Posted on 5th April, 2024

Malcolm Sperring-Toy, a successful businessman with a long career in the travel business,  joined the Board of Trustees in 2017. Amongst other things, in recent years, Malcolm undertook a great deal of the organisational responsibility for the annual Regimental Dinner and organised the accommodation arrangements for the Trustees visits to the S&WM(NS)ACF annual camp. Malcolm is pictured left with the guest speaker at the Friends Regimental Dinner 2024, Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam

 

Martin Dodd, a successful financial consultant, joined the Board of Trustees in 2019 and has provided sound financial advice throughout his tenure. Martin, pictured right, now spends more of his time pursuing his interest of sailing the high seas and on international travel.

The trustees are grateful for the support the Trust has received from both Martin and Malcolm and wish them both every success in the future. Both have indicated that they wish to continue to support the work of the Friends Trust albeit from afar.

 

Posted on 24th March, 2024

Thanks to the kind generosity of Mr Bobby Dhanjal of BDWM Wealth Management, the Friends have recently awarded the Friends of S&WM(NS)ACF Trust Company Cadet of the Year to four of our outstanding cadets, one from each of the Companies that make up the S&WM(NS)ACF.

The winners were chosen, from over 900 eligible ACF Cadets, by the Senior Officers against the following criteria:-

• Acts of exceptional good citizenship within the previous calendar year
• Significant contribution to the positive reputation of the S&WM(NS)ACF
• Overcoming of significant barriers to progression within the S&WM(NS)ACF
• Achieved exceptional progression within the S&WM(NS)ACF

The winners of these awards were announced at a recent event held at the ACF Headquarters at Beaconside, Stafford to which parents/guardians were invited to hear the citations for each being read out. The presentation were made by the S&WM(NS)ACF Commandant, Col Chris Edwards, and the Chair of the Friends Trust, Mr Graham Morley.

The winners of the Friends of S&WM(NS)ACF Trust Company Cadet of the Year Award 2024 are:-

• Company A – Cadet Liam Walker
• Company B – Cadet Cpl Eva Jacques
• Company C – Cadet SSgt Maddie Dennis
• Company D – Cadet Dean Mitchell-James

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each of these cadets received a cheque for £100 and each will be presented to the entire ACF troop at the forthcoming annual camp in August.

From these four outstanding cadets, a County Cadet of the Year was chosen as the cadet who has above all others met the above criteria and who is a leading example of all that being a S&WM(NS)ACF Cadet entails. The County Cadet of the year is announced at the Friends annual regimental dinner and the award presented by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Mr Ian Dudson.

The Friends of S&WM(NS)ACF Trust County Cadet of the Year 2024 is Cadet Staff Sergeant M Dennis, pictured left with the Commandant Col Edwards and the Chair of the Friends Trust, Mr G Morley, who receives a further £100 plus an iPad.

Posted on 9th February, 2024

The Trustees are delighted to announce the appointment of a new Trustee, Mrs Victoria Hawley. Victoria is from an army family, her father-in-law is the previous Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, and she is the current High Sheriff of Staffordshire.

She has a passion for cadet services across the county and, given her army family upbringing, a particular interest in the Army Cadet Force. Victoria has a wealth of experience in retail and education and sits on a number of Boards across the County.

Posted on 31st January, 2024

Trustees are delighted to announce that BDWM will once again be sponsoring the S&WM(NS)ACF Cadet of the Year Award.

This year, senior officers will identify a Company Cadet of the Year from the Detachments making up each of the four companies within the S&WM(NS)ACF. The criteria for the award includes:-

Acts of exceptional good citizenship within the previous calendar year

Significant contribution to the positive reputation of the S&WM(NS)ACF

Overcoming of significant barriers to progression within the S&WM(NS)ACF

Achieved exceptional progression within the S&WM(NS)ACF

Each of the four Company Cadets of the Year will receive a cash prize of £100 presented to them by the Commandant, The Chair of Trustees and a representative from BDWM. Each of the four recipients of the award will have their names added to a Company shield which will be presented at the ACF Annual Camp in the summer of 2024.

A County Cadet of the Year will be chosen from the four company award winners as the cadet who has excelled over and above all other serving cadets during 2023. The County Cadet of the Year will be presented with their award by the Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire at our annual Regimental Dinner in March 2024. In addition to a signed certificate the County Cadet of the Year will receive an additional £100 prize.

The Trustees are grateful to Mr Bobby Dhanjal from BDWM for his kind generosity and for his continued support of this prestigious award. BDWM provide a range of financial support services for individuals, families and businesses across the midlands, details of which can be found on their website at www.BDWM.co.uk.

Pictured is Cadet of the Year 2023, Cadet RSM Harnaam Singh , receiving his award from the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Mr Ian Dudson CBE KStJ.

 

Posted on 23rd December, 2023

The Trustees of the Friends of the Staffordshire and West Midlands (North Sector) Army Cadet Force Trust wish all of our Friends, Associates, Sponsors and Supporters a very merry Christmas and a peaceful, happy, safe and successful 2024.

Sincere thanks for all of your support throughout the past year and we look forward to meeting up with you all again this coming year.

Posted on 11th December, 2023

The Trustees are pleased to announce that the Annual Regimental Dinner 2023 will be held at Potters Club, Station Road, Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday 23rd March 2024.

The evening starts at 6:30pm with a drinks reception, sponsored by Ansons Solicitors, during which guests will be free to mingle and chat to Friends old and new before being called to dinner at 7:00pm. During the meal guests will enjoy a performance from the Staffordshire and West Midlands (North Sector) Army Cadet Force Drum Corps along with short presentations from local Cadets who described the positive impact that being in the Army Cadets has had on their lives.

Our after-dinner speaker this year featured regularly on our TV screens during the recent pandemic, Colonel Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE. Whilst we all appreciated his voice of reason through that difficult period, what is less well known is that he is a former Army Cadet Force Medical Officer, serving for 12 years and awarded an MBE for his design of medical response equipment for cadets taking part in arduous activities. JVT, as he is popularly known, was knighted in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to public health. He is Senior Strategy Adviser for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham and is Honorary Colonel for Medical Support within the national ACF as well as Honorary Colonel to 306 Hospital Support Regiment. He describes the ACF as a superb organisation, committed to happy, healthy, and active older children who can get a real taste of adventure, activity, challenge, self-discipline, self-reliance, leadership and camaraderie, in a safe and safeguarded environment.

Guests will be able to enjoy a multi-course meal, sponsored by Staffordshire University, expertly prepared and served by the professional team at the Potters Club, served with selected wines sponsored by Whitebridge Wines and finished off with a selection of cheeses with Taylors LBV Port, kindly sponsored in conjunction with long-established wine merchants Mentzendorff.

This annual event truly is a night not to be missed by those who enjoy something a little bit special. It also has the added benefit of making a positive contribution to the lives of the young people and adult volunteers in your local Army Cadet Force.

Thanks to the kind generosity of our sponsors, the cost of this special event is £85 per person. There has already been a high level of interest in this event so if you wish to attend, please click on this link to email chair@staffsacffriends.ac.uk as soon as possible indicating how many people wishing to attend. The Chair will then either send you a booking form with payment details or, if numbers exceed capacity, will advise you that you have been placed on a waiting list.

Posted on 23rd November, 2023

A short video showing the annual camp parade is now available within the ‘Gallery’ tab on this website. Alternatively the video can be accessed by clicking here.

 

Posted on 16th November, 2023

Lesley has enjoyed a career in administration and hospitality, working for many organisations including Burton Albion F.C., in addition to assisting her partner in various trustee roles across Burton upon Trent and Staffordshire.

 

Lesley Machine has decided to step down from being a trustee after 10 years loyal service. Lesley bought a wealth of experience to the Board of Trustees having had a long career in administration and hospitality, most recently in support of her partner, Ben, at Burton Albion football club.

The trustees are grateful for all the support the Trust has received from Lesley and wish her, and Ben who is a keen supporter of the Trust, every success in the future.

Posted on 12th November, 2023

The Staffordshire and West Midlands (North Sector) Army Cadet Force (S&WM(NS)ACF) were in attendance at the Wreath Laying Ceremony that took place on Remembrance Sunday, 12th November 2023 in the county town, Stafford. The Commandant, Col Edwards, laid the wreath on behalf of the S&WM(NS)ACF at the Borough cenotaph and Major Easterbrook laid the wreath at the County cenotaph.

Following the laying of the wreaths, the S&WM(NS)ACF Corps of Drums led the parade through the centreof Stafford, where the Vice Lord-Lieutenant took the salute. The parade also incorporated our Stafford Detachment, led by Major Easterbrook, who marched along with the units from the British Army, Royal Air Force and other civilian groups.

Posted on 4th November, 2023

Drum Major Pickering from Uttoxeter detachment of the Staffordshire & West Midlands (North Sector) Army Cadet Force went on a national camp to complete his 4-Star Music Army Cadet Sylabus. Part of the 4-star syllabus is the Drum Major/Staff Drill element. This is designed to take Drum Majors from a basic knowledge to some quite complex movements. At the end of this training, the cadets are tested with a drill sequence. DMaj Pickering scored the highest out of the cadre, closely followed by Corporal Horne, also from Uttoxeter, meaning that Staffordshire & West Midlands had two out of the five cadets in the Senior Drum Major competition.

For this competition, DMaj Pickering had to commit to memory a complex sequence and lead a corps of drums with precision whilst being judged against very strict criteria including the precise point he stopped the music and moved to the next tune! DMaj Pickering came first in this intense competition which means that he is now not only the County Drum Major but also the National Senior Drum Major, the most senior Drum Major in the whole of the Army Cadet Force. In this role, he will be leading a national corps of drums at national events. His knowledge and skill will also be called upon during the next music camp to help run and assist the Drill wing, where he will teach and coach the Drum Majors course.