Ampthill hosts ATC Sunday Parade

This year 1985 Squadron had the honour of hosting the Southern Sector of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Wing for the annual ATC Sunday celebrations to mark the anniversary of the formation of the Air Training Corps.

On 5th February 1941, King George VI issued the Royal Warrant to form the Air Training Corps from what was then called the Air Defence Cadet Corps which supported the RAF in the war effort by arming aircraft and other jobs around the airfields. The Air Training Corps now has around 40000 cadets, and 10000 adult volunteers who give up their own time to provide an exciting and meaningful experience to the young people of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Flt Lt Bierton, OC 1985 Sqn, headed up the parade which comprised of over 200 cadets and staff, a banner party and the Sector Marching Band. The parade attracted lots of attention form members of the public who paused their Sunday afternoons to watch the spectacle. This is the first time the Sector have paraded through Ampthill in a number of years, and also the first time that a band has been formed by the cadets of Southern Sector.

The parade could not have happened if it wasn't for the professional work of Bedfordshire Special Constabulary who dealt with the road closures through Ampthill, and for the cooperation of Ampthill and Central Beds Council.