Cadet celebrations

NO. 306 Squadron Australian Air Force Cadets has celebrated its 60th anniversary in an historic setting in Sydney.

Founded as a wartime cadet unit in 1942, 306SQN marked the occasion at Sydney Grammar School’s Big Schoolroom, with Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Angus Houston the guest of honour. The setting was chosen because it serves as a link between the squadron, the school and the Air Force.

By the end of WW2, 530 Sydney Grammar pupils (including cadets from the unit) had joined the Air Force, an extraordinary contribution from one school.

The southern wall of the Big Schoolroom holds memorial boards honouring former students who did not return from wartime service. The room was also the location of the mathematics and science training provided to recruits.

Still based at Sydney Grammar School, 306SQN today also includes female cadets from SCEGGS Darlinghurst.
306SQN has a philosophy of supporting the local community. In keeping with this, the evening aimed to raise money for the Matthew Talbot Hostel and to buy books for a local primary school.

An historical presentation was made by Cadet Corporal Tait Myers who acknowledged the presence at the dinner of Kenneth Austin, a cadet at the time of the unit’s foundation in 1942.

Cadet Kate Tagg spoke about today’s Air Force Cadets and the benefits it provided. AIRMSHL Houston spoke about moral strength and ethics and how they related to the Air Force.

• By LAC Daniel
  Mendoza-Jones

 

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