C.C.F. Notes

THE EIFFEL TOWER

The Eiffel Tower is 300 metres or 892 feet high. If you wish to have a quick glance at Paris, the best thing to do it to take a pair of binoculars to the top. Its construction was begun on the 28th of January, 1887.

To get to the top, you have to pay 300 francs, which is about 6/-. Most of the party went up the first stage together. There are four lifts, each of which takes you up part of the way. There are four platforms, including the summit platform, on which are small shops and refreshment bars, for those who feel like having a snack or buying souvenirs.

My stomach turned round and round till I reached the second stage, then I felt better. The worst experience is when you get out of one of the lifts on to the platform. There is a gap between the platform and the lift and if you looked down you could see very small human beings walking about on the ground hundreds of feet below you.. Although I cannot recommend this for people who cannot bear heights, I thought it was an experience that I will never forget. M. T. GREENWOOD. THE CHANNEL CROSSING

Leaning out of the carriage window of a French train, we caught our first glimpse of Dieppe harbour. The train stopped on the quay alongside the steamer, S.S. "Worthing". Soon we were aboard, and, after stowing away our luggage, we watched the preparations for sailing.

We went down to the dining saloon, and, by the time we had finished our second course, we were out of harbour. The sea became very rough, and it was not long before several of our party departed to convenient places.

When we climbed on deck we were greeted by many pale faces. Our spirits were soon damped, however, when a large wave swept over the side, knocking some of us onto the deck, including one of the masters, the other being absent, for reasons best known to himself.

Wet, and a little depressed, we listened to the chorus of the Salvation Army. We now realised the unpleasantness of "mal de mer", and when we reached Newhaven we were very glad to be on "terra firma" once more.

R. D. WHEATLEY.

The C.C.F. is now operating as a complete combined service unit, with the three sections, R.N., Army and R.A.F., at full strength. The last stage in building up our newest section, the R.A.F. Section, was completed on 28th February after the satisfactory result of the Certificate "A", Part I, Examniation; 67 passed out of 89 entered. 38

The Recruits have continued their training under the enthusiastic leadership of Sgt. March, who has concentrated on a varied programme.

In future we shall record our section activities separately, though it must be emphasised that we are still one unit and are a combined force in the fullest sense. We have even managed to produce a drill satisfactory to all three services !

THE ARMY SECTION

Training this term has been confined to the Examination Syllabus. The regular N.C.O.s from the 1st Bn. The Duke of Wellington's Regiment completed their excellent course on the Bren, culminating in a shoot of the weapon on the range at Strensall.

The early part of the tactical work was done mainly in the new sand-model training room in the hut, and seemed to arouse some lively discussions.

Field Day was devoted entirely to training and the present Section had their first real T.E.W.T. on an interesting piece of ground on Strensall Common. This was followed by the exercise using a full platoon at battle strength. The use of a most effective new smoke generator gave the noisy scene quite a realistic touch. The Basic Section watched.

The hard work put in was not in vain as there was only one failure out of the 18 who entered for the examination.

The Signal Section came out in force on the Field Day and contributed largely to the success of the Recruit and Basic Exercise. We were delighted to see Mr. Harris out with the unit for his first field day.

The Gun Crew have continued their training with the Regular Officer, and are to start on a larger gun next term. A 25 pounder field gun has arrived to replace the 6 pounder anti-tank gun.

R.N. SECTION

During the Easter Term training was mainly in preparation for the Petty Officer and Leading Seaman Examinations in March. Of the three cadets who entered for the P.O. Examination, one, A.B. Green, was successful in the written part, and the practical test is still to come. Of the nineteen cadets who entered for the Leading Seaman Examination only four were successful; A.B.s •Gray and Poole (of whom the former has still to take the practical test) and O.S. Hilton and Murray. Though the percentage of passes was by no means inferior to that obtained by other schools, it is still far short of the standard required. The R.N. Examinations are undoubtedly difficult, but so many cadets from the School almost reached the pass mark, that it is considered that a little extra endeavour would have greatly improved the final result.