W Company

We are pleased to announce that our new Bellingham Detachment will open its doors for the first time at 7 pm on Monday, 6th September 2010.

The new Detachment, which is badged to the Royal Regiment of Artillery, is open to male and female cadets between the ages of 12 and 18 years.

The Detachment meets at the Drop In Centre, behind  Bellingham Police Station.

The Detachment Commander, SMI Cy Dilger, looks forward to welcoming new cadets and their parents/guardians to a special opening and enrolment ceremony on the night.

Cdt S/Sgt Michael Sargent of Alnwick Detachment was promoted to the rank of Cdt CSM this evening.

Michael, W Company's senior cadet, has been with the ACF for five years. He recently completed his APC 4-Star , a leadership course and the Senior Cadets' Instructors' Cadre.

The OC W Company, Major Mark Ewart, said: "It gives me great pleasure to promote S/Sgt Sargent to the rank of CSM, in recognition of the exemplary work he has done during his time as a cadet. This is the most satisfying presentation I have made during my time as Company Commander."

Eighteen year old Michael will spend his remaining months in the ACF shadowing the adult CSM, SMI Peter Lawrence.

The Deputy Commandant, Lt Col Haughie, is hosting a PO introduction evening at County HQ on Thursday, 24 June 2010. The evening will begin at 1900 hrs.

The evening, which is open to anyone interested in Commissioning, will give details of PO training within the County and what to expect at Westbury on the actual AOSB (CFCB). Dress will be CS '95.

Any W Coy adult interested in attending, please let the 2IC know so he can pass on your details.

Just as the election day polls were opening last week a very different decision was reaching an equally gripping conclusion - the appointment of W Company's new OC.

Step forward Major Mark Ewart, who succeeds our last OC Lt Col Sue Haughie TD.

Major Ewart, a long standing member of the W Company team, was finally unveiled as our new boss by the Commandant last Wednesday night. He was previously the 2IC of W Company.

The Company 2IC's position has gone to Capt Tom Jackson and the new Training Officer is Lt Keith Marchant. Lt Marchant remains Detachment Commander at Berwick.

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!

Another W Company cadet has won the prestigious position of Lord Lieutenant's Cadet for Northumberland.

Sgt Guy Renner-Thompson of Belford Detachment will be officially installed as the Lord Lieutenant's right hand man at a ceremony next week. The accolade, which is the pinnacle of a cadet's career, is awarded to only one army cadet in the County each year.

Guy will spend the next year or so assisting HM Lord Lieutenant, the Duchess of Northumberland, at high profile events around the area.

Guy, of Belford Detachment, has been with Northumbria ACF for six years and has achieved success in a number of fields. In particular he has represented the County at Brigade and National level shooting competitions on several occasions.

Our congratulations go to Guy for his appointment and the hard work that went behind it.

As most of you will have seen our part of Northumberland is suffering badly due to the snow.

Nearly all the schools in Northumberland have been closed for several days and many back roads are deep in snow. There's no let up in the weather in sight for the next week at least.

At the moment all of our Detachments plan to open as normal next week, but we advise non-local cadets (who live too far to walk to their Detachment) to stay at home during the current snowy/icy spell.

If there are any last minute changes we will publish them here so stay tuned. It might be an idea to check here before you set off to your Detachment.