1461 (Wigston) Squadron, Air Training Corps (ATC), have said goodbye to a very valued member of the Squadron.
Following the leaving of Flight Sergeant Huckle last week, his ‘partner in crime’, Cadet Warrant Officer (CWO) David Timson followed suit on Monday night as he will soon be turning 20, the top age for Air Ccadet service.
It started for David in 2009 when he joined the Squadron as a 13 year old boy. Since then, David has gone on to exceed all expectations and achieve incredible things.
David has completed all three Duke of Edinburgh awards during his time in the Air Cadet Organisation (ACO), something that is not at all easily achievable. He has been awarded four various forms of Flying Scholarships that have amounted in 31 hours of flight training towards his Private Pilots License (PPL), as well as becoming a Graded Glider Pilot and Senior Flight Staff Cadet at 644 Volunteer Gliding Squadron(VGS).
Away from the sky, David has been a very keen target shooter within the Corps, earning his Corps Marksman. He was lucky enough to attend the Inter-Service Cadet Rifle Meeting at Bisley in 2014, narrowly missing out on Cadet 100. To help aid his fellow cadets, David also completed the Corps Coaching Course which has enabled him to help instruct cadets on where they can improve their own marksmanship skills.
At Wing level, CWO Timson has achieved the basic communicator’s badge, Activity First Aid and assisted on the Wing Cadet Development team, helping to develop potential and young cadet Non Commissioned Officer’s within the Wing. He also represented the Wing at Inter-Wing Swimming in 2013 and took home a silver medal from his individual event. The sporting success didn’t stop there for David as throughout his cadet career, he has represented the Squadron at all of the sports the ACO can offer- Football, Rugby, Athletics and Cross Country. He has also attended various camps during his time to places such as RAF Odiham, Llanbedr and Swynnerton.
At the Squadron, David has been very proactive from day one, taking part in charity events that raised money for both the Squadron and other organisations like the Royal British Legion. He designed and delivered his very own Instruction Course on the Squadron that helped cadets grow in confidence, teaching them how to become a successful instructor and leader.
An accumulation of all of this, plus David’s can-do attitude has meant that his final two years have been incredible. It started out with him being successfully selected for the gruelling Junior Leaders (JL) Course 2013-2014. David passed with flying colours, making him the first Qualified Junior Leader (QJL) on the Squadron for a number of years. During this time, he was tasked with individually raising money for JL’s chosen charity, the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation. David raised a commendable amount of £700. Following the successful completion of JL, David was asked to speak about the benefits of the course at a presentation to the Air Officer Commanding 22 Training Group at RAF Cranwell; this was a massive achievement that was a sign of things to come.
The next big news for David was that he had been selected as the Best Air Cadet in Leicestershire for 2014-2015 as such was to be awarded with Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet status for the year. This involved David attending civil ceremonies, Royal visits and partaking in any other duties that Lady Gretton saw fit. Again, another once in a life-time experience.
As demonstrated, David had about ticked every box by this time. There wasn’t a lot left that David could have achieved but in August 2015, it was announced that because of everything listed above, David had won the coveted Dacre Sword, the award given to the Best Male Cadet in the whole of the Air Cadet Organisation; An absolutely incredible achievement. Winning this award meant that David was taken on a once in a life-time trip to Hong Kong as an ambassador for the ACO to help build relations for the future. Not long after he returned from Hong Kong, David set off again but this time, to Canada as part of the International Air Cadet Exchange. This was another activity awarded to David because of what he has achieved.
David has achieved phenomenal things during his time in the Air Cadet Organisation (ACO) and we are confident that he will continue to do the same as he pursues his degree and work with 644 VGS and the University Air Squadron. Thank you for everything David and well done.
David commented; “The highlight for me has got to be the trip to Canada this summer. This is the single best thing I did in my time in the organisation but that would not have been possible if I didn’t have the support I’ve had that has helped me to achieve everything that I have. I want to thank every single person that has had an input in my cadet career, whether small or large but I also want to say that what I achieved can be achieved by anyone if they just put their minds to it. The experiences you get in this organisation are like nothing I have ever seen and all you have to do is apply yourself and give 100% to everything you do. The Air Cadet Organisation has helped me become who I am today and for that, I will be eternally grateful.”