The North West Reserve Forces and Cadets Association
Welcome to our web site. We hope that it will answer any questions that you may have about the Reserve Forces in the North West of England. If you are interested in joining us as a member of the Reserve Forces, please visit your nearest unit, the location of which can be found by clicking on the North West Map button. This opens an interactive map to take you to the locations of all the Reserve Forces centres in your particular County. Alternatively, please click on the “I would like to know more” button and you will be able to e-mail us directly especially if you know which unit you are interested in.
THE VOLUNTEER RESERVE FORCES (VRF) One third if the armed forces of the UK come from the ranks of the Volunteer Forces. Some 46,000 men and women serve in the Royal Navy Reserve (RNR), the Royal Marines Reserve (RMR), the Territorial Army (TA) and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF). (Please note: There are currently no RAuxAF units in the North West). As a “Volunteer” within the Royal Navy or the Army, you will become an active paid part-time member of the armed forces of the UK! The Reserve Forces and Cadets Association for the North West of England and the Isle of Man (NW RFCA) is the second largest Association in the UK covering Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside , Cheshire and the Isle of Man. There is one Royal Naval Headquarters, which includes HMS EAGLET and RMR Merseyside, and there are some 41 TA Centres, although none in the Isle of Man. In total there are 3700 TA soldiers and some 470 Royal Naval and Royal Marines Reservists currently serving in the North West. Use the links below to view their respective Website
Why do people join the Reserve Forces ?
Men and Women who join the Reserve Forces do so because they are looking for something different from their daily work and private lives. Life in the Reserve, in whatever unit you choose to join, teaches you new skills and presents you with new challenges were you can put them to good use. The majority of units train one evening a week, every other weekend and spend two weeks on annual training , some of which might be abroad. The reservist’s commitment will vary but usually 6-8 weekends and the 2 weeks “camp” is the norm.
CADETS NW RFCA also has within its boundaries 168 Army Cadet Force (ACF) Detachments, 59 Sea Cadet Corps (SCC) Detachments and 91 Air Training Corps (ATC) units. In addition, there are 19 Combined Cadet Force (CCF) contingents based at schools throughout the region. In total almost 15,000 cadets, led by nearly 3000 Adult Instructors, take part in military training, adventurous training, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and various community projects.
This site contains links to third party Websites where relevant, but the Army accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link exists and listing should not be taken as an endorsement of any kind.
