Sea cadets anniversary call

A sea cadets’ club in Dudley which is still going strong after 65 years is appealing for former members to come forward to mark its anniversary.

Dudley Sea Cadets is trying to trace veterans of the group so the club can arrange a celebratory gathering in its landmark year. The corps, which is based in the TS Centaur in Tipton Road, was set up in a bakery in 1943 before moving to the premises which it uses today. The group is still popular, with around 30 members who take part in sail training, marching and shooting.

Current chairman Keith Sabin, aged 52, of East Street, Quarry Bank, has been involved with the cadets for six years and he said he was proud the group had lasted so long.

He said: “All the members would just like to let people know we are still here.

“I think 65 years is a good whack and we have still got about 30 kids on the books. At one time there used to be 70 or 80 a week but times change that’s not a bad number. A lot of people come in and say: ‘I used to be in the Sea Cadets’, but they don’t leave their details.

“We are just appealing for people who have been involved in the past to get in touch so we can mark our anniversary properly at some point this year.”

The group survived a funding crisis seven years ago after launching a campaign to raise £30,000 to stop it going under.

The TS Centaur premises which the cadets use were falling into disrepair and the money was needed to fund a refurbishment.

And the corps was given a boost two years ago when it received 10 computer screens from a Walsall-based charity after appealing for help in the Express & Star.

Volunteer Community Recycling (VCR) handed over the recycled machines in 2006. Anyone who wants to respond to the appeal should contact Keith Sabin on 07981 934469.