Scarborough Air Cadets Appeal for Adult Volunteers to Support Growing Ranks

The 739 Scarborough Squadron of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets has launched an appeal for adult volunteers to help manage and instruct the next generation of young people on the Yorkshire Coast.

The squadron is one of roughly a thousand Air Cadet units offering adventurous and educational activities to youth aged 13 and over.

The appeal comes as the squadron seeks to expand its activities and ensure adequate staffing levels, particularly for specialist roles and general support.

Flight Lieutenant Sue Bamford, of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets in Scarborough, detailed the scope of the local organisation and the need for new staff, emphasizing the supportive network available across the area.

“We're 739 Scarborough Squadron. We're part of a wing which covers from Grimsby in the south to Redcar in the north and as far west as Skipton.

We're affectionately known as Coastal Command. We have squadrons at Whitby, at Bridlington, at Hornsea, at Malton, York, Beverly, Driffield. So we have a few surrounding squad And so it's not all about Scarborough”

Seeking General and Specialist Skills

The squadron has stressed that no prior experience is needed for potential adult volunteers, as a full induction process is provided upon joining, along with opportunities to develop personal skills and qualifications at little to no cost. However, specific needs have been identified to enhance the squadron's offerings.

Flight Lieutenant Bamford says they are looking for a range of people to become volunteers:

“What we're looking for are individuals who want to engage with young people, who have a passion to see these young people learn and develop, that maybe have got a few hours to spare each week.

Some staff can only help out at weekends, but they're quite keen to take the cadets walking for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and that sort of thing.

You get to do what the cadets do if they go to camp, be it in the UK or abroad, you get to go with them. I've been skiing with cadets, clearly flying. You get to do what they do, which is fun,”

The Flight Lieutenant highlighted the types of staff the squadron is currently seeking:

“We need a few more staff, particularly female staff, so that we've got that balance.

I would love somebody who's got a passion for music because we would like to develop music on the squadron, but just general people with an interest who would take on different roles within squadron.

It's like um any organization. So we have things like supply managing uniform, we have health and safety to to manage somebody who might be interested in promoting Duke of Edinburgh award. But again, we give them the training how to do that. And also people who maybe have some time at a weekend to help manage them when we go on trips,” 

The search is focused on finding individuals dedicated to youth engagement, regardless of whether they can commit weekly or just at weekends.

A minimum commitment of just six hours a month is required from adult volunteers.

Training and Development for Instructors

The organisation runs robust training schemes designed to equip staff with necessary skills, meaning volunteers do not need to arrive with existing qualifications.

Flight Lieutenant Bamford confirmed that support and instruction are provided:

“Within the organization, we have training programs for staff. So if somebody's got an interest, say in hill walking and mountain leadership, the organization run courses to train those individuals to come and train our cadets.

So it's not just that we expect people to come with these skills. If they have an interest, we will teach them,” 

Benefits and Activities for Cadets

The volunteers support a comprehensive programme designed to offer young people opportunities not easily found elsewhere, including taking control of a powered aircraft. The aim is not strictly recruitment, but development for future civilian or military careers.

Flight Lieutenant Bamford offered a detailed overview of the cadet programme:

“We provide training that's useful both in civilian and in military life if that's where they want to go. Fostering a spirit of adventure and developing qualities of citizenship and leadership.

We provide a lot of useful training. We run the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. We do adventurous training through the organization. We like to engage with the local community. So we've done things like litter picking. We did a walk for MENCAP recently. We look at the wider community as well as looking to the Air Force, which is our parent organization.

We're not a recruitment arm, but a lot of our cadets choose to go into the military or some kind of uniform service, and that might be civilian police, ambulance service, because of the background we give them. I think,” 

A major draw for the cadets is the opportunity to fly and glide. The flying programme offers hands-on control to young people from the age of 13.

Flight Lieutenant Bamford detailed the flight experience:

“They learn some ground rules before we take them flying. So we learn them about the history of the flight and and what controls mean.

They fly from RAF Leaming mostly and we get about four slots a month to take them flying. We take them out of school to go flying, but we've never had a school refuse to allow them out of school for flying.

They fly in a grub tutor. which is a single engined aircraft, but it's side by side. So, it's like driving a car with your driving instructor, dual control. The instructor will take off, get the aircraft airborne, will show you the controls, and we'll hand over control to the cadets. So, the cadets can be flying the plane, and they can do that at 13.

And then when they're airborne, if they wish to, they will do things like aerobatics , and the instructor will take them. And then The instructor will take control and bring them back and land them. And they're usually in the air for about 30 minutes.

Some cadets love flying and will go as often as they can get the opportunity. Others don't like flying. Not everybody in the RAF flies a plane. There are lots of other skills and that is reflected in the cadets as well.

They also do gliding and they can do gliding scholarships. So if they decide to go down the gliding route, they can be gliding solo at 16. Basically, they can fly a plane before they can drive a car,” 

Financial Accessibility

The costs associated with participating are kept low, largely thanks to the voluntary nature of the instruction.

“Flying for the cadets is free at the point of delivery. So the cost for cadets is £20 a month. That's how much we charge. Some of the cadet camps will incur a cost. So if we send them away for a weekend, so a weekend training that might be anything from about 10 to 20 for the weekend, but that is board and lodging and instruction cuz all our instructors for the cadets is free at the point. of delivery. So if we take them paddle boarding that's provided. Taking them on expeditions the leaders for the expedition is provided. So at the point of delivery a lot of it is free for the cadets,” 

How to Get Involved

Individuals interested in shaping the next generation of local youth are encouraged to reach out to the squadron.

Flight Lieutenant Bamford suggested the best way for prospective volunteers to learn more:

“come and see us on a Tuesday or a Friday evening. We parade at the Cadet Center on Kodi Hill Lane, which is just down the side at the back of the Kodi Hill business park. Come in and speak to one of the staff and we'll take details and have a chat,”

Alternatively, interested parties can visit the squadron’s website at https://www.scarboroughaircadets.org.uk, or email 739@rafac.mod.gov.ukto arrange a visit. The squadron can also be contacted on Monday and Friday evenings via phone at 01723 381110.