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Adventure Training for 7-17 year olds
As a cadet back in the 1960’s with the Army
Cadet Force, John Mander has always felt he
owed a debt of gratitude to the cadet movement.
They helped him recover from a long childhood
illness, encouraged him to become physically
fit, and gave him confidence, skills and a
direction in life. He was taught good manners,
to be clean and tidy and to be self-reliant and
was taken camping, which was wonderful.
After John got married, he re-joined the ACF
as an adult instructor and later became an
officer and, after many years, retired from
the cadet movement - or so he thought... His
only reservation in all that time was there was
nothing for the younger children as most will
not accept anyone younger than 13 years.
When it was suggested a few years back
that Irthlingborough and surrounding villages
needed a cadet unit, John saw an opportunity
to fill the void, and the Ranger Cadets was
borne complete with a junior section for 7-12
year olds. Setting it all up was not easy, but
with the help of a wonderful youth organization
called Waterloo Performing Arts, they managed
to establish the first unit in October last year
at Crow Hill Community Centre – known as ‘A’
Squadron, and have plans for two more over
the next couple of years.
The Ranger Cadets encourage youngsters
to get away from technology for a while and
to get involved in adventure training type
activities right through from 7-17 years, and
to cater for rural locations as nearly all cadet
units are in town centres. They meet each
Thursday evening at Crow Hill Community
Centre, Irthlingborough, from 6.30-8.30pm
and the unit is run by volunteers - parents and
grandparents, fortunately already experienced
youth workers! Activities include, sailing,
bush-craft, camping, field cooking, navigation,
signals (radios), marching band - drums and
trumpets, plus sports and games.
The Ranger Cadets are now recruiting new
members and would like to hear from anyone
whose child may be interested. The Ranger
Cadets are more informal than most cadet
organizations and they also loan out uniforms
against a deposit; the weekly ‘subs’ are only
£2.50 per member.
The organization is totally independent and
not sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and
has no paid staff and raise all its own funds.
They are also keen to hear from anyone who
would like to help. Previous experience is not
necessary although a DBS is, which can be
arranged.
For further details, email John on
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or call him on 01933 412099.
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