LIEUTENANT GENERAL URCH VISITS WARMINSTER
During my 16 years’ service in the regular British Army and a further two years in the Reserves, I never met a Lieutenant General. Should I salute him? What should I call him? Sir? Mr Urch? Tyrone? Should I wear uniform or a suit? When making arrangements for Lieutenant General Urch to visit lessons, I was clearly not the only one feeling uncertain. I brazenly explained away his rank and position by saying, “He’s on the British Army’s Senior Management Team”.
Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch (OV81), one of our School Governors and proud Old Verlucian (he was a boarder and a proud Ken House member), visited Warminster School last week to see educational provision and to observe the CCF. During the afternoon, General Urch visited the Music Department during their Concert Orchestra rehearsals, DT, Physics and Maths. He also braved a class of native German speakers studying the German translation of ‘The Kite Runner’. Along the way, there were flashbacks of his time spent as a pupil at Warminster School, recalling Science lessons in the DT block and prep in the Sixth Form Centre classrooms.
After having some lovely refreshments provided by the Catering team, our distinguished guest spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the CCF. Teams of senior cadets battled during a number of team building activities which included constructing the tallest tower and mobile wheelbarrows using kit borrowed from the Cadet Training Team. Another group, shot cadet rifles on the our indoor range, achieving some small groupings. The third group were using the laser clay target shooting system in Boniface Hall. General Urch was under considerable pressure to hit the targets in front of a group of discerning cadets, but he rose to the challenge.
We are really grateful that Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch took time out of his very busy schedule to visit. He enjoyed his visit and was particularly impressed with the way Warminster School pupils engaged with him, instead of waiting for him to approach them.
Ange Garner, CCF Contingent Commander