2489 (bridge of don) squadron air training corps
This brief history tells how the RAF Air Cadets was formed. As an essential part
of the RAF, supplying better-trained and experienced personnel during times of
war, it has evolved into the largest air cadet organisation in the world. The
first cadets In 1859 several schools around the country began forming armed,
uniformed units of adults and older boys with the purpose of protecting Britain
in the event of an attack from overseas. By the turn of the century there were
units in more than 100 schools and, in 1908, the units were re-titled the
Officer Training Corps (OTC). Many ex-cadets and officers served with
distinction during the First World War. By the 1930s the beginnings of today’s
CCF (RAF) appeared in the form of OTC Air Sections. In Army uniform, but with an
RAF armband, they trained very much like today. Air Commodore Chamier, the Air
League and the ADCC It was a simple enough idea. The Second World War was on the
horizon and if aircraft were to be used as a major combat strength, then the RAF
would need a serious amount of combat-ready pilots and competent support crew to
keep them in the air. That idea came from Air Commodore J A Chamier, now known
as the father of the air cadets. He served in the army, the Royal Flying Corps
and the RAF in 1919 (not long after it formed). With his love for aviation, he
was determined to get British people aware of the RAF and its vital role in any
future war. He wanted to establish an air cadet corps, encouraging young people
to consider a career in aviation - pretty exciting at a time when very few
people ever got the chance to fly. His experience in World War I, where training
time was very limited, convinced him that the sooner training began the better
prepared and experienced a person would be in combat. So, in 1938 the Air
Defence Cadet Corps (ADCC) was founded by Air Commodore Chamier who was then
Secretary-General of the Air League – an organisation made up of people who
wanted to make the British public aware of the importance of military aviation.
Demand for places was high and squadrons were set up in as many towns around the
UK as possible. Local people ran them and each squadron aimed to prepare cadets
for joining the RAF or the Fleet Air Arm (the Royal Navy's aircraft division).
They also helped form the diverse programme of activities that our cadets enjoy
today. During World War II, with many instructors being drafted into the RAF and
squadron buildings being used by the military, cadets were sent to work on RAF
stations. They carried messages, handled aircraft and moved equipment. They
filled thousands of sandbags and loaded miles of belts of ammunition. They were
invaluable. By the end of the war, in just 7 years since the formation of the
ADCC, almost 100,000 cadets had joined the RAF. The ATC and CCF Towards the end
of 1940, the government realised the value of the cadet force and took control
of the ADCC. It reorganised and renamed it, and on the 5th February 1941 the Air
Training Corps was officially established with King George VI as the Air
Commodore-in-Chief.
