T
he CCF has had another
memorable year. The Reviewing
Officer Maj General Tim Evans
DSO, OBE gave the Contingent a clean
bill of health after his Biennial Inspection
in November. It was fantastic to have a
current serving parent and not least the
Commandant RMA Sandhurst inspecting
the cadets and officers. I was extremely
proud of the quality of our NCOs who
were leading the stances as the General
did the rounds.
In October the Army section had a damp
overnight Field Day exercise at RNAS
Merryfield with the sixth form NCOs
leading stances for the 4th form, and the
5th form cadre perfecting bivouacking
and section attack drills. The Royal
Marine section came a very close, but
disappointed second this year in the Sir
Steuart Pringle competition, and came
home determined to win back the trophy
next year. The Royal Navy section stayed
overnight at the naval base at Portsmouth
Docks experiencing naval life on board
HMS Bristol. As usual the Chindits did a
round robin of stalking, orienteering and
shelter building at Ramscombe, or were
tested on the high and low ropes courses
and the rafting lake at Cobb's Cross.
Senior RM Cadet C Sgt Tom Sylvester was
officially appointed a Lord Lieutenant
Cadet at the annual ceremony in the
Bishop's Palace in Wells in October. He
carried out several duties over the year
assisting Lady Gass.
A small but robust group of cadets
enjoyed a very snowy week in the Lake
District during the Easter holidays,
spending the first few days confined to
lowland walks and snowball fights. They
were still able to climb in the local sports
centre and sail on Ullswater using
Patterdale Hall's facilities. Later in the
week they were able to go mountain
biking and take part in some higher
rambles.
In May all three of our Ten Tors teams
successfully completed their courses.
Despite retiring from school four years
ago, Mrs Anne Denning has continued
instructing and helping with Ten Tors
teams, but now she has officially hung up
her boots! We thank her very much for
her brilliant and long-serving contribution
to the CCF.
The summer Field Day saw the junior
Royal Marine section rock climbing and
canoeing in North Devon, but the seniors
had a very exciting time experiencing rigid
raiders and other landing craft under the
command of Colonel Manger at Instow.
The Army section 4th form bivouacked for
the first time at Caerwent under the
helpful guidance of 61 NCOs. The Royal
Navy section visited HMS Raleigh in
Plymouth and were able to sail in the sea
and experience power boating. The
Chindits again enjoyed the excitement of
Ramscombe and Cobb's Cross Farm.
At the end of term, Chindit Camp was
blessed with the best weather for years.
The greatest threat was dehydration as
the temperature soared in the high 20s!
Nevertheless the Chindits, as ever, proved
very resilient, loving the chance to
CCF Round-up
by David Cole
22