Unit 448, formed 1949–50
Mersea Island Sea Cadet Corps 448 was formed in late 1949 or early 1950. Its headquarters were in the temporary H.O.R.S.A. school buildings in Barfield Road. Cadets used classrooms there for instruction and assembled at the school for parades.
Weekly training
Training took place on Tuesday and Friday evenings. Tuesdays included seamanship, ropework and classroom lessons. Fridays were uniformed parade nights, giving the unit a regular routine in the post-war years.
A local cadet band
Harry Burgess formed the Sea Cadet band in 1950. He had previously served among West Mersea's early volunteer firefighters.
The 1956 British Legion rally
On 27 May 1956 Mersea Sea Cadets marched in the Barfield Road parade for the Royal British Legion county rally. The event was held in the school grounds and is documented in photographs showing the cadets and other participants. Other images of the rally identify Arthur Mills carrying a banner and Horace Whiting behind him in the procession.
Contemporary records
Mersea Island Sea Cadet Corps 448 — early unit history ↗
Photograph: Sea Cadets at the 27 May 1956 British Legion rally ↗