C.C.F

For the Centenary of Cadet Forces this year, General Inspections of contingents were suspended, each contingent being left to acknowledge the Centenary in its own way.

A special Centenary Service was held in Chapel on 28th June, at which the four lessons were read by cadets from each of the Service Sections, and by the Head Master. After the Service a march past took place, at which the salute was taken by Mr. K. H. Rhodes, who joined the contingent, then the 0.T.C., as a Peterite in 1914, the year of its formation, and who commanded it from 1940 to 1945.

In the second half of the morning the Fernie Cup and Recruit Cup drill competitions were held. Captain Dasent and Lieutenant Davies, both of the Yorkshire Brigade, joined Lieutenant Jeffs and Captain Gaastra as judges. The Grove won the Fernie Cup and School House the Recruit Cup.

The contingent was fortunate in acquiring a bell from the famous battleship "Duke of York", in which Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fraser flew his flag in the action that sank the "Scharnhorst". The bell will hang in front of the naval mast.

At the service for the dedication of the Memorial Hall, the sounding of the Last Post and Reveille by members of the Band was remarkably well done, and indeed very moving.

Lieutenant Jeffs and three cadets, P.O. Smart, Sgt. C. J. Territt, and F/Sgt. M. W. Territt, represented the contingent at the Centenary Parade and March Past at Buckingham Palace, where the salute was taken by Her Majesty, who is the Captain-General of the C.C.F.

MAIN EVENTS

7TH JUNE.

March past. The salute was taken by Commander E. G. Mason, R.N., the Naval Member of the Joint Cadet Executive.

14TH JUNE.

Army Proficiency Test : 49 passed out of 56.

25TH JUNE.

River Gala. Lieutenant Jeffs organised a very popular performance by a large number of cadets, involving assault boats, canoes, the dinghy, the whaler, and much black grease.

28TH JUNE.

Centenary Service and Parade. Fernie Cup (see notes above).

23an JULY.

Commemoration Guard and Band display. 43

THE CENTENARY OF THE CADET FORCES

The centenary of the Cadet Forces was celebrated this year in hundreds of schools in the British Isles. This anniversary was celebrated on a national scale in London on 22nd July. The event took the form of a Royal Parade in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen (Captain-General of the C.C.F.) and the Duke of Edinburgh (Colonel-in-Chief of the A.C.F.). This was followed by a service of thanksgiving in Westminster Abbey. The parade was attended by 1,500 cadets drawn from Cadet Forces all over the British Isles.

The St. Peter's party arrived in London on Wednesday afternoon and was housed at Woolwich Barracks. Thursday was spent in practising for the parade and cleaning kit. All kit was carefully inspected by C.C.F. and Regular officers.

On Friday morning we were roused at 4-45 a.m., which for most people was still the middle of the night ! After a good breakfast we donned our best uniforms and boarded the coaches which drove us to Wellington Barracks in London, where the twelve companies of cadets formed up for the march to Buckingham Palace. The parade was drawn up on the lawns below the balcony at the rear of the Palace and the Queen and the Duke arrived exactly at half past eleven. After the National Anthem had been played they both stepped into a gleaming maroon Land Rover and inspected the parade. The highlight of the occasion was the presentation of the C.C.F. Centenary Book, a hand-lettered volume telling the history of each unit. Three cheers were then given for the Queen. After this the parade marched past the saluting base and back to Wellington Barracks.

The service in Westminster Abbey started at 2-45 p.m. Fanfares were played by the Trumpeters of the Life Guards. Both this service and the earlier parade were attended by Commonwealth and foreign visitors.

The whole day afforded an experience which will not easily be forgotten. T.E.H.S., C.J.T., M.W.T.

R.N. SECTION

This term P.O. Smart has been in charge of the Section. On being promoted to P.O., Bagnall became second-in-command, and, as well as being Yeoman of Signals, he has been a very useful instructor. Ldg. Sea. Hawkins continued to run the Store efficiently and deserves full credit for doing a hard and often tedious job well. He has been assisted by A.B. Ainley. Ldg. Sea. Wheeler, as R.N. Writer, has kept records up to date.

Training progressed well. The R.N. Whaler has been used continuously. Its new home under Lendal Bridge meant that access to it was made easier and most members of the Section did some useful and enjoyable boatwork. A whaler crew provided by the Section took a prominent part in the river gala. The dinghy has had its share of use and Ldg. Sea. Franklin, the Boat Rating, has been

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kept busy. A.B. Thornton rendered valuable help throughout the term in this sphere of activity. Repair work on the old whaler was continued by some energetic volunteers. Many rigging exercises were undertaken and most of them were successfully completed. Able Seamen Beachell and Burdon did commendable work in drawing up diagrams showing the procedure for these exercises. They also repainted the mast and in every way showed themselves to be enthusiastic and able members of the Section. Many of the newer members have also displayed great keenness and this bodes well for the future.

The R.N.R. Cruise was cancelled this year owing to the grounding of H.M.S. Northumbria off Holy Island. Camp parties did, however, go to Dartmouth and H.M.S. Cochrane, a shore base near Rosyth in Scotland.

H.M.S. "COCHRANE"

H.M.S. Cochrane proved to be one of the best camps for some years. The 20 members of the St. Peter's party all arrived safely, the latter part of their journey taking them across the famous Forth Bridge.

As usual everyone settled in quickly and soon learnt the daily routine. Accommodation was in very comfortable huts. Accessories such as dart-boards and radios proved popular. The purpose of R.N. Camp is to give cadets a week's training : this purpose was fulfilled at H.M.S. Cochrane by some excellent instructors and it is safe to say that everyone learnt a great deal.

On Sunday morning all cadets attended Morning Service in the Naval Church. In the afternoon some members of the party went on a coach tour of the Highlands, stopping at Stirling Castle on the way back.

Drill was not omitted from our training programme and most mornings the period from 0830 to 0915 was spent in parade training under the watchful eye of Dartmouth Midshipmen. All members of the party were in either the Colour Guard or the Captain's Guard. Our standard of rifle drill responded rapidly to enthusiastic and brisk instruction.

Evening activities included sailing, swimming, football, and hockey. Everyone did some .22 shooting before they left. One afternoon's leave was granted and most people took the opportunity to visit Edinburgh. Wednesday was spent at sea. Two CoastalMinesweepers were used, half the party sailing in one and half in the other. The party under Ldg. Sea. Hawkins experienced some rough weather.

The R.N. vessels visited were H.M. Submarine Sea Scout, H.M.S. Loch Dunvegan and H.M.S. Blackwood. At H.M.S. Safeguard, a shore establishment at Rosyth, we tried our hands at wire splicing and saw some films. A tour of H.M.S. Caledonia, an artificers' training base, was very interesting. Friday was one of the best days 45

because most of it was spent doing boatwork in a motor-whaler and M.F.V. In the whaler we learnt some boathook drill and everyone had a hand at the tiller. Most people spent some time in charge of the engine-room and wheel-house in the M.F.V. Certain individuals also passed memorable moments on a buoy in the middle of the Firth of Forth.

At 1830 on Friday all cadets fell in for Divisions. The inspection was carried out by the Captain of H.M.S. Cochrane. This event rounded off an extremely interesting and enjoyable camp.

ARDUOUS TRAINING, 1960

Officer-in-Charge: CAPT. J. N. GAASTRA. P.S.I.: R.S.M. POWER. Section Commander: 2/LT. D. L. SLADE. Intelligence: 2/LT. N. R. BARTON. Quartermaster: CPL. M. W. TaaarrT.

The following also attended :—.Cpl. W. E. Jones; Cpl. Henwood, A.B. Puttock; A.B. J. M. D. Kirk; A.B. Evans.

On Monday, 25th April, 10 officers and cadets assembled at 8-30 in the morning ready to embark on the first course of this nature.

The idea of the course was to have a really good time by feeling that we had all exerted ourselves to the full and at the same time making ourselves as comfortable as conditions would allow.

The governing factor in the success of this venture was the weather, in which we were extremely lucky. However, had it turned out wet, R.S.M. Power had laid on a T.A. drill hall !

The man packs proved too heavy, so all our training was done from a base camp near Derwentwater. On the first afternoon we went straight up Saddleback and Skiddaw to start training.

Having found ten was too large a number for a well organised party, we split into two parties and started all our treks from opposite ends, crossing somewhere around midday. This was done for the second day and the split proved to be a fortunate one.

On the third morning we embarked on a day's rock climbing on Shepherds Crag under instructors from the Outward Bound School. This was a very good chance to see whether your head could stand the heights—and it should be noted that this instruction would have cost the private individual somewhere near £5.

On Thursday, the fourth day, we set off early for a mammoth trek from Black Crag to Dale Head and Honister House, up Great Gable and down to Gatesgarth.

The following morning we struck camp and came back to York. One of the most notable features of this camp was the singing, which accompanied us everywhere. Every village we passed heard the harmonies of our School C.C.F. song. The food and equipment were first rate and it is true to say that a well fed soldier is a contented one. Capt. Gaastra and R.S.M. Power are to be thanked for the excellent administration and for their considerate and well-judged way of managing eight "unruly" members of the School. N.R.B. 46

ARMY CAMP

A comparatively large number, nearly eighty, attended the annual camp at Cultybraggan near Crieff in Perthshire, and without doubt most enjoyed it.

Set in a broad valley among beautiful hills, the camp was well provided and well run. All the training areas were on the hill sides, and though rather limited for some military exercises, they left some people fitter than they had been when the camp started.

The weather was mainly reasonable, and its variations showed the Highlands at their best to those who went on the Sunday coach tour by way of some of the wonderful lochs to Blair Castle. It was fine for the night exercise, and good enough for a party in Lieutenant Mair's charge to spend a night on the top of the biggest local mountain; nobody from the camp saw the thunderflash that was intended to prove their presence at the top, but anyway they did not return until breakfast time.

Perhaps the most pleasing memory of this camp will be the sound of the pipe band of Edinburgh Academy. First thing in the morning and last thing at night they marched round the lines, and on the last evening of camp they gave us a most stirring recital, for which we thank them.

This was a good camp, with a high standard of efficiency and enthusiasm and promotions were made as shown :- To Sergeant: L/Sgt. Henwood.

To Lance/Sergeant: Cpl. Brown, T. P., Cpl. Robson, A. C.

To Corporal: L/Cpl. Abel, M. A., L/Cpl. Baldwin, L/Cpl. Robinson.

To Lance/Corporal: Cdt. Burbidge.

R.A.F. SECTION

Two examination achievements stand out this term. First, all the eight candidates for the Advanced Proficiency Certificate were successful, and in recognition of this, Group Captain Williams, of Air Cadet Headquarters, R.A.F., sent a personal letter of congratulation. Secondly, all the R.A.F. Section candidates in the Army Proficiency Test were successful, and drew from Major Davies, the Yorkshire Brigade, the President of the Examining Board, the comment that they were the smartest body of cadets he had seen.

With the prospect of increased help from Royal Air Force, Lintonon-Ouse, it is hoped to have more practical training this year. In addition, the Section is one of six in the country to which the Air Ministry has offered a stereoscope, the device used for studying air photographs for intelligence purposes.

R.A.F. CAMP, LINTON-ON-OUSE

The annual camp, which lasted for only five days this year, was held at the Fleet Air Arm training school at Linton-on-Ouse. All the arrangements made for us were really well planned, whilst the food was even better than last year. 47