The Mayor and Mayoress of Solihull, Councillor Ken Meeson and Mrs Annette Meeson, attended the Warwickshire District Trafalgar Day Parade in Solihull Town Centre, which included a presentation to the new Mayor’s Sea Cadet.
At this year’s event, Shirley and other District Sea Cadets, together with Royal Marine, Army and Air Force Cadets mustered outside the Solihull Royal British Legion HQ before parading through the town, led by the Shirley Pipe Band. The parade halted on the High Street, where they were inspected by the Mayor, Mayoress and Deputy Lieutenant of Warwickshire, Les Ratcliffe, followed by a service of commemoration at St. Alphege Church.
After the service there was a march back through the town with the salute taken as they passed through Mell Square. Altogether, over 200 people took part in the parade and church service.
Later in the day, Rebecca Kane (15) was announced as the Mayor of Solihull’s inaugural Sea Cadet. This follows the recent investiture of the Mayor’s new Sea Scout, Jessica Whitehill. Rebecca was presented with a badge and certificate and will accompany the Mayor at official events over the forthcoming year.
The Mayor of Solihull said:
“It was a privilege to attend this year’s Trafalgar Day celebrations and to witness the impressive display of pipers and cadets on parade. Members of the public, many of whom just so happened to be in the town centre, were likewise excited by the day’s pageantry.
“I was delighted as well to announce Rebecca as the Mayor’s Sea Cadet, the very first in the Council’s history. Though Shirley is not by the sea, the Sea Cadets there are trained in incredible skills and have the most wonderful life experiences. The Shirley Unit was recently awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service so it is fitting that we should appoint one of its members as Mayor’s Cadet.
“Alongside my recently appointed Sea Scout, I look forward to Rebecca joining me at events over my Mayoral year. It is a great pleasure to be working with young people in the borough who are a part of such fantastic community groups.”