Whitehaven Sea Cadets - TS BEE

Whitehaven's Sea Cadets received high praise and a gift of a Laser Pico sailing boat at a ceremony held in front of a 1000-strong crowd on the harbourside last Friday evening (20^th June), and even received a spontaneous round of applause from members of the public as they marched along the harbourside.

Director and Chief Executive of the Whitehaven Festival Company, Gerard Richardson paid tribute to our cadets in a brief speech. “There is in this town a youth organisation who are always there when you need them, and they are with us here this evening. We have been working with the Sea Cadets ever since the first Maritime Festival nearly ten years ago and they have provided us with everything from Guards of Honour to escorts for VIP guests, often at short notice and in weather ranging from bright sunshine to torrential rain.”

Gerard continued by commenting on our involvement in events as diverse as veteran’s evenings, the Mayor’s parade, local village and school fetes and the annual Remembrance Sunday parade. “In between all of this, the cadets have been slowly raising money toward a new sailing boat. Well, they can spend that money on something else. It is with great pleasure that the Directors of the Whitehaven Festival Company present our town’s Sea Cadets with a new Laser Pico in appreciation of all they have done for us, and the town of Whitehaven.”

Speaking after the presentation our CO, Lieutenant (SCC) Peter Lucas RNR said that the gift was really appreciated and had come as a complete surprise. “We had absolutely no idea at all that we were going to be presented with anything, least of all a new boat. It is always nice when someone says ‘thank you’, but to receive a gift of this nature is really rather overwhelming. We have a few events coming up in the next two or three weeks, but after that we will be able to make the most of the boat by getting our cadets out on the water for a bit of serious fun.”

Our Chairman, Chas Tinkler added his thanks to everyone concerned. “On behalf of all the cadets and staff, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the Directors of the Whitehaven Festival Company. This gift will benefit not only the cadets we have now, but also those who have yet to join Whitehaven Sea Cadets.”

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Members of Whitehaven’s Sea Cadet unit are getting ready to meet The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh when they visit the town at the beginning of June.

Her Majesty and His Royal Highness will be carrying out a number of engagements during their visit on 5^th June and we have been asked to provide a Guard of Honour for the Royal couple.

Our Commanding Officer, Lieutenant (SCC) Peter Lucas RNR – who will be acting as Parade Marshall on the big day – said that the cadets were quite naturally going to feel a bit nervous. “We understand that Her Majesty and His Royal Highness may well take time to inspect the Guard and speak with a few of the cadets. We will all be nervous but I am certain that our cadets will, as always, prove themselves up to the challenge.”

“Being invited to carry out a Royal duty is a huge honour.” added the unit’s Chairman, Chas Tinkler. “Few people are given an opportunity to meet The Queen. It will be a unique experience for our cadets that they will remember for the rest of their lives and I hope they enjoy every moment of it.”

• For a report on the visit itself, please click here.

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Lt (SCC) Keith Crowe RMR receives his Certificate from the Lord-Lieutenant, Col James Cropper.

The former Commanding Officer of Whitehaven’s Sea Cadet unit received an award from the Lord-Lieutenant of Cumbria, Colonel James Cropper in a ceremony at Cumbria Police Headquarters on Wednesday 30^th April.

Sub Lieutenant (SCC) Keith Crowe RNR was in charge at Whitehaven for five years until he handed over command in February this year. Under his leadership the unit grew from a total complement of less than 20 cadets to its present strength of 27 Sea Cadets, 15 Junior Cadets and 8 Marine Cadets.

Speaking after the ceremony, Colonel Cropper said that the annual presentation of Lord-Lieutenant’s Certificates were made on the recommendations of Commanding Officers and then considered on merit by a selection board. “They are not given as routine recognition of long and faithful service. The criterion is that such service should be truly exceptional. There are only three recipients from the whole of Cumbria this year and I congratulate Sub Lieutenant Crowe for his outstanding achievements.”

In 2007, Keith’s hard work and dedication were recognised when he was selected as the Sea Cadet North West Area’s nominee for receipt of the Captain Roddie Casement Sword, awarded annually to the Unit Commanding Officer who has, by example and dedication, contributed most to the aims of the Sea Cadet Corps. At the time, Keith commented that the nomination really belonged to the whole Whitehaven team.

Our Chairman, Chas Tinkler said that it was a fitting tribute marking the end of Keith’s time as CO. “Keith has worked tirelessly on behalf of the unit and this award is very well deserved. Keith’s achievements have set us on a firm foundation on which we can build and move on to even greater successes in the future.”

Keith’s involvement with the Sea Cadet Corps started nearly 30 years ago when he joined as a Whitehaven cadet and the tradition has continued in the Crowe family – his son Scott was also a Whitehaven cadet until he left to join the Royal Navy last year.

Although he has relinquished command Keith is still very much involved with Whitehaven Sea Cadets as a member of the Marine Cadet Detachment staff.

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 02 May 08

Peter Lucas MSc

Our Commanding Officer, Lieutenant (SCC) Peter Lucas RNR was recently awarded a Master of Science degree in a ceremony held at the University of Leicester.

Peter, who is employed as Assistant Emergency Planning Officer at Sellafield, was awarded his MSc in Emergency Planning Management following a three-year distance learning course run by the University. Out of an initial intake of around 25 people, Peter was one of only six who successfully completed the course and received their degree.

Unit Chairman, Chas Tinkler said "Peter has put in a lot of hard work and thoroughly deserves his success. We are extremely pleased for him.

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22 Mar 08

A former Whitehaven cadet who was ambushed by Iraqi insurgents has been praised for his courage under fire.

Eighteen-year-old Kingsman Jordan Cunningham was one of 16 soldiers who came under heavy machine-gun fire in Basra. Working in two teams the soldiers covered each other as they returned fire in an attempt to retreat safely. All escaped unharmed but the incident lasted 40 minutes and saw them forced back two kilometres.

Last Tuesday Jordan. a rifleman with the 1st Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment received a special coin, one of only 100 handed out to British troops in Iraq over the past few months, by the Brigade Commander, Brigadier Julian Free. The citation commends Kgn Cunningham for “identifying the enemy and providing suppressing fire to allow the patrol to extract from the killing zone’’.

Speaking of the incident after the presentation, Jordan said: “I was walking with the vehicles on foot patrol at Al Qibla when we came across insurgents who were firing at us. This is where my training kicked in and after identifying them, I returned fire. It was scary and this is the first time I have been under fire like that, but the training did help me stay calm. It was only when we got back to safety I realised just how lucky I was."

An army spokesman said it was rare for the unit to come under such an ambush from insurgents. Capt Gilbody, unit press officer for the 1st Battalion, said  “It is really good that the outstanding work of our soldiers is recognised. Kgn Cunningham’s reactions to the enemy contact were first class and testament to the hard training that we undertake."