Cadet Camp on Salisbury Plain

Malcolm and I had accepted an invitation to join the Army Cadets of the north west sector of London for their visitors day at Rollestone Camp on Salisbury Plain. Thankfully the weather was kind to us with plenty of sunshine as we headed past Stonehenge to the Plain.

After a quick cup of coffee, the visitors, including fellow Masters Master Pewterer and Master Playing Card Maker, we listened to a briefing by Col. Simon Ettinghausen who explained how the cadets operated in the modern era, and that as well as army crafts the young people spent a day learning about Cybersafe. We later learned from the trainer that cyber attacks were likely to get worse and it was important for the Army to recruit IT specialists to work in this area. Then it was time to head off to see the Army cadets in action.

First port of call was the range where we saw cadets firing single action rifles over 150m. The cadets told us that the morning activity had improved their skills and accuracy on the target. Next stop was the “village” where cadets were receiving a briefing on an exercise they were undertaking in the afternoon, evening, and unknown to them in the very early hours of the next morning.   We watched part of the exercise as they cleared the houses and moved onto the next.

After lunch it was our turn and we had the opportunity of having a go at archery and clay pigeon shooting. Having never lifted a gun in my life, this was my chance to pick up a bow and arrow and learn how to fire an arrow at a target. Thankfully I managed to get all six arrows on the target, but not necessarily in the middle ring.

We were introduced to a young Sapper who had given up part of his holiday to be there and he said he was having a great time. We also met some Engineer cadets, a Grenadier Guard and several adult volunteers.

This was a great day out for us, but we did think about the cadets out on the plain on the next day when it was raining heavily.

The Army Cadets is a great organisation and helps young people in many ways as they grow up into adults.

Craft Trust and Committee

The Craft Trustees met the following day to review the applications for grants for the coming Livery year. As always it was a very difficult decision to agree who would and who would not receive a grant.

The Craft Committee met after the Trustees and met with Martin Pryce, whose organisation championed apprentices in the construction sector. This was a very good meeting and I hope that the Company will work closely with Martin and his colleagues to encourage new entrants into the Construction Industry.