305 (Ashford)
Squadron is situated at the Rowecroft barracks in Ashford. It provides
activities
for young people from 13 to 18 years. It currently
has a membership of over 60 young people from the Ashford area
and provides them with a range of different and exciting activities.
It
is backed up by 8 volunteer adults who assist with running
the squadron and
teaching the cadets. Ashford Squadron is one of the largest
squadrons in Kent.
Every cadet has the opportunity to participate in a wide range
of activities but is never forced into them.
Below are
a few of the activities that
the squadron encourages the cadets to participate in:
Flying
and gliding in aircraft ranging from a Tutor to a Tornado!
Rugby
Canoeing
Hockey
Shooting
See what
you are missing!
In 2002 Ashford
squadron won the wing 5 a side football competition at both male
and female categories,
won 3 out of
5 Athletics trophies and are currently the best sports
squadron in the wing.
As well as this it is a large participant
in the Duke of Edinburgh
Award scheme obtaining 3 bronzes and 7 silvers in the last
12 months with over 35 of the cadets participating.
The squadron
meets every
Monday and Thursday (excl. bank holidays) at 19:00 to
21:30
The Early
Years of the Air Training Corps ATC
Diamond Jubilee 1941-2001
On 1st
February
1941, the Air Training Corps officially came into being.
Its Royal Warrant granting the foundation speaks of”.. . a Corps to be
entitled The Air Training Corps. . . to provide for our youth the
means of preparing themselves for air service in our Air Force
or the Fleet
Air Arm of our Navy”.
It was born
out of the Air Defence Cadet Corps (ADCC), which had been founded
in 1938 by an organisation having
the (nowadays) rather unfashionable title of the “Air League of the
British Empire”. The ADCC was an entirely voluntary organisation
staffed by unpaid instructors, who had to buy their own uniform.
With the coming
of the Air Training Corps (ATC), everything was put on an official
basis. The
officers were commissioned into the Training Branch of the
RAFVR, uniforms were officially approved and supplied through the
RAF,
a badge was adopted
and the administration absorbed into the RAE HM King George
VI became the Commodore-in-Chief, and Air Commodore Adrian Chamier
(later knighted
for his work with the ATC) became its first commandant.
The
basic
units of the ATC became the “local” unit (or squadron) open to
all, and the “school” unit
- a dual structure which still essentially exists today.
In the four years from foundation in 1941 to the end of the war
in 1945,
the ATC
had grown to over 1,000 local squadrons totalling some 70,000
members,
and 300 school units having about 14,000 members. In those
days, membership was exclusively boys, as it was seen that
this was a
principal recruitment
route into the RAE In fact, former ATC boys did distinguish
themselves during WWII, with over 500 receiving gallantry
awards, including
a VC, and many DSO’s, DFC’s and DFM’s.
From the
outset, the Corps lived up to its motto “Venture Adventure”. It set
out to prepare boys for military service by engaging in both physical
and
mental challenges. Training
was given in English, calculations, Morse, aircraft recognition
and PT (physical training). As cadets progressed in their
work, they were given
an opportunity to develop their initiative and to take
responsibility through leadership training. Cadets would qualify for
1st
class and Leading Cadet ranks, and the best would then
be promoted to NCO’s,
starting with corporal, and leading on eventually to Flight
Sergeant, the most
senior cadet rank.
All cadets
had the opportunity to gain experience of several
activities which would be experienced in military life.
These included attendance at an annual camp at an RAF or RN
Air Station, flying
as passengers in RAF aircraft, learning to fly a glider,
shooting, and playing many
different sports such as football, cricket, swimming
and athletics.
It is clear
that the principles of the ATC and the scope of
activities offered
to cadets are as strong and as varied today as they
were sixty years ago. The Corps has much to be proud of.
WOODCHURCH
VILLAGE LIFE MUSEUM IS A REGISTERED MUSEUM
REGISTERED CHARITY #800959
It
is backed up by 8 volunteer adults who assist with running
the squadron and
teaching the cadets. Ashford Squadron is one of the largest
squadrons in Kent.
Every cadet has the opportunity to participate in a wide range
of activities but is never forced into them. 
In 2002 Ashford
squadron won the wing 5 a side football competition at both male
and female categories,
won 3 out of
5 Athletics trophies and are currently the best sports
squadron in the wing.
The
basic
units of the ATC became the “local” unit (or squadron) open to
all, and the “school” unit
- a dual structure which still essentially exists today.
In the four years from foundation in 1941 to the end of the war
in 1945,
the ATC
had grown to over 1,000 local squadrons totalling some 70,000
members,
and 300 school units having about 14,000 members. In those
days, membership was exclusively boys, as it was seen that
this was a
principal recruitment
route into the RAE In fact, former ATC boys did distinguish
themselves during WWII, with over 500 receiving gallantry
awards, including
a VC, and many DSO’s, DFC’s and DFM’s.