Cadets celebrate VE Day aboard HMS Belfast

Having parade aboard a warship which played an important role in the war might be something most sea cadets can only dream of but for the City of London Sea Cadets it happens twice a week.

As the UK's largest maritime youth charity, they meet on HMS Belfast on Tuesdays and Fridays for activities, training and team building.

They will also be on board for what will be an especially poignant commemoration - the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Cadet Emily, 13, said: "The allied forces had been going through such stress for six years, imagine your kids were off in the war, you don't know if they are dead or alive, if they were coming home. It was just such a huge moment."

In 1943 Belfast saw action escorting Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union and also played an important role in the Battle of North Cape, assisting in the destruction of the German warship Scharnhorst.

In June 1944, the ship took part in Operation Overlord, to support the Normandy landings and evacuation, known as D-Day.

"There's so much history to this ship and it's really cool for us to be here," added Emily, who hasn't ruled out joining the armed forces in the future, once she has been to university.

HMS Belfast is permanently moored on the River Thames and is run as a museum ship by the Imperial War Museum.

The cadets are divided into different detachments and Emily is part of the Royal Marine corps.

"I tried Scouts and it didn't really click, and some people from my school were in the Army Cadets and I tried that and I liked it but I wanted to see what else there was.

"I found the Royal Marine Cadets and I thought it was just better."

For 15-year-old Luis, who has been a cadet for four years, it gives them an edge.

"It's something to brag about with other units.

"If any of them start an argument with us we just say 'we're on a boat, you're not'," he smiles.

Alex, 11, has only recently joined the team, but is already making friends and learning new skills, like racing the model boats his group is making.

"You get to do things like boating, community funding, and you get to learn orders," he said.

Sub Lieutenant Ben Macdonald is the Commanding Officer for the City of London Sea Cadets.

"It's really nice to be aboard HMS Belfast, it makes teaching nautical subjects so much easier," he said.

"Being a warship that served so proudly in World War II with the Royal Navy is really important too."

Clare Luther's grandfather Dennis Roach was in the Navy during the war, and took part in the allied invasion of Sicily in 1943.

She brought some of his photos to show the cadets ahead of VE Day.

He rarely spoke of his time in the war and Clare only found the album after he had died.

"It's about making them understand what VE day is, what it stands for.

"When you give it a personal spin they understand it a lot more, you know, how would they feel if that was their grandparent or dad.

"It is a very valid and important history lesson."

For 15-year-old Sam, VE Day is about justice prevailing.

"I think it is one of the prominent examples of standing up to bullies really," he explained.

"I think it is proof that when a bully comes, you have to stand up to them."