1963 CCF Field Day and Inspection Day

Geoffrey Giles has got in touch with memories and photos from the 1963 CCF Field Day and Inspection Day following an article published in February 2016 about a cap badge. He writes:
I have dug out my old Letts Boy Scout Diary for that year, where I noted that the Field Day was on Wednesday, 27 March 1963, when we basically practiced the march past and the exercise for the following week.  This photo seems to be from that afternoon.  I’m on the left, and I’m not sure who the other two are, though I certainly recognize their faces!
On Thursday, 4 April 1963, the Annual Inspection took place.  This photo was taken in the morning, with the inspecting officer, Major-General Houton on the left, obscuring C/O R.D.F Williams.  This is at the bottom of the school playing fields by Bournemouth School for Girls.  The boys here are from left to right: Shelley (as Sergeant), Doug Hutcheson, Geoffrey Giles, Chris Kirkham, ?, and Mike Wooldridge.
That afternoon the whole corps went out to Barnsfield Heath for a mock battle, which my old Ordnance Survey map of Bournemouth reveals is just north of Hurn Airport. I seem to remember that my rifle jammed after the first shot or two, to my great annoyance.  My diary reveals that we also had some instruction with a bren gun.  Here I am charging the enemy!
I hope my other contemporaries will have some fun, seeing these photos.

Memories of the Officer Training Corps

We have recently been contacted by Mr P. John Fish, who was at the school between 1942 and 1948. He is enjoying getting into the school’s history in his retirement, and was particularly interested in our 2016 post of the historical role of the school OTC’s cap badge. Mr Fish has been kind enough to type up some of his memories of the school in his time, with a view that it may interest others. Continue reading

Cap badge

CCF cap badge

Alan Owen writes:

I was at Bournemouth School from 1980-88. I recently read an article on School Officer Training corps from 1938 which recorded that the school’s OTC wore a gilding metal school coat of arms badge in their caps. When I was in the CCF we wore the Royal Armoured Corps cap badge due to the linkage to Bovington camp. The Signals platoon were given the Signal cap badge in 1984 with a parade at the bottom of the sports field. Anyway I recently found an old OTC badge which I thought you might like to use in your magazine as it might jog a few memories. I have as yet been unable to date when the badge changed to the RAC so if you know I would be grateful for the date.

Does anyone have any ideas?