Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets | |
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Active | 1940 - Present |
Role | Volunteer Youth Organisation |
Headquarters | Sheffield |
Patron | Princess Alexandra |
Commanders | |
Corps Commandant | Yvonne McCarthy |
UK Military Cadet Forces military component of the youth organisations in the United Kingdom |
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Components |
British Overseas Territories |
Former Components |
Personnel |
Allegiance |
The Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets (GVCAC) is a voluntary uniformed youth organisation in the United Kingdom for girls aged between 11 and 20. It is a registered charity, [1] and a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS). [2] the Corps Commandant is Yvonne McCarthy. The GVCAC receives no funding from the Ministry of Defence (MoD). All adult staff members are subject to DBS checks. [3]
The GVC has its origins in 1940 as part of the National Association of Training Corps for Girls. This umbrella organisation was responsible for the Girls' Training Corps (GTC), Girls' Nautical Training Corps (GNTC) and Women's Junior Air Corps (WJAC). [3]
Former Air Transport Auxiliary pilot, Diana Barnato Walker, became a pilot for the Women's Junior Air Corps (WJAC) shortly after the war, giving cadets training and air-experience flights to air-minded teenage girls to encourage them to enter the aviation industry. In July 1948, an aircraft that she was flying caught fire near White Waltham. Rather than bail out and lose the WJAC’s aircraft, she switched off the fuel and glided the aircraft back. In 1963 she undertook a flight in an English Electric Lightning, attaining 1,262 mph (Mach 1.65) in a two-seat T.4 trainer and thus became the first British woman to exceed the speed of sound. [4]
In 1964 the Girls Venture Corps replaced both the GTC and WJAC. The previous year, the Girls' Nautical Training Corps became more closely involved with the Sea Cadet Corps [3] and in 1980 became an integral part of the Sea Cadets and ceased to be a separate organisation. [5] The Girls Venture Corps had two wings corresponding to the former GTC and WJAC; it was common at this time for former GTC units to share premises with Army Cadet Force units and for former WJAC units to share premises with Air Training Corps units. From 1983, girls were accepted into the ACF and ATC, which caused many GVC cadets to transfer to their respective counterparts. [6] It was decided that the GVC would focus on air activities and in 1987, at the request of its membership, the organisation was renamed the Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets. [7]
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme is a voluntary, non-competitive programme of practical, cultural and adventurous activities for young people aged 14 to 25. The Award programme has three levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold, and Cadets are often encouraged to achieve these awards as they progress through their cadet careers. The Award is widely recognised by employers as it helps demonstrate that holders are keen to take on new challenges, have a higher level of self-confidence than their counterparts, and have leadership qualities with experience of teamwork.
Until 2008, some cadets aged 16 or over participated in the Duke of Edinburgh's Millennium Volunteers Award.
There is opportunity for all Cadets to undertake practical gliding and powered flying, [8] underpinned by training courses in aviation subjects.
To gain this qualification a single specialist subject is studied:
The Challenge Award has drill and etiquette, service to the community, life skills, outdoor/adventure activities, interests/skills, and physical recreation sections.
The GVCAC, as a uniformed youth organization, sets itself and its members very high standards, including dress and behaviour. Drill (marching) is a vital part of encouraging teamwork, discipline, co-operation and self-confidence. Practicing drill is a means of instilling discipline and teamwork; it is also used in formal parades, for moving around military bases and moving cadets in a smart and orderly fashion. The Corps instills good manners and customs (etiquette) into cadets' behaviours; this transfers into having respect for each other, their family and is often well received by prospective employers.
GVCAC Cadets can also take part in the International Air Cadet Exchange (I.A.C.E), and Nijmegen Marches.
The Royal Air Force Association each year invites applications from both the ATC and GVCAC for a limited number of flying scholarships. [9]
In 2007 six grants were awarded to GVCAC Cadets which enabled attendance on a weekend course at a local gliding club. The scholarships were named after Air Commandant Barbara Ducat-Amos CB RRC (1921–2008), Director of the Royal Air Force Nursing Service. [10]
The headquarters is in Tinsley, South Yorkshire, east of the Tinsley Viaduct at junction 34 of the M1 motorway, off the Tinsley Roundabout at the start of the A631. The Meadowhall Centre is nearby to the west.
As well as learning new skills by working through the GVCAC syllabus, experienced cadets can be awarded a rank. The GVCAC allows its cadets to take on responsibility and leadership as non-commissioned Officers or NCOs.
Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets | No insignia | No insignia | ||||||||||
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Officer Cadet | Cadet Unit Sergeant | Cadet Sergeant | Cadet Corporal | Cadet Lance Corporal | Leading Cadet | Cadet | Recruit | |||||
OFFCDT | CDTUSGT | CDTSGT | CDTCPL | CDTLC | LCDT | CDT | RCT |
Insignia | ||||||
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Rank | Honorary Corps Commandant | Senior Officer | Unit Officer | Assistant Unit Officer | Section Officer | Potential/Acting Section Officer |
Region 1 | Region 7 | Region 9 | Region 11 | Region 12 | Region 18 | Region 25 |
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South Shields (Tyne & Wear) | Huntingdon (Cambridgeshire) | Culver (Isle of Wight) | RAF Marham (King's Lynn, Norfolk) | Feltham (Middlesex) | Hednesford (Staffordshire) | Ollerton (Nottinghamshire) |
Gateshead (Tyne & Wear) | St Ives (Cambridgeshire) | Ryde (Isle of Wight) | King's Lynn (Norfolk) | Greenford (Middlesex) | Smethwick (Oldbury, West Midlands) | Rotherham (South Yorkshire) |
Wisbech (Cambridgeshire) | Newport (temporarily Closed) | Southend (Leigh on Sea, Essex) | Stafford (Staffordshire) | Sheffield (South Yorkshire) | ||
Yaxley (Cambridgeshire) | Walsall (West Midlands) | Wigston (Leicestershire) |
The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance, resourcefulness, endurance and perseverance".
The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer youth organisation of the United Kingdom; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focussing on military aviation. Part of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC), the ATC is sponsored by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the wider Ministry of Defence (MoD). The majority of Air Training Corps staff are volunteers, though some staff are paid for full-time work; including Commandant Air Cadets, who is a Royal Air Force officer as part of a Full Term Reserve Service commitment.
The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and the British Army. Along with the Sea Cadet Corps and the Air Training Corps, the ACF make up the Community Cadet Forces. It is a separate organisation from the Combined Cadet Force which provides similar training within principally private schools.
An Air Experience Flight (AEF) is a training unit of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve whose main purpose is to give introductory flying experience to cadets from the Air Training Corps and the Combined Cadet Force. As of 2019, thirteen AEFs are active.
The New Zealand Air Training Corps is one of the three corps in the New Zealand Cadet Forces (NZCF), alongside the New Zealand Sea Cadet Corps and the New Zealand Cadet Corps. It is funded in partnership between the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and local communities. Members are civilians with no obligation to enlist in the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). Should a cadet enlist, their service in the ATC cadet does not translate into higher pay, rank, or seniority.
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch), often abbreviated to RAFVR(T), was a Volunteer Reserve element of the Royal Air Force specifically appointed in a cadet training role within the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Members of the RAFVR(T) had no call-up liability and often operated part-time with the Air Experience Flights and Volunteer Gliding Squadrons, which provide flight experience for the Royal Air Force Air Cadets.
A Volunteer Gliding Squadron (VGS) is an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) which provides flying training in glider aircraft for Royal Air Force Air Cadets. All current operational Volunteer Gliding Squadrons operate a sole type of aircraft, the Grob G103A Twin II Acro, a conventional winch-launched tandem-seat sailplane known by its British military designation, Viking T1.
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), the active reserve for the RAF, by providing an additional non-active reserve. However during the Second World War the high demand for aircrew absorbed all available RAuxAF personnel and led the RAFVR to quickly become the main pathway of aircrew entry into the RAF. It was initially composed of civilians recruited from neighbourhood reserve flying schools, run by civilian contractors with largely RAF-trained flying instructors as well as other instructors in related air war functions, such as observers and wireless operators.
The Air Defence Cadet Corps was a volunteer youth organisation in the United Kingdom, preparing young people for military aviation. Founded in 1938, it was replaced in 1941 by the Air Training Corps.
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Diana Barnato Walker MBE FRAeS was a pioneering British aviator. In World War II, she became one of the first women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary, flying 80 types of aircraft and delivering 260 Spitfires. In 1963, she became the first British woman to break the sound barrier, flying at Mach 1.6, which also represented a world air speed record for women.
No. 12 Air Experience Flight (AEF) is an Air Experience Flight run by the Air Cadet Organisation of the Royal Air Force.
No. 6 Air Experience Flight is an Air Experience Flight based at RAF Benson.
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There are many national organisations in the United Kingdom that have been established to provide services to people under the age of 18.
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