Gibraltar Camp 2010

Posted by admin on Monday 12 April 2010 under 2010 | Be the First to Comment

Sgt Coleman, Cpl Goodchild and I travelled to Gibraltar on Monday April 5^TH 2010 to spend the first week of the school Easter holidays with other cadets from within Norfolk & Suffolk wing and Bedfordshire & Cambridgeshire on an Easter Camp.

Whilst we were there, we stayed at the Rooke Officers’ Mess, also home to the Gibraltar Services Police. For our meals each day, we walked through the town to get to a military establishment next to the airport called ‘Devil’s Tower Camp’ (DTC) and ate in the Junior Ranks’ Mess, alongside serving personnel from the armed forces.

When we arrived on the Monday afternoon, we travelled to our accommodation and were given the keys to our rooms. Shortly after, once we had unpacked and prepared our uniform for the week ahead, we were taken in groups by bus to a higher point on ‘The Rock’ where we were given a tour of St. Michael’s Caves. We spent our time there navigating our way through the cave system, with a small amount of headlamps dispersed around the group, to encourage teamwork. We learnt about how the caves were formed and about their historical significance such as the housing of the military hospital deep within ‘The Rock’.

On Tuesday, we visited the Air Operations centre at RAF Gibraltar, which is manned by serving RAF personnel and coordinates civilian flights in and out of Gibraltar in addition to any military movements. Whilst there, we were shown around the fire station, and were given instruction as to the purpose and operation of several fire extinguishers. After this, we spent the remainder of the afternoon bowling at the King’s Bastion Leisure Centre, close to Rooke. That evening, we walked through Gibraltar again to DTC where, after eating, we visited No. 2 (Overseas) Gibraltar Sqn ATC in order to practise for the parade that was to happen on the Saturday of our camp. Whilst we were there, No. 2 Sqn celebrated their 25^TH Anniversary, and as such, we paraded through the town with them, after being inspected by the Commandant Air Cadets, Air Commodore Stewart. But before the parade could take place, hours of practise would have to be devoted towards rehearsing the parade layout, and making sure that we knew what was going on in addition to practising marching with the band of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment.

Wednesday morning saw us ascend the ‘Mediterranean Steps’, winding around the southern end of the peninsula, and twisting around ‘The Rock’. Once we got to the top, we were shown around the inside of O’Hara’s Battery, an old 9.2” coastal defence cannon by a local Gibraltarian man. He told us all about the strategic positioning of the rest of the defensive batteries scattered along the ridge of ‘The Rock’. We spent the afternoon walking down ‘The Rock’ following paths that led to the ‘Ape’s Den’ and the remainder of the caving systems. As we continued our descent from 426 metres (1398 ft), we walked amongst the Barbary Macaques, who are free to roam about Gibraltar as they wish. However, they stick mainly to ‘The Rock’. It is said that when the apes leave Gibraltar, the British too will leave. There was a time period where the number of apes present on ‘The Rock’ became so depleted that Winston Churchill arranged for more to be delivered, to keep superstitions at bay. We spent the remainder of Wednesday afternoon walking around the town centre, with free time to shop and buy souvenirs.

On Thursday, we travelled over the border into Spain, and went to Selwo Safari Park near Estepona. Whilst there, we travelled around the park in open top trucks, and saw a wide variety of animals, including lions, elephants and bears. Some of the cadets even rode a camel! Once we had made the hour’s journey back to Gibraltar, there was not much time left before we had to head back to No. 2 Sqn for some more parade practice. Unfortunately, the weather was as such that we had to relocate to a hangar, and practise with the band inside, which was not an easy task taking into account the massive echoes that hangars tend to create.

We visited the MOD Siege Tunnels on Friday, which consist of miles and miles of tunnelling intertwined throughout ‘The Rock’. With many metres of electronic and communicative cabling running through them, the tunnels are still used today, mainly to provide a means of facilitating the maintenance of cables throughout the peninsula. These tunnels are not open to the public. Once inside, we were shown around a military hospital that was created there, in case of Gibraltar’s invasion, and also a disused power station. That evening we spent ironing and preparing our uniform for the parade the next day.

On Saturday, we ate breakfast as normal at DTC before returning back to Rooke to get changed into our No. 1 uniforms, where we were met by cadets from Gibraltar Sqn. We then paraded into Casemates Square, the main square in the centre of Gibraltar, and were inspected by the Commandant Air Cadets Air Commodore Stewart. After the eyes right had been given and we had marched around the square, we marched up Main Street and towards the town hall. The Mayor of Gibraltar was saluted as we marched past and we even made it onto GBC Television, on the evening news. A photograph was taken on the steps of the town hall, just before two Sergeants from Gibraltar Sqn were promoted to Flight Sergeant.  We then proceeded to the Rooke Officers’ Mess, where we had lunch. The afternoon was spent playing a rugby tournament with teams mixed with cadets of Gibraltar Sqn.

Sunday was spent in Spain again. This time we travelled slightly further north, for about two and a half hours to the city of Seville, where we visited Isla Magica, a theme park in the middle of the city. The weather was fantastic and the water rides there were amazing. We had a great day and it brought the camp to a memorable end, having made many new friends both across our wing and across our region.

Submitted by Cadet Flight Sergeant Ben Bowthorpe