The Cleveland Army Cadet Force (Cleveland ACF) is the county cadet force[a] for Cleveland that operates as part of the Army Cadet Force. Although the county of Cleveland was disestablished in 1996, the unit still maintains the name and recruits from its former area, which is now part of the North Riding of Yorkshire and Durham.
History
Background
In 1863, along with the formation of the Volunteer Force, the first government sanctioned cadet groups were allowed to be formed. These groups would mostly be formed in connection with existing volunteer companies and battalions. Following the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 which organised the former Volunteer Force into a coherent organisation, known as the Territorial Force (TF), the cadets were expanded. Each company consisted of no less than 30 cadets, and four of these companies formed a "Cadet Battalion", the predecessors to the modern "Cadet County".[2]
Unlike their modern successors, the first cadet battalions were administered by their local County Territorial Force Associations, and rarely ever came under an "army command". However, following changes to the organisation of the Cadets, in 1923 all cadet forces were taken under complete control of the County Associations.[2]
The first mention of the 'Cleveland Army Cadet Force' appears in a supplement to the London Gazette dated 22 October 1974 with the first appointment of an officer.[3]
As of December 2021, each Army Cadet Force county reports to their local brigade deputy commander, or in the case of independent regional headquarters the commander. However, for administrative duties each cadet county reports to Commander Cadets, who is a senior 1* Brigadier part of Headquarters, Regional Command.[5][6][7]
Organisation
Each Army Cadet Force 'county' is in-fact a battalion, and each 'detachment' equivalent to that of a platoon.[5] The Cleveland ACF[a] is currently divided into three companies, with multiple detachments spread throughout the Cleveland area:[8][9]
In July 2018, more than 70 personnel from the Cleveland ACF went to Northern Ireland for a chance to win the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, but eight had to be evacuated after being isolated and exposed to the elements. The army later issued a formal apology and stated 'we failed cadets left stranded on mountains'.[19]
ACF Mission
The Army Cadet Force is a national, voluntary, uniformed youth organisation. It is sponsored by the British Army but not part of it and neither the cadets nor the adult volunteer leaders are subject to military call-up. They offer a broad range of challenging adventurous and educational activities, some of them on a military theme. Their aim is to inspire young people to achieve success in life and develop in them the qualities of a good citizen.
^"No. 58345". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 5 June 2007. p. 8040.
^"No. 59519". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 17 August 2010. p. 15856.
^ ab"No. 16608". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 5 September 2017. p. 60612.
^"No. 61360". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 22 September 2015. p. 17623.
^"No. 63091". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 25 August 2020. p. 14348.
References
Westlake, Ray A. (1984). A Register of Territorial Force Cadet Units: 1910 – 1922. Wembley, Middlesex, United Kingdom: Sherwood Press. ISBN978-0950853024. OCLC60073924.