Setting the standard

Congratulations to Adult Sergeant Stuart Haywood on completing his Senior Non-Commissioned Officers Initial Course (SSIC). The course consists of a number of elements including communication skills, instruction and tuition skills and drill, dress and deportment. Stuart’s recent service as an RAF Police dog handler obviously helped with demands of the course and he was presented with the award for top student.

Sergeant Stuart Haywood is now eligible to compete for the Quinton Memorial Trophy. This is awarded to the Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) who receives the highest marks in the examinable aspects of the SSIC. The award is presented by the Commandant of the Region the SNCO is deployed to and a certificate signed by the Commandant Air Cadets is given for the winner to retain.

Another benefit of Stuarts performance is that he has been recommended for a place on the Drill Instructors Course held at the Adult Training Facility. This current knowledge of drill practice will prove to be invaluable to the squadron in future drill competitions.

Stuart enjoyed the course and would like to thank all involved, he made some great new friends along the way as well.

Fund raising at Asda

Cadets and staff from the Rotherham branch of Royal Air Force Air Cadets held a bag packing day at the Rotherham Asda store on Saturday 14^th June. With the assistance of the Asda staff and the great input from their customers we raised over £1200. Which means that the generous folk of our local community gave us an amazing £200 per hour.

The money will be used to help fund a water sports activity week in France, where cadets will undergo a number of challenges and experiences to build on their communication; leadership and teambuilding skills, and help with confidence and self-reliance.

Cadet Ella Clark-Green said, “They were generally polite and gave generously. It was a fantastic experience and I would love to do it again.”

A member of the public emailed the school of Cadet Marcus Hudson to thank him for his help in bag packing and also entertaining her baby. She told us that he was a fantastic example to the cadets and the school.

The other benefit to the bag packing event is that not only does it raise money but it also helps attract people who want to get involved. Teenagers will often come over and have a chat about what we do. It raises awareness of the fabulous opportunities we provide to the young people in our local community.

The cadets and adult staff at would like to thank the staff at Asda and the people using the store for their help and for making us feel so welcome. The final total was £1201.71

RAF Waddington International Airshow 2014

Last Sunday, 218 squadron enjoyed yet another fantastic day at RAF Waddington International Air Show. Around 40 cadets were 'let loose' into Waddington, whilst displays such as the famous Red Arrows soared overhead; the Vulcan was yet another anticipated display on one of its last flights. Throughout the day, plenty of photographs were taken - mostly of clouds - and here, are just a few:

Unfortunately, the 2015 air show will not be happening due to maintenance of the runway, but 218 hope to return in 2016 for another great day.

War Veteran almost “flies west” unnoticed

After an appeal from the Rotherham branch of the RAF Association, Cadets from 218 Squadron joined hundreds of people in attending the funeral of a WW2 veteran who died with no surviving family members.

Former RAF pilot George Thompson died on 14 May, aged 96, at the care home where he spent the final few years of his life.

Concerned that the veteran would not be given a proper send-off as he had no surviving relatives and few friends, the RAFA members commenced a campaign to urge members of the public to join in the service at Hutcliffe Wood Crematorium in Sheffield.

We were joined by current and former members of the RAF, Cadets from other squadrons, Navy and Marine Cadet members, police, fire service, other veterans, serving HM Forces personnel and standard bearers to form a guard of honour. The funeral was attended by hundreds of people who had never met Thompson, hoping to give him a proper goodbye.

Speakers broadcasted the service so those standing outside could hear the ceremony taking place inside the crematorium.  The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight had a message of remembrance read out and the poem ‘Flying West’ was recited.

The tribute to WO George Thompson stated that he began training as a pilot on 13 April, 1942, and flew his first solo flight just 17 days later.

During his time as a pilot he flew bombers in the USA and Canada before training to become a night fighter, where he was deployed to look for Japanese incursions over the Burmese Jungle until the end of the war in 1945. After leaving the RAF the following year, he married his wife Wilfred Mildred, who passed away in 2004. The couple did not have any children together.

Three Steps to Heaven.

218 Squadron cadets took the first step of three on this year’s journey towards the Drill Championship.

With strong competition from across South and West Yorkshire Wing, but particularly this year from 2387 Pudsey Squadron, the drill squad had to be at their very best. Judging this year was undertaken by staff from Central and East Yorkshire Wing, and because of the changes in weather on the day, the inspection was carried out indoors. Outside it was raining cats and dogs.

In Psalm 97, it says “Light shines on the righteous,” and as soon as the inspection was over the clouds cleared to give the squad a best wishes from upstairs. The sun remained shining down as they performed the required sequence of manoeuvers. The squad then marched off to great applause. Literally seconds after they had finished, the heavens open again and the rain came thumping down.

At the end of the day Rotherham came first, continuing a tradition of being in the top 3 since 1956. FS Dovey came second as NCO i/c despite last year being 5^th in the entire ACO at the Corps championship.

Also of note was Cdt Fair who managed a respectable third in our first year of entering the First Aid competition.

With the Regional Competition just 3 weeks away the members of the squad must continue to try to find the balance between revision of GCSEs and A-Levels, and the need to practice hard to ensure they give it their best shot at trying to get to the Corps competition again.

Thanks go to the Staff who put on an excellent competition day with lots going on despite the poor weather.

Despite this being a very successful day, I’m sure that staff and cadets would appreciate some consideration given to the timing of the competition which clashes unfavourably with important exams.

Learning to Lead

The Wing Training Team delivered the first of this year’s cadet development courses during the weekend. The aim of the course is to provide cadets with the necessary information, instruction and training to enable them to become effective Junior Non-Commissioned Officers (JNCO).

The course covered aspects such as the role of the JNCO; discipline; drill; dress regulations; leadership; leadership styles; getting things done, and effective communication.  It was delivered with a range of lectures, leadership exercises and group discussions.

Cdt Wheeler was appointed the course leader on the first evening because he was the first to speak, which is not unusual for him. He performed very well during his tasks and used by the course commanders as an exemplar during the leadership exercises.

Part of his job was to ensure that the course arrived and kept to time, he found this easier during the lectures by was too frightened of WO Burbridge to glance at his watch whilst doing drill; however, he managed to keep the drill assessments to ten minute periods.

The course was full of excellent candidates all of whom performed very well over the weekend. The debate at the end of the activities to award the Roger Moss Sword produced a number of cadets who had accomplished a great deal.

Cdt Wheeler was delighted to be given the award for the most outstanding cadet, and enjoyed his ten minutes in the sun being instructed on sword drill with WO Burbridge.

We would like to thank the Wing Training Team for all their hard work and encouragement of cadets across South and West Yorkshire, everyone left feeling they had learnt something new which they would try when back on their squadrons.

On a cold and frosty morning

A busy first weekend of cadet life at Rotherham saw Cpl Belk attending the Activity First Aid course at our Wing Headquarters and a bunch of cadets running around Thornes Park in freezing conditions to compete for the cross country.

Third overall

Thanks to their excellent efforts we managed to gain third place in the overall completion, and also third for males; junior men and youths. All the young people who attended deserve our thanks for their contribution. Of particular note where Sgt Nortcliffe, our first past the line in junior men, Cdt Richardson who came a supersonic first overall in the youths section, Cdt Hepplestone our fastest in the junior boys, Cdt Weyman our only junior girl, who managed tenth overall, and Cdt Middleton who was our speediest senior girl. Of course there have to be both ends to the scale, and we do like to be first at a number of activities, so congratulations to Cpl Johnson for coming absolute last across all ranges with her breakneck lack of speed and plodding past the finish line just in time for next year’s event.

Thanks go to the all the staff for supporting the activity and the youth’s team who went up twice and stole the junior men’s thunder.

Youth gold and team bronze

Junior mens team bronze

If you would like to find out more about what we do, contact the squadron and come for a look around.

Squadron Presentation Evening 2013

On Saturday 16th November the squadron hosted its annual Presentation Evening to celebrate the achievements of all our Cadets over the last year.

Preparations began the night before with Cadets employed in setting the considerable number of table places as over 70 people were expected to be in attendance.

Preparations Under Way

 The night itself began at 7pm with Cadets making their way into the hall from the squadron building and awaiting the arrival of the top table (from the bar). Following a welcoming speech from O/C 218 Flt Lt Green the presentations began in earnest. Congratulations to our award winners:

Cpl Webb - Best Attendance
Cdt Wood - Best Drill
Cpl Newbould - Commitment to Squadron

Cpl Badger - Sporting Achievement
Cdt Wheeler - Academic Achievement
Cdt Parkin - Cadet with most Potential
Sgt Dovey - Best NCO
Cdt Plummer - Best Overall Cadet

In addition our ex Cadet Warrant Officer, CWO Roberts, and the O/C of 146 Workshop Company (TA), Major Aidy Hunt, both received a ceremonial squadron plaque in recognition of their support for the squadron.

Ex-CWO Daniel Roberts Receiving a Squadron Plaque

Major Aidy Hunt Receiving a Squadron Plaque

After the presentations had concluded the buffet began with many going back for seconds and even thirds.

The meal ended with the traditional toast to the Queen before the top table retired to the bar leaving everyone else in the capable hands of Mr. Vice.

Mr. Vice - Cdt Bracken

After ten minutes the rest of the table also retired to the bar and the night ended with a disco for the Cadets (and occasionally staff).

Our thanks go to all the Cadets who attended, the squadron staff for putting in the time and effort needed to organise the event and our special guests Major Aidy Hunt, Stewart Ellis and his wife Eileen, Lt. Cdr. Alan Dixon of the Royal Naval Reserve and Flt. Lt. Tim Smales.

Cadets on show

A busy weekend saw the cadets and staff of 218 Squadron helping Rotherham Council with the staffing of the largest free land show in the North of England.

We helped by assisting cars to park, giving out information and programmes, and getting visitors to the right places, a highlight was the safe delivery of military hero Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson MBE, who was the honoured guest of the Rotherham Military Community Veterans Centre. Cadets had their photo taken with Ben and spoke to MCVC staff.

We also ran a laser rifle range for the TA, collected monies for charity and gave out information to recruit new cadets for our next intake on Wednesday 18 September.

With thousands of visitors we had a very demanding role as part of the larger Rotherham team and cadets earned praise from many members of the public. Above all it was a very enjoyable, if tiring, weekend.

The cadets were excellent role models for the young people of Rotherham, a credit to the Air Cadet Organisation, and conducted themselves in a mature and thoughtful manner. 

Bonjour a Rotherham

After months of hard planning, with emails flashing across cyberspace, we finally gained permission for an expedition to Ardres, on the Opal Coast in France. And so it was that 41 cadets and 6 staff gathered in Rotherham to board a coach.

The purpose of the expedition was to gain leadership and teamwork skills and to build confidence. This would be achieved by a number of activities with different outcomes.

The party arrived at Ardres in the afternoon and after sorting out tents and equipment, they went to a wet assault course where they competed against each other in teams and got used to the water. That night they did some familiarisation of their local environment.

Day 2 saw us doing a mixture of Kayaking, Canoeing, Raft building, Archery and Mission Impossible in teams of 12. Mission Impossible was made up of a number of tasks that used thinking and teamwork skills to gain a solution, for example, moving a container from an exclusion area using some ropes and wood. In the evening we trekked to a nearby ice cream shop. The owners spoke very little English so we worked together to try to order around 50 different ice creams. Thanks must go to Alex Robson who recently undertook his GCSE in French and would have made his teacher proud of his skills.

On day 3 we trekked into the local village and had a morning taking in the culture around their open air market. Again this gave everyone a chance to work on language skills and interact with the French people. For the afternoon we had a mixture of Kayaking, Canoeing, Raft building, Kata Kanue and Stand-up Sailboarding.  In the evening we organised a volleyball competition between the groups.

Our final full day on site was made up of Climbing, Night Line, Kata Kanue, Stand-up Sailboarding, Canoeing, Raft building and Kayaking. In the evening we held a talent show, with the staff doing a Pantomime, and cadets putting on various acts including a Lancaster Bomber show, a sing-along, and a ventriloquist show.

The final morning saw the weather change with a massive thunderstorm while we packed equipment away and loaded the bus. We took a short stop at Cite Europe in Calais to pick up presents for loved ones then boarded the ferry for good old Blighty.

Over the course of the week all of the 41 cadets managed to achieve the standards for level 5 of the PaddlePower Passport Award scheme from the British Canoe Union, which is the equivalent of the 1 Star Award for adults.  The criteria for this is:

•          Warm up thoroughly before the activity, including practising paddle strokes and gently warm down.
•          Check, launch and get into a boat, from different surfaces, without assistance.
•         In the boat show good body position, shape and balance whilst doing simple tasks.
•          Hold a paddle correctly; paddle properly and effectively at different speeds close to a named point.
•         Stop the boat moving forwards or backwards quickly whilst moving at speed.
•          Show how to steer a boat using a paddle or rudder, along a course, using different paddling actions.
•          Show a controlled ‘wobble’ in a boat, moving or stationary and edge a boat on the low and high side.
•          Get out of a boat onto different surfaces and empty water from it.
•          Paddle a distance of 2 kilometres with control and without stopping.
•          Paddle in time with a crew and set the stroke rate.
•          Fit buoyancy aids and swim with them
•          Capsize the boat and recover to continue with the paddling.

The week was action packed and exhausting but very rewarding for both staff and cadets with chances to build up a stronger rapport between all members. They also left with fond memories and hope to get a chance to do this kind of expedition again. The catchment area for Rotherham contains the third most deprived area in the UK and some of these young people haven’t even left Rotherham before this adventure.

218 Rotherham Squadron Royal Air Force Air Cadets would like to thank the Ulysses Trust for their generous sponsorship of this expedition and the staff at Acorn Adventure for their enthusiasm and support.

Regional Drill Competition

What a day Father’s Day turned out to be. We loaded up the coach at 6am and set off for RAF Linton-on-Ouse via 148 Barnsley Squadron and Wing HQ.

This is where the problems started. Firstly the brief was given that the drill competition would start at 10.30am.

When were we due on? Just get ready for 10.30 and you’ll be on as soon as the ones in front go off (the routine takes roughly 8 minutes).

So 10.30 outside in uniform to go on. One wing are already parading and there is another wing in front of us.

But then a band marches on.

Secondly, the band finish, we move to get inspected. The NCO in charge of inspection has disappeared for lunch; no one else can do it! Come back at 1.00 and we’ll start again.

So we also go for lunch, which means the cadets cannot sit and relax as they don’t want to crease their perfect uniforms or scuff their shoes.

Thirdly, back at 1.00 and ready for inspection. Still no judge, his lunch has been extended!

Fourth, OK, go on the square and do the drill sequence. This won’t work; the uniform will suffer from the strict manoeuvres. So to compromise another judge will look at the dress standards and give feedback to the inspection judge when he returns.

Fifth, the squad go on and show some real determination despite all the problems and have a good stab at motivating themselves again. They leave the parade square and are finally inspected.

Skip forward to the final parade, confidence is low because of the problems during the day but the squad did it, South and West Yorkshire Wing represented by 218 Rotherham Squadron are once again Regional champions and through to the final six!

To top it all we also have Sgt Adam Cantrell as top Drill Instructor, although this was announced as FS Paul Woods (due to a communication error).

Let’s hope that they don’t cancel the Corps competition in November this time, but knowing our luck so far……

 

First Steps

13 sets of proud parents and well-wishers watched their children take the first steps on their journey within the Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

Under the Squadron Standard and joined by serving members, they stood tall and marched out to make their promise, "I, Cadet *Full Name*, hereby solemnly promise on my honour to serve my Unit loyally and to be faithful to my obligations as a member of the Air Training Corps. I further promise to be a good citizen and to do my duty to God and the Queen, my Country and my Flag."

Well done and congratulations to Cdt Thompson who was awarded the best recruit on the intake for showing outstanding progress across all areas of the training syllabus. And welcome to all the newly enrolled cadets from the cadets and staff at 218 Rotherham Squadron.

The evening was hosted by Commanding Officer Flt Lt Green and a blessing was given by Plt Off Wright.  The vsitors were invited to the cadet building after the ceremony to enjoy refreshments and to chat with staff and cadets.

2 September 2012 - Wentworth Woodhouse Classic Vehicle Show

This Sunday (02.09.12) there is a Classic Vehicle Show at Wentworth Woodhouse, for classic cars, motorcycles, military and commercial vehicles etc. This will be the first event held on the grounds since the 1920's and the Cadets will be there to lend a hand. We will also have a tent situated on the grounds with information and some fun and games.
 http://www.barnsleynews.co.uk/general-news/2024-public-visits-to-wentworth-woodhouse-prove-a-september-sell-out.html