Cadet Sergeant Amy Fuller (16) of 58 (Harrogate) Squadron Air Cadets along with Cadet Corporal Lewis Akerman (17) and Cadet Warrant Officer Alex Rawlings (19) of 1953 (Knaresborough) Squadron are back in the UK after having successfully completed the historic Nijmegen Marches.
Held in the Netherlands each July, this annual event is a gruelling four-day road march of over one hundred miles, covering roughly twenty-five miles each day. The three local air cadets were a part of the Central and East Yorkshire Wing Air Training Corps road marching team which included cadets from Harrogate, Knaresborough, Hornsea, Stockton, Redcar, Whitby, Hull, Driffield and York squadrons. For some of the cadets, including Sergeant Fuller, it was their first time at Nijmegen and proved a major challenge, a challenge overcome by the cadets working together as a team to ensure that every cadet completed the march.
The Nijmegen Marches attract over forty thousand participants every year, many of which are teams drawn from armed forces from all over Europe as well as the USA, Canada and Australia. Successful marchers have to complete the full hundred-mile march through the Dutch countryside, where the Dutch public line the route in their hundreds every day, handing out not only good wishes but also sweets, drinks and souvenirs, helping to keep the cadets motivated as they trudge on towards the final checkpoint, a well-earned rest, and a coveted Nijmegen medal.
For more information about joining the squadron as a cadet or volunteer instructor, please contact 01423 875443 on a Monday or Friday evening or visit www.58squadron.org.uk.