Afterwards a delicious cream tea was served by the cadets who had turned out in their uniforms despite the sudden and unexpected fall of snow.
The squadron staff would like to thank everyone, cadets and parents, who attended the official 236 ATC HQ opening day. The opening event in the afternoon had a fantastic turnout and it was a shame that due to the weather not everyone was able to attend the dinner in the evening.
The Celebration Dinner at Shrigley Hall was a chance to recognise the hard work of the cadets during the year and to award trophies and prizes to those deserving cadets who had put in extra effort.

Funds are always in demand to enable cadets to take part in expeditions, sports and inter-squadron competitions and other fund raising efforts will help to kit out the new headquarters.

Anyone between 14 and 16 who is interested in joining should contact the commanding officer through the website www.236atc.co.uk. The squadron meet at the Slaughter House, Shrigley Road, Bollington between 7 and 9 pm on Mondays and Thursdays.

The day started pleaseant enough with the promise of scattered showers across the region but but nothing prepared us for what was to come…

At 10:00 am the Cadets of 236 (Bollington) and 201 (Macclesfield) squadrons gathered at the Christchurch in Macclesfield along with several hundred other participants in what was to be a Barnaby Parade to remember.

As the procession started the weather was fine, led by a Piped Band, closely followed by an enthusiastic Samba drum band, the Cadets were part of the War Years section of the parade.

As the parade entered the town centre the rain began, not just rain, but a torrential down pour. Full credit to all Cadets involved, they continued to play and march through the rain to the applause and cheers of the gathered growd.

Here are some thoughts on the camp from some of the cadets who went:

We went to the local air sea rescue centre and had to pretend our plane had crashed and we were in the sea, the swimming pool was the sea. We had a life raft we had to inflate. When it was infalted we had to turn it the right way up and we all had to help each other to get in. At the end of the excercise we got pushed out of the raft by the Flight Sergant which was fun because it was like Scuba Diving. (Cadet Greatorex)

On Thursday we went to the forest and we had to imagine that we were in Alaska and that our plane had crashed and we only had limiited supplies.Our task was to build a shelter aimed for 3 people and a casualty for easy access, a signal fire and regular fire for warmth and cooking. The task was great and took about 2 hours to complete and we worked none stop to create a cosy shelter. Cadet Bethell was our team leader and didn’t stop shouting orders, which even if annoying did help to motivate us all! A great activity and I would love to do it again! (Cadet Mills)

On the last day we all went down to the beach that was about 2 miles from the camp. We did sports on the beach like rounders and football. As the sun went down we collected wood from the forest and lit a fire, with the help of the officers, and cooked burgers. Later we sat around the fire and the chaplain got his guitar out and we all sang songs. (Cadet Mayers)

My favorite part of the week was the last night when we went to Sandy Beach. We played rounders, built a fire, sang camp songs and had a BBQ. I enjoyed rounders because it was fun seeing the staff relaxed and messing around with the cadets. Building the fire was funny because people people kept falling over when going to collect the wood. The best part of the night was singing camp songs , we didn’t care if we could sing or didn’t know the words we still sang/shouted rather loudly. (Cadet Prior)

The cadets and staff would like to thank everyone at Kinloss for their great hospitality and are looking forward to next year.

Why not visit the Gallery and look at some of the great photos from the event!

This facility offers a full range of climbing walls for the cadets to attempt, from Boldering to the towering 23.5m main wall.

Ten teams filled the Scout Hut at Albert Road, Bollington to pick their brains on such subjects as music, nature, science and general knowledge.

A delicious warming chilli was served in the interval and drinks, including local ale from Bollington Brewery were available to refresh the grey matter.

A raffle with a range of prizes supported by local businesses was held in the interval and a lucky ticket holder received a further prize so everyone had a chance of winning even if the questions had stumped them.

Funds raised will be used to provide the cadets with sports equipment plus other equipment for Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and equipment used in training for a BTEC in public services

A confirmation email will be sent to your mailbox: please read the instruction inside it to complete the subscription.

This years dining in night was held at the Macclesfield Golf Club on Saturday 2nd October. Cadets and staff from 236 squadron were joined by Wg Cdr S. Walsh and Flt Lt B. Orme from 42 Squadron RAF Kinloss. 236 ATC squadron has close links to RAF Kinloss and has had the opportunity of attending the RAF base for week long camp for several years.

The cadets and staff also had the pleasure of inviting local dignitaries and officials, including the Bollington Town Mayor Councillor Mrs Williams, Mr J Kershaw Former Chairman of Civilian Committee 236 Sqn ATC, Sqn Ldr M. Linehan RAFR Wing ExO East Cheshire & South Manchester, Flt Lt H. James RAFVR(T) Wing Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Officer and Fl Lt A. Jones RAFVR(T)  OC 201(Macclesfield) Sqn ATC.

During the nights celebrations a prize giving ceremony was held with the following cadets and staff receiving awards:

1st Bonson Trophy – This is the award for the best Male Cadet excluding Cdt NCO’s.
Presented by: Mr John Kershaw to: Cdt Danny Duggan

2nd Bonson Trophy – This is the award for the best Female Cadet excluding Cdt NCO’s.
Presented by: Mr John Kershaw to: Cdt Anna Prior.

3rd Bonson Trophy – This is the award for the Cadet who raised the most funds for a charitable cause.
Presented by: Mr John Kershaw to: Cdt Alex Mills

The Roberts Shield – This is the award for most improved Cadet.
Presented by: Bollington Town Mayor Cll Mrs Williams to: Cpl Sam Spencer

Harrison Trophy – This is the award for best Cadet NCO.
Presented by: Bollington Town Mayor Cll Mrs Williams to: Cpl Kyle Sains

Ma’am Cave’s Trophy
Presented by: Ma’am Cave to: Cdt Daniel Mayers.

The Robinson Trophy is awarded for the Best Overall Cadet
The Atlantic Trophy is awarded for the Highest exam mark average this year.
Presented by: Wg Cdr Walsh to: Cadet Riordan

Nimrod Tropy – Donated by BAe Systems and 42 Sqn Royal Air Force
Presented by: Wg Cdr Walsh to: Mr Deryck Sutton

Long Service Bar: Awarded to Flt Lt Alan Bethell, Alan was awarded his Cadet Forces Medal in 1992 after12 years adult service. This year Alan is awarded a 3rd bar to his medal.

A special presentation was made to Mr Alan Smith following 48 years service as an adult volunteer with the ATC

This years Promotions:
Cadet to Corporal
Cdt Doyle, Cdt Duggan, Cdt David Nixon, Cdt Riordan and Cdt Roots

Corporal to Sergeant
Cpl Sains and Cpl Peter Nixon

The cadets of 236 Bollington Squadron were joined by the Sea Cadets, the Bollington Brass band, the mayors civic procession and many members of the public on a parade through parts of their home town before attending a service at St Oswalds Church led by the Rev Haydon.

Although the weather was unkind on the day all who took part were impressed with the cadets first public performance despite the, at times, driving rain.

Flight Lieutenant Alan Bethel who has been a key figure in training the cadet drum squad said ‘I am extremely impressed with the way the cadets performed today after only 4 months, split by the annual school holidays, of practice. Over the next few months we will be working with the cadets and hopefully performing at more parades including Remembrance Sunday in November’.

More information about:

Battle of Britain Day

New Luftwaffe tactics

On 15 September – now known as “Battle of Britain Day” – the Luftwaffe launched two huge bombing raids on London. Believing that the RAF was close to breaking point, the attacks were a repeat of their monumental and devastating attack eight days before. Smaller formations of German planes were also planned to attack Portland and Southampton.

The Luftwaffe had introduced a significant change of tactics on 7 September. They had switched away from attacking RAF bases and radar stations to focus on bombing London.

This inadvertently gave Fighter Command much-needed breathing space. As a result, by 15 September, the British were in much better shape than they had been a week before. Their pilots had been rested, squadrons replenished and infrastructure repaired.

Air-Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, head of Fighter Command, had brought planes to the South East from all over the country.

The battle begins

On the 15th, Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited RAF Uxbridge, the headquarters of No. 11 Group, Fighter Command. This group was led by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park and was responsible for the defence of London and the south-east of England. On this day, it was the beating heart of the battle.

The first wave of about 250 bombers came over the Channel at 11am and whilst many Luftwaffe planes were intercepted by the RAF, around half managed to make it to London and drop their loads. A second wave of about the same number returned at 2pm believed to be aiming for South London and the railways out to Kent. The raids continued into the night.

Churchill later described what he saw at 11 Group: “Presently the red bulbs showed that the majority of our squadrons were engaged. In a little while, all our squadrons were fighting and some had already begun to return for fuel. All were in the air. The lower line of bulbs was out. There was not one squadron left in reserve”.

The Luftwaffe are defeated

During both of the raids that day, the RAF managed to scatter many of the German bomber formations. This meant that when the surviving bombers did drop their loads, they fell over a wide area and were less harmful. Thousands of Londoners stood in the streets below watching the battle rage over their heads.

The RAF claimed to have shot down 185 German planes; in fact, it was 61, but these were the highest losses the Luftwaffe had suffered for over a month. The RAF lost 31 planes.

Although fighting continued in the air for several more weeks, and British cities were bombed sporadically for the rest of the war, German tactics to achieve air superiority ahead of an invasion failed.

Sunday 15 September marked a clear and decisive defeat for the Luftwaffe. They abandoned the daylight bombing of London on 30 September, although night-time bombing continued into May 1941.

The event, which started in 2000, keeps as its focus a wide range of vintage, veteran and classic vehicles, featuring all types of cars, bikes, farm machinery and commercial vehicles to remind you of the great days of motoring. All profits go to local charitable causes.

The Extravaganza has become well-known as a great day out for all the family and a fun ending to the summer, with lots of interest for all ages, a Farmers’ Market, with a variety of stalls, offered locally produced produce.

Many old favourites were on show, including the mini-steam train, the Majestic Owls and the fairground. There was also a balloon race for charity, face-painting and balloon sculpting for children for part of the day. Other attractions included commercial and charity stalls, including the East Cheshire Hospice, Bridgend Centre, Bollington District Guides, and local schools.

Cadets from 236 Bollington Squadron joined with Sea Cadets, veterans, Bollington Brass band, the Mayor and civic members to march through Kerridge to the war memorial on Oak Lane where a service of rememberance was led by Reverand Haydon.

Follwoing the parade the cadets were joined by memebrs of the public and parents at the Hollins Hall hotel for light refreshments.