The members of 1084 (Market Harborough) Squadron Air Cadets recently held the annual Dining in Night. This is a formal dinner during which new members of the unit are formally welcomed and goodbyes are said to those that left during the previous year.
Over 30 members of the squadron met at the Masonic Hall in Market Harborough to enjoy a Three-course meal followed by after-dinner speeches. All uniformed members of the squadron attended in mess dress. For the cadet NCO’s this meant wearing a white shirt and a bow tie, with their uniform trousers or skirt.
During the after-dinner speeches conducted by the Officer Commanding, Flying Officer Helen Greaves, Civilian Committee Chairman, Mr Max Corney, ex-Officer Commanding Flight Lieutenant Robin Bosworth (Retd) and our oldest Cadet Flight Sergeant Alex Reid. The new members of the unit were formally welcomed by asking the existing members to raise their glasses in a toast. In addition to new cadets the squadron also welcomed several new members of staff including RAFAC Sergeant Patrick Evans transferring in from 1475 (Dulwich) Sqn and ex-1084 cadet, and new service instructor, RAF Senior Aircraftwoman J Kirkpatrick.
A short review of the cadet’s personal achievements was made to inspire the newer members to take part in all that the Corps offers. Our most recent success came at the Wing Sports event held in May. Corporals Finn Singer, Judith Riley and Cadet Charles Hudson did so well in their events that they are to represent the Wing at the regional athletics competition. CPL Singer also managed to secure a new wing record in the 400mtrs race, romping home in an amazing 59 seconds! The Squadron team came an impressive 10th out of 30, beating many squadrons that were able to field a full team in all events, where we had a few events that we were unable to find a competitor for.
Over the whole Covid period we have little opportunity to develop the cadets as we would have normally, but since the return to face-to-face meetings we have been able to identify the talents of some of our more experienced cadets. With some of the older cadets leaving, it is up to the younger generation to take over and lead from the front. It was the greatest privilege for Flying Officer Helen Greaves to award promotions to the following well deserving cadets:
Cadet Corporal Philomena Stanwell-Wise
Cadet Corporal Finn Singer
Cadet Corporal Judith Riley
Cadet Corporal Oscar Kelham
Cadet Sergeant William Coombs-Farnsworth
Cadet Sergeant Sebastian Stanwell-Wise
Cadet Sergeant Hala Blackwell
Cadet Sergeant Mya Shearman-Brettle
Cadet Sergeant Alaitz Cabascango
Cadet Flight Sergeant Ben White
Cadet Flight Sergeant Meera Assan
Cadet Flight Sergeant Alex Reid
More photos to follow
