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Flt. Lt. D. K. Walker, Officer Commanding Coincidentally, the Squadron had the same number as a locally based RAF Squadron stationed at RAF Linton-on-Ouse. the ADCC unit adopted the badge of 58 RAF - a large owl. The ADCC banner still owned by the Squadron depicts the owl of 58 with a fledgling or baby owl alongside. The Squadron motto was also 'poached' from the Coldstream guards - 'Nulli Secundus', which translates as 'Second to none'. This was probably to indicate the first Squadron in the area and was possibly the idea of a former Army officer who founded the unit. In fact, the first known Commanding Officer, Flight Lieutenant Homes, was known to the Cadets as "The Major" - his rank during WWI. We have only two photographs of that time. In those days, with the threat of invasion receding after the RAF's success during the Battle of Britain, Cadets had to be 15 and male to join the Corps and had to undertake an entrance exam and physical exercise test. The purpose of the unit was to give young men pre-service training to prepare them to join the RAF or the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The second Commanding Officer (CO) took over the Squadron after the end of WWII. Flight Lieutenant A. Renton DFM was decorated and commissioned while he served operationally on No. 460 (Australian) Squadron as a Flight Engineer. He completed 25 operational night sorties in Lancaster bombers over Germany before converting to Halifax bombers and training on both types at the Heavy Conversion Units teaching new aircrew in the skills and knowledge to complete their hazardous duties. Between 1947 and 1952 he arranged camps at RAF Binbrook where he'd been based with 460. The Squadron also took its own Drum and Bugle band trained by the town's own bandmaster, Mr. Leonard Shutt. The first known "best cadet" was Sergeant M. Atkinson in 1947. In 1948, the Squadron won the first ever Aircraft Recognition Competition. 58 had some good sportsmen winning competitions at both boxing and swimming. This, along with the high number of glider pilots, gave the ATC in Harrogate a high press profile. They even had a Cadet join the RAF to find himself actually posted to 58 Squadron RAF. Along with the usual parades, 58 participated in one very special event in the town - the unveiling of the Cross of Sacrifice at the Stonefall Military Cemetery by His Excellency the High Commissioner of Canada. 994 men (mostly airmen) of nine Commonwealth countries lie there. The next CO was to stay seventeen years - Flight Lieutenant K. Lee. He ran the unit successfully when National Service was required by all males over the age of 21. Using mostly RAF Dishforth next to the A1 trunk road, Cadets would cycle to the station for visits and to use the Link trainers at the weekend. During his command, Flt. Sgt. G. W. Richardson gained our first ever Private Pilot's License from the recently introduced Flying Scholoarship scheme. Then worth £150 (about £5500 today), he got it free. In 1955 the cost of a weeks' camp on an RAF station was four shillings (today about 20p). The Squadron was rehoused from the dilapidated wartime huts of the Grammar School to a purpose built hut on the MOD site at St. George's Road. We moved officially on February 26th 1964 - a parade marking the ATC's 23rd anniversary. Though National Service ended in 1962, the Squadron still maintained an active strength of about 30 Cadets throughout the 1960s. The latest innovation was the Duke of Edinburgh's (DofE) Award. The ATC was one of the pilot organisations to try out the administration of the scheme to see if it would work and be of benefit to the youth movements and schools. By May 1960, Harrogate ATC had 19 Cadets participating. Throughout the sixties film and slide presentations for cadets popularity began to slow so more flying and gliding was organised along with shooting competitions. Plus the new CO started community service projects such as raising money to buy a bed for Harrogate Hospital. The strength was then around 44 Cadets. The 1970s saw a new kind of adventure training to run alongside the DofE award. Known as Aircraft Wreckage Recovery, Cadets had a long tradition of aquiring parts of crashed aircraft. To search the Yorkshire Dales for remains of long since forgotten aircraft made an interesting and often formidable project. These expeditions were organised by an ex-cadet Civilian Instructor Mr N. Ponsford. The parts found included engines, door panels, oxygen, and nitrogen bottles, and were recovered to the Squadron hut before being given to the Yorkshire Aircraft preservation Society. During the next decade 58 was at its most successful since the end of the War. Due to the right leaders and excellent senior cadets the squadron grew to over 60 cadets. Parading in the hut was difficult due to the lack of space so a deal was done to swap the Air Cadet hut for the bigger Army Cadet hut next door. This helped maintain the unit and allowed them to parade inside each evening. In 1983 with cadet numbers falling nationally (though not in Harrogate) and equal opportunities laws about to be introduced, the ATC took a leap forward and introduced girls into the Corps. This had both advantages and disadvantages for Commanders, but it certainly meant that cadet social skills and lifestyles improved tremendously. The flying, gliding, marksmanship, adventure training, DofE award, sports and leadership training are rooted in the ATC history. Cadets regularly undertook weekend expeditions to the Dales and Lake District, overseas camps, courses on drill, discipline and classroom techinique, parachuting, rock climbing and visits to Aircraft museums and airshows. A local favourite was the RAFA display at RAF Church Fenton. The 90s brought new challenges - 58 had its first female CO; Flt. Lt. S Boustead. Naturally, more girls joined the unit and the following year the first woman Wing Commander assumed command of Central & East Yorkshire Wing. In 1995 the ATC was forced to move from the hut at St. George's Road with the closure of the RAF site as part of the Strategic Defence Review leaving Harrogate altogether. The unit now had to share a small part of the former Drill Hall with the Army Cadets. In August 1998 our present CO (Flt. Lt. David Walker) assumed command to move the Squadron into the next millennium. Introduction of telephone lines and computers meant simulation could be experienced by all cadets prior to flying or gliding. Modern lesson presentation techniques improve the training and of course this website is an ongoing project for senior cadets and NCOs. Our two most senior cadets have gained flying scholarships, five cadets have gliding scholarships, eight marksmen and fifteen cadets participate in the DofE award. Sport achievement abounds. Today 58 maintains its traditions and is still the senior squadronm, leading others in our area to follow our ideas and methods. The Squadron's motto is still the same as it was in 1939: |