Meet Kat and Liam. They are two of the literally countless young people who have passed through the doors of 59 (Huddersfield) Squadron Air Cadets. We held a dinner last Friday to celebrate 80 years of all things Squadron.
In those 80 years we’re produced lots of RAF pilots, groundcrew and civilian pilots, but also teachers, health professionals, policemen, administrators… even a CIPR President!
I was invited to join in 2002 by the OC at the time as a Civilian Instructor (Adjutant; media & comms officer; occasional teacher of Air Navigation) and have now wound down my duties to just be Treasurer of the Civilian and Welfare Committee. It was hard work giving up two evening a week, plus the occasional weekend. Got a lot of experience being a PR person though, I got them in the local papers once a fortnight on average.
But seeing what people like Kat and Liam are doing with their lives now certainly makes it all worthwhile. If I played any small part in that, I’m happy.