REDDITCH-based 4th Worcestershire Cadet Regiment once produced a Major-General in the British Army, the ex-cadet regimental sergeant major Ted Willmott of Alvechurch.

When OC of Redditch Battery, then based at the TA Drill Hall in Church Road, I recall the then Lt E J Willmott, talking to my 60 cadets on careers in the Regular Army.

Ted Willmott joined the corps of Royal Engineers as a sapper, being selected for Sandhurst on completion of his training in the ranks, then attended the Royal Military Academy at the same time as the Duke of Kent.

Then came selection for the mechanical sciences tripos at Cambridge University, on gradation the Young Officer Training Course at the Royal School of Military Engineering, before posting to a field squadron as a troop commander.

The meteoric rise of this brilliant officer, as I recall, saw Ted become Director of Procurement, before retiring from the Regular Army.

In the same year as I retired from the Construction Industry Training Board, Major-General E J Willmott entered civilian life, by being appointed chief executive of CITB.

Former ACF unit commanders John Seale and Bert Satchwell may recall too, this success story. In the light of National Volunteer Week, such stories as the success of Major-General Mark Evans, Australian Army and that of Major-General Ted Willmott of the British Army might serve to encourage ex-service officers and NCOs to offer their experience, time and talents, in putting something back into society.The ACF needs such people.

TOM WAREING,

Redditch,

Worcestershire