In August 2021, representatives from all four companies within the 1st (Northern Ireland) Battalion Army Cadet Force came together to raise hundreds of pounds for Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) in memory of Jimmy Mayberry, a former Cadet Administer Assistant within the Battalion, who died of meningitis in February 2018.
Before losing his life to meningitis and septicaemia, Jimmy Mayberry was a dedicated and enthusiastic member of the Cadet Force. He found a passion for canoeing and kayaking as a Cadet and, when he became an instructor, passed on that passion to hundreds of other Cadets. Jimmy’s long-held ambition was to get his fellow adult instructors out on to the water, which was sadly never realised due to his tragic death in February 2018. A charity paddle is now held annually in his memory.
Army Cadet Force Instructors and friends before taking to the water at Portglenone Marina
The third annual “Mayberry Memorial Paddle” took place in August 2021, after being postponed in 2020. Ten adults and one dog took part in an 8.5-mile paddle along Portglenone Marina to Movangher Canal.
Amanda Steede Roxborough, who organised the event, said: “It was a great chance to meet and catch up with everyone, some of whom have not seen each other since last year’s lockdown, so there was a constant sound of chatter as the group enjoyed the picturesque views… Once they reached the Movanagher Campsite, stories were exchanged around the campfire and the evening was finished off by a toast to a much-missed colleague.”
The “Mayberry Memorial Paddle” group have now raised over £570 in Jimmy’s memory, and plan to continue their annual paddle as long as possible. Meningitis Research Foundations is very grateful for their support as we continue our work defeating meningitis, in memory of Jimmy and all other lives lost to this terrible disease.
The group would like to thank “all the adult volunteers who helped to organise and take part, the 1st (Northern Ireland) Battalion Army Cadet Force and Ballymena Sea Cadets for the loan of canoes and equipment, and also Waterways Ireland for the use of the campsite”.
The late Jimmy Mayberry.