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Marazion Armed Forces Weekend 2010
I felt that it would be difficult to explain to you all in one or two paragraphs, the event that we have arranged. I felt that as I had written the following six pages, to put our case to the Ministry of Defence for grant aid, then perhaps it would serve to inform you.
Camping is available to all over the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. If any of you wish to extend this for a holiday then we can arrange that for you with the land owner. There is a Dinner Dance on the Saturday evening with the band of the Light Cavalry. Dinner will be a hog roast table meal. There are limited tickets at £20 per person. Available from our treasurer Sharon Minihane. sharonminihane@fsmail.net on a first come, first served basis. Non-members of the CMVT & SWBG will be asked to pay £1.00 as temporary membership of the SWBG. Please email Sharon for full details.
Marazion has been chosen as it is the main tourist area and gives us a substantial captive audience. We would expect several thousands of visitors and local public.
The concept of our planning is to thank local military units and the wider Armed Forces, for the help given to West of Cornwall. Beyond the local area we recognise a great deal of valuable work carried out by 771 Squadron Air Sea Rescue based on the Lizard peninsular at RNAS Culdrose. This RN base also, without reservation, has flown mercy missions with road traffic accidents and the like. Over this Christmas flying in freezing conditions to airlift out of a secluded area some 50 elderly local people when their coach crashed, regrettably killing two. Vehicles were unable to access the accident due to ice on roads. Help with air displays for the Poppy Appeal and much more.There is so much owed to Culdrose that we really could not list it in this application.
The Royal Airforce based at RAF St Mawgan has likewise been at the forefront with their help. Not in as dramatic a way as RNAS Culdrose, but equally there whenever they are asked, and have boosted the local economy in no small way.
The T.A. in Cornwall are seen everywhere at local events. Giving manpower to set up shows. Tentage to help at events. Always being asked, “can you” and never saying "No!" They are much more in the back ground but as said always there. The massive Royal Cornwall show has to thank many sections of the Armed Forces for putting on displays and help etc. The Honourable Artillery Company, the different Regimental Para displays, the list could go on and on.
The three Cadet Forces always seen at events with collecting tins, rubbish cleaning, directing traffic, always given the short straw but never complaining.
Hospitals!!! The public rarely, realises, that there are a very great number of Regular Forces Doctors, Nurses, Technicians treating them in hospital and in the main far more careingly and far more professionally than their NHS counterparts. A vast amount of pioneering medicine and treatments developed on the battle fields of Iraq and Afghanistan are saving civilian lives now on the home front. Not to be forgotten the NHS staff who serve in the TA and support the Middle East conflicts. Again, these individuals stand head and shoulders above the rest. The public have little knowledge of these people.
The Naval deployments against drug barons at sea trying to limit the drug damage to our people. Helping with natural disasters around the Globe. It’s not always shown in the press, the public learns little and a lot can be educated at events such as Armed Forces Events.
All of the forgoing, and not as yet mentioned are the men and women committed to duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Little thought given to the wider picture of those who suffer injury, loss of their family members, the maimed, the disabled, the mentally damage. The family left in married quarters, praying that dad or mum will return home safe.
Education should be a factor in Armed Forces Day and not just a “thank you to the Armed Forces”.
We cannot leave out the charities such as those listed below are directly linked to the Greater Armed Forces Family and likewise the public need to know how these fit in the picture and the very different briefs they have to assist the Armed Forces people and their families past and present.
ABF
RAFBF
RN Seamens UK
Help For Heroes
SSAFA
There will be low key collecting for these charities.
With the correct education the public can be of great help if they understand the way these charities work. For instance, “I have a neighbour, her husbands away and she is in a terrible state over money. She will not go to her husbands Regiment for help.” How often have I heard these type of stories in my time working for the RBL as a caseworker.
You can NOT say “thank you” for something you know nothing about. Our event is being planned by the South West Battle Group together with the Cornwall Military Vehicle Trust at the masthead but with input from local Councils and Chamber of Trades, plus local groups.
South West Battle Group and Living History.
Cornwall branch of the Military Vehicle Trust.
Marazion Town Council
Penzance Town Council
St Just Town Council
St Ives Town Council
Helston Town Council
Cambourne Town Council
Hayle Town Council
Marazion Chamber of Commerce
Penzance Chamber of Commerce
This list is not comprehensive at the moment. Some are assisting with finance. Marazion and Penzance have request to fully dress their individual towns, with street entertainment included. These two requests have come from respective Chambers of trade.
Our event is to cover three days, being the 3rd, 4th and 5th of July 2010. We have been given consent by Marazion Town Council to use the Folly Field on the beach front. This field gives us one acre of grass, on which we will mount a parade of Military vehicles, veterans, local Council dignitaries, Cadets, Military Associations, Bands, standards etc. This parade will move through the town at around 10.30hrs, on the first day, arriving Folly Field around 11.00hrs. Around the field will be a number of exhibits to enable the public to fully understand the different rolls of the Armed Forces. The Army Air Dispatch Squadron is “in principle” hoping to have a full display in the field to explain the deeper aspects of moving troops and cargo around the world (Requested by Colonel Alistair Adams). We also have a civil air Charter company flying passengers around St Michael’s Mount and Mounts Bay. On the Sunday as flying to the Scilly Isles is banned, their Sikorsky helicopters will display. The RNLI will display just off the beach. Within the Battle group we have a contingent of Falklands Defence Force who will display with RM’s, the liberation of Port Stanley. A number of displays will continue in the field throughout the day to keep the public and holiday makers' interest.
Running alongside Folly Field, we have rented a five acre field which will accommodate a Military camping field with vehicles, weapons and memorabilia from 1939 to the present day. There will be a NAAFI large marquee in which we will serve lunch and tea’s to visiting service men and women being invited as guests to the weekend events. These individuals are being invited from RNAS Culdrose with a request (already submitted) to the PRO Officer, for him to give our invite to all known families who have a family member on active service or on draft. These service personnel and families will be provided with lunch and tea on both days as a thank you for supporting their service members. We will be extending this invite as far as possible to local service personnel.
We have also been in touch with the Forces Children’s Trust and have learnt of their operations. As a result we will be doing our best to organise a week’s holiday for two or three service families, one week holidays in Marazion.
We also expect to have a large number of service people who are with us as bandsmen & women, RM’s and others. These people will be cared for by way of feeding them etc. We are running a band concert and Dinner in the Marazion Recreation centre. This will raise funding to enable us to invite around fifty service people at our cost to the Dinner evening. This will include feeding the Band of the Light Cavalry who have agreed to entertain us over the weekend. We will be laying on a number of concerts around the area, including an ENSA concert. A large number of privately owned surplus Army large tents are being hired to ensure undercover shelter for the majority of our entertainers, etc.
We have a great many civilian clubs and group who wish to join in with entertainment and to support our visiting service members.
The Camping field will also have a couple of acres set aside for our group to carry out battle re-enactments. These events will be fully realistic with blank ammunition and pyrotechnics. These battles, we use to collect for all military oriented charities. The cost of ammunition and pyrotechnics are extremely high and we ask local companies to sponsor us.
Local children from a professional singing training group are to street sing around the event site on both days. The group goes by the name of Sine Nomine and are from Camborne area.
The Sunday will continue in the same way but with a full drumhead service with three service padre’s and the local (Marazion) ministers.
It is hoped that we will be able to request an aircraft from the vintage flight at Yeovilton by paying.
There has been a delay with our RN member contacting Cdr Tom Herman, to which I am addressing the issue at the moment. We are hoping to ask the RN for 771 Sqdn to fly over the event. Together with other requests.
An approach has been made to 29 Cdo RA at the Citadel Plymouth By Brigadier Anderson, for a display. This has been “in principle” accepted dependant on deployments etc.
We have a local pilot who flies, advertising banners, who also does Poppy drops for us. He will do so over both days and will probably tow an RNVR banner which he has, provided the local RNVR agree to their banner being flown.
With the Marazion area being small roads and limited parking, we will be running a park and ride scheme.
Not as yet booked but contact has been made with the Red Devils to carry out a wet jump for us into the sea along the beach. We are unable to offer dry land DZ as needed due to shortage of space and obstructions. This will give a higher cost for their equipment cleaning.
Contacts, with request for sponsors, is still ongoing and more groups are wishing to be involved, together with more active participation.
We have been contacted by the Services Recruiting branches to join in the event.
I think for the time being I will use the above information to back out application for MOD funding and realise that it will need to be constantly reviewed over the next few months as others request to join in.
Michael J Sculthorp-Wright
Chairman South West Battle Group & living history.
Higher Ninnis Farm,
Newmill,
Penzance,
TR20 8XS
01736365336.
 
Battle Field Bottom of Camping Field
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