S&NI Newsletter

2012 Issue 3

Newsletter DateMar 2012

In this Issue:

1. 327 Parents Evening2. Kriegie Trophy Presentation3. Blackburn Cottage5. Air Cadets welcome Lord Lt6. 498 Dining In Night7. WScot Wg Smallbore Comp8. Hounds for Heros9. A Little Bit of Borders History

Easter has got off to a cracking start forFlight Lieutenant Linda Head and her 40

strong team of officers and cadets.

Based in Cumbria and Lancashire, the partyare enjoying the brilliant spring weather fortheir Easter camp at RAF Leuchars.

Since their arrival last Wednesday, staff andcadets have had an action packed itinerary,which included a trip to Edinburgh, flyingGrob Tutors, a visit to Air Traffic Control,learning how to fly a state of the art flightsimulator and meeting the Mountain RescueTeam.

(Continued on page 5)

Recently twenty eight cadets from142 , 297DF, 870 , 2192

Squadrons attended the AdventureTraining Camp led by 2466 (Loanhead)Squadron. Thecamp utilised twofacilities one atGalashiels usingthe Wing ActivityCentre and theother the SeaScout Centre atwoodcockdalenear Linlithgow.

Cadets were involved in a splitprogramme where they undertook theBronze National Navigation AwardScheme and the British Canoe UnionPaddlesport Start Certificate.

The Eildon Hills in the Scottish Borderswas location for the Bronze NationalNavigation Award Scheme where thecadets were taught differentnavigational skills before beingassessed on what they had learnt.

At the Sea Scout Centre the Unioncanal was the location for thePaddlesport Start where the cadetswere involved in Kayaking and

Canoeing.They had ahalf daysession ineach mode ofcraft learningthe differentpaddlingtechniquesrequired,

some cadets decided they wanted toventure beyond their boat and went foran early shower.

An additional activity for the weekendthat the cadets were involved in wasSlackline. This involves walking alonga narrow tape, which increases corebalance and reliance on a close friendfor support. The weekend was alsosupported by Deputy OfficerCommanding,South EastScotlandWing on thepaddling side.

All the cadetshad afantastic timeand arelookingforward to thenext camp.

In the Water and on the Hills

Want to knowmore about

this historicalevent?

Then go to theback page for thefull article whichexplains thehistory of theborders units.Thanks to 2180.

Cumbria Cadets Fly Highat Easter Camp

S&NI Regional NewsPage 2

Cadets from 327(Kilmarnock) Squadron

were recently presented withcertificates and trophies for theirachievements over the previousyear.

Proud parents watched as theirsons and daughters werepresented with certificates in awide range of activities over thelast year included Gliding,Archery, Millennium VolunteerAwards Instructor CadetTraining Course, Shooting,Youth First Aid, Duke ofEdinburgh Awards and , BTECin Aviation Studies.

The awards were presented bySquadron Leader HelenJohnston, Wing Staff Officer.

327 (KILMARNOCK)SQUADRON

PARENTS EVEAND AWARD

PRESENTATIONS

WELL DONE TO YOU ALL!!Photos and Article :: CI Joyce Black327 (Kilmarnock) Squadron

S&NI Regional NewsPage 3

Sargeant Kiran McDonald-Seran (17) from 62 (2nd

Glasgow) Squadron waspresented with the Kriegietrophy on Saturday the 17th ofMarch by Mr GeorgeThompson, Royal Air Force(Retired) and Ex-Prisoner ofWar Association. (picturedbelow)

Also in attendance was WingCommander Jim Haley(pictured below left), OfficerCommanding West ScotlandWing and Baillie Phil Greenefrom Glasgow City Council.

In addition, local MSP forStrathkelvin and Bearsden,Fiona McLeod, lodged amotion at the scottish parlimenton the 13th of March tocongratulate him on hisachievement, which wassupported by several otherMSPs.

Every year, selected AirCadets attend CadetLeadership Courses at theCadet Training Centre (CTC),Frimley Park. The KriegieTrophy is awarded to theCadet who, in the opinion ofthe Commandant and the staffofficers of CTC Frimley Park,was the best of the Air Cadetswho attended the course inthat particular year.

The Kriegie trophy wasintroduced July 1981 when theRoyal Air Force Ex-Prisoner-of-War Association presentedthe Air Cadet Organization witha trophy in memory of the lateGroup Captain Day, to beknown as 'The "Kriegie"Trophy'.

Group Captain H M A Day GCDSO OBE RAF, who died inDecember 1977, served inboth World Wars but spentmost of World War II inPrisoner-of-War camps, wherehe became famous as "Wings"Day, Senior British Officer ofStalag Luft III. This camp wasbuilt specially to prevent RAFpersonnel from escaping butwas, in fact, the scene of manyfamous escapes. Some of theevents that took place at thecamp were later made famousin the movie "The GreatEscape"

Kiran, who attends BoclairAcademy, is the first memberof the ATC in Scotland to winthe Kriegie Trophy. (picturebelow: Kiran with Mr GeorgeThompson and his parents)

Kiran also has two olderbrothers in the RAF, Martin isa Flight Lieutenant and Zaranis an officer cadet.

After joining 62 Squadron,Kiran progressed through therank structure to Sergeant,achieved his Bronze Duke ofEdinburgh Award in 2009along with his Youth First AidBadge and Corps marksman.In 2011, he achieved hisAdvanced Gliding Trainingbadge at RAF Kirknewton(where he is now a staff cadetattending most weekends),Master CadetBadge andbest seniorathlete at theWest ScotlandWing AthleticsCompetition.

He wasrecentlyselected for

the position of theactive schools captainof Boclair Academywhich is awarded to theSenior male pupil whopromotes andencourages physicalactivity and excellenceamongst all yeargroups, as well asorganising sportingevents at school level.

Kiran told the Wing MediaTeam, "The first time I hadever heard about the cadetleadership course at FrimleyPark, was the previous year. Iwas intrigued when theinformation was read out onfinal parade by myCommanding Officer.However, I was too young andone of the places wasallocated to my superior NCO,which happened to be myolder brother."

"Finally it was my turn to apply.When I heard that myapplication was successful Iwas over the moon. When mybrother returned from his weekat Frimley he had told me allthe ins and outs of the course,so I had a rough idea of whatto expect."

"When my course commencedit was in the height of summer,and the weather was to be thehottest of that year. When Ifirst arrived, the Directing Staffwere very precise and firm.This made me quite nervousand uneasy. However, Ilearned that if everything suchas my own kit, bed space anduniform were up to scratch Iwould be okay."

"Overall the course was veryphysically and mentallychallenging, but alsoworthwhile and enjoyable. Thehighlights of the course for mewere being allocated theposition of Platoon Sergeantfor two days whilst we were onexercise and completing theassault course at RoyalMilitary Training AcademySandhurst."

"The course did not just teachme about battle drills andfitness, but how tocommunicate with a largeamount of differentpersonalities, encourage theless able members of theplatoon and build upon myconfidence and people skills."

"I was extremely pleased tohear I had won the Kriegietrophy and felt a great deal ofself-achievement." (picturedbelow, Kiran with hissquadron; cadets and staff)

Kiran's Commanding Officer,Flight Lieutenant Colin Wardletold us, "Kiran's course reportwas excellent, but to be thebest Air Cadet over all 4weeks is an amazing result. Iam very proud of hisachievement and to be hisCommanding Officer. Kiranhas a very bright future to lookforward to."

Kriegie Trophy Presentation

S&NI Regional NewsPage 4

Cadets from (1271) Bathgate Air Cadets recently gotinvolved in various fundraising activities to raise funds and

awareness for an invaluable UK charity - Hounds for Hero's.

Cadets selected this charity after hearing stories from staffmembers who had been personally touched by the charity'ssterling work. Hounds for Hero's provide assistance dogs forex-military and emergency service personnel, who have beeninjured whilst providing front-line services.

The Charity's Chief Executive Officer Wayne Palmer sent histhanks for the Cadet's fantastic work and stated that their£1,000.00 donation would be a great start to their campaign, toraise £100,000 to train 5 new pups.

Blackburn Cottage is operated by the North East ScotlandWing as an outdoor activity centre for ATC cadets. Whilst

the primary usage is for local cadets the premises are alsoavailable to other Wings

The Cottage used to be operated by SYHA and thus is ideal forcadets and civilian instructors. It is situated 5 miles west ofBraemar on the road to Linn of Dee and situated in the middleof the Cairngorm National Park. The premises can sleep a

maximum of 14adults and cadets in4 rooms and there isan adjacentcampsite.

HOUNDS FOR HEROS

The Wing Road Marching Team met up with Hero the Bear,official mascot for the Help for Heroes charity, on Saturday

the 25th of February as they were passing Faslane (HMNBClyde), he was doing a tour before taking part in the Clydebankto Monte Carlo rally.

West Scotland WingRoad Marching Team

meet Hero the Bear

For more information about availability and booking head tohttp://www.blackburncottage.co.uk/contact.php

CONTACT US:By PostNorth East ScotlandWing ATCGordon BarracksEllon RoadAberdeenAB23 8DB

By EmailEnquiries@blackburncottage.co.uk

S&NI Regional NewsPage 5

THE Lord Lieutenant ofRoxburgh, Ettrick and

Lauderdale, the Hon CaptGerald Maitland-Carew, hasvisited the Air Cadets of 2180(Galashiels) Squadron.

He was shown the variousprojects in which the cadetsare involved including modelbuilding, flight simulation andan engineering project to turn adisused aircraft fuel tank into asmall stylised aircraft forrecruiting purposes.

The cadets also gavepresentations on two aspectsof RAF history: the Black BuckRaid on Port Stanley when anAvro Vulcan dropped a stringof 1,000lb bombs on theairfield and Argentine defencesand Operation Chastise, thefamous raid by 617(Dambusters) Squadron on theRuhr dams during the SecondWorld War.

After inspecting the parade,the lord lieutenant presentedCpl William Jackson with hisMaster Air Cadet certificate,one of only three held bycadets at the squadron.

He praised the cadets for theirefforts and congratulated theadult staff for the time theygave in providing the range ofactivities available to squadronmembers.

The squadron is recruiting andin the coming months a rangeof activities is scheduledincluding flying kayaking, rock-climbing, and shooting.

Summer camps will seecadets from the Galashielssquadron spend time at RAFBoulmer, RAF Leuchars, RAFAkrotiri in Cyprus, Joint HQRheindahlen in Germany andone cadet will spend twoweeks in the Netherlands aspart of the International AirCadet Exchange.

Ten cadets are in the processof finalising glidingscholarships during which theywill fly solo after a week ofintensive training.

The spring and summer alsobring a range of sportsactivities including hockey,rugby, football, athletics, crosscountry and swimming inwhich cadets from thesquadron will be involved.

498 (Wishaw) Squadronheld their 6th annual

Dining In Night at the BentleyHotel in Motherwell onSaturday the 18th of February2012.

Staff, civilian committee,cadets and invited guestsenjoyed a three course mealprior to speeches from WingCommander Jim Haley(Officer Commanding WestScotland Wing) and SquadronCommander, Flying OfficerNorman MacLeod. Thesespeeches commented on theachievements of the past yearand told cadets to not onlylook back at the last 12months but to look forward tothe next 12 months and makeit even better.

Following the speeches, theWing Commanderthen went on topresent the 'WingTraining Trophy' tothe squadron forthe academicachievementmade by thecadets over thelast year, to quotethe WingCommander,"498Sqn are the mostintelligent Sqnover the last year". The WingCommander was then kindenough to present thesquadron's achievementawards to the nominatedcadets, all the squadron stafftake part in deciding whichcadets will receive theseawards.

The list of trophy winners are;(including 1 promotion)

Best Recruit - Cdt HeatherLaurie & Cdt Jennifer Gray

Inter Flight Trophy - B Flightcommanded by Sgt CallumMcFadden

Sports Trophy - Sgt CallumCroughan

Airmanship - Cpl Ben McLean

Drill & Deportment Trophy -Cdt Richard Lovell

Most Improved Cadet - CdtCraig Stevenson

Best Cadet - Sgt CallumMcFadden

Once the formal part of theevening was completed it wasdown to a game of Limbo toget the cadets warmed up andthen onto the karaoke/ disco,which like previous years thecadets really enjoyed until thehotel asked everyone to leave.

498 Dining In NightAir cadets welcome lord lieutenant

Flight Lieutenant Head, a policeofficer in civilian life has been a

member of the Air cadets for over 26 years said, “ We have’had a fantastic time thus far, the cadets instantly gelled togeth-er; favourite outing thus far was the cultural visit to Edinburgh.

She continued: “We’re only half way through the programme;later in the week we’re visiting 6 Squadron, and meetingoperational crews. Outwith the world of aviation, the cadets willbe taking part in a swimming proficiency test and fifteen ofthem will also be representing the Wing in a drill competition.”

Report and Photograph by CI Luke Smith (498 Sqn)

(Continued from page 1)

S&NI Regional NewsPage 6

Cadet Corporal Mark Hutton(16) of 1333

(Grangemouth) Squadron ATCis heading for Somerset as oneof 21 finalists for theprestigious Duke ofWestminster Award.

He was one of 250 entrantsfrom Cadet Forces around theUK who applied to enter thecompetition in late 2011 andfaced a serious of stiffselection tests to reach theNational Final.

This is an exceptionalachievement and of itselfentitles Mark to the Institute ofLeadership and ManagementLevel 3 Certificate.

He was successful in the firstpart of the selection processbecause of his commitment tohelping his fellow cadets, hisunassuming nature, and hisreal desire to help others in thewider community. Following apresentation at the Squadron

by a representative from theMary's Meals charity, Markput all of his small change intoa mug and, when running thetuck shop for the other cadets,sought their support bymaking donations. He doesn'tcount the monetary value ofthe sum raised but rather thenumber of children theSquadron has fed.

Mark who has been a cadetfor four years is keen on flyingand shooting, hopes to beable to join the Royal AirForce as an AvionicsEngineer.

He told the West ScotlandWing News Team: "The AirCadets are great fun! Theexperiences I've gained havebeen fantastic. And hopefullythey will go a long way tohelping me get my dream jobin the RAF."

C.I. Gary Mullen said: "Markhas shown great potentialsince he came to the cadetsand in particular has showngreat leadership skills."

The final selection process forthe Duke of WestminsterAward is a tough three-dayevent, covering leadershipexercises, managementskills, and practical tests.

The top nine finalists will goon an all expenses paid trip toSouth Africa for three weeksworking on a variety ofcommunity projects.

On 4th March at 122 (Maryhill) Sqn, six teams from acrossWest Scotland Wing competed for team and individual

prizes.

2452's A Team, consisting of Sgt Khalid Ali and Cpls AlasdairKettyle, Sobhan Arif and Taimur Atif, was placed 1st, whiletheir B Team, consisting of Sgt Lee Cameron, Cpls Sophea Aliand Matthew McIlwham and Cadet Aristidh Qenani, wasplaced 3rd, being pipped by 1 point for 2nd place by 470(Falkirk) Sqn's A team.

In the Individual Competition, Cpl Sobhan Arif (2452) took 1stprize and Sgt Khalid Ali (2452) was placed 2nd.

Flt Lt Gimour, Officer Commanding 2542 Squadron remarked,"Well done to all the cadets involved, and to our coach, CIPeter Smith."

Flight Sargent Liam Comrie of the 1145 (Dunfermline)Squadron recently met his local MSP to discuss ways of

encouraging more young people to join the Air Cadets.

Liam, a pupil at St Columba’s High School, is playing an activerole in the official Air Cadets recruitment drive commencing inMarch and is available to give short presentations at schoolson what the organisation has to offer young people.

Mr Walker, SNP MSP for Dunfermline, said:“Liam is hugely committed to the Air Cadets and has reallytaken the initiative to press forward with the recruitment drive.“The aims of the Air Cadets are to promote interest in aviationand the RAF among young people, to provide transferabletraining that will aid young people in both the Service and incivilian life, and to encourage a spirit of adventure, leadershipand good citizenship.

“The Air Cadets offer the chance toparticipate in activities and learnskills not available at school orcollege, all while gaining nationallyrecognised qualifications.”

Grangemouth Cadet Reaches Finalsof Duke of Westminister Award West Scot Wing Smallbore Comp

Liam’s Recruitment Push for Air Cadets

Sadly plagued by the usual spate of late call-offs the S&NISenior Hockey and Football teams were both placed 5th intheir respective competitions at RAF Cranwell in Linconlshireon 31st Mar.

Drawing their first game 0-0 followed by a narrow 1-0 loss inthe second game the highlight of the Hockey competition forS&NI was a brilliiant 3-1 win over Wales & West. This was nomean feat for a very young senior team that had a least 2players who have been in the Corps (Continued on page 7)

Inter Region Hockey & Football

S&NI Regional NewsPage 7

The 62 (2nd Glasgow)dinner dance was

conducted on the 3rd of Marchat the Pond hotel in Glasgowthis year and proved to be astunning night, with a mouth-watering three course mealand presentations being made,it certainly was a night toremember.

The night started off with themeals which, without a doubt,put a smile on a few faces.After the meal, the Loyal Toastwas conducted by CplMcCulloch.

OC 62 Sqn, Flt Lt Wardle,welcomed everyone and inparticular Wing CommanderHaley, guests from 2175(Rolls-Royce) Squadron, Flt LtCallan, OC 2175, and MsLouise Callan, CI Donaldsonfrom 1740 (Clydebank) and theparents and families of thecadets and staff. WingCommander Haley praised the

squadron for its efforts andachievements.

Presentations were awardedto ex-members of 62Squadron, Flt Lt Lowery andWO Brown. CI Bill Steel alsoreceived a presentation as hehas indicated his intention toretire come April. Flt Lt Lowery

was once the OC of 62 and MrSteel has been with 62 for 62years in one capacity oranother!

The whole night was a roaringsuccess which was proven tobe true by the happy faces. Alocal DJ was conducting themusic and lights around thehall and created anexceptional atmosphere.

Overall the night was a greatsuccess and will beremembered and hopefullyrepeated as an annual event.

By Cpl Kenny McCulloch

Over the weekend of Sat 31st Mar / Sun 1st Apr a RegioanalMedia Course was run at RAF Leuchars. The course is

intended for those who will be undertaking the role of unitMedia Communications Officers (MCO’s) and covers a varietyof topics.

The course covers both how to produce a good press release,as well as practical photography sessions, and skills such asmedia interview scenarios.

There is a balance of theory and practice over the weekend,with a media task to complete on the Saturday evening.

At the end of the weekend the participants were able to uploadtheir stories onto the Regional Web Site, which they will alsobe able to do for the future. Those from SE Scot Wing canalso directly upload, and publish, their material to the wingwebsite in future.

The course was run by members of the Regional Media Team,Sqn Ldr John Walker (RMCO), Sqn Ldr Karl Stevens (WMCO- NE Scot Wg) and CI Doug Ross (Dep WMCO - W Scot Wg).

Photo shows (l-r) CI Stephen Graham, Sqn Ldr John Walker,CIBryan Clark, CI Doug Ross, CI Luke Smith, Sqn Ldr KarlStevens, CI Nicola Macpherson and CI Maryclare Stewart.

62 (2nd Glasgow) Dinner Dance REGIONAL MEDIA COURSE

for less than 6 months and aplayer who had never played

hockey until 4 weeks ago!

Results:-

S&NI 1 North 1

S&NI 0 South West 1

S&NI 3 Wales & West 1

The footballers were severely handicapped after a number oflate withdrawals which saw staff trying to find players at11:00pm on Thursday night. Unfortunately all efforts failed andthe team travelled south with only 10 players.

(Continued from page 6)

That’s all for this Regional Newsletter. If you have any articles that you would like published in thenext edition, then send them to Regional HQ for the attention of Sqn Ldr John Walker RAFVR(T).

We will try and publish at least a quarterly newsletter, (more frequent if we have enough news!). Cadetreporters from all wings welcome.

You can also submit news and photos to the following e-mail address media.sni@aircadets.org or if toolarge for ACO Mail then to cco@hqdcswatc.org.uk.

E-Mail - Text in either Word document or plain text files. Photo’s, preferably jpg or png formats (files nogreater than 2.5 Mb in Size please) and use E-Mail heading “Regional Newsletter Article” so that it isobvious as to the content.

In between issues of the Regional Newsletter, why not keep up to date by logging on to the Regional website, http://www.aircadets-sni.org.uk, or follow us on Facebook and twitter.

Indeed we have a number of people who can submit news items directly onto the Regional Website (bothstaff and cadets). If you are involved in your squadron or Wing in newsletter creation or media commsand would like to become a cadet reporter for your wing, please get your squadron commander to dropan e-mail to media.sni@aircadets.org with your relevant details.

Note from the Editor

S&NI Regional NewsPage 8

On the 5th February 1941the Air Training Corps was

officially established with KingGeorge VI as the AirCommodore-in-Chief andthere has been a presence inthe Borders ever since.

In the Scottish Borders thereare currently four units locatedin Duns, Kelso, St Boswellsand Galashiels but whenestablished the Air Cadets hadunits in most towns of any sizein the Borders includingSelkirk, Hawick, MelroseJedburgh, and Peebles.

At that time Squadronsparaded over 100 cadets ateach unit with upwards of 10staff at each location. Todaythe numbers are lower withabout 25-30 Cadets and 3-4staff at each Squadron beingthe norm.

While records dated March1941 show that only 330(Peebles) Squadron wasregistered at the time theCorps was created by 18thMarch 427 Sq is mentioned inthe Borders Telegraph.

The photograph on front pageshows the Galashiels

Detachment of 427 Sq onparade during Warship Weekin November 1941 led by PltOff W Coutts OC of the GalaUnit.

It is quite clear that the ATChad a presence in Galashielsand Newtown from early in1941. in fact the BordersTelegraph carries articleswhich show the inauguralmeetings of the Galashielsand Newtown units took placeon 26th March 1941 withcommittee meetings takingplace earlier and 72 Cadetsrecorded from Galashiels andSelkirk on 11th March.

Only 330 Squadron is olderthan the GalashielsDetachment.

The original Selkirk Squadronis known to have beennumbered 427 (Selkirkshire)Squadron and Hawick wasestablished as 1086(Roxburghshire) Squadron.

It would appear from recordsthat individual Squadronswere raised in each of theBorders Counties, the originalBorders Squadrons being

numbered330 (Peeblesshire),427 (Selkirkshire), 1007(Berwickshire), 1086(Roxburghshire) withGalashiels a detachment of427 Sq and the Newtown Unita detachment of 1086Squadron.

Individual Squadron Numberswere, and still are, a source ofmuch pride among squadronmembers both current andpast. Squadrons have been inexistence in one form oranother since the earliest daysof the organisation with 1716being adopted by all unitsacross the borders on at leastone occasion when the needfor recruits diminished at theend of WW2.

Records also show that 2180Sqn was, for a time parent toDetached Flights in Selkirkand Melrose.

The Operations Record Bookfor Edinburgh & SouthScotland Wing ATC for 1949-1956 is a mine of informationrelating to the activities ofSquadrons across Edinburgh,Lothians and Borders and2180 Squadrons appears tohave been one of the most

active and successfulSquadrons at that time

During the early 50s 2180Sqn was particularlysuccessful at Wing andScottish level.

In 1950 2180 were runners upin the Scottish Air CadetBoxing Championships heldin the North British Loco Clubin Glasgow,

in 1951 they were ScottishSwimming Champions,

Six Cadets from the Squadronwere members of the ScottishSwimming team who travelledto compete in the UKcompetition.

In 1953 the Gala Lads wonthe Scottish AircraftRecognition Championshipsand on several occasionswere highly successful inWing Shooting competitionand in April 1955 theSquadron were placed 10th inthe UK wide Battle of BritainShooting Competition.

A LITTLE BIT OF BORDERS HISTORY (THANKS TO 2180 SQN)