W Company

The High Sheriff of Northumberland, The Reverend Fiona Sample, visited Berwick Detachment, Northumbria Army Cadet Force, on Tuesday 20th September.

Holders of the office of High Sheriff are appointed as the Sovereign's judicial representative in the county they serve.

The Reverend Sample spent two hours with the cadets, first of all carrying out an inspection of the cadets, then she went around various stands covering topics from Fieldcraft, Adventurous Training, and the cadets' recent trip to Belgium before finally taking part in .22 shooting on the indoor range.

The High Sheriff is pictured with LCpl Natalie Spence in the image above.

More pictures of the visit can be viewed in the 2011 gallery.

Pick up timings for those cadets attending Minstreacres this Saturday (6th Aug 2011) are as follows:

Broomhill: 0745 hrs
Alnwick: 0810 hrs
Rothbury: 0830 hrs
Minstreacres: 0930 hrs

Minden are expecting the following cadets:
Cpl E. Inkster
LCpl K. Straughan
LCpl K. Netherwood (F)
LCpl C. Arundel
Cpl E. Tribe (F)
Cpl W. Young
LCpl J. Truman
LCpl S. Shepherd
LCpl B. Mayes
LCpl R. Rose (F)
LCpl M. Newson
LCpl P. Barber
LCpl G. Mason
Cdt J. Price
Cdt H. Power

Dress is CS'95 and be sure to bring a waterproof jacket. Minstreacres will provide lunch for everyone attending.

We should be finished at Minstreacres by 1600 hrs, so back up our way by around 1700-1730 hrs.

Members of Amble Detachment recently celebrated the Royal British Legion's 90th anniversary.

The cadets, led by DC WSI Terrie Hedley, attended a service at St Lawrence's Parish Church in Warkworth.

The photo above shows the cadets with local vicar, Rev. Canon Janet Brearley, shortly after the service.

The cadets of Amble Detachment have won the Army Careers Cadet Competition at Ashington TA Centre last night.

The team, comprising Cpl Daniel Spence, LCpl Kieran Montgomery, Cdt Tim Hamilton and Cdt Caitlin Craik, narrowly edged last years victors Belford Detachment into second place. Broomhill Detachment came a creditable third place.

Eight teams of cadets took part in a wide range of military activities designed to test their weapon handling skills, agility, coordination, observation, general knowledge and first aid skills.

Despite a shaky opening performance in the first aid, no doubt because their DC WSI Terrie Hedley was the casualty, Amble scooped top marks in the other stands.

The winning team are shown in the photo above. Further photos will be appearing in our gallery shortly.

Ten cadets and three adult instructors have recently returned from a twelve day visit to the WW1 battlefield sites in Belgium & the National Arboretum at Alrewas, Staffordshire.

It was all part of a cadet in the community project that the detachment undertook into the links between the town of Berwick and one of its local regiments, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and its predecessor the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. The cadets have been trying to trace former members of both regiments and interview them in regard to they're service.

The trip was a year in the planning and the decision made that the cadets were to camp using Scout Camp sites in the UK and a public site in Ypres and to travel by minibus.

The Detachment set off on Monday 18th April and headed to Staffordshire where they stayed at Beau Desert camp site, whilst there they visited the Arboretum and took part in a wreath laying ceremony at the National Memorial, with Cadet/Cpl Chris Wilkinson laying the wreath on behalf of Northumbria ACF.

The next three days were spent in Maidstone, Kent, whilst there the detachment visited, The Tower of London, which is the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers HQ, HMS Belfast and then the Naval Dockyard in Chatham.

Then it was onward to Ypres, whilst there the cadets visited many WW1 battle sites & Commonwealth War cemeteries, the most poignant being, Tyne Cot, where many Northumberland Fusiliers are buried.

The cadets also took part in two ceremonies at the Menin Gate, one on invite from the Australian Armed Forces to take part in their ANZAC day memorial, with Cadet/Cpl Chris Munro carrying the detachment colours, the following day Cadet/LCpl John Jerdan laid a wreath on behalf of the Fusilier Association.

Given time to reflect on the trip that they had undertaking, they had a greater understanding of what the youth of previous generations had given up on our behalf and the hardships that they had undergone.

Many new friends were made on the trip, with the public of many nations complementing the cadets on their manner and positive impression they made for the youth of Britain & Berwick in particular.

Article by Lt Keith Marchant, DC Berwick.
Further photos in the gallery.

It has been one hundred years since a small artillery range opened in rural west Northumberland. Step forward a century and Otterburn Training Area is the second largest in the UK, with recent multi million pound investment making it the idea testing ground for some of the Army's most fearsome weaponry.

An open day was held on 19th May 2011 to mark the important milestone in Otterburn's history. The cadets of W Company joined their Regular and TA counterparts to host a range of events for members of the public.

Around 300 children from Rothbury and Bellingham Middle Schools came along to participate in the day, which saw W Company's senior cadets honing their practical fieldcraft skills with a blank firing demo. OC W Company, Major Mark Ewart, provided a commentary as the cadets, led by Cpls Will Young and Joe Pendrich, responded with overwhelming fire power to a troublesome enemy disrupting their patrol.

Elsewhere on the showground the CEO Northumbria ACF, Major Boris Spence, kept a watchful eye over the climbing wall as the RSM, RSMI Peter Lawrence, ensured the smooth running of all the County's events. There were also displays by Royal Artillery, Ministry of Defence Guard Service and tenant farmers.

Despite patches of poor weather the day was a huge success, with hundreds of members of the public participating and learning more about what Otterburn, the Army and the ACF get up to.

Larger photos of this event will also be appearing on our photo pages.

The people of Belford held a party to celebrate the recent marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The cadets of Belford Detachment were on hand to help out with the special day's events, which were hosted by St Mary's Middle School.

Headteacher Lynne Brooks is pictured below with CSgt Craig Holman, just before inspecting the cadets on the school yard.

Members of Amble Detachment have been out raising money to help make an eight year old's dream come true.

Local lad Brandon Ballance, who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour when he was aged two, has always wanted to swim with dolphins and the cadets of Amble were only too happy to help raise funds towards his trip.

The brave youngster's mum Sarah Nicholson set up the "Brandon's Wish" campaign to raise the £15,000 needed for the trip. It will cost more than £1,000 just for the insurance, given Brandon's medical needs.

The Amble cadets took part in a sponsored walk between Amble and Warkworth, raising more than £300 for the fund. They are pictured above with Brandon outside Warkworth Castle.

The 2IC W Company, Capt Tom Jackson, has been awarded the Lord Lieutenant's Certificate for Loyal and Meritorious Service to Northumbria ACF over the last decade.

The Lord Lieutenant, Her Grace the Duchess of Northumberland, presented the certificate in the annual awards ceremony, which was held at Cowpen TA Centre this year.

The Lord Lieutenant is the Queen's personal representative within the county.

Only about ten of the prestigious certificates are presented to reservists and cadet forces personnel within the Lieutenancy each year.

Capt Peter Carr was also presented with the Lord Lieutenant's Certificate and Capt Kevin Haggerty was presented the Cadet Forces Medal, which is awarded for 12 years long and efficient service.

The Coldstream Guards Recruit Support Team visited W Company the other evening, organising a range of challenging activities to keep the cadets entertained.

The cadets, including those badged Coldstream Guards from Amble Detachment, took part in command tasks, climbing wall and a gun run assault course.

The evening concluded with a DVD presentation of what the 1st Battalion has been getting up to on their recent tour of Afghanistan.

The cadets of Amble Detachment are pictured with the team above.