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Sea Cadets from London, Kent and Essex had an amazing opportunity to tour casualty ship RFA Argus at the start of Seafarers Awareness Week (24-30 June), the annual campaign coordinated by maritime charity Seafarers UK.

One-hundred young people and volunteers from Sea Cadets units in Beckenham and Penge, Bexley and Lewisham, Orpington, Southwark, Sutton, Chelmsford, Maldon and District and Thurrock visited the vessel moored at Greenwich on Monday 26 June.

Argus is the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s ‘Primary Casualty Receiving Ship’ and those on board enjoyed a tour of all areas of the ship, including the bridge, flight deck and armoury, as well as learning about her role in delivering cutting-edge medical treatment while afloat.

The outing was one of a number of events promoted by Seafarers UK to mark Seafarers Awareness Week, which aims to raise public awareness of the UK’s ongoing dependence on seafarers and the contribution they make to the UK as an island nation. The week’s two themes this year are ‘Maritime Jobs at Sea and Ashore’ and ‘Sea Ports for Prosperity’.

Marine Society and Sea Cadets are another year older after celebrating their respective birthdays.

On Sunday 25 June, Sea Cadets celebrated its 161st anniversary, while Marine Society marked its 261st.

Marine Society was the world's first charity dedicated to seafarers, and dates back to 1756 when Britain was on the brink of war with Europe. Boys from poor backgrounds were recruited and given naval training so they were equipped to fight on the King's ships, and by the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, a significant proportion of manpower for the Navy was being supplied, trained and equipped with Marine Society boys. Today, Marine Society offers tailored learning programmes that support the learning and professional development of seafarers at all levels.

Sea Cadets, meanwhile, is committed to helping young people find confidence and self-belief through water-based and land-based adventure, offering nationally-recognised qualifications and exciting opportunities, such as offshore voyages.

Founded in 1856, the charity dates back to the Crimean War when sailors returning home from the campaign formed Naval Lads’ Brigades to help orphans who ended up on the back streets of sea ports. By 1899, Sea Cadets received royal recognition when Queen Victoria presented the Windsor unit with £10 for uniforms, and in 1919 the Admiralty officially recognised the 34 brigades and changed the name to the Navy League Sea Cadet Corps.

Nowadays, the charity has 400 units - run entirely by volunteers - across the UK and 14,000 cadets, while our royal association continues with the Queen as our, and Marine Society's, patron.

Today (23 June) is International Women in Engineering Day, which focuses on the amazing careers in engineering for girls, and also celebrates the achievements of our outstanding women engineers.

Sea Cadets offers all young people the chance to explore this sector. We offer qualifications to boost CVs and have also been bringing STEM to schools and units through our Marine Engineering Pathway (MEP) pods.

Sea Cadets' MEP project is a joint venture with Seafarers UK to raise awareness of marine engineering, helping to inspire young people to consider a career in STEM and to ensure greater access to mobile engineering training. The MEP pod is a mobile workshop trailer, which contains engineering equipment including a working and cutaway engine.

Taster workshops are offered in schools, and units can also book the pods, with volunteers delivering the sessions to cadets, allowing them to achieve an Intermediate Engineering Specialisation qualification. Inside the pod, cadets and students can get hands-on with cutaway diesel engines, mechanical components and experience a workstation with a full suite of tool kits including electrical and soldering equipment, giving them a real insight into a career in engineering.

The project, which was piloted in South West Area and has now rolled out to London, will reach other areas in the UK, with all six Sea Cadets areas covered by the end of 2018. The project is next scheduled to roll out in Northern Area in September 2017. To find out more, visit: http://sea-cadets.org/engineering

Cadet Molly from Colchester saved the life of a girl who was choking, using the first aid skills she learnt at Sea Cadets.

Molly, 15, cleared the girl’s airway, performed CPR and called an ambulance, before placing her in the recovery position during the incident on Saturday 17 June.

These skills – which Molly learnt at Colchester Sea Cadets – were praised by paramedics, who said her actions could have saved the girl’s life.

Cadet Molly said: “One of the girls ran over to me and said, ‘You’re a sea cadet, can you help, someone is unconscious’. When I went over, she was choking, she had a pulse, but I couldn’t hear anything.

“I didn’t really panic at the time, I just wanted to make sure she was OK. Everyone was really upset, but I just tried to keep calm."

The girl was taken to hospital and has now made a recovery. Molly added: “She’s OK now, she bought me a present and said, ‘Thank you so much, I will never forget what you did’.”

Molly’s mum, Maxiene, said: “I am so proud of her. I don’t know how she did it and kept so calm.”