366 King Ecgbert air cadet squadron was formed in 1975. The squadron has a proud record of taking part in events all over the country from parades to shooting events, to overseas organised trips. The cadets have opportunities to go climbing, hiking and take on all levels of the Duke of Edinburgh award.
With all the focus on uniform, drill, and dedication to achieving their best in the activities they take on, it is easy to forget the importance of being part of a team, getting to know each other personally and having a chance to have fun in an active environment.
For this reason, our Personnel Development Officer Simon Tredinnick along with Officer Commanding Matthew Davies and Adjutant Dan Scholes organised an activity weekend at Thornbridge Outdoor Centre in the Peak District, supported by Flight Sergeant Josh Masters and Civilian Instructors David Bryan and Sophie Clark.
25 cadets and 6 staff took part, with the aim of the event being to help the cadets develop leadership, confidence, and teamwork skills through a range of adventurous and team-based activities.
The cadets were taken by coach from the squadron to Thornbridge Outdoors on the Friday evening. That night they enjoyed home cooked pizza prepared by the staff and had a chance to socialise before bed.
On Saturday morning, the cadets split into 3 teams and took part in 3 activities. One team took on a low ropes obstacle course which included problem solving challenges. With Simon supervising, the low ropes team made their way over and through obstacles including rope bridges and a zip line. To make it more challenging some did it blindfolded under the direction of others, some had to carry a tray of tennis balls, and others were tasked with keeping the Ulyssess Trust flag unfurled the whole way!
The second team took on the high ropes which also included climbing a cargo net as well as “Jacob’s ladder”, a climbing challenge where the rungs of the ladder get progressively further apart and only teamwork will allow the team to reach the top!
In threes the team would climb the rungs one at a time. The first person up would help the next while the last would help the person before them. Once the team got the hang of it and worked out the best technique they tried again whilst being timed and competed to see which trio could complete it the quickest.
Hasaan said he “enjoyed the high ropes out of all the activities. I enjoyed the challenge of Jacobs ladder and didn’t know if I could make it to the top. I was very proud to eventually get to the top, thanks to the encouragement of the people I was with”.
Aalaiyah climbed with Josh and Sariyah.
“Half way up I felt overcome with fear and didn’t think I could go any further. We were ready to give up but then I felt a rush of determination. Once I overcame the fear I felt, I realised I could actually make it to the top with Josh and Sariyah’s help. We were the only group to make it to the top out of my team!”.
The third team went caving at “Giant’s hole” with a caving guide. Deep in the cave, they found fossils of ancient sea creatures embedded in the limestone. They learned about the cave and the limestone formation 350 million years ago, and they squeezed through some tight tunnels by the light of head torches. At one point the team sat down and were asked to turn off their torches in order to experience complete darkness!
Oscar said,
“We could walk through the main part of the cave but there were some tunnels we had the chance to try and squeeze through, lying flat.
I crawled into a tunnel with the instructors help and managed to get my head through the narrowest part, then I realised I couldn’t get my shoulders through and had to wriggle out backwards!”
Anastasia managed to get through. She said it was
“A really tight squeeze. I wasn’t sure I could go any further but I could hear the rest of my team cheering me on from the other end of the tunnel and with the help of the instructor I managed to get through.”
On Sunday afternoon, the rain set in but did nothing to damped spirits. The teams came together to take on a series of timed problem-solving challenges for which they were awarded points for completing. The challenges were set around the grounds of Thornbridge and, wrapped in waterproofs, the teams dodged the rain to locate them all. They took on a traverse wall, an orienteering route, sent and deciphered morse code messages, put together puzzles and flew paper airplanes, amongst other things.
At the end of the day everyone got together to make sure the centre was left clean, tidy and ready for the next group to use before the group returned to the squadron.
The trip has helped new cadets to find their feet in the squadron, make new friends and get a taste for the adventurous challenges the squadron engage in.
To see the cadets working closer together, sharing stories and laughing at the memories they’ve made is a great reward for the volunteers and organisers.
For older cadets, many of whom are now NCOs it was a chance to catch up and reminisce on their own experience of the Thornbridge trip 3 years ago when many of them were new.
We all look forward to future events like this one. Next time it may be the turn of the cadets who are new now to educate and encourage another generation of young people to take part in the fantastic, challenging and fun activities, using the skills and confidence they have learned at Thornbridge.
This has been possible thanks to the kind support of the Ulysses Trust. Thank you again for your support!
