Combined Cadet Force

life; the clouds cover the sun and where the sun shines through is half bright, whereas the other clouds further away are dark. And the man is half alive but half his life is gone, like the dull clouds.

Just as the sun disappears over the horizon it lets out a great burn before it leaves us, a short, sharp burst of light, its farewell or its encore. So, the man does this, has a very last burst of life just before he dies, either to pass on some secret or to wave goodbye, that last violent burst of energy shines through before death snatches him from this earth.

The sixth line is about the man's eyes, next how the stars illuminate both the dead soldier's eyes, those stars being his tears and the frozen water on his lifeless eyes. But there are very different stars which light up the sky, old and far away and giving off very little light. The stars are in different skies; the man's eyes and the open spaces.

Throughout the poem, Wilfred Owen keeps up the comparison between the soldier dying and the sun disappearing over the horizon. Both are very similar.

David Kean, Ma 1977'

We have had a year of many changes, overshadowed by the death in November of RSMI Power. It would be difficult to measure the great contribution Mr. Power made to the Contingent in more than thirty years of unstinting service. Everyone who was in the School in those years will have his own memories and stories of that remarkable personality, and those who were in the CCF knew him in a special way. Encouraging, driving, inspiring, Mr. Power could turn a moment of tension at an Annual Inspection to one of good-humoured ease, or a grumbling Army Section, soaked from a day's exercise at camp, into a unit determined to make the best of it and get ready for the next bit of work. All who went to those big army camps will remember the arrival of Mr. Power, as the night exercise was about to close down, with stew and coffee, and his unique ability to make the occasion both amusing and worthwhile. We recall, too, with gratitude how often Mrs. Power and Mr. Anthony Power gave us their help.

After such a heavy loss, we were indeed fortunate to be joined in January by RSM H. A. Tooms of the Royal Irish Rangers, who came to us part time while he was still in the Army and full time from later in the Easter Term. Mr. Tooms has quickly established himself with us, both as an instructor, notably in Shooting, and as an administrator. We hope he will be happy in the School and in the Contingent.

Captain Croft has felt it is time for him to give up his appointment as Adjutant. We thank him for his careful management of the Contingent office, and for his work on the training side, particularly with Arduous , Training parties.

At the end of the School year, Flight Lieutenant Harris retired from full-time teaching and has resigned his command of the Royal Air Force Section, which will be taken over by Flight Lieutenant Drysdale. Flight Lieutenant Harris served during the Second World War as an officer in 46

the Royal Air Force Technical Training Command, and was thus able to bring to the CCF soon after the war particular skill and experience first to form a Signals Detachment, which played an important part in the days when the CCF included most members of the School, and then to take command of the Royal Air Force Section. Every opportunity was taken by Flight Lieutenant Harris to secure for the RAF Cadets their full share of Flying Scholarships, Gliding training, Air Experience Flying, and many excellent camps and courses. In addition he initiated the entering of cadets each year for 0 level Air Navigation, and quietly gave up much of his spare time to teaching them for it with some very successful results. Members of the RAF Section have been kept up to the mark, and have been given the fullest encouragement not only to take advantage of the splendid opportunities open to them, but also to put something back into the Contingent by staying on as instructors and administrators and thus gaining invaluable experience. The Contingent is deeply grateful to Flight Lieutenant Harris for the long and distinguished service he has given.

In general we have had another successful year, and the standard of turn-out and bearing at the Annual Inspection was mostly good. The Inspecting Officer was Rear-Admiral J. A. Bell, B.A., B.Sc., LL.B., Director Naval Education Service. We were glad to welcome as the Admiral's Aide Flying Officer J. D. Harrison (O.P.), who was stationed at RAF Linton-on-Ouse for part of his training as a pilot. Lieutenant J. Craven, R.N. (O.P.) was also able to join us for the day, and this pleased us very much as he has given us much help during the year when he has been on leave.

The Officers of the Contingent wish to record their appreciation of the work of Coxswain J. N. Denison and Warrant Officer J. R. MarkwickSmith in their long association with the CCF. With many other responsibilities in the School, both have maintained very high personal standards as senior NCOs and have given a lead in their respective Sections. They have made constructive suggestions about training and administration and have learnt, sometimes from mistakes but more often from successes, some of the difficulties that are to be overcome in organising training programmes and in carrying them out.

CCF SHOOTING

The announcement made last year that shooting would in future be confined to our own small bore range fortunately proved wrong. We had to start again in a sense, but we were able to get some bookings on the Strensall ranges in the Christmas and Easter terms, sometimes in bitterly cold and wet weather; but it proved worthwhile as we lost many of our summer bookings because the ranges were being rebuilt in May and June, so at least we had given new shooters some experience.

We were determined to take a team to Bisley, which we did not do last year, and although we were not successful, we felt it was a good thing to find our way around in this high-powered competition. We entered for the Ashburton and the Marling, and by making a double entry in the Iveagh we were able to let everyone, including our two markers, have a go at a competitive shoot. We finished in the lower half of all these matches, but with some good individual performances we did better than we had expected. The following formed the Bisley team: 47

The Eight: R. C. Barker (Capt.), J. P. J. F. Abbott, L. G. Bleasdale, P. G. Cuckston, D. M. Ellison, J. Galley, J. R. M. Hewitt, N. J. Jemmett.

Ninth man: M. A. Lodge.

Cadet Pair: C. G. Broadbent, D. R. Wass.

Markers: R. D. Nield, R. T. Coates.

All the above shot in the Iveagh (500 yards) competition.

At Altcar we did reasonably well, and in the CCF Skill at Arms meeting at Strensall we came third out of twenty in each of the three matches, Cadet Jemmett coming second out of eighty in the Individual Championship.

Our internal competition took place at Strensall on the Electric Rang with results as follow :

Recruit Cup : R. T. Coates

Inter-House: Queen's

Green Howards Cup (for best Individual Shot): J. R. M. Hewitt.

The Donegall Badge for Shooting and for outstanding service as Armourer was awarded to L. G. Bleasdale.

In future we shall confine shooting to full-time members of the CCF. The scheme of associate membership produced bigger numbers for choice of teams, but the public expense of ammunition and the use of equipment and ranges make it reasonable that those who are prepared to take a full part in CCF training, particularly in imparting their own skill with weapons in training others, should enjoy the advantages of the sport.

D.G.C.

At Bisley we were delighted to meet David Harding, a former Captain of School Shooting.

He had just won, by a large margin, the Queen's Medal for champion shot of the Territorial Army.

Last year he was runner-up for the Medal in the Regular Army; and to share his triumph this year, many of his former regiment, the 10th Gurkha Rifles, had come to Bisley.

Our warm congratulations to David Harding.

ROYAL NAVY SECTION

December saw the Navy Section joining the RAF Section, or rather opposing them, in a night excercise on Strensall Common. The fictional situation and the inability to completely avoid making mistakes combined to make this a generally enjoyable event. Excitement was augmented by the use of flares, thunderflashes and blank rounds in rifles. Appetites were worked up in anticipation of a more than welcome meal served by the catering staff back at school, and amusingly fruitless attempts were , made by cadets to wash camouflage paint off hands and faces.

In November some members of the section spent a week end at H.M.S. Caledonia in Scotland. Activities indulged in included shooting with SLRs, working with diesel-engined cutters, swimming, a tour of a conventional submarine and witnessing the Remembrance Day Parade in Edinburgh. Making use of the bowling alleys and a cinema visit added to the already excellent quality of the elements which made the weekend so enjoyable.

The General Inspection was held in May, the Inspecting Officer being Rear Admiral J. A. Bell. The extensive preparation for the inspection resulted in the creation of an impressive effect by the section both on the parade ground and during the afternoon's activities. The latter included ' rigging up a jackstay across the river and its consequent use by cadets as a means of crossing from one bank to the other.

Closely following the General Inspection was a weekend at Dall, Loch Rannoch. Most of the newly joined, enthusiastic third formers took the opportunity to go on this visit. The training, with all its memorable incidents included swimming and canoeing in the not uncool waters of the loch, building jackstays and deathslides at the cadets' own risk, and climbing.

Tuesday afternoons have continued to provide opportunities for weekly training. The winter season was in itself a partial cause of much classroom work culminating in some promising results being made by cadets under exam conditions. Use was made of the school range for pistol firing and opportunities for .303 shooting at Strensall were eagerly taken by cadets in the section. On these occasions SLRs and sub machine guns were sometimes also used. Weekly activities for the summer include much outdoor work such as the construction of load-bearing equipment and boatwork.

The end of the summer term marks the end of Coxswain Denison's time as leader of the section, and we would like to express our gratitude for all his efforts in organisation and his active role in CCF life. The section has a lot to look forward to, the nearest future event being the arrival of a twenty-six foot cutter which will provide much interest and doubtless augment already evident enthusiasm. R.D.N.

ROYAL AIR FORCE SECTION

The RAF Section has been pleased to welcome F/O R. Drysdale during this school year, and will benefit from his previous experience as an RAF CCF officer at West Buckland School. 14 cadets joined at the end of the Easter term and this brought the total number at the general inspection to 37, 3 less than the establisment. 50