1260 Squadron Newark and District Air Cadets have a new, home grown, commanding officer.

Flight Lieutenant Martin Derbyshire has taken command of the group where, in 1997, he started out as an Air Cadet. Martin rose through the cadet ranks to become Cadet Warrant Officer and then moved to adult staff going from Pilot Officer to his recent promotion as Flight Lieutenant.

On taking up his command Martin said “It is a great honour to be offered the opportunity to command any Air Cadet squadron but particularly so for me as Newark is where I started and I have tremendous memories of being a cadet here. As well as taking part in parades such as Remembrance Sunday and Battle of Britain I had the opportunity to attend camp 2000 at Cranwell and Proteus, to spend time on RAF bases in both Gibraltar and Cyprus and a fabulous week of work experience at RAF Cranwell which included a flight with RAF officer and Rugby legend Rory Underwood”.

Martin continued by saying “I am looking forward to helping our current cadets enjoy their time with the organisation and benefiting as much as I did, starting by taking ten Newark Air Cadets to spend a week at RAF Aldergrove during August. Going forward, as well as securing as many flying and gliding openings as we can, I would also like to offer our Air Cadets more adventure training opportunities and to make sure that we don’t forget to have fun!”

In conclusion Martin commented “1260 Squadron is in great shape and thanks for this must go to my predecessors, Flight Lieutenants Nick Squire and Mark Edwards, who both devoted a significant amount of their time and effort to the group and I look forward to building on a solid foundation”.

Everyone involved in running 1260 Squadron, including Martin, is a volunteer who give their time freely. The volunteers include Martin’s brother Adam who is an instructor and particularly looks after sports activities and his dad, Steve, who is the Treasurer focusing on raising funds for the group.