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A ceremony was held for the naming of the road bridge that links St. Mary’s Island to the mainland, the bridge was named after HMS Chatham the Frigate which was commissioned in the basin adjacent to the bridge. Because of this connection the last CO of the ship, Cdr Simon Huntington OBE RN, was asked to unveil a sign on Saturday 22nd September 2012.

The Medway Towns Sea Cadet Unit provided a guard of honour for the occasion. Cdr Huntington spoke with members of the guard as he inspected them, was impressed with their smartness & was pleased to see Cadets he recognised from previous events at which the unit had supported the ship.

Photo by Mr. John A. Gilkison

The unit's senior Cadet & a L/Cpl from Chatham Marines Cadet unit were present in the Wardroom of HMS President, London RNR during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant in June. They got to meet HRH Princess Anne, the Prime Minister, the First Sea Lord, a previous Captain of HMS Chatham & many other dignitaries.

Although the event was dampened by drizzle the opportunity the Cadets got will remain in their memories for a long time to come.

Cadets from West Kent, namely Medway Towns, Dartford & Maidstone units provided the Colour Guard for the Ocelot 50th Anniversary parade & Beat Retreat ceremony at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham in May. Chatham Marines Cadet unit provided the signal party & VIP escorts.

The parade was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the launching of HMS Ocelot the last ship (boat) to be built in the Royal Dockyard at Chatham.

The Royal Marines' band from HMS Collingwood were the star musical treat of the day.

The CPO Baxter invitational sponsored event involving kayaking from Tonbridge to Allington (30km) on Saturday 21st April & Cycling 17 laps (40km) around the Cyclopark in Gravesend http://www.cyclopark.com/ on Sunday 22nd April to raise funds for the unit.

The event was a logistical challenge & a monetary success with both Cadets & staff taking part & bringing much needed money into the unit.

Yes, that's the CO in a Tigger suit & why not!

Southern Area's entry for the National Drill & Piping Competition travelled to HMS Raleigh, by coach, on Friday 27th March. Dartford unit were first in to the drill shed with their unarmed squad entry; the Medway Towns entry for the armed squad (Guard) went on around 1100.

In a seemingly one-sided competition, with most awards being made to units from the South West Area, the Cadets from Medway Towns achieved, a well deserved, silver medal position. Very well done!

That makes our unit 2nd out of 380 units in the UK!

This result was the culmination of a lot of hard work from the Cadets & the 1st Lt, with support from other members of the unit.

(Pictured is our Guard Commander)