126 City of Derby Squadron Air Cadets

25/08/2026

Sector Archery competition 🏹

On Saturday, a group of our cadets took part in the Wing Archery competition along with multiple other squadrons. A special mention to SGT Rose, who shot two bullseye's which massively contributed to 126 winning the competition! 🏆 🎯

A huge congratulations to everyone who competed and a huge well done to all our 126 cadets that competed and helped us win! 🥇

1st - 126 (City of Derby) Squadron
2nd - 1211 (Swadlincote) Squadron
3rd - 348 (Ilkeston) Squadron
4th - 1188 (Coalville) Squadron

24/08/2026

IACE 2026

What a night! On Wednesday 22nd July 2026, 126 (City of Derby) Squadron hosted the UK IACE contingency; a group of cadets from around the world and the supporting UK staff and cadets.

The night was a celebration of the Air Training Corps and the UK, showing the international visitors the best we have to offer! This included laser clay shooting, feildcraft, archery, music and much much more! We also introduced many of our visitors to fish and chips for the first time!

We had guests from Derbyshire County Cricket Club and Derbyshire Constabulary join us for the evening to show off Derbyshire, outside of Air Cadets. We also had the pleasure of hosting the deputy Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire () and Derby's own Mayor (Derby City Council)!

To conclude the night, we had the cake cutting ceremony and then time for swaps! This is a highlight of the IACE evening every year where the cadets get the opportunity to swap bits from their country, such as patches, rank slides and more with each other. (Australia was very prepared, look at that patches board!! 🇦🇺)

We were honoured with certificates of thanks and gifts from the visiting countries as a thank you for hosting the night. Our OC was also gifted a personalised Harrier painting as a thank you.

A memorable night for sure, thank you to everyone who attended, we hope you all enjoyed the evening!

14/07/2026

JUNE ROUND UP ☀️
See what we've been getting up too in June at 126 Squadron!

CINEMA TRIP 🎥
Started the month off strong with a trip to the cinema to celebrate all the hard work everyone has put in so far this year, with Top Gun Maverick ✈️
Safe to say, the cadets loved it! (and the nachos 😂)

FAMILY NIGHTS
We hosted two family nights in June, which was a brilliant opportunity for parents, siblings, carers and families to join us for a parade night to see what the cadets get up too!
Each flight planned and ran their own night, with the tasks including Leadership, First Aid and Drill ⛑️
It was amazing to see so many people at the Squadron to support the cadets!

AWARDS 🏆
We had a huge variety of badges, certificates and awards this month, including CREST awards, Blue Wings, Silver Space, Blue First Aid and many more!
We love seeing the cadets hard work paying off, well done to everyone 👏🏼

GOODBYES 👋🏼
Sadly, our CWO aged out this month so we had to say goodbye to CWO Sandland 👋🏼 Thankfully though, it wasn't for long as she is now the newest member of our Staff Team and is now a Civilian Instructor !

PROMOTIONS
We've had two promotions this month, adding to our NCO team at 126:
Cdt Li (H) has been promoted to CPL and is now part of D Flight.
Following his interview, FS Brown is now our new CWO!
Congratulations to you both 👏🏼

DRUMMING 🥁
We have seen a return in drumming lessons this month with our new practice pads, in preparation for our Corps of Drums making a return! 🥁

RECRUIT TRAINING
Our current recruit flight have been continuing to work hard with their training including uniform upkeep and drill. The next generation of 126 Cadets 🙌🏼

LONGEST DAY ✈️
A group of our cadets had the fantastic opportunity to take part in an event called Longest Day with 644 Volunteer Gliding Squadron (644 Volunteer Gliding Squadron) at RAF Syerston.
They all got to go up in a glider and all earned their blue wings badge! 🪽 Thank you too 644 VGS for having our cadets and providing them with this unforgettable experience!

LOWLAND LEADER COURSE 🚶‍♂️
Our CWO Brown and Fg Off Pollen took part in the Lowland Leader course in June, adding to their qualifications they can bring back and use on the Squadron!

02/07/2026

We would like to introduce our new Cadet Warrant, CWO Brown. Last Monday, CWO Brown sat down with Wing Commander Wilson to complete his interview and passed!

Following his promotion, CWO Brown has said 'It is a tremendous honour and privilege to reach this significant milestone in my time within RAFAC. I look forward to the new challenges and opportunities for growth within the organisation and I remain committed to supporting the development of our cadets and fellow NCO's so that they can achieve their full potential and contribute to the organisation's continued success.

02/07/2026

Longest Day Gliding

Last week, a group of our cadets travelled to RAF Syerston to take part in an event called The longest day, where they all got the opportunity to go gliding with 644 VGS.

Before taking to the skies, all the cadets took part in the pre flight training and evacuation drills to ensure their safety. 🪂

Then they were off! All of the cadets got thr opportunity to fly in the gliders and all earned their blue wings! 🪽

A massive thank you to 644 Volunteer Gliding Squadron who were able to offer this amazing opportunity to our cadets to give them an experience they'll never forget!

05/06/2026

On the 20th of May, Flt Lt Mills, FS Brown & FS Gillham recieved the honour of being invited to attend Derby City Council’s Mayor Making Ceremony at the Derby Council House.

The ceremony celebrated the appointment of Derby’s new Mayor, Councillor Jonathan Smale, and Deputy Mayor, Councillor Richard Hudson, while providing an insight into the traditions and responsibilities of civic leadership. Representatives from a range of organisations attended, highlighting the strong partnerships and community spirit across the city.

As FS Brown steps down from his post as Mayor’s Cadet, he makes way for FS Gillham and Sgt Kudhail to continue representing 126 (City of Derby) Squadron and supporting the strong relationship between the RAF Air Cadets and Derby City Council through the Mayor’s next year in office.

It was a privilege to attend such a prestigious occasion and to witness the close relationship between local authorities, community organisations, and the Armed Forces. The event reinforced the importance of civic service and the shared commitment to supporting the people of Derby.

10/05/2026

Congratulation to Cadet Ethan Upton who was promoted to the rank of Corporal whilst at our weekend camp.

Great work Ethan and we are very proud of you 👍 The hard work begins now 💪

10/05/2026

10/05/2026

This weekend a group of our Cadets and staff joined our friends at 2195 Long Eaton Squadron Air Cadets for a multi activity camp at Robin Hood Scout Camp in Blidworth, Notts.

The jam packed weekend involved a wide range of activities, including archery, fieldcraft, laser clay pigeon shooting, various sports, tug of war and much more.

Cadets and Staff were accommodated in superb accommodation, with food lovingly prepared and provided by the 2195 Sqn Civilian Committee.

The Cadets from both Sqn forged new friendships, caught up with old friends and enjoyed a thoroughly packed weekend.

Flt Lt Mills RAFAC, Officer Commanding 126 Sqn said “Thanks to Long Eaton Squadron for the invite to join them at Blidworth, what a fantastic weekend we have had!!! It was great to see two of the best units in South and East Midlands Wing Air Cadets come together, further strengthening the ties between the two units to make a brilliant camp for all involved” Royal Air Force Air Cadets

29/04/2026

RECRUIT NIGHT UPDATE

We are pleased to advise that our recruit intake evening will take place on Thursday 30th April at 1930hrs. Please email [email protected] and you will be sent the venue details.

If you are unable to join us tomorrow, please can you email [email protected].

Also, if you know of anyone who has contacted us, but has not received an email, please do pass this information on to them and encourage them to join us - car sharing if possible!

We look forward to meeting you tomorrow!