Lt Cdr Mark Janner-Burgess joined the Sea Cadet Corps as a cadet in 1989, rising to the rank of Petty Officer Cadet. In 1995, he became an adult volunteer in the rank of Petty Officer and was promoted to Sub Lieutenant in 2001—making him, at age 23, one of the youngest Sea Cadet officers at the time.

As a Sub-Lieutenant and on subsequent promotion to Lieutenant, Mark held the role of First Lt at Norwich Unit (first on the blue lightship and then on board the grey ex-Swedish gunboat moored on the River Wensum opposite Norwich Railway Station).

In 2008, Mark became the Commanding Officer of Norwich Unit. During his time in command he was instrumental in creating a Royal Marines Cadet Detachment and establishing Norwich Unit as a Royal Yachting Association Training Centre for sailing and powerboating. In 2012, Mark was proud to lead Norwich Unit into its 100th year, hosting a Royal Visit to the unit.

In 2009, Mark received a “Second Sea Lord Commendation” from the Royal Navy for his work to implement the Westminster Management Information System into the Sea Cadets as Area Staff Officer (Information Technology). This earned him the nickname “Mr Westminster” from the then Captain of the Sea Cadet Corps.

In 2013 Mark acted as escort officer to six cadets attending a two-week International Exchange trip to Australia. In 2015, after seven years as Commanding Officer, he was promoted to the position of District Officer for Suffolk and Norfolk (now South East District), where he took his command experience to help and support Sea Cadet Units in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

In his civilian career, Mark is an IT consultant with a background in messaging systems and unified communications using Microsoft Teams. Mark is a member of the British Computer Society as a
Chartered IT Professional. He is also a parent governor of his local primary school, where he implemented Microsoft 365, a key part of the COVID-19 pandemic response in enabling the pupils to be educated remotely.

Mark lives in Norfolk with his partner Lynsey, their son Jack and his daughter Rose. In what spare time he has, Mark loves Lego, as well as watching Doctor Who and Star Trek.