who gave 

a most interesting presentation on his Afghanistan 

mobilisation at the Cheshire Supportive Employers 

Dinner in Warrington in November. 

There have been a number of employer support 

events recently, which have included: 

supportive employer Certificates were presented to four local 

employers at a reception hosted by the mayor of sefton 

an employer’s visit to germany was hosted by 208 fd hosp (v) 

• A Greater Manchester Supportive Employers 

Dinner at the University Barracks, Manchester 

was attended by 77 employers; where 13 

Supportive Employer Certificates were 

presented by the Lord Lieutenant of Greater 

Manchester Colonel Warren Smith. 

• An evening visit to the Army Careers Exhibition 

at Altcar followed by a Curry Supper in the 

Officers Mess; where over 140 Employers 

attended and the Brigade Commander of 42 

(North West) Brigade, Brigadier Bill Aldridge 

CBE, presented 18 Supportive Employers 

Certificates. 

• An employer’s visit to Germany was hosted 

by 208 (Liverpool) Field Hospital, to witness 

pre-deployment training with a US Field 

Surgical Unit with whom they will work on 

their forthcoming tour to Afghanistan in late 

2011. 

• A Reception in November hosted by the 

Mayor of Sefton for Employers of deployed 

Reservists and local Supportive Employers 

it was a great success. Supportive Employer 

Certificates were also presented by the Mayor 

to 4 Employers. 

Overall 2010 was very successful with much 

engagement with Employers in the North West 

who remain very supportive of their Reservist 

employees. We continue to be most grateful for 

the support they give to their Reservists, the 

community and the nation. 

Up coming Employer Support 

events for the Diary include a day 

with 156 Transport Regiment at Altcar 

(19 Feb 11), and it is intended to hold 

Supportive Employer Dinners in 

Lancashire and Merseyside this Spring. 

If any Employers want any details for 

forthcoming events in their area please 

call: Steve Wotherspoon the Regional 

SaBRE Campaign Director on: 

0151 728 2069 or Email: nw-rscd@ 

nw.rfca.mod.uk 

new 

regional 

sabre 

Campaign 

direCtor 

saBre 

Steve Wotherspoon a 

past CO of Royal Marines 

Merseyside has recently 

taken over as the Regional 

SaBRE Campaign Director 

from Ian Rankine. 

Steve joined the Royal 

Marines in 1976 and travelled 

worldwide during his thirty 

three years of regular service 

including postings abroad 

in Rome, Oberammergau, 

Northern Ireland and 

frequent winter deployments 

to Norway. He is also the 

Vice Chairman of the Joint 

Services Cadet Committee. 


The further away from work you get………the 

more you need your boss behind you 

Is your boss supportive? 

All supportive employers are encouraged to sign the SaBRE statement 

of support. 

“Thousands of members of the Reserve Forces (Royal Naval 

Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve, Territorial Army and Royal 

Auxiliary Air Force) have been mobilised for full-time service 

overseas in recent years. 

When called upon, these men and women serve alongside their 

colleagues in the Regular Forces with courage and dedication, 

and often at considerable personal sacrifice. We admire their 

commitment and are determined to support all current and future 

employees in the Reserve Forces.” 

We cannot gain this vital form of support unless we are aware of your 

employer details. 

Please ensure that your unit has your up to date employer information. 

If you are a reservist hand this to your employer and ask them to 

complete the form and send it to the address below. 

If you are an employer, please complete this form and fax it to 0151 727 

8133 or send it to: 

Steve Wotherspoon, Regional SaBRE Campaign Director 

North West Reserve Forces and Cadets Association 

Alexandra Court 

28 Alexandra Drive 

Liverpool L17 8YE 

Tel: 0151 728 2069 

Fax: 0151 727 8133 

E-mail: nw-rscd@nw.rfca.mod.uk 

Please complete and post back to the Regional SaBRE Campaign Director at the address above. This information assists us in providing better and 

timely advice to Employers and their Reservist employees. 

Yes/No 

1. Do you employ Reservists? 2. How many people does your organisation employ? 

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT: 

“Thousands of members of the Reserve Forces (Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve, Territorial Army and Royal 

Auxiliary Air Force) have been mobilised for full-time service overseas in recent years. 

When called upon, these men and women serve alongside their colleagues in the Regular Forces with courage and 

dedication, and often at considerable personal sacrifice. We admire their commitment and are determined to support all 

current and future employees in the Reserve Forces.” 

Please tick Yes, my organisation is willing to endorse this statement support 

Does your Personnel Policy reflect employees service with of the Volunteer Reserve Forces (VRF) If possible, please enclose copy 

of your personnel policy 

Two weeks extra leave on full pay One week extra leave without pay 

One week extra leave on full pay and one week extra leave without pay 

Two weeks extra leave without pay One week extra leave on full pay 

Other arrangements: 

Commitment to the possibility of occasional compulsory mobilisation of members of the Reserve Forces in your employ. 

3. Would you accept the award of a SaBRE Supportive Employer Certificate……… 

4. Please write the name of the organisation as you wish it to appear on the SaBRE certificate: 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

5. We agree to our organisation’s name being included in SaBRE’s promotional material, and listed on the website … 

6. Name of your Managing Director/Chief Executive/Chairman: 

Yes/No 

Name: ____________________________________________________ Tel: ______________________________________________________________________ 

Job Title: _________________________________________________ E-mail: ___________________________________________________________________ 

7. Please nominate someone (if different from above) to be your organisation’s contact for Reservist matters. 

Yes/No 

Yes/No 

Name: ____________________________________________________ Tel: ______________________________________________________________________ 

Job Title: _________________________________________________ E-mail: ___________________________________________________________________ 

Signed: ___________________________________________________ Date: ____________________________________________________________________

competitions 

Top 

Tunes! 

See if you can find the 10 

differences in our spot the 

difference competition and you 

could be in with a chance to 

win a £25 gift card from HMV. 

Simply circle the 10 

differences and send it to the 

usual address at the bottom of 

the page. 

Closing date March 30th. 

SPOT THE 

COMBAT 

FROG 

Following his introduction, 

Combat Frog has once again 

hidden himself on one of the 

pages in this edition. 

Think you are an eagle-eyed 

reader? Then let us know 

where he is and you will be 

in with a chance of winning 

a £10 M&S voucher. 

Send it in to the usual 

address at the bottom of the 

page by March 30th and 

we’ll tell you where he hid 

himself in the next edition. 

Good Luck 

LAST ISSUE WINNERS 

Spot the Combat Frog: 

Mr Colin Daniels, Warrington 

Spot the Difference: 

Mr Quentin Gill, Isle of Man 

SEND YOuR ANSWERS TO: 

The Volunteer Competitions, The North West of England and The Isle of Man, Reserve Forces 

and Cadets Association, Alexandra Court, 28 Alexandra Drive, Liverpool L17 8YE 

Don’t forget to include your name, address, unit/detachment and a contact telephone number! 


BRITISH LIMBLESS EX-SERVICE 

MEN’S ASSOCIATION 

BLESMA supports all those ex-Service 

men and women who have lost limbs, 

the use of their limbs, or one or both 

eyes. At the outbreak of World War II and all 

conflicts since, many Members of BLESMA went to War 

young and whole. They came home disabled for life. The 

Association offers them the fellowship of shared experience, 

the welfare support they need and have fought for their 

interests over all the long years. 

Whilst we do not wish to receive new Members, due to the 

present situation and conflict in Afghanistan and as service 

life takes its inevitable toll, it is unavoidable that we shall do 

so. It is very important therefore that we are here to assist 

them in their recovery and rehabilitation from their injuries. 

We receive no Government Grants and rely wholly on the 

generosity of the public. Please consider making a donation 

now or a legacy in the future, 

however small, to: 

Frankland Moore House, 

185-187 High Road, 

Chadwell Heath, 

Romford, Essex RM6 6NA 

Tel: 020 8590 1124 

Fax: 020 8599 2932 

E: headquarters@blesma.org 

Web: www.blesma.org 

Please consider giving to those 

that gave so much and ask for 

so little in return. 

Registered Charity 

No’s 1084189, 

SC010315 


YOUR 

SUPPORT 

GIVES 

THEM 

SUPPORT 

It’s only through your generosity, energy and enthusiasm that 

we can make a difference. Whether you are a dare devil who will 

jump out of a plane or would like to do your bit by setting up a 

monthly donation, we would love to hear from you. 

All efforts are appreciated by us and by the thousands 

of soldiers (both Regular and TA), former soldiers and 

their families that we help each year. 

For more information or to get involved call: 01772 260356 or 

email: northwest@soldierscharity.org

RNR/RMR 

RNR/RMR RNHQ Northern 

England and IOM 

East Brunswick Dock 

Sefton Street 

Liverpool 

L3 4DZ 

Royal Naval Reserve 

Merseyside 

Wednesday: 0151 707 3311 

Royal Marines Reserve 

Merseyside 

Tuesday: 0151 707 3411 

Cumbria 

TA CENTRE 

Holker Street 

Barrow in Furness 

LA14 5RA 

Combat (Infantry) 

Tuesday 

Tel: 01229 821722 

TA CENTRE 

Burma Block 

The Castle 

Carlisle 

CA3 8UR 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01228 526187 

TA CENTRE 

Harrington Road 

Workington 

CA14 3XD 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01900 872484 

Lancashire Greater Manchester 

SOMME BARRACKS 

Moss Street 

Blackburn BB1 5JT 


Tuesday 

TA Medical Services 

Tel: 01254 682528 

TA CENTRE 

Canterbury Street 

Blackburn BB2 2HS 

SIR MATTHEW FELL HOUSE 

Parkinson Way, 

Blackpool FY4 2AZ 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01253 349229 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01253 349229 

ALEXANDRA BARRACKS 

Caton Road 

Lancaster LA1 3NY 

Logistics 

Tuesday 

Tel: 07826 914960 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01524 843210 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01524 843210 

University Officer Training 

Tuesday 

Tel: 01524 843210 

KIMBERLEY BARRACKS 

Deepdale Road 

Preston PR1 6QB 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01772 260654 

TA CENTRE 

Devonshire Road 

Chorley PR7 2DJ 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01257 247934 

Specialist (Intelligence) 

Wednesday 

Tel: 01384 394543 

9630hall1@armymail.mod.uk 

TA CENTRE 

Old Street 

Ashton Under Lyne OL6 7SF 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0161 480 4714 

Engineering 

Tuesday 

TA CENTRE 

Nelson Street 

Bolton BL3 2RW 

Combat (Artillery) 

Tuesday 

Tel: 01204 362111 

Specialist (Band) 

Thursday 

Tel: 01204 362111 

TA CENTRE 

Castle Armoury, Castle Street 

Bury BL9 0LB 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0161 764 3351 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0161 764 3351 

TA CENTRE 

Manchester Road 

Clifton M27 6TA 

Tel: 0161 794 3222/0161 727 

8117 

Engineering 

Wednesday 

TA CENTRE 

Oldham Road 

Failsworth M35 0BH 

Engineering 

Tuesday 

Tel: 0161 683 3200 

TA CENTRE 

King’s Road 

Manchester M16 7RS 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0161 232 4985 

TA CENTRE 

Norman Road 

Manchester M14 5LH 

Tuesday 

IT Comms 

Tel: 0161 257 3377 

TA 

DirectorY 

eDitoriAl 

TA CENTRE 

Belle Vue Street 

Manchester M12 5PW 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0161 230 6710 

RMP (Military Police) 

Wednesday 

Tel: 0121 553 4518 

TA CENTRE 

Ardwick Green 

Manchester M12 6JH 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0161 272 6207 

UNIVERSITY BARRACKS 

Boundary Lane 

Manchester M15 6DH 

Tel: 0161 228 2187 


Wednesday 

Tel: 0161 228 2185 

HALDANE BARRACKS 

Haldane Road 

Salford 

Manchester M50 2TR 

Logistics 

Tuesday 

Tel: 0161 736 3930 

TA CENTRE 

Greek Street 

Stockport SK3 8AB 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0161 480 4714 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0161 480 4714 

TA CENTRE 

Woodhouse Lane 

Wigan WN6 7NQ 

Combat (RAC) 

Wednesday 

Tel: 01942 248882 

UNITED KINGDOM SPECIAL 

FORCES RESERVE 

Manchester 

Tel: 0161 862 9237 


DirectorY TA 

Cheshire 

FOX BARRACKS 

Liverpool Road 

Chester 

CH2 4BU 

Combat (RAC) 

Thursday 

Tel: 01244 381050 

TA CENTRE 

Myrtle Street 

Crewe 

CW2 7HQ 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01270 650017 

TA CENTRE 

Stanney Lane 

Ellesmere Port 

CH65 9AH 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0151 355 0505 

CROWN GATE BARRACKS 

Crown Gate 

Runcorn 

WA7 2UR 

PENINSULA BARRACKS 

O’Leary Street 

Warrington 

WA2 7QS 

Engineering 

Tuesday 

Tel: 01925 636519 

UBIQUE BARRACKS 

Peelhouse Lane 

Widnes WA8 6TH 

Infantry 

Tuesday 

Tel: 0151 257 2470 


Merseyside Combat 

(Royal Armoured Corps) 

Trained to operate the Army’s 

TA CENTRE 

Wexford Road 

Birkenhead 

CH43 9TF 

Logistics 

Tuesday 

Tel: 0151 652 2392 

TA CENTRE 

Harrowby Road 

Birkenhead 

CH42 7HT 

Engineering 

Tuesday 

Tel: 0151 652 3406 

RG Masters VC 

TA Centre 

30 Pelham Drive 

Bootle 

L30 4XN 

Logistics 

Tuesday 

Tel: 0151 530 2783 

ALAMEIN BARRACKS 


Huyton 

L36 3RW 

IT Comms 

Tuesday 

Tel: 0151 489 8331 

AINTREE BARRACKS 

Long Lane 

Liverpool 

L9 7AT 

THE BRIGADIER PHILIP 

TOOSEY BARRACKS 

Aigburth Road, 

Liverpool 

L17 9PH 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0151 727 4455 

CRAWFORD HALL 

Mather Avenue 

Liverpool 

L18 6HF 


Wednesday 

Tel: 0151 729 2031 

TA CENTRE 

Mather Avenue 

Liverpool 

L18 6HF 

Logistics 

Tuesday 

Tel: 0151 242 2044 

TA CENTRE 

Townsend Avenue 

Liverpool 

L11 5AF 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0151 226 7000 

Specialist (Band) 

Thursday 

Tel: 0151 270 1177 

CHAVASSE HOUSE 

Sarum Road 

Liverpool 

L25 2XP 


Tuesday 

Tel: 0151 488 1540 

JUBILEE BARRACKS 

Prescot Road 

St Helens 

WA10 3UB 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01744 22255 


Tuesday 

Tel: 01744 22255 

latest Challenger Main Battle 

Tank. 


Providing Field Artillery 

Batteries trained to operate 

the very latest high-tech 

equipment. 

Engineering 

Helping maintain and repair 

the Army’s immense range 

of technical equipment and 

assist the Army to live, move 

and fight and prevent the 

enemy from doing the same. 

IT Comms 

Operate and maintain the 

Army’s field communications. 


Trained to use the latest 

machine guns, riffles, 

mortars and Anti Tank 

Missiles. 

Logistics 

Responsible for distributing 

the Army’s multitude of 

stores and equipment. 


Providing essential 

medical support across all 

medical disciplines. HR, 

Administration and Finance. 

Looking after the Army’s 

pay, personnel records and 

administration. 

Specialist (Intelligence) 

Collecting, collating and 

analysing information on 

enemy movements, strengths 

and intentions. 


Main centres in Manchester 

and Liverpool.

North West 

Area SCC 

NRNHQ 

East Brunswick Dock 

Sefton Street 

Liverpool 

L3 4DZ 

Tel: 0151 707 3441 

NE Lancs 

Accrington and District 

Bolton 

Burnley 

Bury 

Chorley 

Middleton 

Oldham 

Rochdale 

Wigan 

NW Lancs 

Blackburn 

Blackpool 

Fleetwood 

Isle of Man 

Lytham 

Morecambe 

Preston 

Skemersdale 

Cheshire/ 

Staffs 

Chester 

Crewe 

Stafford 

Stoke 

Winsford 

Cumbria Manchester 

Barrow 

Carlisle 

Kendal 

Maryport 

Whitehaven 

Workington 

Wirral 

Bebington 

Birkenhead 


Hoylake 

Runcorn 

Wallasey 

Warrington 

Widnes 

Altrincham & Sale 

Bollington 

City of Salford 

Manchester Trafalgar 

Stockport 

Stretford 

Tameside 

Liverpool 

Huyton 

Kirby 

Liverpool City 

Liverpool W Derby 

Newton 

Sefton 

South Liverpool 

Southport 

St Helens 

Forthcoming courses at the RTC 

RMQ 1/11 3 – 19 June 2011. (2 week All Inclusive package.) 

DIT 1/11 Wkd 1 08 - 10 Jul 2011. 

DIT 1/11 Wkd 2 22 - 24 Jul 2011. 

DIT 2/11 Wkd 1 05-07 Aug 2011. 

DIT 2/11 Wkd 2 19-21 Aug 2011. 

DIT 3/11 Wkd1 21-23 Oct 2011. 

DIT 3/11 Wkd2 04-06 Nov 2011. 

BCDT 1/11 Wkd 1 10-12 Feb 2012. 

Wkd 2 24-26 Feb 2012. 

HAZMAT 1/11 Wkd 1 06-08 May 2011. 

HAZMAT 1/11 Wkd 2 20-22 May 2011. (Exam) 

HAZMAT 2/11 Wkd 1 02-04 Mar 2012. 

HAZMAT 2/11 Wkd 2 16-18 Mar 2012. (Exam) 

ETL 01/11 01-03 Jul 2011. 

ETL 02/11 17-19 Feb 2012. 

Potential PTI Cse01/11 08-10 Jul 2011. 

Potential PTI Cse 02/11 05-07 Aug 2011. 

Sea Cadet Corps 

PTI Intermediate MOD 2 15-17 April 2011. 

PTI Intermediate MOD 3 03-05 June 2011. 

TA PTI Intermediate Modular Camp 05-09 Sep 2011. 

PTI Advanced MOD 1 20-22 May 2011. 

PTI Advanced MOD 2 22-24 Jul 2011. 

PTI Advanced MOD 3 07-09 Oct 2011. 

PTI Advanced MOD 4 03-05 Feb 2012. 

DirectorY 

Recruit Selection Weekends 

01/11 09-10 Apr 2011. TSC(A) Starting 29 Apr 2011. 

02/11 14-15 May 2011. TSC(A) Starting 17 Jun 2011. 

03/11 25-26 Jun 2011. TSC(A) Starting 15 Jul 2011. 

04/11 10-11 Sep 2011. TSC(A) Starting 30 Sep 2011. 

05/11 10-11 Dec 2011. TSC(A) Starting 6 Jan 2012. 

06/11 14-15 Jan 2012. TSC(A) Starting 3 Feb 2012. 

07/11 10-11 Mar 2012. TSC(A) TBA. 

For a comprehensive list of all courses available, or to make 

a bid for a course, readers can contact the RTC via their 

unit training wings. The Adjutant is available on 0151 929 

3254 or 42XBRTCADJT@mod.uk. Alternatively contact the 

Administration Officer on 42X-BRTCCivAdmin@mod.uk 


DirectorY Army Cadet Force 

Merseyside Cumbria 

Merseyside ACF 

St George’s ACF Centre 

Hightown 

Merseyside 

L38 7JD 

Tel: 0151 929 2069 

Altcar Training Camp 

Email: ceomside@merseyside 

armycadets.com 

Netherton 

Southport 

Crosby 

Bootle x 2 

Hightown 

Aintree 

Everton 

Knotty Ash 

Kirkby 

Huyton 

Newton Le Willows 

Prescot 

St Helens 

West Derby x 2 

Childwall 

Birkenhead 

Upton 

Hoylake 

Wallasey x 2 

New Ferry 

Irby 

Aigburth 

Allerton 

Speke 

Norris Green 

Walton 

Litherland 

Oxton 


Cumbria ACF 

The Castle 

Ypres Block 

Carlisle CA3 8UR 

Tel: 01228 516222 

Email: ceo@cumbria 


Brampton 

Caldew 

Castle 

Currock 

Eden Grove School 

Harraby 

Longtown 

Morton 

Penrith 

Wigton 

Barrow 

Dalton 

Kendal 

Millom 

Ulverston 

Walney Island 

Windermere 

Aspatria 

Cleator Moor 

Cockermouth 

Keswick 

Maryport 

Whitehaven 

Workington 

Greater Manchester 

Greater Manchester ACF 

University Barracks 

Boundary Lane 

Manchester M15 6BL 

Tel: 0161 237 3739 

Email: ceo@manchester 


Radcliffe 

Crumpsall 

Rochdale 

Heywood 

Middleton 

Hulme 

Bury 

Ramsbottom 

Shaw 

Oldham 

Ashton 

Stalybridge 

Denton 

Hyde 

Bellevue 

Royton 

Stockport 

Cheadle Hulme 

Bredbury 

Reddish 

Ardwick 

Rusholme 

Sale 

Flixton 

Streford 

Lancashire Cheshire 

Lancashire ACF 

Fulwood Barracks 

Tel: 01772 717078 

Preston PR2 8AA 

Email: ceo@lancashire 


Lostock Hall 

Blackburn 

Leyland 

Lancaster 

Barnoldswick 

Heysham 

Morecambe 

Chorley 

Brierfield 

Ormskirk 

Skelmersdale 

Preston 

Blackpool 

Fleetwood 

Accrington 

Thornton 

Lytham St Anne’s 

Kirkham and Weeton 

Preesall 

Burnley 

Haslingden 

Longridge 

Garstang 

Clitheroe 

Fulwood 

Rishton 

Bowerham 

Carnforth 

Salford 

Clifton 

Chadderton 

Tyldesley 

Farnworth 

Wigan 

Hindley 

Leigh 

Failsworth 

Levenshulme 

Bolton 

Eccles 

Pipes and Drums Det 

Broughton 

Cheshire ACF 

Fox Barracks 


Chester 

CH2 4BL 

Tel: 01244 390252 

Email: ceo@cheshire 


Chester 

Runcorn 

Macclesfield 

Penketh 

Crewe 

Woolston 

Abbots Park 

Halton 

Birchwood 

Northwich 

Tarporley 


Congleton 

Weaverham 

Sandbach 

Neston 

Knutsford 

Widnes 

Stockton Heath 

Winsford 

Frodsham 

Wilmslow 

Warrington 

Nantwich 

Alsagar 

Isle of Man 

Isle of Man ACF 

Tromode Road 

Tel: 01624 671210 

Douglas 

Isle of Man 

IM2 5PA 

Email: 

ceo@isleofmancadets.com 

Castletown 

Port Erin 

Douglas 

Ramsey 

Onchan 

Peel

Wales and 

West Region 

Headquarters 

DCAE Cosford, 

Boyle Block 

Wolverhampton 

West Midlands WV7 3EX 

Tel: 01902 372393 Ext 7904 

Email: atcrhqwwrc@cosford. 

raf.mod.uk 

HQ Merseyside Wing 

Stoddart House 

RAF Woodvale 

Formby 

Merseyside L37 7AD 

Tel 01704 872287 Ext 7245 

Email whq-merseyside 

ado@atc.raf.mod.uk 

Squadrons 

7F (City of Liverpool) 

Squadron 

90 (Speke) Squadron 

273 (Wallasey) Squadron 

281 (Southport) Squadron 

306 (Runcorn) Squadron 

310 (Widnes) Squadron 

316 Leigh) Squadron 

400 (Birkenhead)Squadron 

440 (1st Manx) Squadron 

472 (Hoylake) Squadron 

610 (City of Chester) 

Squadron 

611 (Woodvale) Squadron 

969 (St Helens) Squadron 

1026 (Ormskirk) Squadron 

1074 (Ellesmere Port) 

Squadron 

1123 (Hooton Park) Squadron 

1128 (Crosby) Squadron 

1175 (Prenton) Squadron 

1438 (Prescot) Squadron 

1439 (Skelmersdale) 

Squadron 

1908 (Bootle) Squadron 

1913 (Knotty Ash) Squadron 

1966 (Wavertree) Squadron 

1982 (Huyton) Squadron 

2184 (Upton) Squadron 

2275 (Walton) Squadron 

2348 (Maghull) Squadron 

2359 (Woolton) Squadron 

2369 (Kirby) Squadron 

2375 (Neston) Squadron 

Air Training Corps 

North Region 

Headquarters 

RAF Linton-on Ouse 

York YO30 2AJ 

Tel: 01347 847461 

Email: ACORegHQ- 

NorthARC@linton-onouse.raf.mod.uk 

HQ East Lancashire Wing 

TA Centre 

Castle Armoury 

Castle Street 

Bury BL9 0LB 

Tel: 0161764 2686 

Email: whqelancswgao@atc.raf.mod.uk 

Squadrons 

80 (Bolton) Squadron 

247 (Ashton) Squadron 

292 (Eccles) Squadron 

317 (Failsworth and Newton 

Heath) Squadron 

319 (City of Salford) Squadron 

352 (Burnley) Squadron 

430 (Droylsden) Squadron 

468 (Hyde and Hattersley) 

Squadron 

723 (Wigan) Squadron 

1005 (Radcliffe) Squadron 

1035 (Accrington) Squadron 

1036 (Bury) Squadron 

1099 (Worsley) Squadron 

1104 (Nelson) Squadron 

1262 (Blackburn) Squadron 

1263 (Rochdale) Squadron 

1471 (Horwich) Squadron 

1832 (North Manchester) 

Squadron 

1855 (Royton) Squadron 

1969 (Rossendale) Squadron 

2200 (Oldham) Squadron 

2200 (Saddleworth) Detached 

Flight 

2301 (Heywood) Squadron 

HQ East Cheshire and South 

Manchester Wing 

PPPA Cheadle Hulume 

(Rooms 33 and 34) 

Dairy House Lane 

Cheadle Hulme 

Stockport 

Cheshire SK8 7NU 

Tel: 0161 426 7541 

Email:whqecsmao@atc.raf.mod.uk 

Squadrons 

55 (Woodford & Bramhall) 

Squadron 

70 (Croft & Culcheth) 

Squadron 

145 (Altrincham & Hale) 

Squadron 

146 (Northwich) Squadron 

162 (Stockport) Squadron 

174 (Manchester) Squadron 

182 (North Trafford) 

Squadron 

182 (Partington) Detached 

Flight 

184 (Manchester South) 

Squadron 

201 (Macclesfield) Squadron 

202 (Winsford) Squadron 

236 (Bollington) Squadron 

284 (Cheadle & Gatley) 

Squadron 

318 (Sale) Squadron 

391 (Wilmslow) Squadron 

1196 (Bredbury/Romily/ 

Marple) Squadron 

1330 (Warrington) Squadron 

1804 (Four Heatons) 

Squadron 

1940 (Levenshulme) 

Squadron 

2056 (Knutsford) Squadron 

2137 (Lymm) Squadron 

2448 (Poynton) Squadron 

2468 (St Gregory’s School) 

Squadron 

2517 (Buxton) Squadron 

DirectorY 

HQ Cumbria and North 

Lancashire Wing 

Building 37 

Singleton Road 

Wheeton 

Preston PR4 3ET 

Tel: 01772 260752 

Email: whqcumbriaao@atc.raf.mod.uk 

Squadrons 

92 (Chorley) Squadron 

128 (Barrow-in-Furness) 

Squadron 

143 (Longridge) Squadron 

177 (Blackpool) Squadron 

206 (Thornton Cleveleys) 

Squadron 

341 (City of Preston) 

Squadron 

345 (City of Lancaster) 

Squadron 

455 (Morecambe & Heysham) 

Squadron 

471 (Hesketh Bank & 

Tarleton) Squadron 

967 (BAe Warton) Squadron 

1030 (Whitehaven) Squadron 

1127 (Kendal) Squadron 

1247 (Penrith) Squadron 

1264 (Windermere) Squadron 

1264 (Millom) Detached 

Flight 

1301 (Fleetwood) Squadron 

1862 (City of Carlisle) 

Squadron 

2050 (Leyland) Squadron 

2192 (Appleby Grammar 

School) Squadron 

2199 (Workington) Squadron 

2223 (Ulverston) Squadron 

2246 (Carnforth) Squadron 

2376 (Bamber Bridge) 

Squadron 

2454 (Warbreck) Squadron 

2459 (Poulton-le-Fylde) 

Squadron 

2486 (Lytham St Annes) 

Squadron

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