Recollections of an Old (but young at heart) Oswestrian, circa 1952 - EPISODE 37, THE RISE AND RISE OF THE CCF; DAD'S ARMY EAT YOUR HEART OUT

Much criticism was levelled, and rightly so, at Headmaster Frankland during his short reign from 1958-1961, and I am not sure whether he finally fell on his sword or was pushed, but the one good thing he left behind was a fledgling CCF which has since gone on to flourish and develop into the thriving organisation it is today. 

(L-R) Unknown, Jimmy Sharples, Unknown, G S Moffat

The CCF (Combined Cadet Force, for the uninitiated), which was formed on 24 September 1959, was the beginning of a new era in the history of Oswestry School, and it was the creation of Major W H Frankland who had been heavily involved in this organisation at his former school, Bromsgrove. 

The Headmaster brought in Cpt. Womack, the first school Bursar, to help with the CCF, and the dynamic ex-army duo were in their element in this new environment. 

This photograph of a fine body of men must have been taken at the end of 1959, shortly after the distribution of our ill-fitting uniforms. The famous TV series Dad's Army had Cap'n Mainwaring and Pike, and we had Cpt. Womack, the broad spoken Yorkshire pugilist with a glass chin, and our very own deliberately 'stupid boy' in the shape of Jimmy 'Sharps' Sharples, the popular platoon idiot, who had us all in stitches with his antics in the early days, as we struggled to take weekly drill sessions on the quad seriously. 

I think I can identify one of the other boys in the group as being Stuart Moffat (George to us all), who later became a first-class shot and gained promotion to Sergeant, but my memory has failed me with the other two; perhaps someone can fill in the gaps for me?

Park Hall Army Camp

Using his army contacts, Major Frankland enlisted the help of personnel from Park Hall Army Camp in the form of several drill sergeants, who, needless to say, found it difficult to enforce discipline, with or without swearing, on a group of insubordinate, asinine teenagers who were intent on fooling about on parade. The platoon contained a number of disruptive elements who were oblivious to all threats of yankers etc, and there was much pushing, shoving, and giggling in the early days until order was finally established.

I think the original platoon numbered 32 boys and I, for my sins, was appointed by Frankland as leader of this unruly bunch of miscreants, and what fun we had in the early days as Bombardier Arrowsmith and his henchmen tried to lick us into shape, promising fire and brimstone if we did not get our act together!

Lee Enfield 303 rifle

Just a few weeks after having been introduced to the course, a number of 303 Lee Enfield rifles, brought up from Park Hall, were used to show us the reality and serious nature of the CCF, in case we were under the illusion that it was a frivolous diversion from school life, and instruction was given on the operation and care of the weaponry. 

Parades took place every Thursday at 2.45pm sharp, and training included various field crafts such as camouflage, minor tactics, crawls, signals, and, most importantly, map reading. Very soon regular route marches became part of our training. 

School calendar, Summer 1960

A destination for training and manoeuvres was the nearby Racecourse and it was a regular route march for the platoon. 

Oswestry Racecourse

On one occasion I had a quiet word with some of my troopers, and we decided to test out the fitness of one of our overweight instructors who looked like he was in his sixth month of pregnancy. 

Stepping up the speed of the march, it soon became apparent that some of us were in far better shape and much fitter than two of our instructors who were left trailing far behind, bawling at us to slow down, much to the amusement of the rest of the platoon. 

The Racecourse was the perfect setting for using dead ground and foliage as camouflage to blend in with the surroundings, but the sight of Cpt. Womack demonstrating the leopard crawl reduced us all to paroxysms of laughter, and we half expected 'Jones' from Dad's Army to appear, telling us not to panic! 

By the Summer of 1960 my time at Oswestry School was coming to an end, and the first year of the newly formed CCF would finish with a flourish. I was proud of my platoon on Speech Day as we paraded professionally, having come a long way from the Dad's Army jokers and pranksters that we were just a short time earlier. 

Kinmel Park

I left school that year, and as a party of 28 cadets left for summer camp at Kinmel Park, Rhyl at the end of term on 26 July, it was a parting of the ways for me and army life. Conscription had ended in 1960, and as I had no interest in pursuing a career in the services, with its attendance in yet another bubble, I determined to move on. 

I had other fish to fry!