After our busy Wing Training Day schedule, I caught up with Cadets Lloyd, Holohan & Thorp, three of several of our cadets who went to NACATC (National Air Cadet Adventure Training Centre) Llanbedr, in North Wales, to take part in numerous adventure training activities, including kayaking, walking, mountain biking and more!
The past week has been exceptionally busy for some cadets, and the next week will be just as busy for some! First of all, four Cadets, including Cadet Sergeant Brentley as an instructor, from 471 Squadron left on Sunday to stay at Altcar Training Camp, in Merseyside, for four days. On Friday, at 05:00, Cadet Corporal Greenwood joined the rest of the North Region football team on the journey down to RAF Cranwell, in Lincolnshire, to participate in the inter-region football competition, following his selection after the regional trails! Also on Friday, at roughly 18:00, Cadet Corporals Clifton, Pym & Sherrington left to go to Halton Training Camp, Lancaster, to take part in the Senior NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer (i.e. Sergeant)) Course!
On Friday, several of the newer cadets from the squadron attended their first camp with the air cadets! The camp, First Class Development, is to help newer cadets improve the knowledge needed throughout their first class classification, including initial expedition training, map reading, the history of the RAF and the history of the ATC. I caught up with Cadet Sherrington, who told me about what she, and the other cadets, did on the camp.
Cadets Cookson, Holohan and Markey were selected to represent Cumbria & Lancashire Wing in the North Region Inter-Wing netball competition, playing against teams from the other wings in the region (South & East Yorkshire, Central & West Yorkshire, Durham & Northumberland and Greater Manchester).
On Sunday, 22nd February 2015, Cadet Corporal Craig Sherrington, Cadet Christopher Gillions and Cadet Juliet Sherrington represented Cumbria & Lancashire Wing in the Inter-Wing Cross Country competition at Witton Park, Blackburn.
Today, Cadet Corporals Jack Greenwood, Joseph Pym & Craig Sherrington represented Cumbria & Lancashire Wing’s football team at the inter-wing competition at Broad Oak Sports College, Bury. The competition was between C&L and the other North Region wings – Greater Manchester, Durham & Northumberland, South & West Yorkshire and Central & East Yorkshire.
On Sunday, 14 cadets from 471 Squadron went to Salt Ayre Sports Centre in Lancaster to participate in the junior sports trials for football, hockey, netball and rugby to play for the Cumbria & Lancashire Wing teams and represent the teams!
Today was a busy day for the cadets! 7 went to run in the inter-wing cross-country competition and three went to a modeling show and competition at 1471 (Horwich) Squadron.
This year was a wonderful year for the squadron, starting last year with just over 15 cadets. This year, the squadron not only increased numbers of cadets, and staff, improved the squadron, with improvements to the flight simulator and other facilities, but we also went on several amazing camps, including annual camp at RAF St Mawgan and the wing Summer Camp at Halton Training Camp, near Lancaster. We also went on a few squadron day trips, including going to watch Southport and Cosford airshows, RAF Museum Hendon and the poppies at London Tower, and also competing in wing events, such as the football, rugby, hockey and netball trials, the athletics, cross country and swimming competition and Wing Training Day.
Tonight was our squadrons Annual Formal Inspection, or AFI, in which our Wing Commander (for Cumbria & Lancashire) and our Sector’s Squadron Leader review what our squadron has done over the year and rates the squadron out of 7. They also sit in with the Civilian Committee, and walk around the squadron, asking all the cadets about their time in the Air Training Corps and the squadron. On the final parade (at the end of the night), the Squadron Leader revealed we had scored a remarkable 6/7, which means we have very high standards!