Air cadets from Leominster soared above the competition across the county to pick up two trophies in the prestigious Poppy Awards.
Every year army, sea and air cadets bid for the awards, and this year 151 Squadron (Leominster) ATC managed to raise £3,215 with their collection so the Sir Thomas Dunne Cup was presented to Cadet Corporal Liam Grice, on behalf of the unit, in a special ceremony by Herefordshire Lord Lieutenant, Lady Darnley.
To cap it all, Cadet Sergeant Emlyn Washbrook was presented with the Ross Solutions’ Cup having collected £928 himself for the poppy appeal.
“They have done tremendously well,” said retired squadron commander, Flt Lt Val Hickin who is heavily involved in running the unit.
“I always tell them they have to be thoroughly tenacious to take this on and I am extremely proud of their achievements.
“They learn an awful lot from the humanity side when they help with the poppy appeal collections,” he explained, pointing out that many retired servicemen and women wanted to talk to the young uniformed cadets while they were out collecting.
The cadets spent “many hours” at work in local supermarkets and he paid tribute to the support they received from Morrisons at Leominster.
151 Squadron (Leominster) ATC has also been on car parking duty during the Shobdon aviation weekend. As a result of their car parking efforts alone at Bromyard Gala, where they helped park more than 1,000 cars, they raised a mighty £1,234 for the RAF Benevolent Fund.
Squadron Athletic has also been a big success for the squadron with Cadet Graham Thomas representing the squadron in several heats.
He also represented the Wales and West region in the 800m at RAF Cosford and has become the UK National Corps Champion beating his personal best by two seconds coming in at an impressive two minutes and 11 seconds.
This is the first time that Wales and West have won this competition, and Cadet Thomas will now go on to represent the Air cadets against the other corps.
The unit is planning an annual camp to an RAF base, adventure training in North Wales, shooting competitions, more athletics and a wing training weekend.
The squadron is currently recruiting new cadets aged 13-16. If you are interested in joining, you are welcome to visit on parade nights at the Bridge Street headquarters in Leominster between 7pm and 9pm each Monday and Thursday.
Call the squadron on 01568 615113 during parade hours or email oc.151@aircadets.org for more information.