Our CCF Army Section cadets enjoyed a challenging yet rewarding trip to Yoxter Summer Camp.
Undeterred by the most atrocious weather conditions our staff had ever seen on a summer camp, the resilience of our cadets shone much more than the sun. Accommodated in tents, on the first night the occupants of 3 tents were waterlogged out of their sleeping quarters! The forecast for the week, the sogginess of the ground and the frustration of the cadets, forced the Brigade staff to modify the plan of putting cadets in bashas (military camping tarpaulins).
Our cadets were magnificent with valuable lessons being learnt in personal administration, eg leaving the flap of your tent unzipped in pouring rain leads to soggy boots. We are blessed with a magnificent ‘golden generation’ of young leaders in our now Lower Sixth. They were selfless in their leadership and care of the other cadets. This group of Cranna, Shelton, Pile, Edwards, Green, Vinecombe and Sheffield have moved through the ranks of CCF in recent years and are living up to that early potential. We are considering what new challengers they can perhaps take on given their abilities: Ten Tors, Bisley…
We were joined by our newest member of staff, Lieutenant James Oakley, an LWC parent. An experienced CCF hand, James fitted seamlessly into our group. There was Claire Liggins, my second in command of Army Section and a superb and capable officer. The SSI, Jamie Lancey sat as the nucleus to it all and given how much he was tasked with last term, held everything together during this difficult week. Andrew Page was our 5th member of staff, from Costello School and whose herculean efforts were greatly appreciated.
We rewarded cadets with a number of promotions the most notable of which were Charlie MacKenzie, James Ralls and Thomas Matthews (Costello) to full corporal.
