Canvey Cadets at VEE Base

Fifteen cadets and four officers from Canvey’s 2187 Squadron Air Training Corps were the guests of R.A.F. Wyton during their annual camp.

Leaving the Island on Saturday morning, they arrived at Wyton where they soon settled in alongside boys from Nottingham and York­shire wings. Having sorted out billets, they were given the rest of the day to acquaint themselves with their new surroundings.

The camp proper got off to a good start on Sunday with a visit to Old Warden airfield where the lads toured the aircraft museum and saw many historic machines and fittings.

After this the routine visits to squadrons and sections of the aerodrome took place but due to the top secret nature of most of what they saw, details of their visits must not be printed.

HIGHLIGHTS

Two highlights of the week were flying in Chipmunk aircraft and a visit to the American Air Force base at Alconbury where they received the usual open handed reception of the Americans and were shown the full process of air reconnaissance and photography right down to development and interpretation of films and also allowed to sit in the cockpit of a Phantom fighter.

The Walter Mitty expression on their faces during this would have delighted a psychiatrist.

During the course of the week, the lads saw a great variety of aircraft in action from the diminutive “chipmunk” and “basset” to the gargantuan, “Victors” with a couple of odd helicopters thrown in.

All in all the camp was highly successful from the boys’ point of view and all were quite prepared to stay longer, but as this was the last week of camp, it was not possible. S.C