Sea Cadets celebrate £40,000 shower and toilet block
LOUGHBOROUGH Sea Cadets held the official opening of their new £40,000 cadet shower and toilet block this week, replacing the old facilities which were damaged in the devastating fire, due to an arson attack, back in 2011.
At that time specific fund-raising, named Phoenix Rising, was set up to replace buildings and items lost to the fire, this continues today.
In 2011 donations from the public flooded in, allowing the unit to purchase pods to replace the original building fairly quickly and although many of the cadets were not at the unit when the fire happened they, the staff and the committee have never stopped working for the ‘Phoenix Rising’ fund-raising. The block was opened by district officer Lt. Cdr, David Nichol, who cut a ribbon in the unit colours watched by the ship’s company and parents.
Lt Cdr Nichol, in a short speech, said that he had “visited many units but Loughborough had truly risen like a phoenix from the ashes”.
He went on to praise the sense of family at the unit and the dedication and hard work of everyone at the unit, a sentiment echoed by
chairperson Mrs Sarina Martin.
One cadet who was at the unit when the fire occurred was Leading Cadet Harrison, who joined aged 10 years and the night of the opening was her last night at the unit as she turned 18.
Officer in charge Lt Kay Adey said that Leading Cadet Harrison would be much
missed as she had been a tower of strength within the unit, a big sister to younger cadets, a helper to staff and a dedicated person who portrayed the very essence of what cadets stood for and were all about.
The rebuilding of the unit would be a testament to her as she had put a great deal into raising funds towards it.