Page 26 - Cadet ReviewAutumn/Winter 2020

SWY Wing ATC Battle of Britain
Day 2020
The summer of 1940 could have been fine, except the country was at war. On 1st August, Adolf Hitler had given the order “The German airforce is to overcome the British airforce with all means at its disposal, and as soon as possible”, which led directly to the Battle of Britain, the tranquillity of the English countryside was disturbed repeatedly by the sounds of aircraft engines and in many places people studied the skies for aircraft: were they British or German?
Eighty years later, all we have to contend with is the Corona Virus pandemic, which has led to the curtailment of so many ceremonial and commemo- rative events this year.
Since March cadets at 868 (Mirfield) Squadron
ATC have been engaged in regular virtual meetings using Microsoft Teams and these have been in normal everyday dress. Tuesday 15th September was different: this was the 80th anniversary of Battle of Britain Day, and all cadets were encouraged to put on their uniforms (unless they found they would no longer fit) and joined in a very special virtual event to mark that significant anniversary.
A varied programme had been put together for the evening and was delivered by various staff, cadets and led by the Squadron Chaplain, Rev’d Christine Shedd.
Cadet Warrant Officer Kiara Baillie served as Master of Ceremonies and explained various facts and figures about the Battle, and Corporal Toby Mathews read an extract from the memories of a Spitfire pilot describing his action in conflict on the day.
Life for people on the ground was also explained by Flight Sergeant Rebecca Jagger, with Mrs Sue Doubell explaining the constraints of rationing and Cadet Laila Robinson read a from a young girl’s account of living through air raids and seeking safety in an Anderson Shelter.
Corporal Green explained an early form of crowd funding, the ‘Spitfire Funds’, that led to the people of Mirfield raising the money to purchase a Mk Vb Spitfire, W3458 and how that aircraft was later shot down in the same action as the famous Douglas Bader.
Cadets’ knowledge was put to the test by two quizzes, one on general knowledge of the Battle
I am pleased that we
did not let this very important anniversary occasion pass without some sort of event to recognise it
of Britain and one on recognition of aircraft of the period (both British and German), which
were delivered with some commendable supporting information by Sergeant Jacob Stockwell. The
two quizzes were won, respectively, by CWO Kiara Baillie and Cadet Matthew Devine.
A final challenge to cadets was posed by Sergeant Freya Pugh, who explained more detail about
the Anderson Shelter and how very small it was
to provide protection for a whole family, before explaining the task:
• Build a model Anderson Shelter
• Draw a plan showing what you would put in it
• Submit plans and pictures of completed models
by 30 September
The ceremonial aspects brought the evening
to a close with the Exhortation, read by Sgt Sam Cookland, followed by a respectful silence and the RAF Prayer.
Cadets comments about the evening included “it was good how we learnt from lots of different perspectives of people’s accounts of being there. Also, the minutes silence was very well done” from Matthew Devine.
Afterwards Flt Lt Doubell reflected on the evening saying “what a very special night that was. It was so
very good to see the second highest attendance we have recorded for a virtual meeting and
so many cadets were able to get into their uniforms for the night – it shows they are
still definitely Air Cadets! I am pleased that we did not let this very important
anniversary occasion pass without some sort of event to recognise it and
the support of everyone has made really proud of the cadets, especially those who took part in the delivery of the different parts of the evening.
26 CADET REVIEW AUTUMN/WINTER 2020