Abingdon

Wonderful news for the Unit

On Tuesday May 8th the Unit held it's Royal Navy Parade, we had a number of visitors on the evening including William Alden Esq MBE, the High Sherriff of Oxfordshire, Cllr Alison Thomson, Chair of the Vale of the White Horse District Council,  Cllr Michael Badcock, Mayor of Abingdon and a large number of Parents and friends.. The Cadets put on a display incorporating some of the subjects that they had been learning about in recent weeks. The audience quickly realised that there was a running theme when someone was injured in each part of the demonstration and the "Human Ambulance" came in to collect patients. The demonstration ended with all the patients being treated and cured by the end of the display. On the evening the Inspecting Officer, Commander Richard Tarr RN congratulated the Cadets on their achievements over the last year and commented that the Unit was offering the Cadets a wide range of opportunities.  Sea Cadet Units go through the Inspection process every year and if they are doing well are awarded either a Pennant or a Burgee, depending on how well they do in the inspection. Last year we did well enough to be awarded the first Pennent in 4 years, this year we have done so well that we have been awarded a Burgee, the first in the history of the Unit.

The following day saw AC L Bowers being awarded the honour of being the new Mayor's Cadet at a ceremony at the Guildhall in Abingdon.

St George's Day and Phoebe Wood

The Band have had a busy couple of weeks, they played at Phoebe Wood at Millets farm where the HMS Phoebe Association were planting and dedicating a tree in the Woodland Trust's Trafalgar Wood. Cadets from TS Phoebe came to the ceremony and we were lucky to have a lovely day for the event. We were lucky the following week when there was a break in the bad weather on St George's Day. The Band led the parade through Abingdon to St Helen's Church where a service was held. During the service a very enthusiastic and inspiring address was given by our good friend, the ex-Mayor Duncan Brown. After the service the Parade formed up again and marched back to the Abbey grounds where we were dismisssed. Within an hour the sky clouded over and we had a very heavy rain and hail shower.

Area Drill competition 25th March 2012

After getting up very early and driving down to Gosport we pulled into HMS Sultan and started getting the Cadets ready for their dress inspection at the Area Drill competition. It was a beautiful sunny day and the Cadets form Abingdon were pleased to be able to represent the District at the event. The inspection went quite well and after a break for lunch the team were ready for thier display. They were the last Armed Guard of the day to do their routine and the audience seemed to be very impressed with what they saw. The Cadets and their instructors were also pleased with the display. Some time later the Cadets from all over Southern Area formed up for the results to be announced, and there were squeals of delight and a few tears from our Cadets and Staff when we were given second place in the Armed Guard section of the competition. This is the best result anyone from our District has had at the Area competition in many years. We are truly proud of the hard work and dedication from both the Cadets and their Staff that has earnt the Unit this wonderful result.

District Drill Competition 2012

Sunday 4th March saw a team of 17 Cadets travel to RAF Halton to take part in the Drill competition, they had been training hard for a few weeks and were entering three sections of the competition. For many of the cadets it was their first time at this event so were rather stressed and nervous. It was a hectic day as many of the cadets were taking part in two events so as soon as they had done one, they were straight on to the next. When all three of our events were over the relief was tangible. We had just had time to relax, while watching the snow through the windows, when it was time to form up for the presentations. As the results were announced we were all delighted that all the Cadets who had taken part came home with medals and a number of trophies. Abingdon Cadets won the Armed Guard and the Unarmed Guard, we came second with the Colour Party routine. Able Cadet Ventom was the Best Dressed Cadet and Cdt Diaper won the Best Squad Commander. Able Cadet Ventom also came second in the Guard Commander part of the competition. We were very pleased that a number of parents and supporters were there to see the delight on the faces of the Cadets as they realised how well their hard work had paid off. We now have more work to do as the Armed Guard team will go forward to represent the Unit and District at the Area competition later this month. The picture shows the District Officer inspecting the uniforms of the Armed Guard team.

Positive end to the year

 2011 saw Abingdon Unit being awarded and Efficiency award called a Pennant. We were awarded this after a rigourous inspection on almost every aspect of the achievements of the Unit. Many of our Cadets had been away on many courses over the last year and had gained qualifications, they had also taken part in many local events and competitions. All these factors helped the Unit achieve the Pennant for the first time since 2006. A special evening was held when the Pennant was presented to the Unit by the Oxfordshire Deputy Lord Lieutenant Brigadier N Mogg DL.

On the same evening a one of the cadets was rated up to Petty Officer Cadet status after she had been away for a weeks training course, she is the first Petty Officer Cadet the Unit has had for six years.

The Unit now has another reason to feel proud, another of our Leading Cadets, S Haddock, has just passed his interview and has been accepted into the Navy, he now awaits his medical and fitness tests but is happy to be fulfilling a long held dream to be joing the Senior Service.

Remembrance Day 2011

The Unit took part in the Remembrance Day parade held in Abingdon on Sunday 13th November 2011. It was a gloriously sunny day and very warm. The Parade was the first official outing for the new Officer in Charge, Lt (SCC) Anderson RNR who commented on how proud he was of the way the Cadets had done during the march. For the two weeks before Remembrance Day the Cadets had been involved in selling poppies for the Royal British Legion, they have raised the huge amount of £2681.69.

Change in Command

Lt(SCC) Phil Pether retired as our Commanding Officer on 1st November 2011. He had retired quiet a few years before but had returned when the Unit became short staffed 3 years ago. Phil was responsible for the reforming of the Unit in the early 1990s and had taken on duties at a District level after his first retirement. He gave up those duties when he returned and during his recent time the Unit has made huge strides forward and was recently awarded an Efficiency Award from the Sea Cadet Corps. This award, a Pennant, will be presented to the Unit on a special evening to be held soon. The picture shows Phil receiving flowers and a gift from the Unit chairman, Mrs Green.

Trafalgar Day 2011

Sunday 17th 2011 saw our Band in the District Trafalgar Day parade held in Milton Keynes. The Band played the music for the march to the church and during the inspection of the Guard and squads. After the church service they played the Parade back to the muster point. After the Parade all the Cadets were pleased to be allowed to go back for drinks and food!

Busy and successful week for the Unit

We have had a very busy, but successful ten day at the Unit. On Saturday 3rd September two of our Cadets competed in the National Regatta held at the docks at Excel Centre in London. They were both taking part in the Paddle Sports side of the Regatta and we were delighted when both girls came home with medals in their races. These are the first medals won for our Unit at National level in many years. Well done Sarah and Jess!

The following day the Band played at an event held by the Four Pillars Hotel in Oxford in aid of Help4Heroes. It was a small and relaxed day and the Band were greatly enjoyed by the public attending the event. The crowds also enjoyed the somewhat spontaneous dancing display given by the Band members at the end of the afternoon!

On Saturday 10th September we took a team of Cadets to the District Swimming competition, they all did very well in their races and we cam back with a collection of gold and silver medals, as a whole the Unit came second overall at the event.

The following morning saw a small number of us manning a cake stall and a recruitement stall at Abingdon's Fun in the Park event. This is an annual event run by the Town Council, it is only a small event with live music, lots of stalls run by local charities and a collection of other activities. We were very lucky that the threatened rain and very strong winds did not arrive until the end of the day. We sold many of the wonderful cakes made by Jo, one of our parents, and ate a few more! We spoke to many members of the public and enjoyed the day.

Bournemouth Air Show and RFA Mounts Bay

This year we were lucky enough to be able to get a total of seven of our cadets down to this event. One cadet stayed down for the whole of the four day event, he spent his days on HMS Tyne helping to excourt the members of the public on the tours of the ship, and his nights on RFA Mounts Bay.

The other six cadets went down to Bournemouth early on the Friday morning and were shipped over to RFA Mounts Bay along with about 80 cadets from other units, they then spent much of the day doing various activities on board but had a break in the afternoon to watch some of the Air Show. They did a few more activities before having a tour of the Bridge and then some time on the deck before bed. The following morning they were up early and packing, ready to be collected to go ashore and home.

The cadets enjoyed their stay on the ship and made a few friends from other units.

Ww were all shocked and saddened by the news the following day when we heard that one of the Red Arrows display team had been killed at the Air Show. Our thoughts go to his family and the others of his team.

Victory at the District Paddle Sports competition.

The Cadets did the Unit proud on Sunday 5th June by doing so well at the District Paddle Sports competition that we brought home the trophy for the second year in a row.A team of fifteen cadets took part in many of the races and came first in eight. They also managed to take second place in a few more and won the competition by a good margin of points over the other local units taking part. Our thanks go to the trainers and to the staff and parents who supported them on the day.

New Unit website

Welcome to our new look website. It has been redesigned as part of the Sea Cadets image refresh and we hope you enjoy navigating it. Take a look and round and see what you think!