During a ceremony held at the Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square, London, the Daily Mail’s Inspirational Woman of the Year Award was presented to Commanding Officer of London Wing ATC, Sylvie Silver.

Wing Commander Silver

The winners were honoured by Prime Minister’s wife Sarah Brown, Dame Helen Mirren, TV Presenter Natasha Kaplinsky and many other big names from the worlds of celebrity and business. The awards, sponsored by M&S, celebrate the stories and achievements of six inspiring finalists from all walks of life. The Daily Mail’s readers nominated women who deserved to be honoured for their unsung dedication to others. Hundreds of nominations were made, but Sylvie was eventually chosen for what the Mail termed, “her remarkable spirit of selflessness.” Sylvie admits to feeling ‘totally overwhelmed’ when she discovered she’d not only been nominated, but selected to be a finalist. As for winning such a prestigious award, Sylvie still cannot quite believe it, even though seeing the success of her cadets is reward in itself.

Sylvie says, “The ATC really cares about these young people, and they sense that. Recently, I visited our base in Shoreditch and there were three lads, quietly studying in a classroom being taught the BTEC First Diploma in Public Services. The Commanding Officer told me that none of these boys had been in school for the past year. They were consistent truants, but here they were, listening and concentrating hard. “I was so amazed, I said to one of them, ‘What brings you here? Why can you sit here and study during your free time but not at school?’ and he said, ‘Because they care about me here.’ It’s that simple. They are fantastic kids who simply need to feel they belong, and we provide an alternative to gangs.” As Commanding Officer of HQ London Wing ATC, Sylvie is in charge of 30 squadrons, and around 1,300 cadets. Her day job is as Director of a charity called NAPA – the National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People. Congratulations to Sylvie from all the Cadets and Staff of London Wing

Wg Cdr Silver presents Cadet Corporal McDermott with a gliding scholarship

The end of a very successful year at 282 (East Ham) Squadron ATC was marked by holding an Awards Evening at the Newham Town Hall. The ceremony celebrated the achievements of cadets over the last 12 months.

This year’s Awards Evening was made even special due to the impressive list of VIPs and dignitaries present. These included Stephen Timms MP; Secretary to the Treasury, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant Colonel Mike Dudding, the Civic Ambassador of Newham Mr Akbar Chaudhury, Councillor Brian Collier, and Officer Commanding London Wing; Wing Commander Silvie Silver RAF VR(T). The evening started off with an inspection of the Cadets by Wing Commander Silver. Accompanied by Sergeant (ATC) Shoheb Akhtar (21) and Cadet Sergeant Andrew Simon (17), the Wing Commander strolled through the ranks and spoke to every one of the 30 cadets on parade. “It was an honour to be inspected by the Wing Commander” stated the Flight Commander, Cadet Sergeant Simon. “It is not very often that you have the pleasure of speaking to the Wing Commander especially on such a special occasion” he added. With the entrance of the Squadron banner and Sergeant (ATC) Christopher Booty (24); the 282 Squadron Unit Commander, welcoming all the guests the awards ceremony was officially underway.

The first set of awards was presented by the Civic Ambassador to cadets who had recently passed their exams.

Wg Cdr Silver inspects cadets from 282 Sqn

Certificates were presented to Cadets Ellie Varouhakis (16) and Usman Sarem (15) for successfully passing their Leading Classification exams. BTECs in Aviation and Public Services were gained by Cadet Sergeants Eoin Flynn (17), Martin McDermott (17) and Andrew Simon. Stephen Timms MP was asked next to present the trophies. The trophy for Best Junior Shot was awarded to Cadet Ibrahim Lallmamode (15), the Academic Award for achieving the highest exam marks throughout the year went to Cadet Sarem. The Efficiency Trophy went to Cadet Corporal McDermott and the Merit Award to Cadet Andrew Green (15).

Cadet Sergeant Flynn picked up the Outstanding Cadet Award as he showed great leadership throughout the past year, especially at the Squadron’s last Adventure Training Exercise. The Flight Shield, for the first time in almost a decade went to No. 2 Flight and was collected by Cadet Sergeant Simon. A very old tradition was bought back to life in the form of the Officers vs. NCOs vs. Cadets Shooting Competition which was held in February 2009. It was won by the Officers and the shield was collected on behalf of the Staff by SGT (ATC) Akhtar. The Charles Collier Trophy for Best Senior Shot was presented to Cadet Corporal McDermott by Councillor Brian Collier. Mr Collier has been a great supporter of the Squadron for many years and donated this trophy in loving memory of Charles Collier, a rear gunner, whom lost his life during the Second World War at the age of just 16. Colonel Mike Dudding presented the Deputy Lord Lieutenant’s Award for Outstanding Achievement to Cadet Sergeant Simon, whom was greatly surprised on receiving the award.

Three special awards which were donated by Civilian Instructor Tony Root, a long serving member of the Squadron since the late 1940s, were presented by Former 282 Squadron Commanding Officer Squadron Leader Frank Coxon. The Sports Award was presented to Cadet Lallmamode, the Aircraft Modelling Award to Cadet Michael Barnes (17) and the Johnathan Root Award for First Aid to Cadet Sarah Allen (15). Wing Commander Silvie Silver had great pleasure in presenting Cadet Corporal McDermott with his Blue Wings after successfully completing a Gliding Scholarship in a Viking Glider. Other Awards presented by the Wing Commander included Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh awards, Heart Start Certificates for First Aid and Region Blues for Sports. The moment that all cadets were anticipating finally arrived when promotions were made by the Wing Commander. Cadet Corporal Ellie Varouhakis and Michael Barnes joined the 282 NCO Family, and two new Sergeants were appointed in Martin McDermott and Brandan Quinlan (17). Eoin Flynn was promoted to the dizzy heights of Cadet Flight Sergeant and is now the ‘Top Cadet’ at 282.

A special presentation was made to Padre Peter Turner who stepped down as the Squadron Chaplain. A silver pocket watch engraved with the Air Training Corps crest and a thank you message for his 11 years of service. But it isn’t the last that Cadets would see of him as he has been appointed as the Wing Chaplain, a job with much greater responsibility. The evening came to an end with the showing of a DVD, which was a gathering of videos and pictures of the Squadron successes over the past last year. Food and drink was served by the Squadron Welfare Committee. All in all, the night was a great success, so much so that Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms has arranged to come back and pay a special visit to the cadets on Friday 5 June 2009.