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Annual CCF Inspection at Haileybury in 1965

 

OH Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm McVittie (E60) has written to The Haileybury Society with a wonderful story from 50 years ago relating to the Annual CCF Inspection at Haileybury in 1965, which was carried out by his OH father Major General Charles McVittie (E22). CB, CBE. Malcolm is still in uniform; he was one of the members of the Royal Company of Archers and who attended HM The Queen on her visit to Edinburgh in July 2014.

I was recently rummaging through an old trunk, which had been my father's depository of photographs, documents and other memorabilia, and I came across several editions of the "Haileyburian".  In the October 1965 edition, published just after I had left the school, I found photographs of the Annual Inspection of the Combined Cadet Force.  That year I was the Company Sergeant Major (CSM) of A Company and as such the senior cadet in the contingent.  The CCF was inspected every year during the Summer term.  Normally the inspecting officer was determined by the local command headquarters and was invariably, but not always, a soldier.  However, every fourth year an annual inspection was not compulsory and if the school contingent wished to carry out an annual inspection they could invite an inspecting officer of their choosing.

This was the case in 1965.  The Master, Bill Stewart, invited my father to be the inspecting officer and he was delighted to accept.  No doubt he was curious to see what his son might get up to.  By 1965 my father had retired as regular soldier but he remained an honorary colonel of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and the newly formed Royal Corps of Transport.  This entitled him to continue to wear his general's uniform.  As far as I can recall the preparations for the inspection continued as normal and the parade was to follow the normal form with which I was quite familiar.

The Annual Inspection was carried out on a Wednesday afternoon which was the usual day for CCF activity.  I do remember being overcome by nerves and nearly being sick whilst sitting at the horseshoe table in the dining hall during lunch prior to the parade.  I do not recall whether the Master "The Duke" Stewart was present but I doubt it.  However, despite that we managed to parade and march on without a hitch and I remember a return of nerves as we waited formed up for the arrival of the inspecting officer.  The photograph shows me presenting the parade to the Inspecting Officer and inviting him to inspect the parade.  On reflection, and after nearly fifty years in uniform, I am rather impressed by my turnout and bearing on this occasion.  The parade went well and we marched off having given my father an "eyes right".  After the parade my father spoke to the whole contingent in the Big School Room but I don't remember a word of what he said.

As an after note I seem to remember that there were at least four of us at Haileybury at that time whose fathers were major generals - Gordon (A61), Hutton (Tr60), Turpin (BF62) and myself. *

 *NB –Two of these fathers had also been OHs themselves and were at Haileybury at the same time as Malcolm’s father; he would have been in the LVI when they were in the Removes! Adrian Gordon’s father was Major General D S Gordon (L25) and Richard Turpin’s father was Major General P G Turpin (BFr 25), so both direct contemporaries. Peter Hutton’s father was Major General W M Hutton.

Originally Written: 23-Dec-2014 13:24, Last Updated: 23-Dec-2014 13:26