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.