Sandwell Sea Cadets is a long standing unit which has had various HQ's throughout its time. The unit has a naval association with its affiliated ship HMS Albion L14. As with any unit, however, circumstances can conspire to bring troubled times and in June 2023 after several changes of command and structure the unit had only a handful of cadets most of which were approaching ageing out. The new commanding officer, new in post
From a lick of paint to the installation of the right people in the right roles to the delivery of the CTP, these were all undertaken with a view to enhance both the the presentation of the unit and the opportunities within. A renewed focus on diverse community engagement experiences and a renewed relationship with the Forge Academy further benefited the unit. The local community had begun to notice that TS Albion was sailing back on course and thanks to word of mouth and ensuring a consistent and positive engagement with our social media platforms expressions of interest started to creep in.
A proactive approach to parent/guardian engagement was taken to ensure good news and information is consistent and readily accessible, with monthly CO updates keeping the unit's network up to date on progress. Tours of the unit to showcase new developments and demonstrate the positive experiences to young people were offered. The work being done to move the unit forward was clearly being noticed and the offer of introducing a new RMCD detachment to Albion came up. This was a task we immediately set about to achieve, a new Detachment Commander was identified and appointed and new recruits started showing interest, whilst this is still an ongoing development, the RMCD has firmly committed it roots into the foundations of Albion. A further opportunity arose with the increasing interest we were getting from 9 year olds who wanted to join us. We set about setting up a new 9 year old division, this is due to go live in August 2024 and we have already begun recruiting and preparing ready for the go live date. The local community in which Sandwell Unit serves can now witness a clear direction of travel for TS Albion and are evidently impressed. In June 2023 the team could see that action needed to be taken in order to prevent further decline in numbers and that fresh energy needed to be injected into the unit.
The time was right to improve the unit facilities and start to rebuild cadet numbers. The CO discussed various different pathways for cadet growth with the team at Sandwell. The first thing was to re-energise the unit building and make it more attractive to potential joiners. The unit underwent redecoration and the rooms within were re-utilised to make the space available more useable. Two classrooms were devised one for juniors and one for seniors.
Unit rebranding was agreed and the whole building given a fresh coat of paint and new light fittings along with modern up to date technology including computers, screens, projectors and electronic signing in. New external signage was also fitted giving the exterior a fresh look including additional signage that could be seen from the road by passers by. A 30 ft mast that had been stored in the boat yard for a long time was pulled out and refurbished and then situated in front of the unit building which now advertises our presence at the entrance to the school in which the unit stands.
The unit had a clear plan for all areas of regeneration, new staff were recruited and existing staff were re-utilised into roles that better suited both them and the unit. A new junior training officer was appointed with a brand new junior training plan that was refreshing, engaging and interesting for our junior cadets. A dedicated instructor was appointed to oversee each stage of the cadet rank system and ensure that the CTP was being delivered correctly and that qualifications and achievements were being met accordingly. The unit training officer was appointed and followed duit with the junior training officer in launching a much improved senior training plan.
A passionate and dedicated First Lieutenant was appointed to oversee the running of the ships company and ensure that the training programmes were being delivered correctly and that cadet advancements were happening in timely manner.
Just over 12 months on and we now have 28 cadets on the books at Sandwell, 10 of these are Juniors who will one day move up to be seniors. 14 staff are now on the books all of whom at some point in their lives been cadets in the SCC themselves. Presentation evenings take place regularly to ensure that the many achievements, 339 of which during 23/24 were cadet achievements 301 adult achievements.
The presentation evenings are fully recognised with attendance from local dignitaries and community figures including recently two Deputy Lord Lieutenants on two separate occasions with around a month. Parents and Guardians are highly engaged and informed, speaking very highly of the volunteer team, the unit and most importantly the impacts of Sea cadets on their children. The recruitment drive is ongoing with around 3-4 new recruits joining us each month. We have several new adult volunteers wishing to join us which will enable more local young people to benefit. The future's looking bright for Sandwell thanks to the efforts and commitment of the units team and the vision of its leadership.
