2510 - West Denton Squadron, Royal Air Force Air Cadets

Yesterday we had six cadets take part in this year's annual Durham Northumberland Wing Competitions Day which was held at the Royal Grammar School in Newcatle upon Tyne.

For these six cadets this was the first time representing the squadron at this event. Sgt Woollin took the lead in this year's competition and was quoted saying during his debrief that staff had nothing but praise on how the cadets conducted themselves and 2510 certainly kept the first aid team entertained and on their toes with their conversations and techniques.

A lot was learnt during the day and techniques will be worked on and built up ready for next year in order to get back to top 3 winning ways.

Well done everyone.

Cpl Norman
Media Officer

Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
North Region - Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
North of England RFCA
Commandant Air Cadets
Regional Commandant North - Air Cadets

Thursday 30 June 2510 West Denton Squadron opened their doors and invited all staff, civilian committee, and parents to attend our end of month / annual presentation evening.

This was the perfect opportunity to present cadets with some overdue awards and accolades. The evening began with Flt Lt Brown welcoming parents to our indoor squadron presentation due to the rain and explained all safety procedures in case of an emergency.

We started with Flt Lt Brown presenting the first of the evenings awards which included certificates for completion of Open Learn Cyber Security, Applications of space technology, Camp first aid, Camp hygiene, and Archery. There were badges and certificates awarded to cadets for Blue Duke of Edinburgh, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh and Shooting that were all achieved for the month of June.

Flt Lt Brown then took the opportunity to speak in depth to all in attendance about the visibility 2510 has built up within its community due to the continued fundraising activities the squadron has been involved with. These partnerships with both Cowgate and West Denton Morrisons, include Together for Short lives, St Oswald’s Hospice and the SSAFA The Armed Forces charity. Cadets were then called individually to receive their certificates of the amounts that have been raised with great pride.

Next Flt Lt Brown presented the trophy that was won to cadets who successfully beat the army cadets on penalties in the combined cadet force challenge cup which was held at the picnic in the park at Nunsmoor near Newcastle city centre to support Armed Forces Day.

After a short interval the evening continued with the presentation of runners up medals for the 5 cadets who took part in last years Wing competition day. It was an extremely close competition and at one point it looked like 2510 would defend the title they won the previous year only to be pipped by worthy winners Cramlington. Unfortunately, due to being poorly Cdt D Akinrogbe was not in attendance however, Cdt E Westgate, Cpl L Dawson, FS D Ash and team captain CWO C Fraser proudly received their medals from Flt Lt Brown and posed for photographs.

We now approached the main awards for the evening. The first award announced was for best attendance 2021/2022 and that went to CWO Fraser. The second award announced was for Best Recruit 2021/2022 which went to Cdt Norman. The third award announced was for Best Cadet 2021/2022 which went to Cpl Dawson. The fourth award announced was for Best NCO 2021/2022 which went to FS Ash. The final award is a special award at 2510 which is The Endeavour Award. The Endeavour Award is sword that is awarded to the cadet who has been outstanding for the current year, The best of the best and this year’s winner was FS Daniel Ash who will now have his name engraved into the 2510 West Denton Squadron list of winners. All winners were in receipt of high-quality Jade cut glass awards that were provided by the civilian committee and presented by the Officer Commanding.

There was a positive buzz and a hive of activity within the squadron with proud parents eager to congratulate cadets and take photographs only for Flt Lt Brown to announce the following promotions. With immediate effect Cpl Charlie Hadley was promoted to Sergeant. Cdt Katie Norman and Emily Westgate were promoted to Corporal. Flt Lt Brown stated that these promotions were well merited and shows the recognition for all their hard work and dedication to duty.

The evening ended with cadets having the opportunity to have their photograph taken with their proud parents and Flt Lt Brown showcasing a plethora of individual accolades they have achieved as part of 2510 West Denton Squadron. The evening was a complete success showcasing to parents and our community what our fantastic young people are achieving. The proud smiling faces of parents, some a little teary along with the evenings continuous rapturous noise of applause was testament to how proud everyone is to be part of our 2510 family

Cpl Norman
2510 Media Officer

Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
North Region - Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Regional Commandant North - Air Cadets
Commandant Air Cadets
North of England RFCA
RAF Recruitment
RAF Association

This weekend we have been extremely active in the community with firstly, having staff and cadets participating along with helping to organise Saturday’s picnic in the park which was held at Nunsmoor Park near Newcastle’s city centre. The event gave staff and cadets the opportunity to participate in many activities showcasing what the Royal Air Force Air Cadets has to offer.

Armed Forces Day celebrations begin on Monday 20 June when the Armed Forces Day flag is raised on buildings and famous landmarks around the country. As a squadron we always want to be out in the community being visible showing our support for the Armed Forces which provides a much-valued morale boost for all our troops and their families.

Armed Forces Day is a chance to show your support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving troops to Service families, veterans, and cadets. There are many ways for people, communities, and organisations across the country to show their support and get involved.

On Sunday we had cadets join members of the civilian committee to help collect and raise funds for our armed forces which was held at Morrisons Cowgate organised by Tracey Henton who is the community champion.

Both events were extremely productive visibly as well as financially for such a worthy charity SSAFA

Cdt Katie Norman
Media Officer

Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
North Region - Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Commandant Air Cadets
Regional Commandant North - Air Cadets
Morrisons Cowgate Community News & Updates
North of England RFCA
Armed Forces Day

This weekend staff and cadets of 2510 West Denton squadron were at Cowgate Morrisons once again to help raise awareness in support of Morrison’s charity partners Together for Short Lives and St Oswald’s Hospice.

Together for Short Lives is the UK registered charity for children's palliative care. Together for Short Lives’ vision is for children and young people in the UK with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions and their families to have as fulfilling lives as possible, and the best care at the end of life helping to make the most of every moment together.

St Oswald’s Hospice is a local charitable hospice helping people who have life-limiting conditions to make the most of life, no matter how long that life is. Rooted in the Northeast, the charity has supported local people and their families for over 35 years.

Cadets were impeccably behaved displaying respect and knowledge of the charities when engaging with customers and staff of Cowgate Morrisons.

This was the second weekend of many fundraising events that 2510 has been invited to do which has been organised by Tracy Henton Community Champion Morrisons Cowgate and our civilian committee.

This weekend not only gave cadets the opportunity to promote their continued partnership between their squadron and Morrisons Cowgate highlighting the importance of the charity work within the local community along with promoting the organisation via uniformed cadets.

To conclude 2510 West Denton squadron staff and cadets take great pride in being able to positively impact the local community while showing the importance of good citizenship.

Get out there, Get VISIBLE, and make the DIFFERENCE.

Cdt Katie Norman
Media Officer

Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
North Region - Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Commandant Air Cadets
Regional Commandant North - Air Cadets
North of England RFCA
Morrisons Cowgate Community News & Updates
Morrisons
Together for Short Lives
St Oswald's Hospice

We had a jam-packed evening of training last night at 2510 West Denton Squadron with an array of activities taking place.

We had staff and cadets visit the Wing Activity Centre WAC for an evening of Archery. It was the first-time doing Archery for cadets that were selected and after receiving safety instructions and training from CI Treleaven it was not long before these budding Robin Hoods were finding their range with some bullseyes before advancing onto the popping of balloons.

Meanwhile at squadron HQ we had an evening of camp first aid using the adjacent playing field which is our authorised extended footprint. Sgt Woollin and CI Kidd then delivered a very hands-on session that covered a variety of possible injury scenarios that could happen whilst in the field.

Overall, it was another productive successful evening providing vital unit visibility within our community.

CWO Fraser Training Officer
Cdt Norman Jnr Media Officer

On this day, 6th June 1944, 78 years ago the greatest invasion fleet ever seen crossed the English Channel. It sailed to success under the umbrella of the combined might of the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force, the largest and arguably most successful air force ever gathered.

For months, the Royal Air Force had been preparing for the invasion. Attack aircraft from both the RAF and USAAF had been pooled together under a single command, the 2nd Tactical Air Force, or 2TAF. Fighter-bombers from 2TAF had ranged across France and the Low Countries attacking German airfields and bases, shooting up trains and convoys, sweeping the Luftwaffe from the skies and making it impossible for the enemy to move troops or supplies by day. Further attacks put out of action more than twenty radar stations, completely removing German radar coverage for large parts of the English Channel.

Photo-reconnaissance aircraft provided intelligence vital to planning the D-Day assault, mapping out German positions and lines of communications. From March 1944 Bomber Command began following the Zuckermann or ‘Transport’ Plan, attacking the infrastructure needed by the German forces to react to any landings, destroying railway junctions, bridges, and marshalling yards. Medium bombers followed up these attacks by destroying vital road bridges across the river Seine. The Royal Air Force raided into Normandy and across northern France and Belgium, paralyzing the enemy’s war machine and giving no clues as to where the invasion would land.

By the dawn of 6th June, the RAF had already had a long day. Meteorological flights far over the North Sea and the Atlantic had provided the weather information needed to make sure it was safe to launch the invasion. Bomber Command had sent over a thousand heavy bombers to pound beach defences in Normandy with over 5,000 tons of bombs.

RAF Transport Command had also been terribly busy. The first Allied troops to land on D-Day were an assault team to seize Bénouville Bridge. These men were successfully delivered to their objective in gliders, courtesy of RAF tug aircraft. Soon after more aircraft, including the 15 squadrons of No’s 38 and 46 Groups, were dropping paratroops and gliders full of men to seize other vital bridges and roads in and out of the invasion area, stopping German reinforcements from reaching the beaches.

Perhaps the unsung heroes of D-Day are the more than 50 squadrons of RAF Coastal Command. On D-Day, the Germans intended to flood the English Channel with submarines to destroy the invasion fleet from the north and the south. Intensive Coastal Command patrols protected both approaches. By the end of June, fourteen U-Boats had been sunk and fifteen seriously damaged, and the Germans had to call off their plan. The battle for the English Channel would cost the Germans more than 40 U-Boats, although the cost to Coastal Command was also high in aeroplanes. Even so, this plan worked so well that on 6th June not a single Allied ship was confirmed as sunk by the German Navy.

The RAF had played a critical role in the Battle for Normandy. They had flown 225,000 sorties, at the cost of over 2,000 aircraft and 8,000 crewmen. They had swept the skies clear and hammered the enemy on the ground, opening the way for the Allies to land. They had devastated German transport and communication, hindering reinforcements, and allowing the beachhead to be established and grow. Finally, they had cleared the way for the Allies to break out and begin the advance that would free Europe.

We can never Forget

Media 2510
CWO Fraser
Cdt Norman

Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
North Region - Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Commandant Air Cadets
Regional Commandant North - Air Cadets
Royal Air Force
United States Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Fighter Command

On the 2nd of June 2022, 2510, squadron took part in celebrating the queen’s platinum jubilee along with parents, guardians, and members of the local community.

In honour of Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee and to honour 70’s years on the throne staff, cadets, civilian committee, parents, and guardians along with its community celebrated together by holding a street party at squadron HQ.

During the celebration we held our scheduled monthly award ceremony where cadets were congratulated by Flt Lt Brown for all the hard work, and dedication to training for the month of May. Mrs Tracy Henton was also in attendance, and it was nice to have her present cadets with their certificates and thank them individually for their continued fundraising efforts for Morrisons charity partners.

To end the official ceremony the Cadet Warrant Officer asked all to stand and instructed the squadron to remove head dress and offer her Majesty the Queen 3 cheers ending with GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.

To conclude the day was a huge success, with staff, civilian committee, cadets, and the community all coming together as one to enjoy a fabulous day. We would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who operate behind the scenes for organising such a wonderful day.

GSTQ

Cdt Katie Norman
Jnr Media Officer

Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
North Region - Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Commandant Air Cadets
Regional Commandant North - Air Cadets
Morrisons Cowgate Community News & Updates
Newcastle Evening Chronicle

As we complete another week and month at squadron, we have a quick look back and offer a summary of what we have been up to and achieved here at 2510 for the month of May.

The month of May gave cadets and staff the opportunity to get involved and enjoy a plethora of activities on and off squadron that May’s Training programme had to offer.

Summarising on events and activities away from squadron. Firstly, at the start of the month we had cadets enjoying taking part in the DNW Inter squadron Athletic Event with 2510 siblings Cadets Tobi and Deborah Akinrogbe having success by winning Gold in the Boys 400m & 200m and 200m Girls along with bronze in the boys’ long jump.

Cadets continue to enjoy trips to the WAC wing activity centre utilising the facilities to help hone in and help develop their archery skills. The activities do not stop there. We were fortunate to be selected for some gliding at 645 VGS Volunteer Gliding School at RAF Topcliffe where 4 cadets had a fantastic time learning about flight and aviation before getting the opportunity to fly resulting in all our cadets achieving their Blue Wings.

At 2510 West Denton we pride ourselves on our community presence with the month of May seeing our cadets visible within its community with the continuation of the CWGC project along with active fundraising at Morrisons on behalf of their charity partners Together for short lives and St Oswald’s Hospice.

Cadets continue to achieve for May with awards, badges and certificates that include BTEC level 2 Diploma in Teamwork and Personal Development, Senior Cadet Classification, Bronze & Silver iDEA, Gliding Blue Wings, Digital Flying Syllabus, Principles of Fieldcraft (Hygiene in the field and camouflage & concealment) Archery (Jnr Bowman)

All cadets will be presented with their certificates and awards at our scheduled squadron Jubilee celebration.

CWO Fraser.
2510 Training Officer
Cadet Katie Norman
Jnr Media Officer

Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
Regional Commandant North - Air Cadets
Commandant Air Cadets
North of England RFCA
North Region - Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
645 Volunteer Gliding Squadron
Morrisons Cowgate Community News & Updates

Thank you to everyone at 645 Volunteer Gliding Squadron for making sure cadets from 2510 and 131 (City of Newcastle upon Tyne) Squadron ATC had a memorable day learning about the principle of flying followed by a flight in one of the aircraft.

All cadets had a great day and look forward to showing off their Blue wings!

Photos to follow soon.

Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
North Region - Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Regional Commandant North - Air CadetsRoyal Air Force Air Cadets
Commandant Air Cadets

This weekend staff and cadets of 2510 West Denton squadron were joined along with cadet Christian of 131 City of Newcastle to help fundraise at Cowgate Morrisons and to help raise awareness in support of Morrison’s charity partners Together for Short Lives and St Oswald’s Hospice.

Together for Short Lives is the UK registered charity for children's palliative care. Together for Short Lives’ vision is for children and young people in the UK with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions and their families to have as fulfilling lives as possible, and the best care at the end of life helping to make the most of every moment together.

St Oswald’s Hospice is a local charitable hospice helping people who have life-limiting conditions to make the most of life, no matter how long that life is. Rooted in the Northeast, the charity has supported local people and their families for over 35 years.

Cadets were impeccably behaved displaying respect and knowledge of the charities when engaging with customers and staff of Cowgate Morrisons. This is the first of many fundraising events that 2510 has been invited to do which has been organised by Tracy Henton Community Champion Morrisons Cowgate and our squadron chair.

On the back of this weekend’s event there has also been a strong interest from the community in how to get involved with our organisation as cadets, staff, and civilian committee.

Get out there, Get VISIBLE, Make the difference.

Media Officer 2510

Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
North Region - Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Commandant Air Cadets
Regional Commandant North - Air Cadets
Together for Short Lives
St Oswald's Hospice
Morrisons
Newcastle Chronicle