Yearly Archives: 2011

18 Silver wing solos in 6 days

The staff of 612 Volunteer Gliding Squadron based at Abingdon had a productive end to the month of June by sending 18 students solo in their Vigilant T1 over six days, bringing the Squadron’s total for the first six months of the year to an impressive 54.  The first 6 of the 18 were ATC cadets on weekend courses who all soloed on the same day. These solos took place on the day before the start of a continuous course which saw a further 10 ATC and CCF cadets solo over the next five days. With ‘trade’ running out, the staff of 612 brought in other weekend cadets and two more solos were achieved with two days of the course remaining. Continue reading →

211 (Newbury) Sqn’s 70th Anniversary Reunion

Saturday 18th June saw 211 (Newbury) Squadron’s 70th Anniversary Reunion and although it started with a heavy shower the sun soon came out again on what proved to be a very successful and enjoyable day.

Over thirty ex cadets joined current staff and cadets to celebrate the Anniversary. Amongst the ex cadets were four who had joined in the very first year of the Squadron, 1941; Jack Nickson, Bill Lloyd, Alfred Wells and Alan Sheppard were thrilled to meet up again and chat about the early days as cadets. Continue reading →

Burghfield Royal Flypast

A trio of Air Cadets from 2402 (Burghfield) Squadron were granted the rare privilege of leading the Queens Birthday Flypast onboard a Chinook helicopter from RAF Odiham.

The cadets, who flew alongside colleagues from Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire were greeted by members of number 27 Squadron and given a safety brief regarding the helicopter itself before it was time to get issued with their flying helmets. Next stop was the briefing room where the pilot, Squadron Leader Stu Hague and his co-pilot, Flight Lieutenant Tim Andrews gave them an overview of the planned route of the flight and provided them with some last minute safety instructions. Continue reading →

ACE Show for Tadley Cadets

2403 (Aldermaston) Squadron showed they are the business when they took a huge recruitment display to the Tadley Treacle Fayre.

Spread over a large area, the cadets mixed aerospace with field craft, aeromodelling and fundraising. In a large marquee there was a varied display of over 100 aircraft models highlighting some of the cadets achievements whilst outside a field craft display consisting of two camouflaged landrovers and a bivouac site was on display to show the outdoors aspects of being an Air Cadet with the added chance of getting your face “cammed up”. Continue reading →

Air Cadet Blue at the Tattoo

If you are organising a major event and require first class assistance to deal with the multitude of customer facing tasks that need to be performed, where do you turn? If the event is the Royal Windsor Tattoo then the answer is simple, the Air Cadet Organisation.

That’s how come cadets from 259 (Windsor), 2477(Britwell) 153 (Slough) Squadrons, under the command of OC Windsor Squadron,  Sqn Ldr Neil Knowles came to be involved in this immensely high profile event. Continue reading →

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Wallingford Cadets Share British Legion Award

A number of cadets from 966 (Wallingford) Sqn attended the Royal British Legion Awards at the Masonic Hall in Wallingford on Thursday 26 May. Having been thoroughly grilled by members of the British Legion a few weeks previously, FS Ewers and Cpl Godfrey were aware that they were contenders for Cadet of the Year. However, in the end, because of the high standard, the judges couldn’t decide which cadet should get the award, so it was decided to present the award jointly to them both for their services to the community and to their squadron. Various other awards were presented to members of the Legion and the Army Cadet Force. Congratulations to both FS Ewers and Cpl Godfrey for an outstanding performance! Continue reading →

Royal Spectacle for Wantage

Take a quiet Oxfordshire town, add a member of Royalty,  The Scots Guards, a rare set of medals worth £3 Million and 30 Air Cadets and you are certain to get a very special event!

The 1st Battalion of the Scots Guards were being awarded the Freedom of Wantage in the presence of HRH The Duke of Kent  to say thank you for their service and to also commemorate the first ever Victoria Cross. Local Air Cadets from Wantage and Didcot were on hand to make sure the day went without a hitch! Continue reading →

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