1224 band support Linton Gala

On the 7th August 2010, the band of 1224 (Wharfedale) Squadron travelled from Ilkley to RAF Linton-on-Ouse near york to take part in the annual Gala On The Green.
As the opening act of a show that also consisted of a Vera Lynn Tribute Act as well as the critically acclaimed Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band there was a degree of pressure on the cadets to perform well and they certainly did!


The 45-minute set was divided into two sections, the first of which was the marching section of the band who played a number of well known marching pieces including Aces High, Highland Cathedral, the RAF Marchpast, When The Saints go Marching In and Dambusters as well as the Squadron's own 1224 March composed by the late Brian Lingley.
The second half of the set contained some of the bands ensemble pieces such as One Step Beyond by Madness, Mamma Mia, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, The Pink Panther, Fly Me To The Moon, Shine and With A Little Help From My Friends.

The performance was enjoyed by all cadets and the second set ended with the aerobatic display team The Blades performing a display for the crowd, much to the delight of the cadets!
Following the performance Sqn Ldr J Ayre (Deputy OC Central & East Yorkshire Wing) came up to the cadets and thanked us personally for putting on the show.

The cadets stayed for a while to watch part of the colliery band's set (which was superb!) but eventually decided that it was time to head back to Ilkley, with the necessary stop at McDonalds on the way.

See more pictures in our gallery.

Survival and Leadership Course at Hag Dyke

By Cpl Rhys Leighton

In the first week of August, 21 cadets from Central and East Yorkshire Wing (including CWO Ben Bridge and Cpl Rhys Leighton from 1224 (Wharfedale) Sqn) as well as a few from 2160 Sleaford Sqn, Trent Wing enjoyed a hard and intense week at Hag Dyke in the North Yorkshire Dales. The course was joined by 12 members of staff who provided training on survival and leadership in a mountainous terrain.
Hag Dyke is not accessible by road and the path leading from Kettlewell to Hag Dyke is a steep 2.5K hill climb. The first task was carrying all our gear to Hag Dyke and this clearly set out to us all that this was going to be a physically challenging week. Throughout the week we learnt key survival skills, including the filtration and sterilisation of water, building observation points and how to make an emergency shelters. We were given good training on navigating skills. A day was dedicated to putting this into practice when we climbed Great Whernside and visited a World War Two crash site of a Vickers Wellington aircraft. We also climbed Buckden Pike and Tor Mere Top.
The course was physically and mentally demanding and demonstrated the importance of teamwork. I would recommend this course to cadets who want a challenge and have the opportunity to learn key skills. Just make sure you are physically and mentally fit before hand as this makes it so much easier.

Squadron gets new T-Shirts

1224 (Wharfedale) Sqn finally received their new polo shirts.

After waiting for the crest to be embroidered to a decent standard they were finally given out in early July 2010.

Adorned with the new 1224 crest designed by Cadet Flight Sergeant Dan Connor. It features the famous Cow and Calf rocks as well as a C-130 Hercules flying overhead.
The Hercules is in remembrance of Flt. Lt. David Stead, a former 1224 cadet from Burley-in-Wharfedale who was killed when the aircraft he was piloting was shot down by enemy fire over Iraq in 2005.

Ilkley Cadets parade down The Mall

As part of a year of celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the cadet movement, over 1700 cadets from all three Services have paraded past His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in London.

Cadets, volunteers and their massed bands came to London from across the UK to march from Horse Guards Parade down The Mall to Buckingham Palace.

The Prince of Wales took the salute at the Royal Review and the cadets then attended an exclusive garden party with members of the Royal Family to mark the occasion.

A flypast by the famous Red Arrows accompanied the parade and, uniquely, a selection of cadets travelled in the aircraft with the pilots as part of the celebrations.

Lead snare drummer in the Air Cadet Band was Cadet Warrant Ben Bridge from 1224 (Wharfedale) Sqn. Corporal Jamie Partovi (Snare) and Corporal Rhys Leighton (First cornet) were also in the band. The band played to exceptionally high standard and led over 500 Air Cadets from all over the country.

The cadets played later in the week at the Imperial War Museum for the 'Flying Legends Air Show'. At the same time, the band from 1224 (Wharfedale) Sqn were playing at the Addingham Gala. Parading in the band were new cadets, Jack Croft, Edward Saunders, Jorgen Moore & Oren Chew. The highlight of the day for all the cadets, was playing Highland Cathedral with the Accrington Pipe Band. Warrant Officer David Wood said 'This was a fantastic unrehearsed presentation by the joint bands and they all enjoyed the experience.

Looking at the picture from the left, Cadet Warrant Officer Ben Bridge and Corporal Jamie Partovi are the two closest front row snare drummers. Photograph by Richard Pallett, Civilian Instructor ATC.

If you would like to see highlights from the Cadet 150 Parade, search Youtube for 'Cadet 150 Royal Review'

Wharfedale Cadets take to the skies!

Some Cadets from 1224 (Wharfedale) Squadron recently had their first taste of flying in the Grob Tutors of 9 AEF at RAF Church Fenton.

The Cadets took to the skies with their instructors (many who are ex-RAF pilots including some who have flown in the Red Arrows previously) above the Yorkshire airbase for around 30 minutes each in the single-engined aerobatic aircraft.

Cadet Karl Verspyck getting ready to set off.

During the flights the cadets were allowed to take control and some even did some aerobatics including loops and rolls.

The same Grob Tutors are those that RAF pilots first learn to fly in during their training before being streamed onto either fast jets, multi-engined aircraft or helicopters.

At the end of the day all of the Cadets said that they had enjoyed their flights.

Cadet Jack Croft waiting for his flight.

Flying is just one of the activities offered by the Air Cadets, for more information visit the Air Cadets website @ http://www.raf.mod.uk/aircadets/.
Alternatively, if you want to find more about 1224 (Wharfedale) Squadron either visit our website (www.ilkley-atc.co.uk) or come down to one of our parade nights which are held on Mondays and Thursdays from 1945-2130.

Wharfedale are Top of the Shots

Cadets from Wharfedale have had great success in the National Air Rifle competition. Sgt Tom Smith, Cpl Jamie Partovi and Cpl Chris Cavaliere came 8th in the two positional Air Rifle competition. CWO Scott Watson, FS Dan Connor and Sgt Alex Chambers came 5th in the three positional Air Rifle competition.

Warrant Officer David Wood said "We are really proud of the cadets achievements. This is the second year we have entered the competition and there has been a significant improvement. There is keen competition within the squadron to gain a place on next years team."

Photograph by Cdt FS Sam White

Order from left to right

CWO Watson, Cpl Partovi, Sgt Smith, Cpl Cavaliere, FS Connor & Sgt Chambers

Training Success for Wharfedale

The Squadron have been celebrating from success recently at both Central and East Yorkshire Wing's Training Day and the North Region Training Day.
After successes during 2009 in Band and First Aid at both Regional and Corps levels, the Squadron were feeling reasonably confident as they entered these competitions again at Wing level this year.
The First Aid team, consisting of Flt Sgt Cunningham, Sgt Austin and Cpls Connor and Leighton, came out on top and went through to compete at Regional Training Day.
The Solo Drummer team, CWO Bridge and Cpl Partovi, came first as well, also going on to compete at Regional Training Day.

At Region Training Day, 1224 went on to win both the First Aid competition and the band ensemble category (having come 5th and 2nd in the Corps last year respectively).
There was also success for Cpl Partovi who finished 2nd in the solo drummer competition at Region and Cpl Leighton who finished 2nd in the solo bugle competition. Both will also go to the National Air Cadets Marching Band Championships along with the ensemble band later this year.


These are just some of the activities that Wharfedale Squadron participate in. Wharfedale squadron is recruiting at present. Girls and boys aged 13 or over interested in finding out about the activities on offer, should call in at the Cadet Centre, Ashlands Road, Ilkley at 7pm on Monday or Thursday.