Ex Ducy (Normandy)
Cadets, adult volunteers and veterans
travelled to Normandy, to follow the
path taken by the 1st Battalion Tyneside
Scottish (Black Watch) during the DDay landings of June 1944. Marching
off Gold Beach, being led by the pipes
over Pegasus Bridge, or standing in
silence in the cornfields of the Rauray
battlefield will remain poignant
memories for all those involved during
an action packed week. The mayor
and people of Ducy St Marguerite
invited the group to a day of civic
ceremonies in remembrance of those who
had liberated their village 70 years ago, and
the close bond felt between the people and
the Tyneside Scots was clearly evident. The
detachments of Heaton Manor and Kingston
Park have been embraced as the youngest
members of the Tyneside Scottish family on
an international level.
Cadets from Northumbria spent a week on the beautiful island of Malta where
they gained their PADI Open Water scuba diving qualifications. The group of 10
cadets and 3 adult instructors began training for the expedition six months prior
to flying out to Malta. In the safety of a local swimming pool and under the instruction of Lieutenant Ash Pugh the
cadets mastered the techniques and safety drills which would allow them to safely take to the open sea. Once in
Malta the cadets had to undergo additional rigorous testing to confirm their skills before undertaking their first dive in
the warm, crystal clear water of the seas which surround the coastline. The dives progressively tested the cadets’
knowledge, but all passed the final assessment to be awarded their qualification. However the week was not all work
with plenty of time being built in for the cadets to visit historic sites and for some fun.
Cadet Clarissa Mangan, who has now left the ACF for a career in the Royal Navy, thanked the adults for arranging
a fantastic adventure training exercise. She went on to say that the opportunities for travel and self-development she
had experienced over the last few years with Northumbria had been second to none and that she would always
remember what the ACF had done for her.
One of the most looked forward to activities in Northumbria’s annual training programme is the winter adventurous
training exercise. Last year a party of cadets and adult instructors travelled to the Alps for a weeks skiing. For many
of the cadets this was a new experience which began on the nursery slopes, where the basics were mastered. Once
everyone was able to stay on their feet, turn and stop competently the group took to the main pistes with each day
seeing a noticeable improvement in their skills. The group made many new friends including "Milka" the cow who
travelled the slopes handing out chocolate bars. She was a firm favourite with the cadets! Tired at the end of each
afternoon's ski training the cadets would soak their weary muscles in an outdoor heated swimming pool before
sampling a different activity each evening. This ranged from
"bum boarding" to an outdoor climbing wall. All too quickly
the week passed and after a graduation ceremony, where the
cadets received their ski
certificates, it was time to
hand in their equipment
and return home.
Malta
France
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