ach year Thames Valley Wing holds its Inter Squadron bowling competition at RAF Brize Norton where the squadrons get together before the Christmas break with each squadron been allowed to enter 2 teams. With the event always being a good day out for the cadets and staff this year’s event was no exception with everyone enjoying themselves and some good scores been achieved at the end of the day.

459 (Windsor) Squadron provide their story on how the competition went for the squadron on the day. Continue reading →

During the October half term 28 cadets and 8 staff from Thames Valley Wing headed to RAF Linton-on-Ouse for their autumn camp on an operational, RAF station. It was a busy week for the cadets as they got to experience activities both on and off base, experience what life is like on an RAF station and meet new people with 17 of the wings squadrons been represented at the camp. For many of the cadets this was their first week long camp and were kept very busy with lots of activities and chance to discover what happens on an RAF base. Continue reading →

Each year cadets and staff from across Thames Valley wing gather at Wing HQ to take part in the various competitions that make up the wing activities day. With an early start for many squadrons cadets arrive ready to compete in a range of events show casing the skills they have learnt whilst being in the Air Training Corps. The event shows a high level of standards across all disciplines and this year was no exception across all the entries and levels of participation by the cadets.

With over 200 cadets at WAD 2013 squadrons took part in a range of events including the following: Aircraft Recognition, Aviation Art, Drill, Media Skills, Aero modelling, Photography, Public speaking and website entries. Continue reading →

One of the highlights of the wing sporting calendar saw 130 cadets take part in the Wing Swimming Championships at Temple Cowley Swimming Pool on Saturday, 7^th September. Cadets arrived in high spirits ready to swim likes fishes and gain points for their squadrons to try and take home the combined trophy from the day.

As the first races started it was clear there was some excellent swimmers within the wing and the competition was going to be tough. Continue reading →

Chocks away as Air Expereice Flights (AEF) resume at 6 AEF based at RAF Benson following a period of inactivity for the Grob Tutor fleet from October 2013. Squadrons from next week will start to see allocations re-appear on notice boards to offer cadets the chance to complete their Air Experience Flights with 6 AEF, further supporting cadet’s studies into aviation.

Air Experience flying is a big part of the cadet experience and alongside gliding is a key element that makes the Air Training Corps stand out from the rest. By been able to offer again cadets the chance for their sortie in the Grob Tutor cadets will be able to add another tick against their ‘Are You On Target’ achievements. Continue reading →

The best of the best from the Thames Valley area have come up trumps in the annual South West Region activities held this year at MOD Boscombe Down.

With activities ranging from Drill and presentational skills through to aero modelling and media communications, the battle was on to see which of the 6 Wings that form South West Region could come away with the silverware. It is fair to say that the competition was fierce but friendly throughout the whole days activities whilst the support provided by the staff, either directly to their own teams or in running the day as a whole was truly amazing. 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 →

Waking up at 6am isn’t the usual Sunday morning for a teenager, but the cadets from Slough squadron were up for the challenge of Wing Activities Day. Ready to compete, we arrived at Edward Brooks Barracks prepared to engage in the competitive spirit of Thames Valley Wing. As Slough squadron’s team captain, Sergeant Pusey was already motivating the cadets: “This is a great opportunity to boost the confidence of three of our new cadets.” The new cadets at Slough squadron had been preparing and training for this opportunity to demonstrate how much they have improved over recent months, and were excited to participate. 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 →