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Hi David ,of course you'll get a reply as the cadets are still going strong. Bulwell drill hall seems to have quite a unit and I buy my Poppy from one of them every November while having a quick trip down 'memory lane' telling of my time as the company PTI at the Bakersfield (Jesse Boot) unit. Even before your time as this was back in 1943 until Nat. Service in 1946 and Yes what I learned was a big help although the 'drill' was considerably polished up, well it was the Royal Marines!

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Had a spell at the Bakersfield detachment in about 1983/84. We always seemed to be in the shadow of the Carlton detachment who had all the facilities of the drill hall. Enjoyed my time though and had some excellent officers. I felt really grown up after spending years in the Boys Brigade and Scouts. Nothing wrong with either of those 2 organisations but cadets was more serious and you were treated a bit more as an adult. Great days

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Perhaps some of you may know more about this. Back in the late 50's early 60's the Army Cadets used to sometimes train in Balloon Woods up Trowell Road at weekends.They had WW2 vintage Lee Enfields and fired off a lot of blank ammunition, we used to scurry about afterwards trying to find the shell cases. I recall that some of these exercises involved the local Scout Group, presumably Wollaton Troop, who acted as 'The Enemy', to be hunted down. Once we used our very considerable local knowledge of the hiding places in the woods to ambush both sides and get away with it, to the annoyance of the NCO instructors. Was anybody on here involved in any of this.

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I WAS walking the Pennine way"a few years ago,and some TA Blokes were training up there,i was walking towards one who was laid with his back to me pointing his gun down a valley,he didnt hear me approach,GOOD MORNING"said i,he jumped up and shouted" YOU TW..T, frightened me to death"

we both then had a good laugh,but it left me a bit concerned that little old me had scared the "sh..t out of the British army.

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  • 2 weeks later...

In answer to your post firbeck,I was in the Beeston detachment of the Sherwood Foresters.

We did some training at Balloon woods,but the 'enemy' were the local 'Air cadets'.

Those 303 shell casings you picked up cost us a small fine for not turning them in,at the end of the day, smoke grenades were used on occasions.

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are thats why we kept finding empty shell on the playground mudgi

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