On the May Bank Holiday weekend the Cadets and Staff of 165 (Castle Bromwich) Squadron, set off from their Headquarters in Cadbury Drive Castle Vale for a four day Squadron Camp to the Elan Valley Training Centre in Powys, mid Wales. The weather stayed dry and the sun shone for most of the four days, a very unusual occurrence in the Elan Valley, which is of the course the place where Birmingham's water supply comes from.

The weekend camp went under the heading of OPERATION GREAT LAKES in recognition of the number of reservoirs within the area covered by the Elan Valley .

The 21 cadets and 5 staff who attended the camp enjoyed a varied programme of activities that included navigation exercises, a ‘treasure hunt', shelter building, casualty recovery as well as swimming in the local towns swimming pool and not in the local reservoir's.

Providing food for all of the personnel attending the camp was a tricky affair at times but the catering team managed to keep everyone happy and healthy during the camp.

This had been the first large scale Squadron camp run by 165 Squadron and it proved to be a very successful weekend, thoroughly enjoyed by all and may well become an annual feature for the Cadets and Staff of Castle Vale's only cadet unit, 165 (Castle Bromwich) Squadron, Air Training Corps.

The picture shows the Cadet's above the main Elan Valley Dam where there is a derelict farmhouse that provided the materials for the temporary sign.