Horsham Air Cadets celebrate year of success

The guest of honour was the Base Commander of RAF Odiham and Chinook Force Commander, Group Captain Richard Maddison OBE ADC MA RAF.

Held at the Cottesmore Golf Club, the cadets and staff dressed in formal black-tie attire joined together to enjoy a formal meal, following the traditions of the Royal Air Force. After enjoying the three course meal, the evening moved onto the awards section of the evening.

The Group Captain, whose wife is from Horsham, presented the awards and gave a stimulating and amusing speech. This highlighted episodes in his RAF career and he emphasised the many benefits he saw from membership of a disciplined youth organisation such as the Air Cadets.

The Cadet of the year award was awarded to Cadet Harry Stanley-Jones, 14, who has gone above the call of duty in contributing to the squadron and for displaying the highest levels of deportment, commitment and ability through 2014.

The Group Captain was also asked to present the Commanding Officer’s commendation to Staff to Mrs Sandra Paterson, whose hard work and dedication are an intricate part of the Squadron.

The Commanding Officer of 1015 (Horsham) Squadron Flight Lieutenant Richard Foster said “This was a fantastic opportunity for Cadets to experience a traditional RAF dinner, an honour that is normally reserved for regular RAF personnel. Our guest of honour was an excellent example of how Air Cadets can lead to a long and rewarding career in the Royal Air Force“.

Horsham Air Cadets is recruiting, if you are interested in joining and are aged between 12 & 18, you can contact us on [email protected] for details of our next intake in April. We also welcome applications from adult volunteers, who can contact us on the same address.

Report and picture contributed by Richard Foster, Flight Lieutenant RAFVR(T)Officer Commanding, 1015 (Horsham) Squadron.