Issue 87 - NWRFCA - Northwest Reserve Forces & Cadets Association

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cumbria acf Arnhem visit Twenty-nine army cadets from all over Cumbria, led by their Commanding Officer, Col Tom McMullen, travelled to Holland to attend the sixty-seventh anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem. The aim of the visit was to remember the members of the Border Regiment who fought in the battle as glider borne infantry. Arriving in Holland early on Saturday morning, they were met by WO1 Geert Jonker of the Dutch army and travelled to the military cemetery at Oosterbreek to visit the graves of British and Polish servicemen who fell during the battle. There the cadets had the privilege of meeting veterans of the battle and relatives of those who did not return including Patricia Summers whose father, Edward Hartley, was Keswick cadets LCpl Jessica Marsden and LCpl Robert Atkinson at the Border Regiment Memorial at Westerbowing Helents Hotel overlooking the River Rhine. WO1 Geert Jonker of the Dutch army talking to the cadets at the graves of members of the Border Regiment at Oosterbreek Military Cemetery. a soldier in the Border Regiment and whose body was only found and laid to rest in 2006. There were several such moving moments as members of the party identified the graves of relatives. Following a visit to the Airborne Museum at Hartenstein, the cadets were conducted round the positions held by the Border Regiment and given a full account of the part they played in the battle by WO1 Jonker and Mr Martijn Cornelissen who are expert battlefield guides. The cadets laid a poppy cross at the site where the most recent body was found and a wreath at the Border Regiment Memorial at Westerbowing Helents Hotel that overlooks the River Rhine. This position was held by B Company of the First Battalion the Border Regiment towards the end of the battle and their action allowed many of the airborne troops to escape across the river. After spending the night at Oranje Kazerne (Dutch Army Barracks) as guests of the Dutch army, the party returned to the Oosterbreek Military Cemetery for the annual remembrance service. This was attended by vast numbers of veterans and their families, representatives of the Dutch and allied governments and servicemen from all the allied nations who took part in the battle. After prayers had been said for the fallen, at each grave a Dutch child laid flowers; the Exhortation was given and Last Post and Reveille sounded. The service ended with the British, Polish and Dutch national anthems, by which time it was clear that the cadets were quite emotional and had clearly realised the sacrifice made by those who fought at Arnhem and, indeed, how grateful the Dutch people are for it. Cumbria Army Cadet Force are grateful to the Cumbria County Council Neighbourhood Forums, Keswick Lions, and the parents of the cadets whose contributions to the cost of the visit made it possible for the cadets to take part in this valuable educational experience. First Gurkha cadet Dibash Gurung, the first Gurkha to join Cumbria Army Cadet Force, has just completed his first annual training camp at Barry Buddon, near Dundee. Dibash settled with his family in Carlisle after his father had completed a full career in the Royal Ghurkha Rifles. As is only to be expected from a member of such a martial race, Dibash has excelled in his basic and continuation training and fitted in well with his Cumbrian comrades. During his two weeks at Barry Buddon he enjoyed every minute of his military training which culminated in a twenty-four hour field training exercise. As part of their training the cadets slept in improvised shelters, cooked their own 24 hour ration packs and faced a number of challenging tactical problems. He was also very keen to sample the adventure training package which included canoeing, rock climbing and skiing on the Royal Marines dry slope at nearby RM Condor. Now fully skilled, Dibash is looking forward to the new training year and hopes to gain his first promotion before next year’s annual camp at Ripon. He certainly has the potential to gain the highest cadet qualifications on offer and reach a high cadet rank. Cdt Dibash Gurung talking to Col Tom McMullen, Commandant Cumbria ACF during a break in training. 32 the volunteer www.nwrfca.org.uk
Greater Manchester ACF GMACF Annual Camp Annual Camp is always a special occasion for Volunteer units, whether TA or Cadets. Particularly for Cadets, it’s the opportunity to surge forward with training using the increased resources – be they time or space or instructional staff – that are always in short supply in the confines of the training detachment hut. Annual Camp at Wathgill this year was no exception to this rule. First of all, the training camp itself. Wathgill Camp, set in the picturesque boundaries of Catterick Camp, presents a certain kind of uniqueness, whether it be the accommodation (which is modern and high standard), the climate (it’s quite easy to rotate through five seasons in a day, including monsoon) or mobile phone coverage (there is none, unless you subscribe to a single, illdefined supplier and are prepared to stand in a single corner of the Officers’ Mess car-park). During Week One, Annual Camp proceeded in the time-honoured fashion. Whilst Companies focussed on 2 Star Training, a number of cadres set up in the background, including Senior Company, the Signals Cadre and the Adult Instructors Cadre. Factored into the mix were serials like the visit of the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive of the RFCA, the attachment of a group of Gibraltar Cadets and the visit of our new Brigade Commander, Brigadier Fitzgerald. These were the planned activities – the foreseen ones. What was entirely unforeseen were the troubles which ignited in Manchester and Salford whilst we were in Wathgill. At first, these events had little impact on Cadets or Instructors – the NAAFI TVs were broken during that first weekend and only limited news leaked from the generally disabled mobile phone system. So we carried on regardless. Only later did it become clear that our maintenance of aim was attracting some favourable attention and hence the invitation over the middle weekend from the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester to send back a party of Cadets to assist in the clean-up of Manchester and Salford; a task tackled with relish by 2 Company. It’s going to be awfully difficult to beat Camp 2011 next year. www.nwrfca.org.uk the volunteer 33
Page 1: THE OFFICIAL FREE MAGAZINE OF THE R
Page 4 and 5: People & places Altcar 150 Celebrat
Page 6 and 7: People & places Kevin bids FAREWELL
Page 8 and 9: People & places 146 Sqn gain 100th
Page 10 and 11: People & places Double VC memorial
Page 12: People & places Getting a taste of
Page 15 and 16: A British Company 1000s more produc
Page 17 and 18: Pure Performance Absolute Precision
Page 19 and 20: 4 lancs Centre stage for 4 Lancs
Page 21 and 22: 75 engr regt training weekend Navig
Page 23 and 24: C sqn rmly RMLY train in Wales C (C
Page 25 and 26: 4 Mercian Matt completes TA Commiss
Page 27 and 28: mly Medal for LCpl CARL Swannick LC
Page 29 and 30: ccf Some of the Army section prove
Page 31: cumbria acf New padre for Cumbria A
Page 35 and 36: Greater Manchester ACF Death Valley
Page 37 and 38: lancashire ACF Lancs Cadets go for
Page 39 and 40: isle of man ACF IOM ACF Annual Camp
Page 41 and 42: cheshire acf County RSM proving wha
Page 43 and 44: SCC Rowing success for cadets Huyto
Page 45: atc Then lo and behold the weather
Page 48 and 49: atc » Cdt Sgt Wright said: “It w
Page 50 and 51: Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders Thr
Page 52 and 53: Liverpool University OTC » the sho
Page 54 and 55: CADETS.UK. SPECIAL OFFERS £34.99 T
Page 56 and 57: Manchester and salford university o
Page 58 and 59: Manchester and salford university o
Page 60 and 61: in the spotlight IN THE SPOTLIGHT W
Page 62 and 63: COMPETITIONS Top Tunes! See if you
Page 64 and 65: DIRECTORY TA Cheshire FOX BARRACKS
Page 66 and 67: DIRECTORY Army Cadet Force Merseysi
Page 68: ‘ SHUN GENUINE US MARINE TAGS The

Issue 87 - NWRFCA - Northwest Reserve Forces & Cadets Association

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