Page 110 - Mercian Eagle 2012

108
Lordswood ccF
Lordswood CCF Corps Of Drums Tour To Boston
The Corps of Drums spent the majority of the academic year 2011/12, working up to a week long tour to the United States in June 2012. A huge amount of preparation went into the visit, including grant funding applications to purchase tunics, helmets, and drummer’s cords. The cadets themselves prepared and fund raised by performing at a number of prestigious events including:
• Birmingham University Royal Naval Unit Christmas Dinner Night
• Birmingham University Officer Training Corps Spring Ball
• West Midlands Reserve Forces and Cadets Association AGM
• The Honourable Artillery Company Open Evening
• The Mercian Regiment
Officers’ Dinner Night
In the end two officers and seven cadets
flew out from Heathrow on 15th June landing at Logan Airport shortly before lunch where they were met by cadets from our partner school, East Boston High School. Ten minutes later they were at school mixing with the American cadets and eating pizza!
The next two nights were spent at
the Constitution Inn in Charlestown
whilst exploring Boston and taking part
in ceremonial events. The highlight of Saturday was a visit to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, where curator, Lt Chuck Fazio, opened the museum especially for the party. Sunday saw the Cadets in their ceremonial uniform taking part in a parade to mark the anniversary
of the Battle of Bunker Hill. After a church service they marched to the memorial, playing immediately behind the US colour parties. Also present was Dr Phil Budden,
the British Consul for New England, who laid a Royal Marines wreath on behalf of the Contingents RM section. The group then went straight to the USS Constitution where they jumped the queue of tourists and were piped on board!
After packing and checking out of the Inn, Lt Col Jerry Wellman, CO of East Boston High School JROTC, drove the cadets and staff out to his house for a BBQ and time in the pool and hot tub! That evening, they finally made it to their home for the rest of the week, Fort Devens,
which was hosting the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Army League JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge Camp. Cadets from 20 schools spend five days conducting a mixture of adventurous training, leadership development tasks and battlefield tours. This year they also spent a day in a mock- up of the type of Forward Operating Base used in Afghanistan. Cadets from all the schools, including Lordswood, were mixed up into companies and platoons, so were forced to mix and make new friends.
Drum Major Theo Belnavis did not join in the usual rotation of activities; instead he went out to the Old North Bridge battlefield site where he would drum the visiting cadets across the bridge every day. Our cadets took the opportunity to lay a Mercian Regiment wreath on the graves of British Soldiers killed at the scene.
On the evening of 19th June the drummers met up with the Middlesex County Volunteers, an American corps of drums that have performed all over the world, including at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. This gave them the chance to share ideas and look at differences in instruments and technique.
All involved had a great time and our American hosts were excellent as usual.
The visit was only possible through the support of the following to whom we are extremely grateful: Ulysses Trust; CCFA; WM RFCA; Mercian Regiment Charity; CCF RN
THE MERCIAN EAGLE