BICESTER air cadets are trying to recruit more members after the group’s numbers dropped when it lost some facilities.

Based at Duclos Hall, in Skimmingdish Lane, the Air Training Corps had used several bunkers and garages for storage at the old Ministry of Defence base since the 1970s.

But the land was sold in 2011, meaning the equipment had to be moved into the hall, restricting the number of activities the cadets could enjoy.

Numbers fell as a result, with 2507 Squadron going from 60 recruits three years ago to about 30 now.

Our top stories

 

Officers want to attract youngsters to sign up for the new term.

Flight Lieutenant Daniel Azizian, 26, a former member of the cadets, said: “We want to build a really strong squadron.

“It’s not just all about flying, we do lots of sports and competitions, drills and as well as learning how to fly and glide. It would be great to get our numbers back up.”

Now the group has applied for planning permission to extend the hall and an option to move on to the airfield at Bicester Heritage, meaning that it can offer more activities again.

Bicester Community College student Matthew Soar said he gained a lot from his time in the cadets.

The 17-year-old dreams of becoming an RAF pilot and signed up to the cadets in 2010.

This year he will complete two scholarships that will give him more than 20 hours of free flying time. In order to qualify for a pilot’s licence, applicants must complete 35 hours in the air, with each hour costing about £170.

The Willow Drive resident said: “My parents are really into aviation and I think I just picked it up from them because they used to take me to air shows.

“But you don’t even have to like flying, the team work and skills you learn from the cadets can be transferred to most jobs.”

Matthew was given £2,000 worth of lessons from a scholarship provided by the squadron, and completed 12 hours of free flying in Dundee this summer.

“I got to fly a plane solo when I was in Dundee,” he said. “It was the best thing I have ever done in my life.

“I just couldn’t stop smiling.”

Anyone between the age of 13 and 19 can join the air cadets, and 12-year-olds are allowed to join as long as they have started in year eight at school.

The ATC, which started the Bicester branch in the 1972, meet every Tuesday and Thursday from 6.40pm to 9.15pm.

Group set up to help WW2 EFFORT

  • THE RAF Air Cadets, usually known as the Air Training Corps (ATC), was set up in 1938 over concerns about the impending unrest in Europe.
  • It was known then as the Air Defence Cadet Corps and squadrons were set up in towns across the UK.
  • The aim of each squadron was to prepare cadets for joining the RAF or the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, and during the war they helped carry messages, handle aircraft and move equipment.
  • By the end of the conflict they numbered almost 100,000.
  • Today there are more than 900 squadrons across the UK and about 200 schools have cadet forces.
  • For more information visit www.bicester-atc.co.uk


  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.