September / October 2003

GLASGOW SPITFIRE RETURNS HOME

By FS Bobby Hastie

On Wednesday the 17^th of September, the squadron was asked to provide a guard of honour for the official welcoming of the spitfire LA198 used by the 602 (City of Glasgow) RAuxAF Squadron during the second world war. The event was held at the museum of transport, in the Kelvinside area of Glasgow, a short trip from the Squadron.

Around a dozen, immaculately turned out, cadets arrived at the museum, fully dressed in white gloves and belts; our own Squadron banner was also brought for display as part of the guard. The link between 602 Squadron and our own 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron is very important, and has a distinguished history behind it. During the war the members of 602 Squadron were called upon to defend the country against the invading forces, in the air. Among their achievements is their involvement in the shooting down of the first enemy aircraft over British soil, and they were also one of the first British reserve Squadron's to receive the, then brand new, spitfires. One of which was now being welcomed back home to Glasgow. After the Squadron was disbanded it was found that many of the former airmen, and ground crew had "souvenirs" obtained from downed aircraft, photos, memorabilia, and the like.

It was suggested that a small display could be made of these items. After a while, it was realised that an entire museum could be made, but where would such a museum be? At the time the commanding officer of 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron said that the cadets of the Squadron would. A short time later the museum was built on the Squadron's ground, where it still stands today.

The guard of honour was superb. As the dignitaries arrived the sounds of the piper, and the smart body cadets greeted them. A credit to the Squadron as some of the senior wing officers arrived at the event, including our Wing Commander and our Regional Commandant. All were impressed, as was our own Squadron staff, who made every attempt to get a picture of this proud moment.

Inside, the spitfire was at the front, magnificently kept for all to see. After a few speeches from some of the dignitaries, it was time to mingle with some of the retired officers, who were more than willing to share some of their war time stories with us, the potential next generation of the armed forces. Among all these stories, the cadets still found time to sample the delights of the buffet table, and have a photo by the aircraft itself. By the end of the afternoon the cadets had seen and heard from a good number of the 602 association's members, and had heard all about the spitfire, and its place in the history books of aviation.

The spitfire is still currently in the museum of transport. The museum is free to enter and it is very worthwhile going to see this extraordinary machine, and read just a handful of the stories it has to hold. The spitfire will remain there until the construction work is complete in what will be its full time home, just across the road, at the Kelvingrove museum.

GLASGOW WIN DOUGLAS BADER COMPETITION

By Sgt Michael Little

The squadron has a great record of taking part in the regional Douglas Bader competition with Plt Off Callan, CI Hastie and FS Hastie all having taken part. This year I was chosen to be in the wing team which consisted of 5 cadets, three from 396, one from 32 (f) and myself. It was a very young team compared to last year's but we were determined as ever to do our best.

We left early on the Friday morning to arrive at RAF Kinloss at 6pm and told that it would be a very fierce competition. After all the briefs we went to our accommodation with the cadets staying at the gliding school which was based there. The only disappointment was the fact that the girls were based on the other side of the station which meant crossing wire fences, a road and armed guards in order to get to them!

The competition was as tough as we had been told it would be. We took part in an observation analysis first and then aircraft recognition. I didn't do very well on that part, but everyone has there strong points and bad points. One guy got 88 out of 100, but I'd rather have a social life thank you! We then had the "Hawk Challenge", where we had to land an aircraft without an engine on a computer simulation. After that, two of the team represented us in the shooting while the rest of us did the "Superstars" sports competition. This was definitely one of my strong points! I loved it, we had a circuit to do which was hard going but we picked up loads of points! Straight after that however, it was the swimming competition and we were knackered! We achieved the fastest time for diving into the pool and placing the ball in the basket and then had the night off to go to the bowling and relax.

The next day, we had the leadership competition which was also one of my strongest events. The whole team did very well at this and expertly picked up most of the points. Once all the teams had finished we went to the fire station and had a great laugh taking part in a timed exercises to construct a decontamination shower in full fire fighting gear!

Then it was time for the results! The "Supercadet" award went to Cadet Jamieson from our team and we were exceptionally proud of him. Now time for the big announcement...this years winners are... Glasgow! We were overjoyed to hear that and proud that we had made it two wins in a row for the Wing. I would like to thank all of my team mates, it was great fun and I hope to see you all sometime in the future, even if you are from 396! Only Joking!

WEAPONS HANDLING

By Cdt Dominic Hastie

On Sunday the 19th of October, our squadron took part in a weapons handling course in order to participate in target shooting. Flt Lt Wardle from 122 Squadron and AWO Andrews from 1089 squadron visited us to take us through the course. The purpose of the course is to instruct us in using the weapons safely and correctly.

We were using the No.8 .22 rifle and ten cadets attended as you are not allowed to go target shooting until you are qualified. There were three lessons in total. The first was about the rifle itself, the different parts, it's range and Normal Safety Precautions (NSPs). Part two taught us how to clean the rifle, how to hold it properly and how to load ammunition. Part three covered how to fire the rifle and how to handle a misfire.

We then had a few minutes to prepare before the test. The test consisted of a few questions covering everything we had learned. Thankfully, everybody passed and they are now qualified to target shoot safely.

SILVER AT WING MODELLING COMPETITION

By Cdt Suzi Vines

On the 11^th of September, myself and cadets from across Glasgow and the west of Scotland attended the annual Wing Air Craft Recognition and Model Making Competitions. When we arrived at 32 (F) Squadron ATC headquarters, the two teams were split up for Air Craft Recognition and Model making, and we were to go and prepare ourselves. Cadet Kayani and I were representing 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron for the Model Making and went through to set up our two dioramas.

As you are not allowed to be in the room while the models were being judged, a few of the cadets went outside to practice some lovely drill (this was only because the Army Cadets couldn’t march to save themselves and we wanted to show them up!) We then went into the main building as the judges were still judging!!!

After waiting, for what seemed like forever, we were told to go inside and form up so the Judges could announce the winners. 2175 (Rolls-Royce) were awarded the silver medal in dioramas, and were robbed of the Air Craft Recognition Prize, despite our best efforts!

Overall it was a fun night, being able to interact with friends from other parts of the wing, and of course winning the medal! All cadets should take a chance at doing competitions like these, as they are brill!!!!

WING AIRCRAFT RECOGNITION COMPETITION

By Cpl Sean Hogg

On September 11^th, a group of cadets from 2175 (Rolls-Royce) squadron (myself included) participated in the annual regional aircraft recognition competition held at 32F squadron in Kingspark.

In the competition you are shown slides of 20 randomly chosen aircraft ranging from military fighter jets to civilian passenger aircraft from all over the world. Each slide is shown for 20 seconds then you must name the aircraft. As you can imagine this is a mammoth task, to learn all the aircraft but a task that the cadets from the 2175 (Rolls-Royce) squadron were not afraid to attempt!

The weeks leading up to the competition were spent studying the numerous aircraft in order to attain in a respectable position in the competition.

When it came to the night of the competition the team were somewhat nervous however those weeks of studying paid off as we gained the respectable position we were after.

Next year we hope to return and win the trophy!

BATTLE OF BRITAIN CHURCH PARADE

By FS Bobby Hastie

Every year, our Wing holds a church parade for to remember those lost in the battle of Britain, during the Second World War. This year the Squadron decided, not only to attend, as we try to do every year, but also to fly the Squadron's banner at the ceremony. I was part of this as I was carrying the Squadron's banner for the parade.

The church parade is organised and co-ordinated by the members of the RAFA (Royal Air Force Association) who also fly their colours at the parade. All Squadron's in the wing are encouraged to attend in some form; however, there were only around half a dozen that were flying their banners. Those of us who were had attended a practice for the event, a few days before. Our Squadron entrusted the banner with Sgt Little, and myself; however, the Sergeant was used as a route liner for the parade. Having never carried the banner at this parade before, I came in as a novice, however, the RAFA officers kept it simple and it wasn't long before all had a firm grasp of the order of events.

Come the day of the parade, a group of cadets from our Squadron were met with another early Sunday start, as we made our way up the church in light traffic. As we arrived the Sergeant and I were put into positions, as the other cadets took their seats. The wing had a good turn out, as the attendance required more seats than were excepted.

Tributes were made throughout the service to the brave souls who gave their lives in the battle of Britain, who fought for our freedom, and who we owe a great deal of gratitude today. Mentions were also made for those individuals lucky enough to still be with us, and some of those individuals were in attendance. The marching out of the colours concluded a respectful service. As the banners were marched out, the cadets left, and received crisps and juice. And as we left we reflected on the day and the pride of yet another showing of the Squadron banner. Pretty soon it'll be Remembrance Sunday, when the biggest annual Squadron parade is shown. Looking forward to it.

JUNIOR LEADERS; THE STORY SO FAR

By FS Bobby Hastie

One of the aims of the ATC is:

"To provide training which will be useful in both the services and civilian life."

Probably one of the most effective examples of this the Junior Leaders course, which I am currently a part of.

The course, which runs over 9 months (8 weekends and one week long graduation camp), in which participants are subjected to world class military and management training. I am now into the 3^rd weekend, and thoroughly enjoying myself, although it is hard work. In the interest of fairness, I can't go into too much detail about the structure, and activity of the course, as some of the cadets who read this article may go on to be involved in this course, and it would unfair to give them too much of an insight into the running of events, before the course. However, with this said, I would like to give a brief rendition of my application into the course, and my thoughts on it so far.

I originally heard about the course from the staff in my Squadron, but this was last year, when I started university. At the time I wanted to concentrate on my studies, and so put off applying for the course that year. Many of my friends in wing and region went on that course and constantly told me stories of their weekend adventures with the junior leaders. This kept my appetite wet so that when the time came round to apply for this year course, course no. 5, I was quick to apply.

I was informed that I had been chosen to attend the courses selection weekend. I went down with my given schedule, expecting all the aspects of assessment for the weekend. Upon arrival, it was clear that the people attending this course were the cream of the corps. All had had previous experiences in the corps, with most having been to far off places, or winning awards, but all deserved to be there. It was a humbling experience. I can definitely say, looking back, it was the most thorough assessment I have ever had to attend any ATC course. I won't give the game away, but suffice to say we were constantly being assessed.

The course itself is designed to help its members go forward into a military career, on the ground or in the air (or even at sea). Not all, but the vast majority of the course want to go into military service, so it is worth remembering that many of the course members will be in, or even leading, British front line forces in the next decade or so. But this is a long way off at the moment, as we have still to pass the course.

At the end of the weekend, I was fortunate enough to be selected. That was when the really hard work had to begin. It's not just my fitness had to work on, but I had to get my head round some of the classes we were being given, and also look ahead to equipment we had to obtain.

Now into weekend 3, the group has already begun to thin out, as some have already left the course. It has so far lived up to all of my expectations, and is fantastic fun. It does involve a lot of hard work, and concentration, but as I said, we are getting 1^st class training. It is not over yet though, not even close. The course members, myself included, can be cut from the course at anytime, but I am determined, as are many to see the course to the end, and do as well as we can. It is an opportunity of a lifetime, and as we have been told, and seen through example, it is a life-changing course. My closing comments, so far, about being on this, the ultimate course, offered by the ATC: happy, pleased and proud, to be on this, what I hope (and will help try to make) the best Junior Leaders course, course number 5.

THE NEW CIVILIAN INSTRUCTOR

By Cadet Scott Adair

Mr Nicky Yuill recently returned to the squadron to enlist as our new Civilian Instructor. He has returned to see the friendly faces he has missed, particularly those he served as a cadet with; Plt Off Callan, Miss Hastie and FS Hastie. He regretted leaving as a Corporal and was persuaded to come back by FS Hastie. Mr Yuill is hoping to become an Adult Sergeant, perhaps building up enough experience and developing his leadership skills before going for an Officer's position in later years. Mr Yuill was introduced to the squadron by his brother and enjoyed it si much he stayed for 5 years! He says, " I love to see the probationers becoming cadets and progressing through their time here with our help." Mr Yuills's greatest achievement was to attend an overseas camp in Cyprus, he enjoyed it very much and would love to go back as a staff member. Mr Yuill is 20 years of age and works as a barman in a very popular city centre pub! Free drinks, Score!!!

CADETS RAISE £700

Our cadets raised over £700 bag packing in Asda on a single day. The bag packing at Asda Maryhill in Glasgow contributed to some much needed funds for the squadron in order to buy Adventure Training equipment.

Our Commanding Officer, Flt Lt Graham Short praised their hard work and effort saying, “We’re extremely proud of the cadets success in raising their own funds and would like to thank Asda for giving us this fantastic opportunity in their store.

2175 ASSISTS GREAT SCOTTISH RUN 2003

The squadron helped this years Great Scottish Run, Glasgow’s half marathon, to be even more successful than last years event.

Twenty cadets from 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron Air Training Corps assisted Strathclyde Police to operate 5 traffic gates throughout the city to ensure the runner’s safety and the easy passage of cars during the event which also included a 10K race and a junior race.

Cadet Corporal Chris Kilmartin (17) from Crookston assisted his fifth Great Scottish Run and said, “It was great to cheer all the runners and it’s not everyday you get to help the police do their job!”

The squadron was awarded a donation of £200 for our help with the event from Glasgow City Council.

ROLL OF HONOUR

Wing Douglas Bader Team (7th Individual)

Sgt Michael Little

First Class Cadet

Cdt John Morrison

Cdt Scott Adair

Enrolled Cadets

Cdt Gallacher

Cdt Falconer

2nd in Wing Diorama

Cpl Elizabeth Brad

Cdt Michael McLellan

Cdt Suzi Vines

Cdt Sean Gilles

Cdt Ross Pettigrew

Cdt Hussain Kayani

Cdt Neil Finnie

Cdt Steven Smith

Cdt Darren Morrison

Weapons Handling Course

Cdt Suzi Vines

Cdt Dominic Hastie

Cdt Neil Finnie

Cdt Steven Smith

Cdt Scott Adair

Cdt Darren Morrison

Newsletter

Jan / Feb

Mar / Apr

May / June

Sep / Oct

Nov / Dec