Page 22 - Real Rochdale Issue 13 Spring 2022

Lieutenant commander
lawrence scholes
ommander Lieutenant Scholes, 81, of
Milnrow, was named the Man of Rochdale
winner at the annual Springhill Hospice
Cmen’s luncheon.
Known for his involvement with registered charity
Sea Cadets, Lawrence has helped raise in excess of
£300,000 to keep the Rochdale group running.
Starting with the group himself at just 12-years-old,
Lawrence progressed through the ranks to become a
commanding officer (CO), treasurer and more
recently Rochdale Sea Cadets Life President.
For the past 68 years he has been giving up two
nights a week - and most weekends - to help
children across the borough, with more than 4,000
youngsters passing through his unit.
Katie Davies spoke to Mr Scholes about his win and
his involvement with the local cadets.
How did you become involved with Rochdale
Sea Cadets?
I joined in 1953 just as a cadet. I really enjoyed it; it
did me a power of good. I could never understand
why other youngsters didn’t join because I got to do
things that I would never, ever have got to do.
When I was 14, we went down to HMS Osprey [an
anti-submarine training establishment] at
Weymouth and went out to sea in a submarine and
on the hydroplanes.
Later on that year, down at Portland, we went up in
helicopters. It was brilliant.
I signed on with the British and Continental
Steamship Company when I was 15 and worked my
‘passage’ from Liverpool to Rotterdam and
Amsterdam over 18 days. Another lad and I from the
unit worked on the ship in the mornings.
When you’re 18 you either left cadets or stayed
on and became an instructor, so I stayed and
MAN OF
progressed over the years to eventually become
CO in 1978.
I particularly enjoyed adventure training, so I went
and got my mountain leader certificate and in doing
so, changed position and took charge of all
adventure training in the North West. I did that for
about 15 years before retiring in 2000.
Keeping the unit afloat takes around £10,000
every year, how have you raised this?
After retirement I eventually joined the
management committee whose responsibility is,
in a nutshell, to raise funds to keep cadets open.
I spent most my life then applying for grants and
trying to get people to give us money - some you win
some you lose.
A single teddy bear stall or jumble sale could raise as
much as £300-£400. We’d also arrange bucket
collections in places like Middleton Shopping
Centre or the Arndale Centre in Manchester, or
instead of flower donations at funerals people might
say ‘donations to Sea Cadets’.
You’d be surprised how much has been raised just
through little things over a long period of time.
People were always sympathetic to the cause, which
was nice. Goodwill is the lifeline.
We received a Covid grant too of £10,000, which
came in handy as we’d just spent money that we
didn’t have on making sure all new rules and
regulations were met like having certain fire doors.
What are your favourite memories from Cadets?
There are so many. I was talking to a man who said,
‘you’ve got to enjoy it because you couldn’t have
done it for so many years if you didn’t’, and that’s very
true. If I was to write a book about things that have
happened, or if you were to see it on television, you
would say ‘that’s going too far!’
ROCHDALE
n 1955, we went on the British Continental
working our passage and we sailed from
Liverpool. As soon as we got out of Liverpool
IBay we turned, and I was sick.
When we went to shore in Holland, we had to go in
our Navy uniform - bear in mind this was just ten
years after the war, and we were big 15-year-old
lads - so we finished up not paying for anything.
When we got on the bus they wouldn’t take our
money, and we went in a café, and somebody had
bought the meal for us. All because we were in
uniform. That happened two or three times.
Technically we weren’t old enough to drink but we
went to a bar one night and didn’t buy a single
drink either.
We went camping at Millcroft many times,
organising assault courses with different training You learn teamwork, respect, loyalty, commitment,
exercises like commando crawl. It’s something the self-discipline.
kids really used to love. They let us use the land for
free. Millcroft Tea Rooms is still there. At Rochdale you can also gain qualifications that you
can take with you once you leave.
Why should young people join?
How do you feel to be named Man of Rochdale?
A cadet could join when they were 13 and it wouldn’t
be to everyone’s liking; some would leave after a cou- I had no idea that I was in mind for it.
ple of months, but some would stay until they’re 18.
An awful lot of my life has been involved with
What is good there, from my perspective, is to see cadets, and I don’t regret one minute of it.
how they’ve changed to be the best version of
themselves, with self-confidence and drive. Cadets It’s very nice to have recognition.
puts you in charge, which all helps later.
Behind every good man is a very good woman, and
I think making some good friends was the reason my wife Margaret has supported me in everything
I stuck with it for so long. that I have done over the years. If Margaret hadn’t
had been backing me up, there’s no way I could have
You can do virtually anything from cooking to done it. I owe it all to her.
engineering, sailing and outdoor adventures,
providing you’ve got the staff. Rochdale Sea Cadets meet at Training Ship
Frobisher (named after HMS Frobisher, adopted by
The evenings consist of the theoretical side; you’ll do Rochdale) on Greenbank Road, Rochdale, OL12 0EN
rope work, Morse Code, arms drill, something like every Tuesday and Friday evening, 8.30pm - 9.30pm,
that. At the side of the unit, we have a firing range so plus some weekends. A junior group is available for ages
you can even do shooting. 9-12, or you can join Sea Cadets from 13-years-old.