It's not only the Air Training Corps that is celebrating a major anniversary this year, the Royal British Legion is 90 years old in 2011 and there have been celebrations all over the UK, and indeed the world, to celebrate this major milestone.

Cadets and staff from 485 (Harborne and Quinton) Sqn were invited to attend the celebrations which were organised by the Quinton branch of the Royal British Legion. These were held at the Worlds End Junior School on 10th September.

The Sqn had decided to use the day as a recruiting event and as such they had borrowed the Wing Gazebo. The Army Cadets were very impressed at just how quickly the staff and cadets erected the gazebo, and its position, sitting on top of a hill, meant that all could see the stand! FS Richard Coates had brought along a flight simulator and along with a laptop playing the ATC recruiting DVD the staff and cadets were ready for the day.

The event was opened at 11am by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham , Councillor Anita Ward. Following a visit to the Royal British Legion stand, the Mayor was then guided around the site and she first visited the ATC stand. It was explained to the Mayor that 485 Sqn had recently become officially affiliated to the Quinton branch of the Legion and that they are working closely together on a number of projects, including the up coming poppy appeal in November.

The celebrations on the day culminated in a final parade where the cadets from all three services, along with the standards of the Royal British Legion, marched on to the playing fields for a short memorial service. The last post was played by a lone bugler whilst the standards were dipped in memory of the fallen of all conflicts.

Fg Off Simon Jennings commented “I would firstly like to thank the staff and cadets for making this a successful day. Although we didn't see that many teenagers, we did hand out a lot of promotional material to parents. Having the flight simulator available meant that the young children could have a play on the stand and this also got the cadets involved in speaking to the public. I feel it's vitally important that we support our local communities at events such as these and utilizing the Wing Gazebo means that we are highly visible on the day”.