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

Ilkley Air Cadets Learn AED Skills

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 By Cadet Flight Sergeant Tom Hepworth

On Thursday 26^th of February 2015, 1224 (Wharfedale) Sqn was visited by volunteers from St. Johns Ambulance service, to teach the cadets how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), an important aspect of first aid training.

An AED is a portable device that checks the heart rhythm and can send an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm. AEDs are used to treat sudden cardiac arrest, a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating, which makes it an invaluable skill for cadets to learn!

The St Johns team brought along some ‘dummy’ AEDs, which give the same experience that you would receive from a real one, without the powerful electric shock used to restart the heart! With these, the cadets all got to have a go at practising with the equipment and performing in a simulated casualty situation.

Cadet Corporal, Charlie Franks said “It was really useful experience in case we are ever in that kind of a situation. The instructors understood that it would be stressful and so taught us how to use the equipment, I was really surprised at how easy it was!”

First Aid training is just one of the activities within the Air Cadets, for more information visit www.ilkley-atc.co.uk

Cadets Become Young Life Savers

On the weekend of the 7^th March 2015, 12 cadets from 1224 (Wharfedale) Squadron and 2431 (Keighley) Squadron took part in a St. Johns Ambulance Youth First Aid Course at 1224 Squadron’s HQ in Ilkley.

Organised and run by Officer Cadet Kjersti Moore, the cadets were taught a number of First Aid Techniques, including how to deal with both conscious and unconscious casualties, how to recognise and treat various injuries and how to perform CPR.

 

Following assessment on the Sunday, the cadets were happy to know that they had all passed the course, receiving the red ‘Youth First Aid’ badge.

Sergeant (ATC) Sam White, who assessed some of the cadets on the Sunday, said ‘It’s great to see so many young people willing to learn these skills, which could, in the future, help save lives’.

Wharfedale Cadets Learn Methods of Instruction

On Saturday 28^th February 2015, nine cadets from 1224 (Wharfedale) Squadron attended a Cadet Method of Instruction Course at the Squadron HQ in Ilkley.

Instructed by Officer Cadets Kjersti Moore and Tom Smith and Sergeant (ATC) Sam White, the cadets were taught a number of subjects including the Qualities of an Instructor, Lesson Structures, Lesson Planning and Delivery of Lessons.

The course is a pre-requisite to the ‘Instructor Cadet’ Classification, which when completed allows the cadet to undertake instructional duties on Squadron, it also entitles the cadet to wear the yellow lanyard.

Following completion of the course, cadets must then complete an assessed lesson before they become an ‘Instructor Cadet’.

Sergeant Tom Hepworth said ‘I really enjoyed the course and learnt so much! There's a lot more to being an instructor than I thought before the course. I would definitely recommend it to other cadets’.

 The nine cadets that completed the course.