A Very Special CCF Lunch

This week saw two very special occasions combined into a lunch engagement in the Senior School's Gallery, attended by current and retired Churcher’s College CCF Officers, CCF Senior Cadets, the Headmaster and members of Liss and District RNA with their spouses.

A Suprise for Major John Dudin

The lunch had initially been organised as a surprise (and he didn’t have a clue until he walked in!) for Major John Dudin to mark his retirement as an Officer in the CCF. John has been our Adjutant at Churcher’s College since 2009 and was also an Instructor in the Army Cadet Force (ACF) since 1967 - by this year he had accrued over 45 years of Service in the Cadet Forces.

As our Adjutant he has been a font of knowledge and an excellent guiding hand to a relatively new set of staff commanding helm of the Churcher's CCF.

Always patient and always with a great sense of occasion and humour, John has kept us on track and will be very much missed in his current role. Despite hanging up his uniform we are not going to lose John completely as he will stay on as a more part-time member of the team in a Civilian Instructor role.

He is very much looking forward to expanding his already significant portfolio of travels around the world as well as having more time to pursue his passion for sailing. We wish John and Mary all the very best for a long, happy and well-travelled retirement together and look forward to having John back when he can fit us in!

Marking the Closure of the Liss & District Royal Naval Association

Another bitter-sweet occasion was combined with John’s lunch which was the marking of the closure of the Liss & District Royal Naval Association. Due to dwindling numbers the branch closed at the end of December but, thanks to a mutual contact in the form of Cdr (Rtd) Clive Lewis, the CCF and RNA were put in contact. The lunch provided a wonderful opportunity to host our Naval colleagues, celebrate their branch of the RNA and mark its closure.

Cadet Warrant Officer Noah Mumtaz was handed the Liss & District RNAs Standard by Mr Bob Dean in addition to a beautiful framed print detailing the history of their branch. A Ship’s Bell was also donated to the CCF and all these items will take pride of place in the CCF Hut and the bell will become part of our annual Trafalgar Night Dinners.

We look forward to hosting our new Naval friends at these dinners from later this year continuing the tradition of Service camaraderie that is so central to the RNA and CCF.