Page 66 - Bugle Autumn 2024

SOUTH WEST
YOUTH SERVICES FESTIVAL CUP
The latest Army v Navy Rugby Match started in the best way possible for Bristol ACF thanks to the tournament between
US Portsmouth, Devonport Services and Wessex Warriors. Under the watchful eyes of 59,000 spectators, the Wessex Warriors, which included nine Bristol Army Cadets, played in the final of the Youth Services Festival Cup at half time. in the recent Army v Navy Rugby Match. Bristol ACF also had three senior cadets hosting the VIPs and one from Bristol ACF coaching the squad! The VIPs included senior military staff, celebrities, and Chelsea Pensioners. The final score was WW 15 - 20 USPRFC.
DEVONSHIRE & DORSET REGIMENT
The past six months has been a busy period with funeral representation at all levels.
The Regimental Reunion was successful, allowing all members to meet up with comrades far and wide, enjoy their company and reminisce. The Drumhead Service was more poignant this year with 49 names of comrades being read out
in front of Exeter Cathedral with a short service of Remembrance. The Reunion is a chance for the Regiment to remember those who have been lost in conflict.
The annual ‘H’ Jones Walk was enjoyed by up to 20 friends, ten walking up to Rippon Tor to pay their respects at the DandD letterbox and back at base camp the ladies provided an excellent BBQ on their return.
The D-Day 80th Anniversary was supported by three standard bearers who met the Mayor of Asnelles before
travelling to the Normandy beaches for services of
Remembrance.
On 8th June we supported 47 Cdo Royal Marines’ 12 mile yomp from Ladram Bay to Beer in East Devon.
The D-Day 80th anniversary Devon
and Dorsets Regimental Battlefield trip took place at the end of June in Normandy and memorials visited included: Ver-sur-Mer at Gold beach (where 231
Bde landed), Asnelles, Arromanches and Bayeux Longues sur Mer (gun battery which was the Devon’s objective on D-Day. Additionally, Port-en-Bessin (47 Commando’s D Day objective) where the invasion fuel line (PLUTO) came ashore, Juno and Sword beaches, Pegasus Bridge, Renville (our first engagement), Hill 112 following the actions of 4th and 5th Dorsets – via Chateau Fontaine, and Maltot for the 5th Dorsets and 43rd Wessex Bdge Memorials including Cornwall Wood.
On Armed Forces Day in Exeter, RAF Brize Norton gained their Freedom on the City of Exeter. Our standard bearers and veterans proudly marched behind.
66 RIFLES The Bugle
‘Incredible’ Achievement for Bristol Rifles Cadets
From among 300 UK applicants for just 20 places, two Rifles-badged Army Cadet Force (ACF) Cadet Serjeants from Brislington Detachment in Bristol have been selected for Ex OAK LEAF, a prestigious annual Army Cadet exchange with the Royal Canadian Army Cadets (RCAC).
OAK LEAF ‘attracts the very best Cadets,’ according to Maj Andy Emery ACF, Lead Escort for this year’s exchange. He noted that two Cadets from the same ACF county, let alone the same sub-unit, being accorded this honour is ‘rare,’ but acknowledged that Cdt Sjts A’s and O’s selection performance was ‘pretty incredible.’
OAK LEAF itself will be run from Rocky Mountain CTC.
Its centrepiece will be a 12-day expedition. The cadets will prepare for this via a 4-day practice expedition, advanced
first aid training, and briefings on how to deal with cougars, rattlesnakes, wolves, large cervids and bears, which will include a bear-spray weapon handling test. On the main expedition, they will canoe, hike, mountain bike, abseil, rock climb, and perform a community service project. Lastly, they will visit the picturesque mountain resort town of Banff, Alberta. Lt Dan MacCannell, Assistant County Media Officer, City and County of Bristol Army Cadet Force
Cdt Sjts A and O of BACF Ex OAKLEAF CHALLENGE