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Commanding Officer nominated for award
The Commanding Officer of the Unit, Sub Lieutenant Nick Jones, has been Young People of the Year (YOPEY) Award for his work at the Unit.
YOPEY was founded by Tony Gearing, a former national newspaper journalist tired of the ‘bad press’ given to young people. It has the support of Prime Minister Gordon Brown who calls the contest “a wonderful celebration of Britain’s youth”.
The Citygate YOPEY in Bucks, which is supported by the county’s VW retailer, looks to recognise young people aged 10-25 who are positive role models and give to the community.
You can read more about the awards at www.youngpeopleoftheyear.org. Additionally, the CO's nomination can be found here.
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Unit Boating Day
On Saturday 16 August the Unit had its first boating day in recent memory. Five cadets and the Commanding Oficer took the Unit's SMB powerboat out for the day. They travelled up from the boat's moorings in Bisham up river to Henley where everyone had lunch and the cadets were given an opportunity to look around the town. The afternoon was then sent travelling back down river.
All of the cadets had an excellent time and were able to develop their powerboating skills, both as the crew and the coxswain. They particularly enjoyed Hambledon Lock where they took the boat down river of the weir and used this as a more challenging environment for steering the boat.
Now that this pilot day has proven itself to be a success, future days involving more cadets out can be planned.
More photos from this event can be found in the Picture Gallery.
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Presentation from Marlow Regatta Committee
Friday 1 August saw a Tony Evans and Charles Hill from the Marlow Regatta Committee attending the Unit to present a cheque for £250. This was in recognition of the hard work by the cadets at the regatta at Dorney Lake earlier this year where four cadets and two members of staff from the Unit helped out on activities from the lane management to the timings.
Our thanks go to the Regatta Committee, and in particular Charles Hill, for organising our participation in this event, which we hope to build on in future years.
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Pier Cellars Summer Camp 2008
From Thursday 24 to Wednesday 30 July, two cadets (Cadet Rhodes and New Entry Hughes) and the Commanding Officer attended a Summer Camp at Pier Cellars in Cornwall. In total this camp was made up of 44 cadets from various Units around the country (including Caterham, Ashington, Gosforth and Horsham).
The cadets took part in numerous adventurous activities, including climbing, adventurous training, swimming and taking part in a night exercise. The adventurous training was a particular favourite amongst the cadets, giving them the opportunity to learn how to move stealthily as a group and then storm buildings.
There was also plenty of time for relaxation with a day at the beach in Looe, a visit to Meet the Navy in Portsmouth and some shore leave in Plymouth.
The week was rounded off with a chance for the cadets to show off their dramatic/comical sides with a SODS opera which had to put a nautical theme on a well known fairytale.
The cadets and staff had an excellent time and hopefully the Unit can be represented in even greater numbers at the camp next year!
More pictures can be found in the Picture Gallery.
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Marlow Regatta
On Sunday 22 June, four cadets and two members of staff from the Unit assisted with in running the Marlow Regatta at Dorney Lake. This was the first year that the Unit has been involved in this Regatta (not be confused with the Town Regatta which is held on the Thames) since it moved out to Dorney in 2000.
The cadets, Able Cadet Smith, New Entry Roberts-Moore, Junior Cadet Hall and JC Roberts, helped with the lane management and timekeeping of the event.
Our thanks go to Charles Hill for inviting us to take part in the event and hopefully we will be able to continue to build ties with this excellent event in the future.
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Marine Workshop/Boatswain's Store Clear Out Day
Saturday 31st May saw a lot of a hard work at the Unit from the Unit Management Committee and Instructional Staff alike. The major work taking place was the clearing out of the old garage so work can begin to convert it to a high quality Marine Engineering Workshop and Boatswain's Store (for Seamanship instruction).
Since the last Marine Engineering Instructor left the Unit in the mid-1990s, the garage had mainly been used for storage and over the years many items with little or no use had been collected. These have now all been sorted, with some disposed of and some now ready for sale.
The next stage of the project is for electricians to fix the aging electrical systems in the room before painting work and installation of new desks and shelving can commence. It is hoped that the new classroom will be completed by the end of September for the end of the boating season.
Saturday also saw the Unit's boats going into the water, officially marking the start of the boating season. A lot of work has been carried out on these boats over the last few months with the SMB powerboat being sent back to the Ministry of Defence for critical repairs and High Wycombe Unit's Boat Maintenance Officer, Trainee Instructor Joel Hawkins, coming to assist with work on our ASC pulling boat.
Many thanks to TI Hawkins for all his hard work over the past couple of months in getting this boat ready. Thanks also to new UMC member, James Hall, for providing his pick-up to remove rubbish from the old garage and to tow the boats to the slipway.
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Waitrose Bag Packing
Cadets, members of staff and Management Committee members from the Unit did some bag packing to raise funds at Waitrose in Marlow on Saturday 24 May. The six people present during the day raised £461.32 between them which will be used in part to fund some of the operational costs of our building.
The day also gave the Unit an opportunity to expand our profile in the local area with a number of people expressing interest in the activities we do and potentially in joining as cadets.
A massive well done to all those who took part, particularly Able Cadet Smith and New Entry Hughes who were present for the whole day from 1000 to 1700!
Many thanks to Waitrose as well for allowing us this opportunity to raise funds and to the check out staff in particular who were all very welcoming.
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Royal Marine Charity Band Concert
On Friday 16 May the cadets, staff and committee members from the Unit took a night off from normal training to attend a charity concert performed by the Portsmouth Band of the Royal Marines held at Reading Blue Coat School.
The band, one of the premier military bands in the country, if not the world, performed a wider variety of music from the theme tune to Rocky to the traditional naval Heart of Oak.
The concert was organised to support the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) and was one of the few times in recent years that any of the Royal Marine Bands have visited the region.
Everyone who attended had an excellent time with particular praise going to the musician who played a wonderful rendition of William Tell on the xylophone.
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Field Training Weekend
The May Bank Holiday saw the Unit run its first Field Training Weekend. Cadets and staff from Marlow Unit and Milton Keynes' Marine Cadet Detatchment joined the Unit on Sunday 4 May to practice fieldcraft skills.
Over the course of the weekend the training team led by Sergeant Lloyd Green covered subjects such as constructing a bivouac, sentry duty and using a Hexamine cooker to cook some very tasty ration packs. This was all done in a suitable field area in Marlow Bottom. The cadets were also given an opportunity to practice shooting with an air rifle in the Unit.
The cadets all very much enjoyed themselves and by the end of the weekend had passed a short assessment and vastly improved their shooting skills.
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Cadets return from courses
Tuesday 22 April saw two cadets return to the Unit having been on courses the week before.
Firstly Leading Cadet Murray returned from Gosport where she had been training with a large number of other musical cadets who will form the Sea Cadet massed band at the Army Navy Rugby Match at Twickenham on Saturday 3 May. The cadets will play immediately prior to the start of the match, which last year was attended by a crowd of over 40,000. LC Murray will be forming part of the woodwind section, playing the saxophone.
Secondly Able Cadet Smith rejoined the Unit having been on board TS Royalist for 5 days. This trip was a prize from the Unit Committee based on her activities in promoting the Unit in 2006 but, due to the popularity of the course, this was the first one available. Able Cadet Smith had a fantastic time on board and even scaled to the highest level on the mast. She joined the ship in London from where they went to both Belgium and France before returning to Ramsgate. While on board AC Smith achieved her Offshore Hand Level 1. She hopes to go on board again next year with the aim of advancing her knowledge further. The picture to the left shows all of the cadets on board TS Royalist last week.
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Staff first aid success
Two members of staff from the Unit, SLt Nick Jones and PPO Chloe White, attended a multi activity training course from Friday 18 April to Sunday 20 April at Browndown Camp in Gosport. Of the many courses available they both chose to do first aid related ones, passing with flying colours.
PPO White completed her 2nd Class First Aid which allows her to act as a first aider at the Unit and provides more training on the actions to take in any emergency.
Meanwhile SLt Jones was assessed to become a First Aid Instructor, meaning that he can now deliver first aid training to the cadets in the Unit. In particular the Unit can now offer 3rd Class training to the Senior Cadets (aged over 12) and the British Heart Foundation's Heartstart course to Junior Cadets (aged 10 to 12).
These courses are the first steps towards the nationally recognised Royal Navy Level 2 qualification (which is a Health and Safety at Work approved course), which cadets can obtain at national training centres.
Having completed this weekend, the two staff members hope to provide high quality first aid training to the cadets in the Unit (the only one in Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire to offer this) with the aim of having a Unit full of qualified first aiders before the end of the year.
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St George's Night Mess Dinner 2008
Saturday 12 April saw the Unit's annual St George's Night Mess Dinner. The dinner was held earlier than normal this year to avoid clashes with our training calendar but once again proved to be a fantastic success.
Petty Officer (SCC) White took charge of the evening as the Mess President which brought together many months of planning by her, the other staff of the Unit and the Unit Management Committee.
The guest of honour for the second year in succession was Commodore Richard Hawkins RN, who once again had an excellent time. The evening also marked the first in a number of years to see guests from other local cadet forces, including the Officer Commanding the Air Training Corps and two instructors from the Army Cadet Force. They were joined by other supporters of the Unit, including parents, ex-cadets and members of staff from other local Units. In total 41 people were present for the Mess Dinner.
Those present served by cadets from the Unit before participating in a raffle with prizes which had been donated by local companies - one of which was a meal for four worth £100! In total the evening raised approximately £500 for the Unit, which will go towards the general operating costs. Many thanks to all those who came to support the Unit and to those who donated prizes!
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Award of a Pennant for 2008
For the third year in succession Marlow Unit has been awarded a pennant in its annual efficiency assessment. These assessments cover all areas of the Unit's activities from Health and Safety to achievements in training. The award also includes the marks from the Unit's Royal Naval Parade held in February. A new procedure this year also means that we have been informed of this award far earlier than normal - in March instead of December.
The year leading up to this pennant was another tough one for the Unit, with only one uniformed member of staff for the majority of the time. However with PPO (SCC) Chloé White completing her initial probation and moving into uniform and the recruitment of three other members of staff things are certainly moving in the right direction.
Over the coming year we aim to continue to build on this progress, particularly broadening the number of subjects available to the cadets at the Unit.
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