Organisation

(Almost..) A Hundred Years of Bournemouth School CCF History 

Bournemouth School's first Cadet Unit was started in 1903, very soon after the foundation of the School itself, and so has just recently celebrated it's own centenary. 

The Cadet force wore army style uniform and became a company of the Officer Training Corps in 1908.  Thus it remained until the outbreak of the Second World War, and then all cadet forces within schools became known as JTC's - Junior Training Corps.  This style of organisation continued until after the war, and then the JTC's within schools were reorganised into the tri-service structure that we know today.

Accordingly, by 1948 the old OTC in Bournemouth School completed its transformation into the CCF (Combined Cadet Force) which has remained so until the present time.  It is, incidentally, worth noting that cadet units within modern British universities are, even today, stilled called Officer Training Corps.

The former Bournemouth School JTC held its last Summer Camp in 1948, and enjoyed an official visit by His Majesty King George VI.  By all accounts he was most impressed by what he saw, as he witnessed our cadets taking part in the 24-hour exercise.

By 1952 the new Combined Cadet Force was expanding fast.  Capt. J. M. Swain had taken over from Major G. W. Quinn as Officer Commanding the Army Section; Flt. Lt. L. S. Bill was in charge of the RAF section; and Lt. B. W. Neame was enthusing the R.N. Section.  Other well-known names from that era were Lt. Colonel H. J. Hickling, Lt. J. Killacky, and Mr. P. Cushion, who took charge of range work.  However, by the spring of 1954 Flt. Lt. (Len) Bill had had to resign his commission as he had been appointed Head of the (Pure) Mathematics Department.

In 1956 the RAF Section won the trophy for the 'keenest and most efficient Unit attending the Annual Camp at RAF South Cerney.  A year later it was thought that the 'Unit has to some extent been affected by the Suez crises' - but not so badly as to stop the Inspection by Rear-Admiral G. Thistleton-Smith (Admiral Commanding Reserves).

From the beginning, the CCF band has always played an important part in the activities of the unit, and until recent years it has always been self-trained, with the expertise passed down from one generation of cadets to the next.  In  1958 the Band attended the Mission to Seamen's Parade, the T.A. Parade, and the Parade of Students for Bournemouth College Rag.  Today it leads the Youth Section of the Remembrance Day Parade through Bournemouth, and it is lucky to have the dedicated support of the present Bandmaster, Mr. Bernard Larkin.

1960 saw Major R. D. F. Williams as the Officer Commanding the Unit, with Flt. Lt. R. A. (Ralph) Sephton in charge of the RAF Section and Bernard Neame at the helm of the Navy Section.  Bill Cushion felt that he was unable to continue the supervision of shooting.

Later that same year Sir John Hunt visited the unit, and in his address to the cadets he 'emphasised the importance of developing self-reliance, and of fostering friendly relations between countries'.

We gained a remarkable and notable success in 1964 when our CCF team won the All-England Aircraft Recognition Competition against stiff opposition from adult teams from all the NATO countries.  During this year the internal structure of the Bournemouth School CCF was changed so as to allow boy to join the section of their choice.  The basic all-army cadet section was done away with.

To be continued ...