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Leading Cadet Luke, from Blackburn Unit, found himself meeting his grandad for the first time 4,000 miles from home on Sea Cadets' International Exchange program.

A few of years ago Luke’s mother, Lisa, was contacted by her biological father for the first time through social media site Facebook.

“We had plans to meet as soon as we could, but unfortunately we both had some health issues and long haul flights would prove to be difficult,” said Lisa. “As soon as we found out Luke had been accepted (onto the exchange programme), my Dad and his wife made the decision to visit him while he was on his exchange”.

Luke ended up having the experience of a lifetime when he met his grandad on Darling Harbour. Luke, along with three other cadets were part of the UK Sea Cadets group that travelled to Australia to explore the history and culture of life down-under.

Lisa said: “Luke loves Sea Cadets. His time on the International Exchange programme was so special and without Sea Cadets this would not have been possible”.

Over the weekend around 300 cadets gathered in Torpoint, Cornwall at HMS Raleigh to battle it out at the National Drill and Piping competition. 

The best units and detachments were selected from 6 areas across the UK to compete amongst each other to win ‘The National Boxing Cup’ – the trophy given to the best performing area.

The competion comes down to being in sync with the rest of your team and performing at the highest level. Just being a little bit behind in movement or piping could be the difference between first and last. 

This year South West Area won the overall competition.

South West Area Officer Nigel Morton said "I am delighted that South West Area did so well at the National Drill and Piping competition. Huge credit goes to the cadets who performed so brilliantly, with such pride on the day, and who have been working so hard in the last weeks and months. I am also very grateful to all the adults who have been involved in training and supporting Drill activity across the area, and who were there supporting on the day. I know that standards were high – well done to all those competing from across the country, and to all who made this great event happen and run so well. " 

See full results here 

We are looking for stories about how Sea Cadets (The Navy League/Girls Nautical Training) were involved with D-Day. 

If you have any information or any stories relating to Sea Cadets and D-Day, we'd love to hear from you! 

Get in touch at SCmag@ms-sc.org 

A Naval charity that has helped connect lonely veterans to the Internet has won a prestigious national award - with the help of the Sea Cadet Corps.

Project Semaphore, one of the Royal Naval Association (RNA)’s flagship initiatives, took the honours in the People’s Choice category at the annual Soldiering On Awards.

The project aims to help alleviate loneliness and improve the finances of digitally-isolated veterans by issuing Apple iPads and training individuals in how to benefit from access to the Internet.

Once they are trained, veterans including those with limited mobility can use their new iPads to message and video-call far-flung family members or old friends and can take up new hobbies or research the history of their old ships online.

The training programme, carried out by more than 70 volunteers, also provides social interaction; many of the trainers were RNA members but Naval Reservists and members of Sea Cadet units also got involved, reinforcing the inclusivity of the Royal Naval family.

Current RNA General Secretary Bill Oliphant said: “Project Semaphore is a perfect example of the ethos of today’s Royal Naval Association.

Project Manager Sarah Clewes, herself a veteran, said: “We are delighted to have won – thank you so much to all those who voted for us. This Award is recognition for all those who have given their time to volunteer, stepped outside their comfort zone to learn how to use an iPad, and for the range of like-minded organisations and charities who have helped us reach more veterans. I have seen the extraordinary effect that this programme has had on lonely individuals, with veterans in their 90s suddenly able to chat regularly with relatives on the far side of the world – relatives they had not seen or spoken to in years”.

The ship's cat used to be a common feature on many trading, exploration, and naval ships dating to ancient times. Cats were carried on ships for many reasons, most importantly to control rodents and in addition, offer companionship and a sense of home to sailors away from home.

Nowadays the ship's cat is a thing of the past... or maybe not? 

A 'cat' that once belonged to HMS Elizabeth, but has now come ashore to explore other ships visited Sea Cadet's TS Royalist! 

The cat jumped on board for two days to watch our cadets unfurl the sails, manually pull sea boats up - plus so much more! Ship's Cat even joined for dinner... although there wasn't much food there for a cat! 

Ship's Cat said, "What a ship! And what an enthusiastic bunch of young people, working together to improve themselves while having fun along the way. The future is bright!"

To see the Ship's Cat's full experience on Royalist click here.