Air Cadets Christmas Fair held to recruit new members

The 1263 Air Cadets – Rochdale Squadron

The 1263 Air Cadets – Rochdale Squadron held a Christmas Fair as a way of not only celebrating Christmas but in hopes of recruiting some new members.

Flight Lieutenant Alan Taylor said: “We hold events like this mainly as a recruitment event to try and gather new members from the age of 13-17.”

1263 Rochdale Squadron is a new unit within the Greater Manchester wing, which in turn is part of the North Region.

“We tend to find that these events are good events but they aren’t as successful in recruiting in terms of events like bag packing that we do,” said Flight Lieutenant Taylor.

People were invited into the squadron headquarters on Ashfield Road to receive information about the cadets as well as being given the chance at guessing the name of the pilot bear. There was also tombola, food being served to guests from the barbeque and games, including smash a Santa.

Joanne Crane from the Air Cadets said: “We decided to hold it now because we thought that if it got closer to Christmas people wouldn’t be able to attend as easily as they could today.”

Cadets have the opportunity to undertake a number of academic, non-academic and sporting activities including shooting, flying, gliding, various sports and more. Cadets can also gain two BTECs and get involved with the Duke of Edinburgh program.

Flight Lieutenant Taylor added: “If there is something that a cadet wants to do or something that they want to try and do, I will do my best to help them to do it.”

As well as recruiting new members, the fair was also a way for current cadets to enjoy themselves. “We hold these events about once a year and it is a good way for the cadets to enjoy themselves and get involved,” said Flight Lieutenant Taylor.