Show Success at Royal Cornwall Show 2023

This year, Cornwall Army Cadets set out to produce a professional, engaging and fun filled display at the Royal Cornwall Show to publicize and inform the general public about the Army Cadets (ACF) in Cornwall and further afield.

Our aim was to promote the wide ranging scope we have to offer young people in the county, but especially focus on the fun they can have while doing it.

This year we brought back our popular observation trail where children were asked to look out for a cadet’s lost equipment before taking part in our new paintball target range which proved very popular with the visitors!

Our paintball range was visited by local radio personalities Neil and Saffy from PirateFM as part of their Challenge feature. Saffy won hands down 120 to 65! This gave us much wanted publicity as their time was recorded and played on Friday morning while people were on their way to the show. Many visitors commented on this and looked for us specifically.

Cadet Lance Corporal Crouchman, from Launceston detachment, dressed in our gilly suit and took part in the PirateFM mascot dance off which was great fun. He did very well in the heat and came third amongst experienced mascots from RNLI, Air ambulance and more.

We had a good number of cadets from across the county that were excused from School to help out on the stand. This really made our display stand out, because it was obvious that they enjoyed being members of the Army Cadets. Taking part in these activities helps complete their Cadet Engagement elements of the Army Cadet syllabus. The skills they develop at these events help build an active sense of citizenship, through practical opportunities which address issues of concern by taking different forms of responsible action. The Cadet Experience is unique, challenging, demanding and life enhancing.

Our involvement in the Army Stand at the Royal Cornwall Show is an important part of keeping the ACF in the public's eye (KAPE). We know there are many young people in the community who would gain so much from joining the ACF, but they don’t, because they don’t know we exist and a great number of parents are also oblivious to our existence.

We would like to thank all the cadets and their parents that attended the stand, the other adult volunteers and support staff that put it all together and of course everyone that visited us.

We have had a record number of applicants already!

We are open for 12–18 year-olds to join as cadets and have detachments all over Cornwall.

But it’s not just the Cadets that have a great time. The benefits of volunteering as an adult volunteer with the Army Cadets are varied from learning new skills, meeting people, taking on challenges and gaining valuable experience. You do not need a military background and we will provide all the training you require. If you want to find out more or if you’re ready to volunteer, register your interest to volunteer and we will arrange for you to come in and meet us and find out more.

Go to armycadets.com where you can register interest in joining us or contact us through our Facebook page at facebook.com/CornwallArmyCadets to find out more.