NTC BANDS HELP FIREWORK DISPLAY GO OFF WITH A BANG....

Guildford Torchlight Procession

Report by Cdr. Andrew Clarke NTC

Many units at this time of year participate in various fireworks and torchlight events. The units of West Sussex South Region are no different. For the past decade, TS Implacable (Littlehampton) have lead the Guildford Lions Torchlight procession, and since 2006, Implacable have included their sister ships, to parade as the region’s combined massed marching bands.

This year, much like any other, started with a long drive from the coast up to Guildford. With TS Sturdy (Chichester) engaged elsewhere, TS Intrepid (Lancing) met with Implacable en route, just in time to assist one of Intrepid’s officers replace a flat tyre (it happened to be the car carrying all of Intrepid’s band gear, which had to be removed to get to the spare!).

At 1910, the 33 musicians from TS Implacable and Intrepid marched up the high street to the clock tower, playing the march from Longest Day. Once formed up, the audience were treated to performances by the individual bands, playing tunes from their recent Band Competition routines, including a Star Wars Medley, Sailing, Gibraltar (2^nd Movement), and the Great Escape March.

The band then waited as the Mayor addressed the public, and the torches were lit. The band slowly became surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of torchbearers. Petty Officer Simon Nicholls of Implacable remarked at how it felt as though the heating had just been turned on. As members of the band looked back down the length of the high street, all they could see were flaming torches for as far as they could see.

With the torches lit, and the Guildford Town Mayor immediately behind the band, 1945 saw the West Sussex South Regional Mass Marching Band march off to Royal Salute (2^nd Movement), leading what must have been well over 15 thousand torchbearers. 3/O James Copple of Implacable commented after, “all the cadets enjoy this parade. It’s fun, simple, and has great fireworks at the end.”

The band lead the massive parade for about 30 minutes to the nearby Stoke Park, where the Guildford Lions hold their Fireworks Extravaganza. As the band leave the well lit streets of Guildford, they cross the unlit park. The band’s instruments were wit with glowsticks, and some musicians had torches to help them see their music. “The hardest part of the march is crossing the field,” remarked 3/O Tyler Buckham, bandmaster of Intrepid. “The field is pitch black, covered with slippery mud, and I had to play my trumpet entirely from memory.”

At the end of the parade, the band’s played one more tune each, again from the recent competition. Intrepid lead their Doctor Who arrangement, whilst Implacable presented I Will Follow Him. Cdr Andy Clarke of Intrepid commented, “we have wonderful and enthusiastic musicians. When we played our individual tunes, many of us were scrambling around to see the other band’s music, so we could join in with each other – that’s real NTC spirit.”

The night ended with a spectacular 20 minute firework display, with an audience of thousands on Stoke Park watching. Cdr Brian Orchard, commanding officer of Intrepid joked that, “if they’d given us [Intrepid] the money they’d spent on those fireworks, we could afford several minibuses.” TS Intrepid, who got to Guildford in three cars, are currently raising £14 000 towards the cost of a minibus. To find out more about their appeal, go to www.ntc.org.uk/intrepid.

As always, the cadets and officers had a fantastic night at Guildford. They are already looking forward to leading next year’s parade.

Remembrance Sunday 2011

Across the Corps, ships supported their local towns and services in an act of remembrance for those who had fallen and served to protect us.

This year, I joined TS Nautilus and TS Zealous at  the main cenotaph at the Steine in Brighton.Thankfully, the weather was more than kind and as the crowds assembled behind the barriers surrounding the area, we could hear the beating of drums as the assembled parade formed up to show its support.

Following the service. lead by the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex the NTC proudly placed wreaths in a sea of poppies at the foot of the cenotaph.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

-Laurence Binyon

Please send your pictures to PR@NTC.ORG.UK

Pictures available here

 

TS Intrepid in the press

Well done to T.S. Intrepid for making Lancing and Shoreham Herald newspapers.

If you missed the article, you can 'read all about it' by clicking here

2011 Band Competition

 October 30th 2011 saw yet another successful Band Contest at the Triangle, Burgess Hill with the Corps Music Director Commander Craig Knight (NTC) at the helm. The annual event saw ships from all areas of  the corps competing across different levels, to prove they have what it takes in their class. The event also saw the opportunity for ships to parade their Colour Party and compete for the right to parade the National Colour (pictured above).

The corps was also pleased to welcome T.S. Alacrity from the Junior Cadet Corps who were keen to show their skills as part of the FINTO Class of performers. Alongside marching band displays, the day played host to fanfares and also a number of ensembles from T.S. Glorious T.S. Swiftsure,  and T.S. Superb (NTC) allowing cadets and officers to employ a variety of larger instruments, that would be impossible to carry, producing what can be only be described as an awesome and impressive sound.

Each class offered an impressive display and a good quality of sound, regardless of band size, matching both quality and volume to provide a great sound for all officers, cadets, parents, VIP's and guests who offered their support with applause, whooping and cheering!

Corps Patron Rear-Admiral John Lippiett commented 'It's brilliant to see the performances made by everybody here today... to produce music of this quality requires intense preparation and too this year, the Colour parties have really raised the standard of the competition.'

Certainly, this year several of the competitors employed real originality into their routines, from T.S. Swiftsure's James Bond  set to the superb integration of Coldplay's 'Clocks' into T.S. Implacable's routine and the impressive use of the current theme of the BBC television series Dr. Who and that of the Star Wars Imperial March into T.S. Intrepid's display. 'As with all the competitors for the day, the skill and ability to play instruments with such precision is enviable, to be able to complete this whilst marching and performing a routine is nothing short of incredible!' - Laura Moffat, chair of the NTC

Commander Peter Mosse, former Comanding Officer of HMS Ambuscade and chair of the HMS Ambuscade Association, was thrilled to watch T.S. Ambuscade's first appearance at the competition 'never have so few moved so fast !...i'm quite sure Ambuscade will triumph as usual!' Indeed, an incredible feat to be able to form a functioning band; the ability to be able to compete and put on a great show did not go un-noticed by the judges...

Cdr. Peter Mose (HMS Ambuscade) Proudly hands over a trophy.

As the day drew to a close and following thanks, we moved into the awards section of the evening, with several ships walking away with an armful of awards for their efforts.

After a full day of musical entertainment, all that remained was to complete 'sunset' accompanied by fanfare and to march from the ground, ready for another year displaying all the talent has to offer across the regions.

As soon as they are available, I will update this article with contest winners from the day.

For more, free photos of the event please click here and here to view in a seperate window.







 

Shedfield : : National Camp 2011

The Corps once again descended upon Shedfiled in Hampshire for the fourth National Adventure Weekend camp . This year was another record breaking year, with a total 99 cadets attending, representing ten units. In addition to the four West Sussex South Region units that organise the camp, units from Hampshire, London, and West Sussex North also made the journey down for the camp.

The old favourites were open for cadets including archery and rifle shooting. By popular demand, atlatl (pronounced at-lattle - an ancient form of weapon where 5ft darts are thrown with large sticks (the atlatl)) was once again on offer. New activities included groups building a pontoon bridge to ‘Piranha Frog Island’ on ‘Lake Inferior’. Another first for the camp saw camp director, Cdr Andy Clarke (AAD) NTC, fall into the lake!

The sunshine was out in full force for this weekend – and for the first Shedfield in a long time some of that sunshine was rather wet. Activities on the Saturday were set back by ten minutes waiting for a heavy shower to pass. However, most of the rain fell during meal times which meant cadets were in tents for the rain.

Weather certainly couldn't dampen the spirits and soon activies were back in full force.

Because he can’t keep away, the Chief of Staff once again visited the camp. Captain Dennis Kilshaw (COS) NTC attended on Sunday this year, intending only to stay for a few hours later. But he was having so much fun, he ended up staying for the entire day, and was able to stay for the closing Sunset and awards ceremony. Because of this, Capt. Kilshaw was able to present the award named after him, the highly covereted ‘Dennis Kilshaw’ Award. Capt Kilshaw described the camp as ‘fun’.

Another highlight of the closing ceremony, which would have brought a tear to the eye of the Corps ceremonial director, was the sunset fanfare. The camp was treated to the traditional sunset fanfare, by a very untraditional fanfare party. The officers from TS Defiance NTC and TS Endeavour NTC (or NBAC Attentive NTC – depends on which hat they wear) played the sunset fanfare on harmonicas!

At the camp, Cdr Clarke also announced that this year’s highly successful and popular adult training and social gathering was being repeated in 2012. All officers, adult helpers, and committee members have been invited to attend Pinewood National Adult Training and Social Gathering on 25^th to 26^th February 2012. More information can be found at www.ntc.org.uk/pinewood/.

A huge thank you once again to all of the cadets, officers, and instructors who made the camp possible, especially the officers of West Sussex (South) Region who organise the camp every year. Without the dedication of these volunteers, events like Shedfield just wouldn’t happen. To find out more about the camp, you can visit the official website, www.ntc.org.uk/shedfield/, or find them on Facebook.

See photos from Shedfield 2011 at www.photobucket.com/shedfield2011/.

With thanks to: Cdr Andrew Clarke  (NTC)

Montrose Commissioning

T.S. Montrose

On 10th September 2011, the NTC proudly commissioned T.S. Montrose at Rose Green, Bognor. 

Following a day dodging showers and hosting a Fete, the evening thankfully made way to better weather a parade and commissioning service. Helping the celebration along was T.S. Implacable, T.S. Intrepid and T.S. Sturdy., making for an impressive display.

 

As the parade formed up, local residents and proud parents arrived, taking photos and walking alongside the route as they moved off, winding through the streets of Rose Green, the sound of drums and music echoing from the walls. 

The parade reached its destination, to be greeted by the Commodore, Officers and guests. As we took our seats the Commodore welcomed us on board what he is "certain will be a great ship" adding that to "have the pleasure of commissioning one ship [T.S. Ambuscade] to be able to commission two, well that's excellent!"

The Padre, Phil Hiscock lead the service; considering the inclement weather, delivering a very appropriate reading and sermon of Jesus' calming of the storm and overcoming life's challenges. Later blessing Montrose's new ensign, proudly raised by Cadets of the Corps newest ship.

Following the service I took the time to catch up with Montrose's Commanding Officer, Graham Turner, who was clearly pleased with what he described as a "Brilliant day!" and was keen to convey his thanks and pride with all ships and everybody involved in making the day a success.

I also managed to speak with West Sussex County Council Chair, Mike Common, and his wife, Cllr Christina Common; who both described the day as an "inspiring display" continuing that they were "honoured to be able to invited and look forward to delivering further support to the Corps." Mrs. Common also added "it's fabulous that parents, officers and cadets alike were able to offer so much and rightfully take so much pride in what they do. 

Further images from the day can be seen directly by clicking this link

Founders Day 2011

Today saw the Nautical Training Corps 67th Founders Day. Hosted once again on Littlehampton seafront, the day promised a great turn out, music, parade and service.

The weather however had other ideas, for the first time in some years Founders Day was hampered by heavy rain and driving winds, providing challenging conditions for all concerned, although a sensible decision was made to reconsider the parade and timing to combat the inclement weather.

As cadets and officers formed up, it was clear to see that they were not going to let conditions dampen their spirits and still managed to look very smart. Corps Patron, Rear-Admiral Lippiett later was keen to point out; "I'm most impressed this year, the smartness, spirit and determination of cadets and bands to continue playing considering the weather... it's all been taken with a great dose of humour. That's great."


And indeed, everybody managed to laugh off the rain and continued regardless. We were pleased to welcome our new Corps Chair. Laura Moffat rejoins the NTC filling the role as head of the National Council having served as a Cadet herself at previous Founders Days. "It really is great to be back at the NTC, in some respects, it feels like I'd never left. I've been made most welcome and it is a great privilege to see everyone out today."

As the service commenced the rain beat down increasingly hard but in good spirits, we managed to complete a service, singing and remembering the corps values and praying for 'those in Peril on the Sea.





 In total, 21 Ships managed to take part in Founders Day, with the majority offering a musical performance and mach past, including support by guests TS Alacrity of the Junior Cadet Corps who made the journey from Waterlooville and a great support from the public and general public who watched from the sides under a sea of umbrellas.

Also present on the day; Commodore Rob Thompson, commented that it was good to see "great work in the face of inclement weather and to see the numbers of cadets growing." Crawley Mayor, Cllr. Carol Eade was so impressed that she revealed. "I've asked to have NTC cadets as my guard of honour at civil services, this coming September."

Alongside the presentation of the Meritorious Service Medal, there was further reason to celebrate as TS Ambuscade and TS Montrose attended their first founders day. Cllr Brian Stead, Mayor of Reigate and Banstead was "very pleased to see them [TS Ambuscade] out for the first time. I feel very proud to see them here today." 

To conclude, we were treated to a march past as ships played off, receiving a great response from officers, VIPs and crowd. Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Cllr Cheryl Buggy commented "It's encouraging and inspiring to see so many commit ed young people, looking so smart".

TS Explorer also took the opportunity to use Founders Day to celebrate its 50th year, with the help of the Corps patron, who was happy to congratulate the ship by cutting an impressive cake.

In all, a great display was presented by the Corps and a great atmosphere shared despite the rain!



For more pictures please follow this link:  Photo Album

Personal thanks to Mr. Miller who provided the camera for today.

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