Young Cadet to lay wreaths on Nelson's tomb tomorrow to mark the 200th anniversary of his death at the Battle of Trafalgar
On Friday 21 October Adebambo Salawu (18) from City of London Sea Cadets will join the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Alan West GCB DSC ADC, to lay wreaths at Nelson’s tomb in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral on the 200th anniversary of his death at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Adebambo has been specially selected to represent the Sea Cadet Corps at this short and moving ceremony which takes place every year at 11am on the anniversary of Admiral Lord Nelson’s death.
It has been an exciting year for Adebambo as he has had the honour of being both a Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet and the Lord Mayor’s Cadet. He has been in the Sea Cadets since he joined as a Junior at the age of 10, and now that he has reached 18 will become an adult instructor at City of London Unit on board HMS Belfast. He is studying carpentry and joinery at Lewisham College.
Adebambo said yesterday: “I feel very honoured to have been chosen to represent the Sea Cadets at such an important occasion. It has been an amazing year for me and I will never forget it.”
The Sea Cadets are playing a leading role in a number of events in London marking this year’s bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar. At 11am on Sunday 23 October HRH The Duke of York KCVO ADC, Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps, will inspect the organisation’s annual Trafalgar Day parade on Trafalgar Square. Six hundred Sea Cadets from all over the UK will be on parade. In honour of this year’s bicentenary, they will be joined by a Band of HM Royal Marines and platoons from both the Royal Navy and the Royal Naval Reserve. Thousands of spectators are expected to view the parade.
On the afternoon of Sunday 23 October Sea Cadets will be greeting members of the Royal Family and invited guests as they arrive at St Paul’s Cathedral for a national service of commemoration. That evening some 300 Sea Cadets will be playing a starring role in the Royal Navy’s spectacular finale to the year of Trafalgar Celebrations – The Spirit of Nelson – an exciting and dynamic show on Trafalgar Square that celebrates 200 years of British maritime endeavour.
In Portsmouth, on the evening of Friday 21 October they will be lining the naval dockyard when Her Majesty The Queen lights the national Trafalgar Weekend beacon alongside Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory.