On Monday 8th May, over 400 Sea Cadets from London and Southern Areas paraded at the Old Royal Naval College Greenwich for a Coronation Review. They were joined by contingents from the Army Cadet Force, RAF Air Cadets, Fire Cadets, Volunteer Police Cadets, St John Ambulance and Scouts.
The cadets marched into the Lower Grand Square of the Old Royal Naval College where Vice Admiral Sir Adrian Johns, Second Sea Lord 2005-2008 and Governor of Gibraltar 2009-2013, presented the London Area with a new Colour.
Vice Admiral Johns said: “It is wonderful to see so many young people and so many units here at this historic event. Coronations do not come around often, and you will remember this for a long time. You will be able to say you were part of it; that you were on parade for HM The King. Bravo Zulu. God Save The King!”
Commander James Nisbet, Area Officer London, read out a message to the participants from HM The King.
As Vice Admiral Johns inspected the Guard to the Colour, each Sea Cadet contingent on parade was inspected by a senior Naval officer. The Army Cadet Force, RAF Air Cadets, Fire Cadets, Volunteer Police Cadets, St John Ambulance and Scouts were inspected by VIP guests or senior officers from their own service. The inspections were followed by a brief service that finished with the National Anthem and three cheers for HM The King.
Following the Coronation Review, at a separate event organised by the Marine Society and Sea Cadets at the National Maritime Museum, over 400 Sea Cadets, parents, well-wishers and even the local police, took part in a Guinness World Record attempt for the ‘largest ship’s whistle lesson’. The 400 participants received a 30-minute lesson on the bosun’s whistle, led by London Area’s Lt Cdr Cliff Lewis, and learnt to play the ‘Special Call’, an audio instruction on a ship calling the hands to action. In a symbolic ceremony across the nation, at 4.30 pm Sea Cadets from around the UK joined those gathered outside the National Maritime Museum to play the ‘Special Call’ calling the nation to action to volunteer as part of the Big Help Out.
