Cadets throughout Oxford, Berkshire and Hampshire will now be experiencing the fun and thrills of Archery following 11 staff and cadets completing ArcheryUK’s Leader Award.

Hosted by 211 (Newbury) Squadron, the 4 day course allowed staff from various Air Cadet Squadrons from Thames Valley Wing and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wing to learn about delivering safe and enjoyable archery sessions to their cadets. Continue reading →

When 4624 (County of Oxford) Movements Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force needed a band to support the parade being held to celebrate their 30th Anniversary they turned to the Air Training Corps to provide the honours, in this case the band of 1460 (Banbury) Squadron.

The band lead by Squadron Commander Flight Lieutenant Karl Kisley provided the musical accompaniment outside the Officers Mess at RAF Brize Norton for the parade which consisted of approximately 100 personnel lead by the Officer Commanding 4624 Squadron, Wing Commander Williams.  Continue reading →

The 1460 (Banbury) Squadron band did the ATC proud when it was invited to participate in a fundraising event in aid of services charities.

Former Banbury Councillor Rosemarie Higham-Stevens decided to celebrate her 70th birthday by organising a concert, aptly entitled “Singing for Heroes” featuring ‘The Warminister Military Wives Choir’ but needed a suitably military style musical accompaniment, Cue the 1460 band under the direction of Flight Lieutenant Karl Kisley which marched in to add some Air Force blue icing to the cake. Continue reading →

In a surprise result, the cadets of 2211 (Bracknell) Squadron have won the Thames Valley Wing Activity Day held at Edward Brooks Barrack from a strong field of 287 cadets from right across the Thames Valley.

Bracknell secured the win by a strong performance across all the categories – Foot Drill, Banner Drill, Aviation Art, Aeromodelling, Photography, Media Skills, Aircraft Recognition, Flights of Fancy and Map Making. Runners up were 1996 (Earley) Squadron followed by 211 (Newbury) Squadron and 381 (Reading) Squadron. The overall drill winners were favourites 1116 (Wodley) Squadron who now go forward to the Regional Activity Day. Continue reading →

The annual Inter Squadron Swimming Competition was held recently at Temple Cowley Pool and saw 21 Squadrons from across Oxfordshire and Berkshire in fierce battle for the awards on offer.

The competition itself was spread across four classes (Junior Boys, Senior Boys, Junior Girls and Senior Girls) and comprised both individual and team events in all four main disciplines, namely Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle. In addition there were further categories including the individual medley, one cadet completing all four strokes in one race, the medley relay (4 cadets 4 strokes) and the freestyle relay (4 cadets any stroke). Continue reading →

76 uniformed members of staff from Thames Valley Wing have been awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

The members of staff were presented with the medal by Air Commodore Paul Lyall OBE of the Joint Services Defence College during a high profile parade at Dalton Barracks; in front of family, friends and guests. Continue reading →

Five cadets from 1460 (Banbury) Squadron are tired but in celebratory mood having successfully completed their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition.

As one of the final stages in their overall award training the cadets were extremely keen to ensure that their expedition was one to remember. This they achieved, partially through their topical and environmentally aware purpose which was to investigate and deliver a presentation on the habitat of the Red Kites which are prevalent in the area, and partially through their assessor who was none other than Thames Valley’s own torch bearer, Civilian Instructor Mo Merchant. Continue reading →

Thames Valley Air Cadets have been celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in style throughout Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Across two weekends cadets and staff have supported numerous activities:- Continue reading →

Britwell Air Cadets were in the silverware after winning the lions share of the medals and trophies at the Thames Valley Wing Athletics Championships held at Abingdon’s Tilsey Park.

Over 200 cadets and 50 staff took part in glorious sunshine; battling it out to be crowned champions. 11 events were on offer across 5 age categories headed up by Flight Sergeant Barry Tweddle, the Wing Sports Officer. Continue reading →

Cadets from Chipping Norton, based in North Oxfordshire, and cadets from Earley in Berkshire have proved themselves best of the bunch in a thrilling 5-a-side tournament held at RAF Benson.

28 teams from across the Thames Valley started the day with a series of league competitions for the male and female trophies before being narrowed down to the top 12 teams for the nail biting play off stage. Continue reading →