W Company

More than 200 Fusiliers marched through Morpeth on Saturday to celebrate the Regiment's Freedom of Northumberland.

The honour, bestowed by Northumberland County Council, allows the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers to march through the streets with colours flying and bayonets fixed.

Cadets from W Company assisted on the day by lining the street and guarding the saluting dias. Brigadier Trevor Minter OBE, Regimental Colonel, and the Duke of Northumberland, Honorary Colonel, took the salute from the massed Regular and TA soldiers.

Lt Col Sue Haughie TD, Deputy Commandant of Northumbria ACF, said: "I would like to thank all cadets who took part in the St George's Day and Freedom of Northumberland Parade in Morpeth on 24th April. I was incredibly proud of you all."

I hope to bring some photos of this event shortly, so stay tuned.

Cadets from across Northumbria ACF converged on Amble today for a full dress rehearsal of the County's Cadet 150 celebrations.

The Army Cadet Force was founded in 1860, when the threat of invasion by the French was heightened and the British Army was spread thinly across the Empire. Step forward 150 years and we've come a long way since Octavia Hill started the first Army Cadet units in deprived areas of London.

Back then the fortunate few boys who made it into the ACF struggled along with primative equipment on a shoestring budget.

Today's ACF has almost 50,000 cadets and 10,000 adults, based in local Detachments from Lands End to John O'  Groats. It uses some of the most modern equipment the British Army has to offer, including our own brand new weapon system.

Each of Northumbria ACF's four Companies staged a different activity at today's event, which ran alongside Amble Town Council's St George's Day celebrations.

Cadets from X Company gave a demonstration of PT; cadets from Y Company took a  historical look at cadet dress and equipment through the ages; cadets from Z Company gave a demonstration of foot, rifle and banner drill.

Northumbria ACF also had recruiting, Duke of Edinburgh's Award and first aid stands for members of the public to view.

Unfortunately our own cadets, from W Company, were unable to stage their segment because the climbing walls they planned to use have been recalled for a safety inspection.

Cadets from Amble Detachment were on hand to ensure the smooth running of the local event - some of them were even seen to participate in the country dancing sessions on the Town Square!

Overall it was a pretty good day, which has given us a good idea of where we need to concentrate in the run up to the big Cadet 150 event in Newcastle in June.

Annual Camp, the highlight of the cadet year, begins on Saturday 14 August and we return home on Monday 23 August 2010. It's not that far away!

If you want to go to Annual Camp this year you will need to inform your Detachment Commander by Friday 21st May.

The cost of Annual Camp has been confirmed at £50 this year. The reason the price is slightly higher than usual is to cover the Adventurous Training package, which will include rafting and canoeing at an external venue.

Any cadet going to camp is to pay a non-refundable £10 deposit when they submit their name to their Detachment Commander by 21st May.

On top of that cadets will require some spending money for the ten days of camp. We recommend no more than £50, which can be paid into the Camp Bank for safe keeping (speak to your DC). There is a cash machine on camp that the cadets can use.

The Officer Commanding W Company, Major Sue Haughie TD, has just been appointed Deputy Commandant of Northumbria ACF.

Lt Col Haughie, as she's now known, will be responsible for overseeing several aspects of the entire County's organisation and administration, including adult professional development and the world famous (as seen on Wikipedia) Cassino Band.

Living on our patch Col Haughie is almost certain to keep in touch with how things are going in W Company.

There will shortly be changes to the staffing of W Company HQ to reflect Col Haughie's departure.

Stay tuned because all will be revealed shortly.

W Company is delighted to announce that two of our cadets have successfully completed the Senior Cadet Instructors Cadre at Stainton Camp, near Barnard Castle.

Cadet Corporals Craig Holman and Greg Hogarth have just returned from the demanding week-long residential course, which is run under the watchful eyes of the Regular Army NCOs of 11 Cadet Training Team. Craig impressed the Team so much that he was awarded the prestigious title of best cadet.

New instructors Craig and Greg, of Belford and Berwick Detachments respectively, will given extra responsibility for training junior cadets. Their qualification will allow them the opportunity to instruct up to APC 2-Star level, making a real difference to the smooth running of their Detachments. It also qualifies them for consideration for promotion.

Former TA warrant officer, SMI Lynne Bannister, W Company's new CQMS, also attended Stainton and completed the week-long Adult Initial Training Cadre.

W Company congratulates them all on their continued hard work and dedication.

Annual camp, the highlight of the cadet year, is rapidly approaching. This year we're in the beautiful Vale of York at Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Strensall.

I have placed the camp block training programme on the Forecast of Events page, so the cadets can see what they'll be up to this year. Camp begins on Saturday 14 August and we return home on Monday 23 August 2010.

If you'd like to go to camp it's important that you start thinking about it now. It will cost £50 and is open to all our enrolled cadets that have attended at least one W Coy weekend.

Your Detachment Commander will be making a list of names for camp very shortly (probably in May), so it's a good idea to check the dates with your folks at home now!