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Wednesday 18 March 2015

Ilkley Air Cadets Celebrate in Style

by Sergeant (ATC) Sam White

On Sunday 15th March 2015 (74 years and one day after the Squadron's first ever parade), 1224 (Wharfedale) Squadron celebrated its Annual Dinner and Presentation Afternoon at the Kings Hall in Ilkley.

The afternoon was a chance to celebrate the successes of the Squadron and reward the cadets for their hard work.

Among the guests this year were The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Mike Gibbons and the Lady Mayoress, Lady M Sharp, Former Commandant Air Cadets, Air Commodore Ian & Mrs Rosemary Stewart and Officer Commanding Central & East Yorkshire, Wing Commander Steve Wiggins.

The afternoon started rather alarmingly - as the hall had to be evacuated due to a fire alarm.

Grace was said by the recently appointed Chaplain to the Squadron, Reverend Steve Proudlove, and the lunch that followed was extremely good.

The first presentations of the night were the certificated earned by the cadets over the past year, these included Classification Certificates, First Aid Certificates and Health & Safety Entry Level Awards, amongst others.

After the certificates were presented it was time for the awards, the winners are as follows:

Attendance Trophy – Sergeant Bailey Ryan
The Warrant Officers Trophy and the Warrant Officers Cup for the cadet and NCO each earning the highest points for consistently having best turnout over the last year were presented to Cadet Ryan  Griffin and Sergeant Omar Shah respectively
The White Rose Trophy for most promising new marksman – Cadet Alix Tennant
West Riding Wing Cup for Sport – Corporal Max Franks
The Inter-Flight Competition Trophy (first awarded in 1941) was collected by Flight Sergeant Jørgen Moore on behalf of A Flight.
 
FS Moore and CWO Cavaliere being presented with the Flight Trophy by The Lord Mayor
 
The Ian (Charlie) Clarke Memorial Trophy for Community Service, named in memory of a young Airman who was killed in a road accident in Addingham in 1991 was won by Cadet Aiden Holmes
Percussionist of the Year – Cadet Mike Palmer
Musician of the Year – Flight Sergeant Jørgen Moore
Best New Cadet – Cadet Ellie Cooper
Tesco Trophy for Best Intermediate Cadet – Cadet Mike Palmer
Millennium Trophy for Best Senior Cadet – Corporal Tom Kraft
The David Stead Memorial Trophy for Cadet Of The Year, presented in memory of Flight Lieutenant David Stead, a former cadet of 1224 who was sadly killed, along with his crew, when the C-130 Hercules he was piloting was shot down over Iraq in January 2005 was won by Sergeant Bailey Ryan.
Corporal Joe Martin won the Commanding Officers Cup for his dedication and leadership and for his own personal development over the last year.
Cadet Pearce Todd won the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) Airedale & Wharfedale Salver, awarded to the cadet who collects the highest amount for RAFA over the year
The Squadron was also presented with awards for being the highest collecting ATC unit in both the Yorkshire and Northern areas.
Warrant Officer (ATC) David Wood was also presented with an award for being the highest collecting Adult volunteer in the area.
 
Corporal Joe Martin collecting the Commanding Officers Cup from Wing Commander Wiggins
 
There were also various promotions made during the evening, they were:
 
To Corporal: Ellie Cooper, Charlie Franks, Ryan Griffin and Mike Palmer
To Sergeant: Max Franks and Joe Martin
To Flight Sergeant: Tom Hepworth

During the evening, the band also played a number of excellent sets featuring music such as The Air Cadets, the theme from Family Guy, a medley from Frozen, I Am The Doctor (from Doctor Who), My Heart Will Go On and Fantasy on an Irish Air (amongst other pieces).
 
 
 
In addition to the musicians from 1224 Squadron, there were a number of 'guest' musicians performing with the band, these included cadets from other local Squadrons as well as Cadet Izaak Stanley from 2442 (Westbury-on-Trym) Squadron and Flight Sergeant Ross Ewing from 1743 (Crieff) Squadron - both who along with Flight Sergeant Jørgen Moore and Sergeant (ATC) Sam White are members of the Corps Ceilidh Band - who played an impromptu set following the formal conclusion of the presentations.

Overall the night was a huge success and the guests were extremely impressed with the standard of the cadets, and in particular the band.

You can watch the bands performances on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC67X6ZZgWMib2huCYlkXLXw

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