Army Cadet Force - Make Your Mark

E Company News

Exercise Thank You

On Tuesday the 9th and Wednesday 10th August E Company's "Ex Thank You", organised by Capt Smales took place in the Scottish Capital, Edinburgh.

Ex Thank you saw two senior cadets from each detachment, who have contributed to both detachment and company more than normally expected in the past 12 months, awarded for their efforts with a trip to Edinburgh's Royal Military Tattoo....however we had to get there first!

Monday 8th August and the night saw all the cadets going gather with Capt Smales and SSI Rowley at Oakham, we received our opening address, handed in forms and eventually bedded down in the building for a bright and early 3am reveille for a 4am start!

After snuggling up on camp beds a clear and noticeable feeling of excitement began to grip everyone as, for some, this was both their first trip to Scotland and also the Royal Tattoo. For others although previously visiting the province the prospect of seeing this world renowned performance was simply bone tingling.

On the other hand even with all this excitement and euphoria, I shall not waver from the truth, the 3am start wasn't pleasant when it came! With all our admin squared away it was time to depart for what would seem like the longest minibus journey ever! Due to the length of the journey and the horrendous reveille time it was imperative that our drivers (SSI Rowley and Capt Smales) stay awake, alert and focused. So it fell to some 80's and 90's disco and rave music to take on the challenge; much to the sleepy seniors dismay!

After traveling for what seemed like an eternity we arrived at Durham services and we were kindly treated to a BIG breakfast. With sausage and bacon in our bellies washed down with mugs of tea it was time to head back to the bus and the road to Scotland.

Next stop was the Scottish border for a quick photo call and leg stretch. It was a strange thought that in 24 hours time we would be on the opposite side of the road heading back to the rural county of Rutland.

Upon reaching Edinburgh and parking up it was a short walk through the streets in Uniform, which we thought would be awkward but the "Edinburgh Fringe Festival" was well under way, so we had nothing to fear. After battling through the crowds of strange persons and weird people who were displaying their shows, we arrived at the castle in plenty of time for the one o'clock gun to be fired. It was here we met Sgt Shannon, he is employed to look after and fire the 105mm C118 light gun at 1 o'clock 6 days a week. A tradition that has occurred for many many years and was originally done to advise captains of ships what the time was. Most ports around the world did this to ensure they could navigate correctly. It is the same gun which is in operation in Afghanistan at present.

Once the impressive cannon had been fired we had a short Q&A session with Sgt "Shannon the cannon". We felt very special during all this time as we were in the special gun enclosure and surrounding this area were hundreds of tourists. With questions answered we were given some free time to explore the delights of the castle. Everything from crown jewels to windows of remembrance were looked at and even treats such as cream scones tasted! During this time we turned into minor celebrities, having our photos taken with many of the tourists. It's a strange feeling now - knowing we have our faces in photographs being shown to many people as part of something memorable in a persons holiday!

All done it was that strange follow my leader time through the packed royal mile and back to our youth hostel. Shower, rest then a very pleasant evening meal followed by shock at the TV news stories of what was occurring across London and other cities. It was soon time to make the walk back to the castle, with a different mass of crowds this time, all heading for an amazing evening.

The stadium in the castle car park easily plays host to around 9,000 people who have come from all around the world including Australia, America, Canada, Norway and Russia, to name just a few. The photographs here and the soon to be televised performance will never do justice to what the atmosphere is like and for what we were privileged to experience that night. There were performances from military units also from many places around the world. The displays were many and varied, including a band on bikes, the Highland dancers, the band of the Royal Marines; which were amazing, a show of force from the Royal Navy and how they deal with current day pirates.

The hour and half show seemed to pass so quickly, The Royal Military Tattoo soon ended with all performers on display with the National Anthem and lone piper forming part of last part of the show just before they all marched off the square and down the road.

On our way back to the YH we managed to stop off at a local chip shop where many had chips with curry sauce and Capt Smales having deep fried battered haggis and a deep fried battered mars bar! It was then a well earned and much awaited sleep time for a lay in on Wednesday morning, breakfast at 7am!

Wednesdays breakfast was a truly scottish affair but was rudely interrupted by the fire alarm going off as someone from a different group burnt the toast. It was then time to board the bus for the trip home, this time stopping off on the opposite side of the road for the English Border. It seemed Scotland did not want us to leave; Scotland was crying as we met the border.. well it was raining unlike when we arrived to brilliant sunshine!

Photos completed it was off to our next photo opportunity, The Angel of the North. With that done it was back on the bus and time to turn our thoughts to packing for our week at annual camp, only 3 days away, what a couple of weeks.

In conclusion the past 2 days have been a brilliant reward for working hard in the ACF. The cost, planning, execution of the treat was fantastic and it was a really nice to be part of a group of special seniors. I truly recommend every cadet works as hard as possible and they may be lucky enough to get chosen to be part of something amazing like this in the future.

Thank you Capt Smales and SSI Rowley.