Cheam lose out in rugged dogfight

By Chris Blackmore

A wet and windy Saturday morning, all quiet on the pitch. Suddenly the whistle is blown and the 3s were scrambled to fight off waves of Kenley attacks! But despite heroic efforts, and a couple of kamikaze pilots, the 3s were overrun, losing out 3-0 to Kenley’s second squadron.

Cheam’s third squadron was not at full fighting force, with the recruitment and transfer of pilots from other squadrons becoming muddled and lost through HQ. The department for hockey is hoping to resolve this issue this week, with new communication lines being placed at Captain Blackmore’s personal quarters, clearing up internal club transmissions. However, the understaffed squadron that was scrambled were well drilled and extremely zealous in their fight, ensuring that Kenley didn’t execute a total destruction of the goalmouth.

This was in part due to some outstanding displays by some of Cheam’s best and brightest. Wing Commander Karolak, an established presence within the squadron, provided a lot of defensive cover, swatting away his fair share of missiles to keep the casualty count low. A special mention should also be made for the new recruits, Pilots Trambath and Felton, who continuously shot down their Kenley foes and provided a strong base for Cheam to try and counter-attack. Pilot Felton actually put his body and face on the line, sacrificing himself for the wellbeing of his comrades. Our own offensive efforts were unfortunately without any successful strikes on the enemy, but the evasive manoeuvres of Senior Aircraftmen Morris, Cresswell, Gunatunga and Shethran left some Kenley pilots dazed and confused. It was unfortunate that Cheam could not capitalise on this good work.
It is now I must focus my attention on Senior Aircraftman Morris, who has served with the squadron for many years, producing many fine moments and memories through the many conflicts we’ve encountered. This weekend saw Morris transferred to the Warwick Pilot Academy, and we at Cheam wish him the best of luck in his studies. It’s been a pleasure and an honour.

Despite the result, survivors of this encounter should take pride in their arduous efforts, and look forward to the next battle. The level of commitment and fight amongst the men was extremely admirable, and this captain is looking forward to serving with these men over the coming months.