Last weekend Dereham Air cadets joined in a national initiative to ‘Clean for the Queen’ whilst supporting a local heritage project.
Clean for The Queen is a campaign designed to clear up Britain in time for Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday. The idea being that communities, youth groups and schools show their gratitude to Her Majesty by cleaning up our countryside.
The squadron was approached by the parish councillors of the village of Hoe to ask if the cadets would be willing to volunteer their time to clear a WW2 Pillbox on the edge of the village, that was previously part of the defence line for RAF Swanton Morley. The squadron has a history with RAF Swanton Morley after previously being based there up until 1994 when it moved to its current location in Dereham so were more than happy to help.
After a walk to the village, a determined group of 15 staff and cadets got to work with removing the thick carpet of ivy that had completely engulfed the pill box over the last 70 years, and after 4 hours of hard work, managed to clear it completely.
The local people were incredibly grateful and commented;
“What an impressive, ‘can do’, bunch your cadets are and what an impressive thing they achieved. It is wonderful project and really great that the Pill Box, the Search Light field and Swanton in WW2 are being kept alive. What delightful young people too.”
CI Adam Flack who co-ordinated the event and also lives in the village added “The cadets all worked brilliantly, it was a huge team effort and the village are so grateful for the squadron’s support.”