CCF ‘Bloody Eleventh’ dinner
Expectations for our annual Warminster CCF ‘Bloody Eleventh’ Dinner were extremely high and no-one was disappointed! On Friday 27th February all cadets, staff and guests were wined and dined to perfection.
The contingent’s Battlefield tour to Belgium last term, when we visited the battlefields, cemeteries and memorials of World War One, provided the ideal backdrop to our dinner and underlined the importance of remembering that the ‘Bloody Eleventh’ – The Devonshire Regiment – suffered so many casualties during that War. On the 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, two battalions of the regiment suffered just under 700 casualties, and many of the dead never received a proper funeral but lie buried in the shell holes and trenches where they fell.
The evening started with drinks in Boniface where both old and young cadets met and caught up. We were glad to see some old faces from our contingent return, including Miles Block and Tom Jaggs (both 2014). We were all thrilled to have the Headmaster’s guest of honour, Major Philip Nathan, with us and his speech was both entertaining and enlightening. He spoke of his days as a cadet in school, and how it influenced and affected him in his time in the British Army, both at home and away on tour in Afghanistan. His speech, in which he spoke nostalgically of his time in and friends from his CCF, had a real impact on the cadets and made us truly appreciate the opportunities we have in the contingent. The evening was rounded off with the cadets who are about to leave us – Tommy Morgan, Lizzie Mayo and Luc Llywelyn-Roberts (all Upper Sixth) – receiving a token of thanks from Captain Holt, presented by Major Nathan.
We are all tremendously grateful for the delicious meal the catering staff prepared for us, and to all the CCF staff who made such a memorable evening possible for the cadets.
Claudia Eeles
Year 11