Focus on 42F The Newsletter of 42F (King’s Lynn )Squadron Air Training Corps January 2014 MAY 20 14 2014— ATC Sunday Parade at RAF Marham RAF Marham hosted the ATC Sunday parade and service on Sunday 2nd February for local Norfolk and Suffolk Wing Squadrons. Nationally this annual event for the ATC is held on the nearest Sunday in February to its founding date of 5th February 1941. Cadets from 42F (King’s Lynn), 864 (Watton) and 1894 (Swaffham) Sqns joined 864’s DF, which has its home at RAF Marham, for the service in the stations chaplaincy centre. The Standards of the three Squadrons preceded the cadets as they marched to the beat of 864 (Watton) Sqn’s drums past RAF Marham’s Station Commander Gp Capt Harvey Smyth OBE DFC ADC MA RAF who took the salute. The church service which was conducted by the chaplain, Rev (Sqn Ldr) David Haslam, included readings and prayers led by cadets and the renewing of the Air Training Corps Promise and an address to the cadets by Gp Capt Smyth. Following the service the cadets, staff and proud parents were able to chat informally over tea and biscuits 42F (King’s Lynn) Squadron ATC Ascension Island Accompanied by four adult staff members, 12 teenage cadets from Norfolk & Suffolk Wing of the Air Training Corps have just returned from a trip of a lifetime to Ascension, a tiny volcanic island in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. The lucky members of the expedition came from eight squadrons of the Wing, 42F (King’s Lynn), 356 (Felixstowe), 301 (Bury St Edmunds), 864 (Watton), 1109 (Thetford), 1331 (Stowmarket), 1895 (Cromer) and 2534 (Fakenham) Squadrons. Given the overall responsibility for the group as Camp Commandant was 42F’s Commanding Officer Flight Lieutenant Pauline Petch who summed up the week by saying, “This was a most memorable camp. The sights and activities that both the cadets and staff have experienced have been awe inspiring. We have all gained so much from this stay on this little island in the South Atlantic”.. Following a nine hour night flight in a Voyager passenger jet from RAF Brize Norton the group arrived and immediately had briefings and a visit to the Met Office. The afternoon was spent relaxing at a swimming pool in the village of Two Boats. That evening at North East Bay they witnessed the spectacle of hundreds of land crabs migrating from Green Mountain to lay their eggs in the sea. After spawning they head straight back to the mountain. The next day an early start before daybreak enabled the group to meet local conservation workers and to visit Long Beach, a main Green Turtle nesting site for these majestic endangered creatures, and watch the females returning to the sea after their nocturnal egg laying. Then it was a trek to the top of Green Mountain (2,818 feet) in temperatures of over 330c. This walk saw the terrain change from barren cinder rock through lava, scrub, banana plantation and eventually, at its summit, dense sub-tropical bamboo. Day three saw the team start the day by doing some beach clearing on Long Beach. The conservation team on the island had shown the cadets how weeds and roots prevent the turtles from laying their eggs. They observed a turtle pit which was obstructed by weeds, which may have meant that the turtle had to wait another night to dig a further hole in which to lay its eggs. Amongst the additional rubbish also found and removed from the beach was a large tarpaulin buried under the sand which would also prevent the turtles from laying. That evening, the team joined a group of islanders, which included American service personnel from their base on the island, at North East Bay to take part in a traditional American walk called a ‘Hash’. The terrain was very challenging and the rocks and huge boulders were loose and jagged. This was an opportunity to socialise with the different groups currently deployed to the island and made an enjoyable evening that culminated with a group photo with the Air Cadet Ensign. All the cadets were unanimous in their thoughts of their time on Ascension. Cromer Squadron’s Cadet Sergeant Sarah-Jane Keeble, 17, summing it up said “I had an absolutely fantastic week. I participated in so many incredible opportunities and genuinely took part in one of the most unique and memorable weeks of my life”. Page 2 42F (King’s Lynn) Squadron ATC End of an Era It is with deep sorrow that the Officers, Staff, Cadets & Civilian Committee of 42F (King’s Lynn) Squadron ATC announce the death at the age of 91 years of its No 1 Cadet, Geoffrey Frank Bullen. In the months before the Second World War the first squadrons of the infant Air Defence Cadet Corps were being formed throughout the Country and on 2nd January 1939 42 (Founder) Squadron was registered. First in line to join was 16 year old Geoff, who whilst with 42F was an exemplary cadet. In November 1941 Geoff was called up into the RAF and soon saw himself sent to America where he learnt to fly at a number of US and Canadian air bases, in particular Falcon Field in Arizona, with No 4 British Flying Training School. On receipt of his ‘Wings’ Geoff was one of a few pilots held back to train further pilots. On his return to England he eventually found himself on 29th May 1944 flying a Sterling bomber with No 1665 Heavy Conversion Unit at RAF Tilstock. Seven days later on 5thJune he was towing a Horsa Glider to the River Orne at the commencement of Operation Overlord, the D Day Landings. On 18th September 1944 he again towed a glider for Operation Market, the unsuccessful attempt to capture the bridge at Arnhem on the Rhine, and followed this with further supply drops on 20th & 21st when his plane was hit by flak. Geoff was attached to 570 Squadron and 196 Squadron and these attachments saw his Sterling involved in numerous night flying operations supporting SOE and resistance in Holland, Denmark and Norway. After the war and his return to ‘Civvy Street’ Geoff returned to where it all began, the Air Cadets, by becoming an instructor with 617 Voluntary Gliding School. He moved with it from Hendon to Manston and finally Bovingdon where he was its Commanding Officer. Cadets from 1966 and 1967 remember him as “a true gentleman, fine pilot and patient instructor” and “a really nice guy and great instructor”. On returning to Norfolk in 1973 Geoff renewed his connection with 42F and regularly attended its reunion dinners and took a keen interest in the Squadron’s current cadets. He planted a commemorative tree at the Squadron’s HQ to mark its 60th anniversary. He donated and presented a cup for aviation studies at the Squadron presentation evenings the last time being in November 2013. 2014 is 42F’s 75th Anniversary year a time of celebration. However with the passing of its Number One Cadet it is also an End of an Era and a time of sadness. Our thoughts are with his wife Margaret, son Mark and daughter Jane at this time. Photos show 1. A young wartime Geoff. 2 With his aeroplane & crew. Page 3 42F (King’s Lynn) Squadron ATC New Honorary President for 42F On Thursday 10th April it was definitely an hon- our for the cadets to be on parade at the ATC’s 42F (King’s Lynn) Squadron. It was the occasion when the Earl of Romney, Julian Marsham, stepped down as the Squadron’s Honorary President and handed the reins to his successor Sir Michael Oswald, KCVO. Having been Honorary President since 2008 Lord Romney is stepping down but will continue his close association with the Squadron as he will now become its Honorary Vice President. Addressing the cadets he told them that he was proud to have been their President and very pleased that his connection with them would be continuing. Sir Michael Oswald told the cadets that he was very aware of how well the Squadron was thought of in the town and wider community and having been approached to become its Honorary President he had been “honoured to have been asked and pleased to accept the role”. Sir Michael is also an Honorary Air Commodore with the RAF's 2620 (County of Norfolk) RAuxAF Sqn. Photo shows Sir Michael left & Lord Romney right with the CO Flt Lt Petch and Cadets Justices Service The annual High Sheriff of Norfolk’s church service for Her Majesties Justices took place on Sunday 2nd March and 42F (King’s Lynn) Squadron, Air Training Corps Cadets and T S Vancouver Sea Ca- dets formed a Guard of Honour outside the west door of the towns Minster Church. History and tradition were on display as the office of High Sheriff, currently held by the Countess of Leicester, is at least 1,000 years old, and is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The High Sheriff remains the Sovereign’s representative in the County for all matters relating to the Judiciary and the maintenance of law and order. During the occasion, a large civic procession, led by Mace- Bearers carrying the towns regalia, left the nearby Town Hall and made its way to the Church. Civic representatives included Norfolk’s Chief Constable, the High Sheriff and her counterparts from neighbouring counties, Barristers, Purple and Red Robed Judges, the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk and numerous other prominent members of the community.