Ten years since sea cadets decommissioned

It was 10 years ago last month that we celebrated the long history of firsts for the closed Welland Sea Cadet Corps with a parade and unofficial decommissioning ceremony.

The corps had officially been closed the month before that.

Sunday, Nov. 25, would have been the 100th anniversary of the corps’ charter date. The Welland corps was the only sea cadet corps in Canada that still had its charter. By virtue of this piece of parchment signed by the giants of Welland in 1918, including the likes of Louis Blake Duff, the Welland corps made claim to being the oldest sea cadet corps in Canada. This document along with many other bits of its history are in safe keeping with Welland Museum.

I would like to pay tribute to those who gave so much of their personal time to see that the corps stayed viable through those years.

For me and my time with Bellerophon these people included Ken Garner, Len Hamilton and Guy Auger. They, too, are all gone now.

I have vivid memories of cars stopping on Lincoln Street on the west side of the bridge to witness our Wednesday evening ceremonies in the late ’60s, then at the old Plymouth Cordage office by the hospital, and finally the old school on South Pelham Road.

I would also like to thank Welland Public Library for having agreed to act as guardians of the corps’ ship bell which hangs proudly off a pillar accompanied by a plaque dedicated to Capt. German, RCN, who gifted the bell to the corps. He was a legend, another historical figure born out of Welland, and another one gone.

Three people signed three copies of a document agreeing to the loan of, and safe keeping of this bell, the heart of the ship, until the day the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Bellerophon should be re-established in Welland.

The Navy League agreed to not name any other new corps with that of the Welland corps.

This was 10 years ago.

Time marches on. Inevitably things continue to change.

Alan O’Neill

Welland