Our Annual Awards Evening, at Poulton Community Hall, celebrating the achievements of our Cadets and Staff for 2023 was held in March. With over 100 guests, it was an excellent events, showcasing the wide variety of activities that our Cadets are able to take part in.

The evening also acts as a fundraising event, with the raffle raising almost £250 for the Squadron - allowing us to continue to invest in the future of the young people of Poulton-le-Fylde and the surrounding area.

Our winners and the citations to go with each award are below. Well done to all of our winners.

Adventure Training - Cadet Flt Sgt Joe Hardman

Presented by the Mayor of Wyre Councillor Julie Robinson

The RAF Air Cadets offers Cadets a wide variety of Adventure Training activities - ranging from hiking through to kayaking and in the extreme nordic skiing or parachute training. Some of these activities are highly sought after and require application and even interview. All of these will challenge our Cadets and drag them out of their comfort zone.

The winner of this award has took part in a wide variety of activities through 2023, including his Senior NCO course and a training weekend for his Silver DofE expedition.

Cdt Flt Sgt Joe Hardman stepped out of his comfort zone and grabbed one of the more unique opportunities that we offer. He took part in the Tall Ships Race, travelling from the North East across the North Sea to Amsterdam. Along the way he lived in very camped conditions, learnt about life on a sailing ship, fought sea sickness and even had to wash the dishes. A fantastic, once in a life time achievement.

Endeavour Award - Cadet Corporal Rudi Dixon

Presented by the Mayor of Wyre Councillor Julie Robinson

When Cadets join the Squadron we tell them, and their parents that we can keep you busy every weekend - and we can. It takes a huge amount of dedication and effort to take advantage of all of the opportunities we offer. The endeavour award recognises the effort of Cadets across all of the activities we offer - giving up weekends and evenings on a regular basis and giving a 100% every time.

The winner of the Endeavour Award for 2023 has taken part in a huge amount during the year; The Cosford Airshow, a training weekend for the Bronze DofE and then the qualifying expedition, shooting, flying, shooting and various public facing events such as parades and collecting for the Royal British Legion Poppy Collection.

Cadets Cadet of the Year - Cadet Sophie Newbury

Presented by the Mayor of Wyre Councillor Julie Robinson

As well as awards from the staff, every year we also ask our Cadets to vote for their Cadet of the year. This recognises who they feel makes a difference on the Squadron - this might be through their personaility or the effort they put in.

Recruit of the Year - Cadet Lily Sheffield

Presented by the Mayor of Wyre Councillor Julie Robinson

Our next award is the Recruit of the Year for 2023. The names of previous winners have been seen on our Best Cadet and Best NCO awards in later years - so this is a good sign of their potential. Last year the Squadron ran 3 induction events, bringing in around 25 new Cadets - probably more in a single year than we have ever managed. With that in mind, being awarded recruit of the year for 2023 will be an impressive achievement.

There are a number of Cadets that stood out through 2023 and this was very much a difficult choice for staff. However, joining the Squadron in our first induction, the winner of the 2023 Recruit of the Year Award stood out from day 1. She has demonstrated an impressive level of maturity and is keen to get involved in both Squadron and sector level activities including gaining her Swimming Proficiency Award, completing the Wrek Trek and attending a number of parades and collections.

Flight of the Year - Cadet Sergeant Patrick Soothill, on behalf of B Flight

Presented by the Mayor of Wyre Councillor Julie Robinson

We split our Cadets into 2 groups which we call flights. Throughout the year there is a healthy competition between the two flights which our Squadron Warrant Officer scores. This drives them to perform to a higher standard, improving the overall performance of the Squadron. The flights are scored against their uniform, attendance and support to formal parades and fund raising. Every year it is a tightly fought competition with the Flight Commanders driving their flights hard to achieve high scores.

Gary Entwistle Training Award - Cadet Sergeant Jayden Gaskin

Presented by the Mayor of Wyre Councillor Julie Robinson

Sqn Ldr Gary Entwistle was a close friend of the Squadron. He had over 36 years in the organisation, including a role as the Cadet Training Officer for Cumbria and Lancashire Wing. Following his passing in 2020 we created the Squadron Training Award in his honour.

Our Cadets step through a number of classification badges. Starting with First Class, they learn the basic foundations that will help them in their Cadet career. By the time they reach Master Cadet they will have learnt a wide variety of subjects such as the importance of Air Power, advanced navigation skills, how jet engine and rockets works and about the construction of modern aircraft.

With a number of our staff members working shifts or regularly travelling, the Squadron relies on our older Cadets to step in to teach at short notice. This year's winner of the Gary Entwistle Award has attained the highest level of classification training and then successfully passed the Method of Instruction course, allowing him to wear the yellow lanyard and be known as an Instructor Cadet. Since passing this course, he has then stepped into the important role of teacher with energy, relieving the pressure on our staff.

Best Turned Out Cadet - Cadet Sergeant Patrick Soothill

Presented by Squadron President, County Councillor Alf Clempson

Alf spoke about the importance of the Cadet experience, including the appearance and bearing elements before handing over the award.

Lewis John’s Award – Best Attendance - Cadet Jayden Munnery

Presented by Youth Mayor for Wyre, Zachary Shaw

Unless it is Christmas or Easter... or it rains inside the building... we parade every Monday and Thursday evening. That equated to 94 parade nights during 2023. We are always impressed by the dedication of our Cadets. In 2023, 19 Cadets attended more than 80% of parade nights.

The Cadet who wins this award has only missed 4 nights across the whole of 2023, attending over 95% of his parade nights - a brilliant achievement.

Richard Shelliker – Chairman’s Cup - Pilot Officer Natalie Taylor

Presented by 2459 (Poulton-le-Fylde) Squadron's Civilian Committee Chairman - Steve Hardman

The next award is the Chairman’s Award. This is a relatively recent award and recognizes the efforts of an individual in supporting the Squadron and in particular the committee. Previous winners have included our Commanding Officer for his efforts in getting the Squadron up and running safely following the Covid lockdowns.

This year’s recipient made an exceptional difference to the Committee, Squadron, Wing and Corps as a whole during 2023. Supporting events across all levels of the organization, spending more time away at Inskip than in her own house, all whilst studying for an apprenticeship and preparing for the arduous Officer Selection interview.

The winner of the 2023 Chairman’s Award has shown a maturity and commitment to the Squadron and Corps that goes beyond her years and truly demonstrates the benefits that this organization can bring to an young people. From a shy Cadet and fairly reluctant Cadet NCO, she has grown into a truly competent and rounded Officer, regularly dealing with the more challenging issues that staff within the Corps are faced with. Acting as a deputy to our Commanding Officer and a bridge to the Cadets, she has re-energized the Squadron and staff with her enthusiasm.

NCO of the Year - Cadet Flight Sergeant James Banarse

Presented by Squadron Leader Steve Nibloe

We’re very lucky on our Squadron to have an excellent group of Cadet NCOs supporting the staff. They work extremely hard to help us deliver a variety of activities both on and off the Squadron. Having developed leadership skills, they share their experiences with younger cadets, mentoring and coaching them.

The winner for 2023 stepped up as our Cadet Warrant Officer left, filling the gap and acting as a figure head for the rest of the NCO team. As well as his role on the Squadron, he also represented us at the National Air and Space camp where he was lucky enough to get flights in both a glider and Chinook.

Cadet of the Year - Cadet Corporal Daniel Drew

Presented by Squadron Leader Steve Nibloe

Cadets who have received this often go on to achieve great things both in the Cadets and outside. Previous winners have gone on to win the Best NCO Award, join the Royal Air Force and become a veterinarian, amongst a wide variety of other achievements.

To win this Award, cadets have to demonstrate potential for the future and perform to a high standard on a consistent basis. They’ll have excellent attendance both on the Squadron and at a variety of off Squadron events.

The winner for 2023 has shown all of these attributes. They attended over 80% of all parade nights, supported Squadron and Wing parades, collected for the Royal British Legion and also assisted on both Gala Day and at the community Coronation celebration.

On the Squadron they demonstrate excellent leadership behaviours attributes. Like many Cadets who receive this award, they are collecting it with their performance being recognized through promotion to Corporal during the second half of the year.