Remembrance Day is about celebrating and applauding those who graciously gave up their lives to fight with the services. By wearing a poppy, people come together, observing a 2 minute silence and reflecting on their local community around them.
Felixstowe Cadets is a UK youth organisation similar to the Scouts or Guides, that aims to develop young people’s skills in areas such as leadership, communication, teamwork and responsibility. It is heavily affiliated with the British Army and sponsored by the MOD. Cadets progress through a syllabus to develop both military skills as well as wider skills by taking part in activities that cover a range of subjects, including: shooting, navigation, expeditions, drill and turnout (marching), cyber and information systems and many more.
As well as helping with the poppy appeal throughout November, the Cadets will be taking part in various Remembrance parades in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Kesgrave and Hadleigh. Felixstowe specifically also help out with a Spa Pavillion show called ‘Felixstowe Remembers’, where they reflect on the importance of Remembrance with the Felixstowe community. Furthermore, other Cadets also pay their respects to any past Cadets who have lost their lives in either conflict or for any other reasons.
However, the Cadets don’t just help the community around Remembrance Day alone - they take part in various community-helping schemes and programs throughout the year, which is a key subject as part of their development through the ACF syllabus. This month, Cadets have been working heavily with the Royal British Legion as part of the poppy appeal, and also helped to run the Christchurch Park fireworks. Other community events include the Suffolk Show, where the Cadets help out at.
There is a stigma attached to this however, that you can only join the Cadets if you want to go into the forces. However, there are no expectations for the Cadets to join the forces if they join the ACF. I spoke to Sam, who works for the ACF, and he said: “Being a cadet as a young child helped me to develop into my current job in cyber security. Anyone who is interested in learning new things and thirsting for new adventures is welcome.”. As well as developing skills such as leadership, communication, teamwork and organisation (and First Aid, shooting, sports and adventurous training - rock climbing, kayaking, etc), the ACF can also help with your development into early adult life - most notably by its integration with the Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme that you can do whilst a Cadet. This is a nationally recognised extra-curricular program. It can also help open doors into future life in the army (if a Cadet wishes to pursue that), and make younger people more mature and help them develop into respecting young people.
When asked about the best thing he’d done as a Cadet, Sam said “Personally for me being a Cadet as a young person, I thoroughly enjoy what we refer to as the ‘green’ activities - the more military associated activities. My best times are when I’ve been working with Cadets in the field and teaching them around administering themselves in the field, looking after their kit and rifle, learning how to construct and keep a camp running, patrolling and attacking enemy forces, sleeping outside and getting all camo’d up!”.
We have many members of the ACF attending our school, who - especially on Remembrance Day - respect their local community and help out wherever they can.
This Remembrance Sunday, we would like to take a moment to, like the Cadets and our local community, think about all the brave lives and souls bravely lost through conflict, and pay our respects to those who gave up their lives to help the country. Thank you.
In the meantime, you can find out more about the ACF by visiting their website (https://armycadets.com/), or visiting their regular parades in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Kesgrave and Hadleigh. They are continuously looking for new recruits (both Cadet and adult instructors).
By Grace Wells
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