Royal Navy CCF Ampthill Field Day

Last Thursday as part of their Field Day activity, the whole RN Section of the Habs CCF hiked through the Bedfordshire countryside, in the dark, to Ampthill Country Park and camped overnight. Following some interesting cuisine cooked on their trangias and a chilly night in their tents, the junior cadets took part in a series of leadership tasks organised by the L6 on the Friday.  The cadets had been preparing for this event for several weeks, developing their navigation and route planning skills, preparing themselves for the conditions and learning to cook using the equipment provided. The U6 SNCOs and L6 Senior cadets, led by Jamie Slagel, Etienne Dean and Puru Thambiayah, also undertook a recce of the routes back in January on a particularly snowy weekend to ensure they were in a position to guide and mentor the younger cadets when hiking.

The spirit of the cadets was excellent throughout the expedition and I can only commend the boys on their enthusiasm and commitment to making this a worthwhile and enjoyable event for all. The teamwork visible throughout the event was a delight to see and the encouragement they gave each other was second to none. The Navy Section continues to thrive, no matter what the activity.

My thanks go to the staff who assisted me with the trip; Lt Cdr Hardman, SLt Gauntlett, Mr Holmes, Mr Redfern, Mr Cooper and Mrs Ghioc. Their willingness to camp in March is greatly appreciated and their generosity of time and ability to pitch in was brilliant. It is not possible to run events such as this without staff support and this team were fabulous to work with. I would also like to thank Mr Lunn for joining us on the Friday to take some excellent photos of the event and helping us to pack up.