Northumbria ACF will be exercising their Freedom of Northumberland by parading through Alnwick on Saturday, 30th June 2012.

General Information:
The parade will march off from the Greenwell Lane car park at 11 am. It will go up Greenwell Lane and turn right into Bondgate Without, passing under the Bondgate Tower. His Grace the Duke of Northumberland will be on a saluting dias outside the White Swan Hotel. The parade will bear right into Bondgate Within, pass down through Narrowgate and follow Bailiffgate around to St Michael's Church. A drumhead service will be held in the church with local dignatories and representatives of the Forces in attendance. The church service is scheduled to begin at 11.30 am and finish at 12.15 pm.

Following the church service the parade will retrace its steps back along Bailiffgate towards the castle. It will pass through the Barbican and assemble on the Outer Bailey. Her Majesty the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal will be presented to eligible personnel by Her Grace the Duchess of Northumberland and Brigadier Grenville Bibby CBE, who commands 15 (NE) Brigade. Following the medal presentations the parade will march out through the Barbican and disperse back to Alnwick TA Centre for lunch and refreshments.

Dress:
Dress will be combats for all ranks. Medals are to be worn. The highest standard of turnout and bearing is expected.

Attendance:
As W Company is hosting the event the maximum possible attendance is required. If you are able to attend then please make every effort to get there. Those not marching will be allocated jobs along the route, in the church or castle.

Transport:
Transport will be as follows:

    Minibus 1: Coy Minibus: Lt Lister:
    Belford 0830 hrs
    Rothbury 0900 hrs
    Alnwick 0930 hrs

    Minibus 2: County Minibus: SI Watson:
    Broomhill 0900 hrs
    Amble 0910 hrs
    Alnwick 0930 hrs

Alnwick cadets are to report to the TA Centre by 9.30 am that morning.

The cadets will be free to disperse from Alnwick TA Centre at around 2.15 pm after the guests have left. Return minibus journeys will also depart at that time.

Look forward to seeing you all then, smartly turned out.

Cpl Josh Truman of Broomhill Detachment was presented with his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh's Award at today's Freedom of Northumberland Parade Rehearsal at Kingston Park.

Cpl Truman, 15, has been a cadet at Broomhill for almost 4 years and is currently working towards the Silver Award. Major Alan Thompson, County Duke of Edinburgh's Award Officer, presented his certificate in front of the Company.

The Company congratulates Cpl Truman on his achievement and wishes him the best of success for the future.

Photos of today's parade rehearsal appear in our 2012 photo gallery.

There will be a Freedom of Northumberland Parade practice on Sunday, 24th June 2012. Everyone attending the actual parade, cadet and adult, should make every effort to attend.

Timings will be as follows:

Coach (55 seater):
Belford 0820 hrs
Alnwick 0840 hrs
Amble 0900 hrs
Broomhill 0910 hrs
Kingston Park 1000 hrs

Minibus:
Rothbury - Lt Lister will arrange timings and inform the cadets involved.

The coach will depart from Kingston Park for the reverse journeys home at 1430 hrs (or thereabouts).

The RSM will go through final arrangements for the Freedom of Northumberland parade, which will be held in Alnwick on 30th June 2012.

Dress will be CS'95, well turned out and please remember to bring a packed lunch.

Transport for the Cadre weekend this Friday, 8th June, will be as follows:

Minibus 1 (Lt Lister driving):
Belford (1 cadet), 1845 hrs
Alnwick (8 cadets), 1915 hrs
CTC Otterburn, 2000 hrs

Transport will depart CTC Otterburn at around 1400 hrs on Sunday, 10th June, for the reverse journeys home.

The cadets of W Company have just completed a very special challenge in celebration of Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

They were tasked with building a beacon on the hilltop at Mootlaw near Matfen. Our work began on Sunday morning, with cadets from Alnwick and Broomhill Detachments preparing the ground for the fire. This involved removing turf and clearing debris from the beacon spot.

On Bank Holiday Monday the cadets returned to the site to find the neighbouring farmer had dropped off a trailer load of wood, which had been drying in his barn for the past couple of months. The resident farmer dropped off a bale of straw, which would serve as a good ignition point later in the evening. With some of the locals grimly recounting tales of the wash-out Golden Jubilee beacon of 2002 we wanted to be sure our beacon would light first time. To that end we constructed it with scientific precision and added some special ingredients to speed along the burning process.

The beacon was built by about midday so the cadets spent much of the afternoon exploring the nearby field and playing football. The OC did the mandatory chip run to Ponteland to make sure everyone was well fed before the long night ahead.

The first guests of the evening, Northumbria ACF Commandant Colonel David Middleton and Mrs Middleton, arrived a couple of hours before the beacon was due to be lit. They chatted to the cadets and provided a BBQ supper for those that were still hungry.

At just after 10 pm the beacon was lit by two local children. To our huge relief the straw caught fire instantly. With a steady breeze through the lattice of wood the beacon was burning intensely within a couple minutes. The disaster of 2002 had been avoided!

The night sky was clear and there was a perfect full moon. Several other beacons could be seen flickering in the distance. By around 11 pm most of the locals were heading home, all of them appreciative of the cadets' hard work. The cadets turned in for the night shortly afterwards.

The following morning the cadets dampened down the remains of the beacon and relaid the turf. After a final sweep for litter we were heading back to Alnwick, another job well done.

Many thanks to all of the cadets involved with the beacon for their efforts all weekend.

Photos of the beacon appear in our 2012 gallery.

The Company will be constructing a Diamond Jubilee Beacon at Matfen this Sunday (3rd June). The following pick up timings will apply:

Sunday, 3rd June 2012
Alnwick: 1000 hrs
Broomhill: 1030 hrs
We should be back at home locations in the early evening.

Can everyone attending on Sunday try to bring some gardening gloves for log moving and a garden spade if possible. Dress will be CS'95 with combat jacket. You'll also need warm/waterproof clothing and a packed lunch. We might call at a nearby shop, so cadets may wish to bring some spending money.

In common with other beacons across the land our beacon will be lit late on Monday night (4th June). However, we will need to do last minute preparations at the site to make sure the beacon is well built and safe. The following pick up times will apply on Monday.

Monday, 4th June 2012
Alnwick: 0845 hrs
Broomhill: 0915 hrs

We will stop at the beacon site overnight and ensure it is properly extinguished and cleared on the Tuesday morning (5th June). Dress will be CS'95 with combat jacket. You will also need a packed lunch, overnight kit (sleeping bag, change of clothes, wash kit, sun cream, insect repellent) and optional spending money.

Unfortunately, as we only have male adult supervision, we are unable to take female cadets to the beacon site on Monday or to stop overnight. Apologies to those female cadets that offered to help. Female cadets are very welcome to help out for the day on Sunday.