Ross and Monmouth

Poppy Appeal Presentation

On Thursday 3rd May three cadets from the Unit travelled to Hereford for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal presentation evening.

Leading Cadet James Lilwall and Able Cadets Sophie Gooch and Thomas Dunn recieved certificates of appreciation for theie efforts in raising over £100 each for the collection.  They helped with the house to house collections and with the static display at Morrisons in Ross on Wye.

The certificates were presented by the Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, Lady Darnley.

First NIghts Boating 2012

On Tuesday 17th April Acting Petty Officer (SCC) Tim Creed took the younger cadets up to Drummonds Dub to start training for the District Rowing Competition.

The two crews which will be the Junior Boys and Open Boys crews did very well and show great promise for the competition.

Mayor Ball 2012

The Mayor of Ross-on-Wye held a Charity Ball on Saturday 24th March.  The chosen charity was the Soldiers, Sailors and Air force Aoociation (SSAFA).

The Officer in Charge and the First Lieutenant together with their spouses attended the event as guests whilst four cadets attended tto provide the Mayor with help and support.  The four cadets, Leading Cadets Salmon, Utting and Beizsley together with Able Cadet Gooch did a fantastic job and looked very smart.

The Mayors from Ledbury and Monmouth were also at the event as were many of the local councillors.  The cadets helped with recieving the guests, stewarding for the top tables and with the raffle.  In return they were feed sandwiches and chips.

Well done to the four  cadets who did the Unit proud.  Thank you.

Ground School

Congratulations to Leading Cadet Untting who has just completed the first ever Sea Cadet Ground School course and has recieved her Bronze wings.

Leading Cadet Utting finished as the top student and now progresses onto Flying School in June where she can get her silver wings.  If successful on the June course Susan will have the chance to fly with the Royal Naval Air Service and work towards her private pilots licence.

Well done!

T.S. Ross welcomes aboard a new Padre

On Thursday 1^st March the Ross & Monmouth Sea Cadet Unit formally welcomed its new Padre into the Ship’s Company. Padre (SCC) Colin Leggate has kindly agreed to administer to the Ship’s company and has already joined the cadets on their trip to Plymouth to visit HMS Monmouth.

Following Ceremonial Colours complete with an armed guard (with Parade purpose weapons) and an inspection of the ship’s company,  a short service was conducted by the Reverend Canon John Holder the Severn District Padre.

Also the following cadets were also welcomed into the Unit.  Cadets Dan Hudson, Louis Hayne-Smyth, James Pascall, Henry Renfree, Ben Lewis and Brandon Drew completed their enrolment by making their Sea Cadet Promise and in return were awarded their caps and rank slides.

South West Area Shooting

Congratulations to Able Cadets Jacob Salmon and Rob Hudson on

their successful weekend away with the South West Area Shooting teams.

Able Cadet Hudson was awarded a Good Shooting Badge, Full Bore Marksman

and Salmon a Basic.

Well Done.

Activity Aid Course

The Unit hosted an Activity Aid training Course over two Sundays.

The course was provided by the St John Ambulance and in particular, Mr Rob Hodges. 

Staff and cadets from Ross & Monmouth and Stroud Units learnt various life saving

skills including CPR and the recovery position.

Staff will recieve a certificate and qualification that is important in their Sea Cadet Career and

the Cadets the same qualification and a First Class First Aid qualification.

HMS Monmouth Visit 2012

On Tuesday 14th February the Unit boarded a coach for Plymouth to

visit HMS Monmouth which was in dry dock within HM Naval Base Devonport.

Thirty five cadets and nine staff arrived at the main gate to be met by

Lieutenant Ed Rees RN and directed to HMS Courageous (a Nuclear Submarine),

the sister of HMS Conqueror.  Following an excellent tour of the submarine the

cadets marched around to the dock where HMS Monmouth was just in time for lunch

in the Junior rates mess.

Once lunch was complete the cadets were given a tour of the Ship including the

engine spaces, forecastle and operations room.  At the conclusion of the tour a small

presentation was made to both Lieutenant Rees and the Executive Officer, Lieutenant

Commander Dempsey and in return the Unit was presented with a ships crest.

District Colour Party 2012

For the second year running the Unit entered the colour party section

of the Severn District drill competition and the team was the same members

as last year.

Lots of hard work was put in by both the cadets and staff before the event to

ensure that all the uniforms were in the best possible condition.

The team did very well and finished third in the District (out of 11).

A MASSIVE WELL DONE TO EVERYONE.  THE OIC AND FIRST LIEUTENANT

ARE VERY PROUD OF EVERYONE.

District Drill Competition 2012 (Unarmed Section)

The Unit entered a squad in the Unarmed section of the Severn

District Drill Competition for the first time in many years.

A great deal of hard work was put in by both the cadets and

staff and the team did a fantastic job, coming fourth in the

District.

A MASSIVE WELL DONE TO EVERYONE.  THE OIC AND FIRST LIEUTENANT

ARE VERY PROUD OF EVERYONE.

HMS Monmouth

On Thursday 26th January the Executive Officer of HMS Monmouth, Lieutenant

Commander Sean Dempsey RN visited the Unit.  He was accompanied by

AB (CIS) Warner.

He was able to see the various training classes that were going on and

presented several cadets with their Good conduct badges.  He has invited the

Unit to visit the ship on 14th February whilst the ship is in dry dock which is

a fantastic opportunity.

Area Full Bore Shooting

Six Cadets from the Unit travelled down to HMS Raleigh on Friday

13th January to spend the weekend with South West Area Shooting

staff.

The Cadets spend much team on the necessary Weapons Handling Tests,

and two were fortunate to have time to pass the test and get on to the

ranges.

Three of the cadets have already booked on another weekend course.

Morrisons Bag Packing 2011

The Unit was busy bag packing at Morrisons on Friday 23rd December.

Thanks to the fantastic help from staff, parents and cadets the unit raised

a brilliant £1500.

Everyone worked very hard throughout the day from 9am until 5pm and thanks

must go to everyone who supported the event.

Cadets Christmas Party 2011

On Tuesday 20th December the Unit held its Christmas Party.

This year the Unit provided a Disco by Pete Martin instead of the

traditional Mess Dinner.

Cadets and staff danced until 11pm and thoroughly enjoyed

themselves, with the staff leading the dancing at times.

Pictured are the Officer in Charge and First Lieutenant

leading the rowing boat song.

Bag Packing at Sainsbury 22nd December

The Unit held a bag packing fund raising event thanks to support from Sainsburys

in Ross on Wye.  Earlier in the year the unit was unsuccessful in a bid for funding

through Sainsbury but were kindly offered a premium bag packing slot.

Many thanks to those that helped, parents, Mrs A De Sousa and Mrs Phillips and staff

Miss L Russell, Padre (SCC) C Leggate RNR and APO(SCC) T Salmon together with

all the cadets who came along.

Four hours of bag packing raised a brilliant £493.65.

WELL DONE and THANK YOU to everyone and to SAINSBURYS for allowing us to do it.

Severn District Christmas Mess Dinner 2011

Members of staff attended the Severn District Christmas Mess Dinner

at Cheltenham Unit on sayrday 10th December.

The Officer in Charge, First Lieutenant, Unit Admin Officer and

PCI T Selvester together with UA L Russell all thoroughly

enjoyed the meal and the company of staff from other

units within Severn District.

Our thanks must go to everyone involved in making the evening such a success,

the chefs, the cadets stewards and the District staff.

Ross Lions

Leading Cadet Wesley Jenkins is pictured with a cheque for £200,

which was presented to the Unit by members of Ross Lions on Thursday

8th December to assist with the provision of a first aid course within the

Unit.

Leading Cadets 2011

The Unit now has five Leading Cadets!

Able Cadets Susan Utting, Simeon Beizsley, Wes Jenkins and James Lilwall

have over the last few weeks passed their assessment boards.

The visit of the Director of Training gave the unit the opportunity

to present them with their badges.

Special mention goes to Utting who achieved a credit pass and an

adult Instructional Methods level 3 and to Beizsley who scored an incredible

30 out of 30 for his leadership.

They now join the senior cadet of the Unit Leading Cadet Harriet Salmon and the

race is on to see who will bethe first Cadet Petty Officer in the unit.

Director Of Training Visit (17th November 2011)

On Thursday the 17th November 2011, Mr M O'Sullivan the Director of

Training paid an informal visit to the unit.

He kindly agreed to present the badges to four cadets who had just

passed their Leading Cadets board and were to be rated.

After Colours he chatted to the staff and following stand easy he spent time

in each of the classes talking to the cadets.  He witnessed rifle drill training,

seamanship and piping training and also the senios cadets completing their

BTEC books.

After evening colours he said goodbye to the Unit and expressed his

pleasure and satisfaction at what he had seen and heard.

Remembrance Day 2011 in Monmouth

The Monmouth Division of the Unit paraded in Monmouth for Remembrance Day 2011.

They mustered in the carpark of the castle and marched to the war memorial following

the ships company of HMS Monmouth.

Following the laying of wreaths and a short church service the parade moved

on to St Marys Church for a service of Remembrance.

The First Lieutenant felt that the standard of drill and ceremonial was the best that

the unit had done!

Well done to everyone who paraded.

Remembrance Day 2011 in Ross

Members of the Unit paraded in Ross for the annual Remembrance

Day Parade.

For the first time the unit mounted an armed guard at the war memorial

and Able Cadets Hudson, Ralphs, Denny and Gooch did an

outstanding job and I understand impressed a great many people.

Ordinary Cadet Criddle won the competition to be the Units

standard bearer and did an excellent job.  Able Cadets Lilwall and

Utting also did the unit proud in laying wreaths.

This then left only a very small squad as the other half were parading

in Monmouth.

An excellent job by all.

2011 Poppy Appeal

On Saturday 12th November some members of the Ships Company

supported the 2011 Poppy appeal by attending the FA Cup football

match between Hereford and Yeovil.

The cadets had the chance to meet some of the players and go

behind the scene before their job started.

At the begining of the match they, together with cadets from the other

services mounted a guard of honour.  They then manned buckets

to collect funds for the Poppy Appeal.

Hereford & Worcester Fire Brigade

On Sunday 7th November two members of the Unit assisted H&W Fire Brigade

with some of their water rescue drills.

Able Cadets Wes Jenkins and James Lilwall were present at Drummonds Dub

helping to remove the two trinities from the water for the winter when the fire

brigade arrived to use the water for their practice.

The opportunity for the boys to assist was too great and they spent

some time being the casualties in need of rescue.  Able Cadet Jacob Salmon

also helped by playing the part of a passer by.

Hopefully this is something that may develop into a regular exercise in which the

unit can support the training of the H&W fire brigade.

Trafalgar Day 2011 (Thornbury)

On Sunday 23rd October, Severn District held its annual Trafalgar Day

Parade.  Trafalgar Day celebrates Admiral Lord Nelson's victory on the 21st

October 1805.

Ross and Monmouth Unit provided members for the guard including the

first officer of the guard, Lieutenant (SCC) A Gittens RNR and members in

both the cadet and junior divisions.

Halloween 2011

The Unit held its first Halloween Party this year thanks to the

First Lieutenant, Acting Petty Officer Toni Salmon.

A lot of effort went into the fancy dress and special mention

should go to Cadet Hodie Lowton and Junior Hayne Smyth.

National Trust Nelson Event

Able Cadet James Phillips and Ordinary Cadet Jodie Lowton attended an

event at the Kymin, Monmouth to celebrate the immortal memory of

Admiral Lord Nelson on October 21st, Trafalgar Day.

The National Trust and the Royal Naval Association organised a

small event to celebrate Trafalgar Day.

Royal Wootton Bassett

On Sunday 16th October the Officer in Charge and First

Lieutenant took eights cadets to Wootton Bassett to support

the local Unit in lining the Street for the Military Parade and

presentation of the Letters of Patent by HRH Princess Royal.

It was a long and hard day but very rewarding being part of

such a special day.

The event was also attended the Prime Minister and the new

Secretary of State for Defence.  There was a march past of the

three armed forces led by the Band of HM Royal Marines and

a flypast by a Globemaster, C130 Hercules and finally a

Vulcan Bomber

Royal Marine Band Concert

Cadets attended the Royal Marine Band Concert held by the Royal Naval

Association, Monmouth Branch at the Blake Theatre on Saturday 1st

October 2011.

The Cadets fulfilled the role of stewards and collectors for the Royal

Navy and Royal Marines Charity.  They also performed the roles

in Ceremonial Sunset, when the White Ensign is lowered at the end

of the concert.

A big well done to Able Cadets, Gooch, Lilwall, Hudson, Denny and Ordinary

Cadets Phillips and Criddle who recieved many positive comments

and recieved a thank you from the Director of Music of the Band of

HM Royal Marines Plymouth, Captain R Long RM.

Aquathon 25th September 2011

The Unit supported the Dave Hughes Memorial Aquathon which was

organised by Monmouth School Sports Club, Triathlon Club by

providing cadets for marshalling the event and in return had three

cadets compete in order to raise funds for the Unit.

Able Cadets, Jacob Salmon, James Lilwall and Sophie Gooch

took part and did a fantastic job.  Able Cadet Lilwall actually came

second in his class.

Other Cadets provided marshalls for the running sections and

despite the poor weather also did a great job and were very much

appreciated by the Club.

Now to get the sponsorship money in, currently the leaders are

Able Cadet Lilwall with £205 and Able Cadet Utting with £129. 

The target for sponsorship is £750 and this will enable us to

possibly purchase a "yole".

The Junior Section learn about Nelson

The Junior section visited the Round House and Naval Temple at

the Kymin near Monmouth then went on to the Nelson Museum.

The Naval temple was built in 1800 in commermorate the Battle of

the Nile and has the names of 16 Admirals who delivered significant

victories around this time.

The Round House was built in 1794 and was visited by Admiral Lord

Nelson in 1802.  It is believed that none counties can be seen from

the roof of the house.

The Juniors then visited the Museum in Monmouth where they

completed a short questionaire about Nelson and discovered

where he was born, who he married and what his flag ship was for the

Battle of Trafalgar.

Crossing the Line Ceremony

On Thursday 15th September Training Ship Ross crossed the

equator and held a traditional "crossing the line" ceremony.

This involves the Ships "Barber" giving the sailor a shave followed

by the Ships doctor administering a dose of medicine.  (usually

some disgusting mixture) before they are then bathed.

Finally they are presented with their certificate by King Neptune and

his faithful friend Davy Jones.

Ross-on-Wye Town Council Civic Service

The Unit was invited to the Civic Service of Ross-on-Wye Town Council

on Sunday 11th September at St Mary's Church.

The procession from the Council Chambers was led by our

Standard Bearer, Able Cadet James Lilwall and was met at the

Church by a guard of honour, consisting of Leading Cadet Harriet Salmon,

Able Cadets, Simeon Beizsley, James Denny, Susan Utting, Jacob Salmon and

Rob Hudson together with Cadet Hawkins and Junior Dan Hudson.

Following the service the guests adjourned to the Bowling Club

for refreshments.

Many positive comments were received about the appearance and

behaviour of those cadets who attended.  Well done to everyone.

HMS Ledbury Freedom Parade

Cadets from Ross & Monmouth and Hereford paraded with the Ship's

Company of HMS Ledbury when they exercised their right of the Freedom of

the Town.

They were inspected by the Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, Lady Darnley.

It was a very hot morning and several cadets needed to fall out, unfortunately

Leading Cadet H Salmon, passed out and needed to be taken to hospital.

An excellent morning was had and it was great to work closely  with the Cadets

and Staff from Hereford Unit.

HMS LEDBURY SHIP'S VISIT

Thirteen cadets and two staff were lucky enough to visit our  affliated ship,

HMS Ledbury whilst she was alongside in Bristol.

The Cadets and Juniors were selected after they had

helped at some of the Unit's events.

They were shown around the Ship and various displays

were set up.  They were shown the divers and

firefighting equipment and were shown around the Bridge.

A great day was had by all.

Ross Carnvial

Able Cadets James Lilwall and Sophie Gooch went back in time for the

Ross carnival in support of the Royal British Legion.

On Saturday 6th August they dressed up as a Petty Officer

in the Submarine service and a Petty Officer in the

Womens Royal Naval Reserves.

Veterans Tea Party

On Sunday 17th July the Unit held a Tea Party for Veterans.

It was an opportunity for the Cadets to meet and talk to

members of the community who have served their country.

Many of the guests brought books and medals to show to the

Cadets

Tea and cakes were served by the Cadets and those that

attended enjoyed themselves very much.

New Toilets

Over the weekend of 15-17th July much work was done to

install new toliet facilities.  Since the new unit was built

the cadets have had to use a portaloo.

However thanks to the Committee and in particularly the

Lilwall family, Kevin, Alex and James we now have the comfort

of indoor toilets.

At the same time a disabled ramp was built to the rear door.

The Lilwalls together with some skilled tradesmen worked

very hard and long to ensure everything was completed

in time for the Veterans Tea Party.

Unit Review

The Unit held its annual Inspection on 14th July.

The Inspecting Officer was Lieutenant Commander (SCC) Pritchard RNR,

Severn District Officer.  The intention of the night is for the Inspection

team to assess the efficiency of the unit.

Ceremonial Colours complete with a guard of honour is the start

of the evening followed by a dress inspection of all the Cadets.

There followed training classes (first aid, semaphore and seamanship)

and finally presentation of awards.

Many Thanks to everyone who made the evening a success.

SSAFA COLLECTION

Cadets recently helped Mr David Ravenscroft (Mayor of Ross-on-Wye)

collect for SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Air Force Association) at

Morrisons.

Thanks to those that helped over £1000 was raised during the

course of the day.

Those Cadets who helped are hoping to have the reward of a

visit to HMS Ledbury.

Certificate of Appreciation for more than 50yrs service to Sea Cadets

Lt Cdr (SCC) Brian Lampert RNR was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for more than 50yrs service to Sea Cadets at the South West Area Combined Regatta in Bristol by Commander J Rees RN Area Officer South West.

Commander Rees explained that during Lt Cdr Lampert's cadet career he had served as a Petty Officer Cadet, Command of a Unit, District Officer in two different Districts and various Area Staff Officer roles, he also assists with training as well as spending much time fundraising in the Ross & Monmouth Unit,

Silver Duke of Edinburgh Expedition

Over the weekend of the 8-10th July five cadets completed their

Silver practice expedition and seven others experienced their

first cadet expedition training weekend.

The weekend was spent  under canvas near Crickhowell

and the D of E team spent a very long day walking from

Pandy to Llangattock.

The weather was a mix of hot sunshine and very heavy showers.

Well done to Leading Cadet H Salmon, Able Cadets Lilwall, Beizsley

Utting and Ordinary Cadet Pearce for the effort they put into completing

their route. Also to Able Cadets J Salmon, Handy,Stayton, and

Ordinary Cadet Rodgers together with Cadets C Pearce and Criddle for

surviving!

A good time was had by all and many thanks to the staff who

supported the event, Acting Petty Officer(SCC) Toni Salmon

and Civilian Instructor Owen Lee.

British Legion Poppy Collection Presentations

Four Cadets from the Unit, Able Cadets, Lilwall, Jenkins and Dunn

together with Ordinary Cadet Brann collected certificates from

the Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, Lady Darnley.

The certificates were in recognition of the money the cadets

had collected during the 2010 Poppy Appeal.

Monmouth Town Council Civic Service

On Sunday 12th June, the Unit attended the Civic

Service in Monmouth of the Mayor, Councillor

Mr Gerald Bright.

The fourteen Cadets who attended should be

very proud as their uniform was very smart and

they marched very well.

A very big well done to all those cadets and an

equally big thank you to the parents who

supported us.

Severn District Kayaking

Well done to everyone who competed in the District Kayaking

enabling the Unit to finish 2nd Overall.

The day was a true team effort and everyone who took to the

water was vital to the overall Unit position

A big thank you to all the staff who provided their services

 and helped with the transport and supervsion.

Duke of Edinburgh Award

Congratulations to Able Cadet Rebecca Green who becomes the

eleventh member of the Ships Company to be awarded the Duke

of Edinburgh Bronze Award.

Rebecca achieved the award by gaining her BCU one star kayaking

and the Sea Cadet Rowing Coxswains Certificate.  She also assisted

with the training of the Junior Section in Piping.

Severn District Rowing Competition

Over the weekend of 21-22nd May Severn District held the annual

Rowing competition at Lower Lode, Tewkesbury.

The Unit entered teams in the Junior Sea Cadet, Junior Boys, Open

Boys and Open Girls.  They also entered a staff team in partnership

with Stroud.

The weekend was very windy and it was very hard work.  However the

Juniors came 3rd, the Junior Boys 2nd and the Unit 4th Overall.

Very well done to everyone.

HMS Gloucester Ships Visit

On May 9th 2011 eight members of the ships company

were lucky enough to visit HMS Gloucester at Avonmouth

Docks.

The Cadets were able to try firefighting and to handle

the small arms and many other things.

All the cadets and staff had a great time and would like

to thank the Ships Company very much.

Lieutenant Commander Peter Plumb Royal Navy

At the Units recent awards evening the widow of

Lieutenant Commander Peter Plumb, Mrs Val Plumb unveiled

a plaque in his honour.

Peter was the Admin Officer until he sadly passed away and

will be sadly missed by both staff and cadets.

"Always on Parade"

BTEC Award

At a recent awards evening at the Unit, Able Cadets Jenkins and

Lee were presented with their BTEC qualification by the

Unit President, Commodore Toby Elliott OBE DL Royal Navy.

The award takes into account all of the qualifications gained

during their Sea Cadet career and is the

equivalent of four GCSEs

Unit Work Party

Lots of work has been done over the past few weeks.  A new fence at

the back of the Unit has been erected by Kevin, Paul and Craig and

our thanks goes to all of them for their hard work.  (Pictured together

with Able Cadet James Lilwall).  With the forthcoming handover

Parade lots of work has been done to bring the Unit up to

a high standard.  Other jobs remain, e.g. a small retaining

wall and anyone willing to help should contact the Unit

District Drill 2011

At the recent Severn District Drill Competition the Unit entered the

 Colour Party section. 

The Cadets involved put in a great deal of effort in making sure

 their uniforms were to the standard required annd to learn the routine. 

Many hours spent in preparation were rewarded with the Unit coming

third in the District. 

A big well done to the staff and to Acting Petty Officer (SCC) Toni

Salmon for her support.

First Aid Course, Spring 2011

Over the last few weeks eleven cadets have been under  going training

for their third class first aid together with their Heartstart qualification.

This training has been supported by trainers from the

St John Ambulance to whom we are very grateful.  The training has

 involved learning how to deal with cuts and bruises, broken bones

 and the ABC process. 

At the end of the course everyone passed!

UNIT CHARITY SHOP

We will update the news as the project progresses

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE