Princess Anne opens new Thames-side home for Sunbury and Walton Sea Cadets

Princess Anne has officially opened the new headquarters for Sunbury and Walton Sea Cadets, closing a 13-year effort to give the unit a permanent home.

The building stands beside the River Thames. That position is practical. It puts cadets directly on the water they train on.

The Princess toured the headquarters and unveiled a commemorative plaque marking the official opening, Royal Central reported on 5 October 2026.

She came in two formal roles. She is Patron of the Marine Society & Sea Cadets, the charity that oversees the movement, and Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps, the honorary head of its uniformed youth branch. A patron lends public support. An admiral in this context is a ceremonial title. Neither runs daily training. Both signal responsibility at the top.

The opening followed a familiar royal pattern. Walk the rooms. Meet cadets, volunteers and supporters. Unveil the plaque. The plaque is the instrument. It records the name, the date and the authority for the opening in metal.

For Sunbury and Walton, that formality caps a long haul. Thirteen years covers a lot of committee meetings, plans redrawn and money raised in small sums. Many community youth groups know that cycle. A permanent base ends the search for borrowed rooms and temporary storage for boats and kit.

The river does the rest. A Thames-side headquarters means crews can step from parade to pontoon. No coach hire to reach the water. No wasted evening light in transit. For a youth organisation built around boating, that is gold dust.

At Sunbury and Walton, the programme spans sailing, rowing and paddlesports alongside seamanship, navigation and marine engineering. In plain English, that means learning to sail and row, to paddle kayaks and canoes, to handle lines and tides, to read a chart, and to understand engines and boat systems. It is hands-on. It is wet. Teenagers love it.

Guy Holloway, chief executive of the Marine Society & Sea Cadets, described the opening as a landmark moment for the unit. Holloway leads the charity that supports local units with training, safety standards and fundraising help.

What makes this stand out is staying power. Volunteers kept the unit going for 13 years without a home of its own. Now new entrants aged 9 to 17 have somewhere to belong.

Across the country, Sea Cadets supports more than 14,000 young people through more than 400 units. Each unit is locally run. Each mixes water training with teamwork, discipline and first aid. Sunbury and Walton now has a riverside base to do all of that from.

Thirteen years. One plaque. A boathouse door that opens onto the Thames.