Sea Cadets Marines of unit TSJaguar

1852 - A Clergyman, who had returned from the Crimea War was so concerned at the number of single parent and orphaned boys which resulting from the loss of so many solders and and sailors , that he established an orphanage in Whitstable enlisting the help of sailors who had also returned from the Crimea.

1856 - A number of similar orphanages, Whitby, Brixham, Deptford and many more, had been set-up around the country with the same purpose in mind. An organisation called the Naval Lad's Brigade was formed and by the turn of the century had spread to other towns around the country.

1899 - Her Majesty Queen Victoria graciously presented a £10 note to the Windsor unit for the purchase of uniforms. From 1999 the anniversary of this event (25^thJune) has been declared the Birthday of the Sea Cadets

1910 - The Navy League, a pressure group formed in 1895 with the aim of influencing maritime thinking in parliament and reminding their country of its naval history and its dependence on the sea, decided to sponsor a small number of these independent Units as the Navy League Boys' Naval Brigade.

1914 - The Navy League applied to the Admiralty for recognition of its 34 brigades.

1919 - This was granted subject to an annual efficiency inspection by an Officer on the staff of the Admiral Commanding Reserves, the title Navy League Sea Cadet Corps was adopted

1939 - At the start of the 2nd World War, nearly 100 Units had been formed with some 10,000 boy cadets.

1942 - The Navy League's schemes for training Sea Cadets as Telegraphists and Signalmen for service in the wartime Navy caught the Admiralty's imagination. The Admiral Commanding Reserves took over the scheme which became known as the "Bounty Boys' Scheme2, each Unit received a "bounty" for every boy it trained for service in the Royal Navy

HM King George VI became the Admiral of the Corps, Officers were appointed in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) and the Corps were renamed the Sea Cadet Corps. As a result of Towns and Cities around the country sponsoring the build and adoption of war ships, the Corps expanded to nearly 400 Units with some 50,000 Cadets. Many Units had adopted the name of the ship that the Town or City had sponsored, as they were formed, they were given a number, originally in alphabetical order "1 Aberdare to 381 York" thereafter as they became affiliated to the Navy League rising to 430 Units by the end of the war.

It was 1942 that the Girls' Naval Training Corps was formed as part of the National Association of Training Corps for Girls, (NATGC) with Units mainly in southern England.

1947 - Co-sponsorship of the Sea Cadet Corps by the Navy League and the Admiralty was embodied in an agreement known as the Sea Cadet Charter. The Admiralty undertook support of 22,000 Cadets, to supply uniform, boats, training facilities, travel expenses and limited pay for RNVR appointed adult staff.

1950 - The Girls' Naval Training Corps were now 50 Units strong and in the late 1950's changed their name to the Girls Nautical Training Corps (GNTC).

1963 - The Sea Cadet Council agreed to sponsor the GNTC and it became affiliated to the Sea Cadet Corps, in many cases sharing premises with local Units.

1964 - The Marine Cadet Section had increased its strength from 5 detachments to 40 detachments.

1976 - The Navy League was renamed the Sea Cadet Association since support of the Sea Cadet and Girls' Nautical Training Corps and the Marine Cadet Sections had now become its sole purpose. The demise of the Admiral Commanding Reserves, saw the responsibility of the Corps pass to the Commander in Chief Naval Home Commanding (CINCNAVHOME) in Portsmouth, the Sea Cadet Charter was revised and was replaced by the Memorandum of Agreement.

1980 - On 31^st March, the Ministry of Defence (Navy) approved the admission of girls into the Sea Cadet Corps within the overall ceiling of numbers (22,000). The Girls' Nautical Training Corps ceased to exist as a separate body and its Units were admitted to the Sea Cadet Corps to form Girls' Nautical Training Contingents. The number of Units originally approved was 120, raised to 150.

1986 - All limits on the number of Contingents was removed by the MoD(N) and replaced by a limit of 35% of girls in the Corps overall.

1992 - Over 300 Units contained girls. The successful integration of the boy and girl cadets and their adult leaders over the previous eleven years led to the logical steps of discontinuing the separate Girls' Nautical Training Contingents from the 1^stJanuary. Sea Cadets, male and female, now became entitled to identical training; adult Sea Cadet staff, male and female, became entitled to the same opportunities, insignia, rank nomenclature and pay.

In its Golden Jubilee year under this title the Sea Cadet Corps numbered some 400 Units once more with rising total membership of around 16,000. Sea Cadet Headquarters retained a supervisory role over 3 Units in the Bermuda and 1 in Malta. This year saw the formal introduction of Junior Sea Cadets age from 10 to 11 years of age into the Sea Cadet Corps, however, the MoD(N) do not formally recognise them and the Junior Sections are excluded MoD(N) sponsorship. Funding therefore becomes a Unit Management Committee responsibility.

1994 - The International Sea Cadet Association was formed to encourage international exchanges, to foster the ethos world-wide and to stimulate the formation of new Corps. Founder member were: United Kingdom, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, South Africa, Sweden and the United States of America.

1995 - The Sea Cadet Association was re-constituted as a Company as well as a National Charity.

1997 - The Second Sea Lord approved the change of title of the Captain of the Sea Cadet Corps to Commodore Sea Cadet Corps, to bring the Sea Cadet Corps into line with the Army Cadet Force (ACF) and Air Training Corps (ATC).

High Wycombe Sea and Royal Marine Cadets