On 30 June 2024, The Lord Mayor and City Water Bailiff were delighted to be accompanied by cadets and boats from London Area Sea Cadets on their cruise up the Thames to London Stone at Staines-upon-Thames. The stone marks the point up to where, for over 400 years, the City of London used to control the River.
The three earliest surviving stones are thought to date from early in the 18th century and were originally placed at Staines, Southend on Sea and Upnor and were frequently visited by early Lord Mayors to reinforce the city’s jurisdiction over the river. This year’s The Lord Mayor of London’s river trip to the stone was a revival of a centuries old tradition – the last time the Lord Mayor visited the stone was in 1973! And who better to accompany him than a flotilla of craft from the leading nautical youth organisation in London, the sea cadets?
Also in June, we were delighted to congratulate London volunteer PO Miles Hayward, to whom the Lord Mayor had granted the Freedom of the City of London. At a ceremony at Guildhall Miles read the Declaration of a Freeman loud and clear before the Clerk and Beadle and signed the Freeman’s Declaration Book and received his beautifully inscribed parchment document and a copy of the Rules for the Conduct of Life which date back to the Middle Ages. Miles was nominated by The Rt. Hon. The Lord Lingfield, KT DL, for his work for several charities during his time as a cadet.
Sea Cadets in London were also delighted to take part in the Lord Mayor’s Show once again, providing 200 cadets and adult volunteers from across the region representing Sea Cadets, Royal Marines Cadets and Junior Sea Cadets in a co-ordinated display of music, marching and lining the route at St Paul’s Cathedral. The band have already been mentioned in a previous article, but the superb organisational skills of the adults who looked after the numbers of cadets taking part are to be wondered at. The parade saw London Sea Cadets supported and accompanied by one of their key sponsors, the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants.
The history of the parade is well documented, and sea cadets in London have been taking part for almost 100 years. For not quite so long, they have also been providing a uniformed adult to act as Aide de Camp to the Lord Mayor (the latest incumbent being Sub Lt (SCC) Tony Peers RNR) and for the last 16 years a Lord Mayor’s Cadet, chosen from the ship’s company at City of London Sea Cadet Unit, who parade aboard HMS Belfast. Our current Lord Mayor’s Cadet is Leading Cadet Samara Dado, who took up the role on the day of the Lord Mayor’s Show!
Sea cadets were also seen on the parade in support of a number of other floats and contingents from sponsoring liveries, as well as the YOU London group.
