The briefing

News from across Army Cadets

Poignant battlefield tours

Two counties got to witness the impact war can have on landscapes and lives during recent battlefield tours. Both excursions were made possible due to grants from ACCT UK and were an opportunity to pay respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Thirty four cadets from Norfolk ACF's Artillery Battery, Engineer Squadron and Britannia Company attended a five-day WW2 Battlefield Tour of Dunkirk. The group followed the route taken by the 2nd Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment during the campaign. A solemn but important highlight was a visit to pay respects to the 97 Royal Norfolk POWs who died at the hands of the SS at La Paradis.

Musical spectacle returns

The ACCT Scotland Beating Retreat made a triumphant return for the first time in four years. Cadets from across the UK came together to perform at Edinburgh Castle for the musical extravaganza.

It included a massed bands display, light infantry bugling spectacle, and a massed Pipes and Drums display. There were over 130 Army Cadet musicians involved from Scotland, Durham ACF, Gwent and Powys ACF and Campbell College CCF, as well as guests from the Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

Col Ashley Fulford, National Colonel Cadets, said it was 'an outstanding event that made all of us who are associated with the Cadets very proud. Well done to everyone involved.'

A group of 86 cadets and 14 CFAVs from Dyfed and Glamorgan ACF visited Ypres in Belgium for the two-day battlefield study Ex Dreigiau Cadlanc.

They visited cemeteries, museums and first world war trenches in Sanctuary Wood and Hooge Crater. A particularly moving moment was a wreath laying at the Welsh cromlech (pictured) at Pilkem Ridge, where an imposing Welsh dragon memorialises those of Welsh descent who took part in the First World War. Dyfed and Glamorgan ACF raised £10,000 for it to be built and were one of its highest fundraisers.

Cadets also took centre stage at the Menin Gate Last Post ceremony alongside the Military Wives Choir. 'They were watched by hundreds of members of the public and did the ACF proud,' said Maj Richard Holder, Assistant Commandant, Dyfed and Glamorgan ACF. 'I also had the honour of reciting the exhortation before the minute's silence.'

Particular congratulations to Cdt Bandmaster Tom Lord who led the massed bands, National Senior Drum Major Kayleigh Young who led the Pipes and Drums, and National Cdt Pipe Major Rowan Laws who played the solo part in Amazing Grace (all Black Watch Bn ACF).

ACCT UK Excellence Awards

Congratulations to the winners of ACCT UK's Excellence Awards (supported by BAE Systems), held in London in June, presented by guest of honour Colonel Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, Honorary Colonel Army Cadets Medical Support.

Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Cdt Sgt Ezri Spring (Kent ACF)

Maj (retd) Alan Thompson (Northumbria ACF)

First Aid

Cdt Colour Sgt Dawson Whitelegg (Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire ACF)

Staff Sgt Instructor Amanda Wixon (Greater London South East Sector ACF)

Music

Cdt Company Sgt Maj Nicole Pennington (Greater Manchester ACF)

2nd Lt Callum Mellis (51 Brigade, Black Watch Battalion Scotland ACF)

Sport

Cdt Cpl Dylan Perkin (Clwyd and Gwynedd ACF) Capt Rachael Jones (Gwent and Powys ACF)

Community Service (donor: Ammo & Co)

Cdt Cpl William Callaghan (Yorkshire North and West ACF)

2nd Lt Michael Stokes and 2nd Lt Sarah Stokes (Gloucestershire ACF)

Marathon success

A huge well done and thank you to Louise McCauley, Sports Officer for Lothian and Borders Bn, who completed the Edinburgh Marathon and raised an impressive £900 for ACCT UK and Cornhill Macmillan Centre in Perth.

Congratulations to SSI Donna Hawley (adult instructor for Yorkshire North and West ACF), Rebecca Trinity Jones (former cadet) and Rob Warner (ACCT UK supporter through his employer Ammo & Co which runs Cadet Kit Shop) for conquering the 100-mile RideLondon cycling challenge.

Their efforts have raised a whopping £1897.25 to support cadets and adult volunteers.

Feeling inspired? Register your interest for RideLondon 2024 by emailing fundraising@acctuk.org

Cadet Challenge 2023: your adventure awaits!

Many counties have kickstarted the Cadet Challenge 2023 with a variety of inventive fundraisers: City & County of Bristol ACF are set to take the plunge with a sponsored parachute jump, Devon ACF embarked on a gruelling 16-hour drill marathon, Wiltshire ACF hosted a coronation family day with a hog roast and bouncy castle, and Orkney & Shetland ACF held a bake sale at their NAFFI.

There's also the opportunity for a solo mission, like that done by Maj Mark Evans, area commander of E Company, Gwent & Powys ACF, who is doing a trig-bagging challenge; instructor PI Zack Feve of Epworth and Isle of Axholme detachment, Humberside & South Yorkshire ACF, who will take on the Three Peaks; and Commandant Colonel Catherine Harrison of Greater Manchester ACF who completed the Great North SwimRun and raised £155. What challenge will you take on?

Share challenges and pictures with fundraising@acctuk.org

Set up a fundraising page with Enthuse, JustGiving or GoFundMe: search for 'Army Cadet Charitable Trust UK' or charity number 305962.

Two prestigious awards will be given to the most inspiring cadet and CFAV for their fundraising efforts.