Celebrating 75 years of cadet home
CURRENT and previous cadets and supporters of Porthcawl Sea Cadets reunited to celebrate 75 years of TS St David.
Visitors, many of whom were cadets from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, brought pictures of their time in the unit and looked back with great fondness on their time there.
Current cadets heard inspirational success stories of how being part of Porthcawl Sea Cadets as youngsters prepared them to succeed in all walks of life: running their own businesses, enjoying successful careers in the Royal Navy; with some achieving senior officer ranks.
Ex-cadets from Porthcawl have also gone on to join the Coastguard and RNLI, with two of those RNLI station commanders at the reunion.
Some ex-cadets who moved away from the area have maintained involvement with Sea Cadets through their local units elsewhere in the country.
The evening function, held in the Hi-Tide Inn, was attended by more than one hundred people, some of whom had trav- elled great distances to attend.
Rachel Keepins, PO at Porthcawl Sea Cadets, said: “The reunion was a fabulous success and it was so nice to see so many people who had a history with the unit, shared stories and had formed friendships that were still there after decades.
“We would particularly like to thank Fran and Geoff at Hi-Tide Inn for hosting the evening and providing a wonderful buffet, and to those who gave up their time to help with promotional videos and sourcing pictures, which really showed the deep history of the unit and its cadets.
“The support from the community is always fantastic and we hope to see you all, and more, at future events in our new transitional unit as we strive towards our more permanent home in the Maritime Centre.”
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched by Porthcawl Sea Cadets to help raise funds for equipment needed for their new home in the Maritime Centre. Visit chuffed. org/project/porthcawlsea-cadets-a-move-tosecure-their-future