Combined Cadet Force

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I report another successful year for the Combined Cadet Force at St. Peter's. The strength of the Contingent remains close to our Establishment limit of 120 and there has been a well motivated group of senior cadets who have maintained the various exercises and drills with the usual vigour. The Christmas Term, in particular, saw the arrival and initial training of fifty-seven new recruits and another active Field Day with The Green Howards at Catterick, which produced its usual professional expertise, including some fearsome bayonet practice.

It is with some sadness that I write my final note for "The Peterite" as Commanding Officer of the C.C.F. Few other organisations depend so much on the goodwill of a group of voluntary officers and I have been extremely fortunate to have had the support over the years of men and women of real stature who have inspired the pupils in their charge. In particular I wish to mention Captain Tooms, my adjutant, to whom the Contingent owes very much over the past eleven years, and to Lt. Owen-Barnett who is leaving the Contingent after ten years' service and whose dedication will be greatly missed. It has been an honour to lead the C.C.F. at St. Peter's and I wish it well. R. J. Bulcock

R. J. B. RETIRES FROM C.C.F.

This year Commander Bulcock retired from the C.C.F. after a military career lasting thirty years. After service with the Oxford University O.T.C., the Royal Engineers and the 10th Parachute Regiment (T.A.), he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant at Bromsgrove School. Moving to St. Peter's, he served as Lieutenant before being promoted to Army Captain and transferred to run the R.N. Section (for five years the St. Peter's Army Section did not operate). In 1980 he became Commanding Officer of the C.C.F. which at that time had a total strength of sixty cadets. In 1984 he was promoted to full Commander and was awarded the Cadet Forces Medal with Garter. He leaves a flourishing C.C.F. with a total strength of 120 cadets.

Over fifty cadets attended the annual camp this year at Leek, under the guidance of Cdr. Bulcock, Capt. Tooms and Lts. Stephens, Owen Barnett and Wymer.

The programme offered a range of military and adventure-training activities including canoeing, climbing, shooting, orienteering and platoon exercises. There were also march and shoot and assault course competitions. Despite all this activity we even managed to arrange a football game against Mill Hill School — with the multitalented Capt. Tooms standing in as referee.

At the end of the camp Ben Taylor handed over command of die section to Joby Taylor.

ARMY SECTION

The beginning of the year saw a large intake of new cadets into the section, with the number of girls joining being particularly pleasing.

The beginning of the year was spent introducing the new recruits to drill, fieldcraft and the cadet rifle, in preparation for the annual field day this year as guests of The Green Howards at Wathgill. Activities included bayonet drills and live firing of the cadet rifle. The day ended with the presentation of a face stick to the section by the Old Peterites serving in The Green Howards.

As usual a team was entered for the 'Colts Canter' March and Shoot Competition, although a lack of firstaid knowledge and an incorrectly marked check point meant we were not in the top placings. The shooting team, under the command of C/Sgt. Jelbert also attended several competitions, with mixed success.

This year also saw the arrival of several radio sets, and the re-establishment of the signals section, under 2/Lt. Liz Wymer, which no doubt will be an asset in future exercises.

Thanks must go to Sgts. Savage, Patton, Millar and Ingledew, and C/Sgt. Jelbert, who leave this year. Their assistance in running the section has been invaluable.

Finally, mention must be made of Cmdr. Bulcock, retiring this year after twenty-two years of service in the C.C.F. We thank him for all he has done in his many years of service, and wish his successor as C O ., Maj. Jelbert, well for the future.

Joby Taylor

R.A.F. section.

Section Commander:

Fit. Lt. P. B. Jelbert R.A.F. V.R.(T.) W.O. I.C.: W.O. P. F. Carvosso

Summer Camp 1991 saw the R.A.F. Section going on expedition to R.A.F. Wattisham, situated in darkest Suffolk. This was found to be a great site, not only because we had our own barrack block, but we also shared the base with two front-line Phantom squadrons and a Bloodhound surface-to-air missile squadron. This was seen as a vast improvement on R.A.F. Newton's two Chipmunks and a police dog.

We shared the week with Dulwich College who proved to be a constant source of amusement. A great time was had by all, with the most memorable occasions being Cdt. Porter's decision to change his go-cart into a bulldozer at the expense of several members of the Section; a visit to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford; A.E.F. in Cambridge and a visit to the American A10 base at Alconbury. All proved interesting and enjoyable days out.

The Section also took part in a night exercise at three o'clock in the afternoon, here, the flourescent orange juice came into its own which proved an illuminating experience, especially for F. S. Bowen and his friendly R.A.F. Regiment Corporal. Our congratulations must go to Sgt. Dawkins' flight which won the inter-flight competition and also to Cdt. Eleanor White who was a popular choice to win the best cadet award.

The new year saw F. S. Carvosso take command of the Section assisted by Sgts. Rowland, Curtis, Bond and Simmons, the other senior N.C.O.'s.

The Section welcomed the arrival of a large number of new cadets and a new officer in the shape of P.O. 'Rodney' Grant.

The first main event of the year was the field day, and sixteen of our new cadets went to R.A.F. Leeming with the intention of flying Chipmunks, whilst the remainder of the Section joined the Army at Catterick with First Battalion, The Green Howards. The Section had an opportunity to take part in some full-bore shooting, an assault course, bayonet practice (where F.O. Ison was suggested as a possible candidate to be one of the dummies), and some much needed drill under the watchful eye and loud voice of the R.S.M.

This was closely followed by the Colts Canter Competition. For the second year running the R.A.F. entered its own team made up of F. S. Carvosso, Sgts. Bond, Curtis, Simmons, J. Cpl. Doncasterand Cdt. Todd. The team acquitted itself admirably, coming fifth in a very strong field but more importantly beating the Army by four places, to make it 2-0.

The cadet rifle shooting competition was the last major event of a busy term, with a number of the Section winning shields in the falling plate and Section shoot elements of the competition.

The Easter Term provided some much needed R. & R. after the excursions of the Christmas Term with all the new cadets enjoying their first air experience at either 11 A.E.F. in Chipmunks, or in the new powered gliders at R.A.F. Linton-on-Ouse. Other highlights of the term were the promotion of Cpl. Anne Suttill to Sgt. and Cdts. Andrew Farrow, Eleanor White, Matthew Todd, Jonathon Brooks, Matthew Pittman and Stewart Berry being made up to Junior Corporals after the successful completion of their projects and passing their proficiency exams.

The Summer Term again saw the R.A.F. doing very well on the ranges at Strensall, this time having two members of the winning team in Match 'B' of the North Eastern District Target Rifle Competition.

Much excitement was generated by the news that this year's camp will be held at R.A.F. Lyneham in Wiltshire, where Fit. Lt. Jelbert will not be the only Hercules on show.

Our congratulations must also go to W.O. Paul Carvosso and F. S. Mike Simmons on gaining R.A.F. University Bursaries; to Daniel Smithson for the award of a Flying Scholarship and to Jeremy Doncaster for the award of an Air Navigation Scholarship. In addition Andrew Wildblood has been selected to attend a gliding course and Pippa Smith has been nominated for the Cadet Leadership Course at R.A.F. Hereford. We wish both Pippa and Jeremy good luck in their forthcoming selection boards for R.A.F. Sixth Form Scholarships.

As you will see from the above report, the R.A.F. Section has enjoyed a very successful and fruitful year under Fit. Lt. Jelbert, F.O. Ison, P.O. Grant and Miss Lucy Rawlinson. Unfortunately, Fit. Lt. Jelbert will be leaving the Section to become the new C.C.F. Contingent Commander next year. We wish him all the best in his new post and thank him for the way in which he has built up the Section in the last few years, and hope that his replacement will continue to enjoy similar success. Paul Carvosso/Chris Rowland

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The end of the 1990 Summer Term saw Grove very confidently winning the Inter-House Shooting Cup, contested by all eight Houses. At the beginning of the Christmas Term, teams from both the Army and the R.A.F. sections entered the Skill At Arms Competition with the Cadet Rifle on Strensall Common. Although we were unable to zero the rifles properly both teams did very well, with the 'A' team being beaten in the quarter final of the competition by Welbeck.

Next to come on the shooting annual calendar was the Colts Canter March and Shoot Competition at Catterick. The contingent fielded two teams, one from the Army and one from the R.A.F. Both teams had an excellent shoot, with the R.A.F. team coming second overall. Unfortunately other elements of the competition stopped either team winning. Since these competitions the School has been issued more cadet rifles, bringing the total to twenty-eight. This offers greater opportunities for younger shooters and therefore greater hope for the future.

The Summer Term saw St. Peter's shooters on a winning streak. In preparation for the North East District Target Rifle Competition, Captain H. A. Tooms organised a day on Strensall Ranges to zero the rifles, and after having fired in excess of 1,000 rounds, both teams were in good form for the competition. On the day itself, the 'B' team, consisting of C./Sgt. P. D. Jelbert (Captain of Shooting), FS. P. F. Carvosso, Sgt. A. G. Curtis, and L/Cpl. P. J. Watson, took an early lead which was never lost, and ultimately won the 'B' class competition. FS. Carvosso did particularly well in winning the Individual Trophy. The 'A' team, captained by Sgt. J. N. Bond, and consisting of Cpl. S. R. Forsyth, Cpl. A. C. Alton, and Cpl. J. C. Doncaster also put in some very high scores, but were beaten by other very strong teams.

During the past year, the shooting teams have seen the refurbishment of the twenty-five yard range to a very high standard. This has ensured regular shooting for pupils in all years, and the C.C.F. in particular. Shooting colours were awarded to C/Sgt. Jelbert, FS. Carvosso, Sgt. Curtis, Sgt. Bond, Cpl. Alton, Cpl. Forsyth, Cpl. J. D. Sutcliffe, Cpl. Doncaster and L/Cpl. Watson. Congratulations go to Cpl. Forsyth on his appointment as Captain of Shooting for next year.

The shooting team would like to thank Major P. B. Jelbert and Captain Tooms for their enthusiastic help and valuable support throughout the year and wish the teams every success in the future.

Denzil Jelbert

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