City cadets prepare for VE Day on board HMS Belfast

Admin

May 5, 2025
4 min read

City cadets prepare for VE Day on board HMS Belfast

City of London Sea Cadets are doing something twice a week that most young people will never experience once in their lives: training on board a wartime Royal Navy ship permanently moored in the heart of the capital. Based on HMS Belfast, the historic cruiser on the River Thames, this youth unit meets every Tuesday and Friday to take part in boating, navigation, parade drills, and even some spirited model boat racing – all while standing on the very decks that saw action during D-Day.

The group is now preparing for a particularly meaningful moment – the 80th anniversary of VE Day. And for cadets like 13-year-old Emily, the history feels close. “The Allied forces had been going through such stress for six years,” she said. “Imagine your kids were off in the war, and you didn’t know if they were dead or alive. It was just such a huge moment.” Emily is part of the Royal Marines detachment within the unit and is already thinking ahead to a possible career in the armed forces, though she plans to go to university first.

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HMS Belfast herself is a fitting setting for such reflection. In 1943, she played a key role in escorting Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union and was part of the group that sank the German warship Scharnhorst in the Battle of North Cape. A year later, she supported the D-Day landings in Normandy, providing naval gunfire for Allied troops storming the beaches. Today, the ship is operated as a museum by the Imperial War Museum, offering visitors and cadets alike a tangible link to the realities of the Second World War.

That sense of connection to the past is something the adult volunteers hope to bring to life. Sub Lieutenant Ben Macdonald, who leads the City of London Sea Cadets, says the ship itself is one of the best tools for learning. “It makes teaching nautical subjects so much easier,” he said. “Being a warship that served so proudly in World War II with the Royal Navy is really important too.”

Clare Luther recently brought a photo album once owned by her grandfather, Dennis Roach, to show the cadets. Dennis served in the Navy during the invasion of Sicily in 1943, but rarely spoke about his time at war. Clare only discovered the photographs after he died. “It’s about making them understand what VE Day is, what it stands for,” she explained. “When you give it a personal spin they understand it a lot more. How would they feel if that was their grandparent or dad?”

Cadets are clearly absorbing that message. Fifteen-year-old Sam sees VE Day as more than a moment of history. “It’s one of the prominent examples of standing up to bullies,” he said. “It’s proof that when a bully comes, you have to stand up to them.”

For others, like 15-year-old Luis, the ship itself is part of the pride. “It’s something to brag about with other units,” he said with a grin. “If any of them start an argument with us we just say ‘we’re on a boat, you’re not’.”

As the cadets prepare to mark VE Day on board this remarkable vessel, their perspective blends training, camaraderie, and living history. From racing model boats to reflecting on wartime sacrifice, their time aboard HMS Belfast is shaping how they see the world and their place in it.

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[Original Article Credit: BBC]