Page 152 - Bugle Autumn 2014

Durham ACF
Durham Army Cadet completed challenge in memory of Army Officer
Cadet Corporal Christy Hunter,
a Rifles cadet from Stanley Detachment, Durham ACF, won a Matthew Bacon Bursary, one of only two in the whole of the UK offered annually to Army Cadets. The Bursary was set up in memory of a British Army Officer who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2005. Major Matthew Bacon was in the Intelligence Corps and formerly a cadet in Surrey ACF. He was very keen on adventure training and it formed an important part of his life. With the help of the Outward Bound Trust, Mr and Mrs Bacon set up a Bursary in their son’s name, as a means of celebrating his life.
Cpl Hunter, who is now 17, chose to participate in the 22-day long ‘Ultimate Adventure’ Course in the Scottish Highlands in July. This is the most challenging of the courses offered by the Outward Bound Trust.
In a nutshell, it is a three-week camping expedition across the Scottish Highlands with young people from around the world. She sailed for two days, reached the summit of the north face of Ben Nevis, walked with great difficulty in very boggy conditions for four days through Glen Gour, climbed five Monros, sea kayaked for three days (where she saw lots of baby seals and accrued a lot of blisters on her hands!), was eaten by the infamous Scottish midge, and participated
in other adventure sports along
the way such as rock climbing, scrambling and gorge walking and undertook a 24 hour solo (24 hours completely alone without phones, books etc – only thoughts). The adventure culminated in the gold Duke of Edinburgh qualifying expedition.
Cpl Christy was certainly challenged during her adventure. She said “she was very proud to represent the whole of the ACF and take part in activities I knew I would love, in memory of someone as brave as Major Matthew Bacon. The ‘Ultimate Adventure’ was the best three weeks of my life – I learnt a lot about myself and other people and know I am a better person for it’.
Durham ACF winners of the Imperial Challenge Shield at the Bisley “V” Club Long Range Match.
Front row (L-R) Cadets CSjt Mark Hedley, RSM Taylor Mason, Sjt Thomas Booth and Cpl Yves Hughes. Back Row (L-R) Lt Richard Stebbings and SI Anthony Stead
Durham Army Cadets win the Imperial Challenge Shield
The 2014 Bisley “V” Club Schools and Cadets Long Range Match for individuals and teams, which was first held in 2000, took place on the afternoon of 3 July
on Stickledown Ranges at the National Shooting Centre, Bisley, Surrey, in sunny conditions with a
challenging wind.
yards, this magnifies any errors made by the firer significantly. Furthermore, at these distances the effect of wind is enormous and on the day of the competition the wind was extremely testing. Competition was fierce but Durham’s teams remained
The match is fired
at two distances and
comprises of teams
of four cadets plus
an adult coach and
plotter. Each cadet
fired a maximum of 3
sighting shots and 10
to count at 900 yards and 2 sighting shots and 10 to count at 1000 yards. The match is shot using the Cadet Target Rifle. The competition comprised of teams from the Army Cadet Force, Air Training Corps and the Combined Cadet Force.
The competition is extremely challenging because, being shot at 900 yards and 1000
...at these distances the effect of wind is enormous and on the day of the competition the wind was extremely testing
focussed.
Durham ACF entered
two teams. The ‘A’ team took first place and were presented with The Imperial Challenge Shield and gold “V” club medals. CSjt Hedley was placed third in the individual
competition and was awarded a Bisley “V” Club bronze medal. The whole team are cap-badged Rifles. Durham ‘B’ team were placed an honourable seventh, which is a great achievement.
It is the second time a team from Durham ACF has won this spectacular shield.
150 CADETS
THE RIFLES