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HISTORY
A scheme was introduced during the Second World War for local towns to raise funds for, and adopt ships for the war effort. Thus it was that in “Warship Week” of April 1942 , Kettering and district raised an incredible sum of £363,120 to fund the Hunt class destroyer named after the local hunt. The ship saw active service in the war engaging at various times aircraft and German E-Boats. Plaques commemorating the association between the town and the ship, were exchanged at a town council meeting on behalf of the Royal Navy. Thankfully, the ship survived the war and continued as a training ship to the end of the 1950s before being finally decommissioned and scrapped.
At the same time as “Warship Week”, a vast national expansion of the Sea Cadet Corps was planned. Kettering was determined to play its part and the “Evening Telegraph” of 14th April 1942 carried the first notice announcing the formation of the local unit. It was thought appropriate to call the unit Training Ship Pytchley after the destroyer, and the name has survived to this day.
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