Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force

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Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force
Activebefore November 1974 [1] –present
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
TypeRegistered Volunteer Youth Organisation
RoleTo provide pre-training and experience of life in the British Army
Size County
Part of Headquarters North
County HQ Manchester
Website Greater Manchester ACF
Insignia
Army Cadet Force Badge New Army Cadet Force Logo.png

The Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force (GMACF) is the county cadet force for Greater Manchester, which forms part of the wider Army Cadet Force, a youth organisation in the United Kingdom that offers learning and experiences around a military training theme. It is home to between 1400-1750 cadets and 200-230 adult volunteers in 45-47 detachments. [2] [3]

Contents

History

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". [4]

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. [4]

The first mention of the modern Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force appears in the 19th November 1974 edition of the London Gazette. [1]

Organisation

The organisation of the Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force is as follows in 2021: [5]

DetachmentLocationAreaPostcodeCompanyAffiliated Regiment[ citation needed ]
Radcliffe ACFKnowles Street, Radcliffe M26 4DR1 Minden FUSILIERS
Crumpsall ACF2A Middleton Road, Crumpsall M8 5DS1 Minden FUSILIERS
Belle Vue ACFBelle Vue St Belle Vue M12 5PW RA
Levenshulme ACFOsbourne Road Levenshulme M19 2DT3 Somme LANCS
Rusholme ACFNorman Road Rusholme M14 5LH3 Somme R SIGNALS
Rochdale ACFNorman Road Rochdale OL11 4HS1 Minden FUSILIERS
Heywood ACFBamford Road, Heywood OL10 4TF1 Minden FUSILIERS
Middleton ACFAshton Lane Wince Brook M24 1BN1 Minden FUSILIERS
Bury ACFCastle Street, Bury BL9 0LB1 Minden FUSILIERS
GMACF Corps of DrumsCastle Street, Bury BL9 0LB All All
Ramsbottom ACFSpenleach Lane Hawkshaw BL8 4JJ1 Minden FUSILIERS
Oldham ACFRifle Street Oldham OL1 3DN2 Kohima RTR
Stalybridge ACFOff 107 Wakefield Rod Stalybridge SK15 1AD2 Kohima MERCIAN
Manchester AcademyMoss Lane East Manchester M14 4PX1 Minden AGC (SPS)
Hyde ACF29 Commercial Street Hyde SK14 2JD3 Somme MERCIAN
Royton ACFHillside Avenue Royton OL2 6RE2 Kohima REME
Stockport ACFGreek St Stockport SK3 8AB3 Somme MERCIAN
Cheadle Hulme ACFOak St Cheadle Hulme SK8 5DR3 Somme MERCIAN
Bredbury ACFGoyt Valley Rd Bredbury SK6 2JU3 Somme MERCIAN
Reddish ACFReddish Rd Reddish SK5 7JG3 Somme MERCIAN
Sale ACFWalton Rd Sale M33 4DR4 Korea MERCIAN
Flixton ACFPennybridge Ln Flixton M41 5DX4 Korea RLC
Streford ACFKings Road (207 Field Hospital) Stretford M16 7RS4 Korea FUSILIERS
Salford ACFHaldane Rd Salford M50 2TR4 Korea RLC
Clifton ACFManchester Rd Clifton M27 6TA4 Korea REME
Collyhurst ACF Manchester Communication Academy Harpurhey M40 8NT1 Minden FUSILIERS
Tyldesley ACFFactory St Tyldesley M29 2GQ5 Anzio KRH
Wigan GREN GDSCanal Street Wigan WN6 7NQ5 Anzio GREN GDS
Wigan QOYCanal Street Wigan WN6 7NQ5 Anzio QOY
Hindley ACFLord Street Hindley WN2 3EW5 Anzio KRH
Leigh ACFLeigh Rd Leigh WN7 1QY5 Anzio KRH
Failsworth ACFOldham Rd Failsworth M35 0BH2 Kohima RE
Bolton LANCSNelson St Bolton BL3 2AH5 Anzio LANCS
Bolton RANelson St Bolton BL3 2AH5 Anzio RA
Eccles ACFHampden Grove Patricroft M30 0QU4 Korea RLC
Chadderton ACFNewman RC College Oldham OL9 9QY4 Korea RAMC
GMACF County HQSpenleach Lane Hawkshaw BL8 4JJ All All
Broughton ACFGordon St Broughton M7 1RZ GREN GDS

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.

The ACF can be compared to their counterparts in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (USA), Hong Kong Adventure Corps, and Canadian Army Cadets, amongst others.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "No. 46403". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 November 1974. p. 11383.
  2. "Greater Manchester ACF | Army Cadet Force". Armycadets.com. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  3. "What is the Army Cadet Force? | The Official GMACF Blog". Armycadetsgreatermanchester.wordpress.com. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  4. 1 2 Westlake 1984, pp. 1–3
  5. "GMACF Locations".

53°38′22″N2°21′33″W / 53.6395°N 2.3591°W / 53.6395; -2.3591