Saturday 6th February 2016 saw the first Dining In Night for 1109 (Thetford) Squadron for a number of years and took place at the Bell Hotel in the town.
Over 45 cadets, staff and committee members took to the occasion which saw Air Commodore Jon Ford (Retd) attend as the Guest of Honour.
The event celebrated the recent success of the Squadron which has seen a year of great achievements across Sports, Recruitment, Inter Squadron challenges at Wing Field 2015 and Blue Bull 2016, selection and attendees at a number of National and overseas camps to name a few. Individual success has also been in abundance, with cadets achieving their Air Cadet Pilot Wings, selection on the Qualified Aerospace Instructors Course, Wing records broken in athletics and a Wing Commendation. The Squadron has certainly taken huge strives forward and with a number of successful new intakes of recruits, the future certainly looks bright for 1109.
The climax of the evening was the squadron awards which saw the following recognised for outstanding achievements in areas of the ACO syllabus.
Cadet Corporal Ben Stevenson and Cadet Lewis Haynes were jointly awarded by Civilian Committee trophy for their fantastic support to the committee at all the fundraising events.
Cadet Lucy Boag and Cadet Mantvydas Senkus received the female and male sports cadets of the year for their representations at Wing level and additional Cadet Senkus for breaking two Wing Records in Shot and discuss.
Cadet Corporal Ben Stevenson received the Drill and Deportment Award for his excellent bearing, drill ability and his development of junior cadets whilst Cadet Tyler Howard received the Junior Progress Plate for his outstanding progression since joining the Air Cadets in October 2015.
The pinnacle trophy, Best Overall Cadet of the Year was the award everyone was waiting for and this year, it went to Cadet Flight Sergeant Hayden Iles. Hayden, 17, has contributed fantastically to both the ACO and Squadron over the last twelve months across Sports, representation at RIAT 2015, promotions to both Sergeant and Flight Sergeant, carrying out extra duties in supporting the Squadron Adjutant and his continuous display as a positive role model within the organisation.
The evening also saw promotions to Corporal for Cadet Calvin Ruch and Cadet Callum Brown as well as a promotion to Flight Sergeant for Sergeant Georgia Brinkley.
Jackie Stanton, Treasurer of the Civilian Committee was awarded the Officer Commanders Award. This was a small token of the Squadrons sheer appreciate to an outstanding lady who has dedicated so much of her time over nearly two decades to young people within the ACO.
Officer Commanding, 1109 Squadron, said ‘It was a fantastic evening in which cadets and staff alike could celebrate our successes of 2015 and look ahead to the exciting opportunities in 2016. 1109 Squadron is a real team and family effort and I know that 2016 will be no different with the great things we will achieve.