Wharfedale Air Cadets celebrated a year of success at their annual dinner and awards presentation earlier this month.

In a change from previous years, the ‘dinner’ this year was in fact a Sunday lunch, held in the Kings Hall and Winter Garden, Ilkley.

The event was a chance to showcase what the Cadets of 1224 (Wharfedale) Squadron have achieved over the past year and attracted a number of dignitaries.

Among those attending were Her Majesty’s Deputy Lord Lieutenant for West Yorkshire, Roger Whittaker and his wife Elizabeth, former Commandant Air Cadets, Air Commodore Ian Stewart and his wife Rosemary, Squadron Leader John Hitchen, Sector 5 Commander Central & East Yorkshire Wing, Squadron Leader Andy Blaikie from South & West Yorkshire Wing, Former Officer Commanding 1224 Squadron and now Projects Officer for Air Cadet Music Services Squadron Leader Sue Leighton and her husband Mark, North Region Music Officer Flight Lieutenant Max Puller and Company Sergeant Major Darren Harvey-Hill, from the Royal Military Police.

The afternoon started with the lunch, which was followed by the presentation of certificates that had been earned by the cadets over the past 12 months, these included classification certificates, Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, BTECs, marksmanship awards and flying scholarship certificates. There were also Certificates of Appointment presented to several staff members.

After the presentation of the certificates it was time for the trophy presentations.

The band also played sets throughout the afternoon playing songs such as Eye of Tiger, a John Williams Medley, The Air Cadet March and When I’m Gone (from the film Pitch Perfect) among other pieces.

The trophy winners were:

Attendance Trophy – Cadet Pearce Todd The Warrant Officers Trophy and the Warrant Officers Cup for the cadet and NCO each earning the highest points for consistently having best turnout over the past year were presented to Cadet Aiden Holmes and Sergeant Karl Verspyck respectively The White Rose Trophy for most promising new marksman – Cadet Jemima Spence West Riding Wing Cup for Sport – Corporal Daniel Chivers The Inter-Flight Competition Trophy (first awarded in 1941) was collected by Flight Sergeant Callum Parker and Sergeant Jørgen Moore on behalf of A Flight The Ian (Charlie) Clarke Memorial Trophy for Community Service, named in memory of a young airman who was killed in a road accident in Addingham in 1991 was won by Corporal Bailey Ryan Percussionist of the Year – Cadet Tom Kraft Musician of the Year – Flight Sergeant Kjersti Moore Best New Cadet – Cadet Charlie Franks Tesco Trophy for Best Intermediate Cadet – Corporal Tom Hepworth Millennium Trophy for Best Senior Cadet – Corporal Bailey Ryan The David Stead Memorial Trophy for Cadet Of The Year, presented in memory of Flight Lieutenant David Stead, a former cadet of 1224 who was sadly killed, along with his crew, when the C-130 Hercules he was piloting was shot down over Iraq in January 2005 was won by Corporal Daniel Chivers Flight Sergeant Callum Parker won the Commanding Officers Cup for his dedication to training and leadership Corporal Tom Hepworth won the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) Airedale & Wharfedale Salver, awarded to the cadet who collects the highest amount for RAFA over the year The Squadron was also presented with awards for being the highest collecting ATC unit in both the Yorkshire and Northern areas.

Warrant Officer (ATC) David Wood was also presented with an award for being the highest collecting adult volunteer in the area.

There were also several promotions made during the awards, they were: To Corporal: Max Franks, Hannah Mayfield and Ashleigh Smith To Sergeant: Tom Hepworth and Bailey Ryan To Flight Sergeant: Jack Bacon, Jørgen Moore, Karl Verspyck and Lisa Whitaker