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Contingent Commander, Guest of Honour Major Dutton, Head
On the evening of 26th September 2019, John Lyon School hosted its first CCF Mess Dinner. It was a formal black tie or "mess dress" dinner - causing a little consternation amongst some of the OLs and staff who had to squeeze into outfits recovered from the back of the wardrobe!
The evening started at 6:30pm with drinks and a chance to look at a display of John Lyon's CCF material from the past. We were then directed to our seats to say Grace before enjoying a delicious meal, provided by the John Lyon School catering team.
While the many OLs present were reminiscing about the former glories of the CCF, John Blenkinsop, the School's Contingent Commander, spoke very positively about the future of CCF at John Lyon and the plans to grow it over the next two years. He paid particular tribute to those who have enabled the relaunch of the CCF, the School's Deputy Head, Andy Sims, the Head of Pinner High School, Chris Woolf and the London District team.
He spoke of the School's recent affiliation to the Royal Engineers Regiment and of his pride in John Lyon becoming linked to the 131 Commando Unit. The School believes that the work of the Royal Engineers fits well with the School's focus on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) as they prepare to attend the national STEM camp with the Army Cadets in October.
Major Dutton of the Royal Engineers, the Guest of Honour, also addressed the diners and shared some facts about the Royal Engineers, speaking of the most highly skilled soldiers and their fascinating roles and jobs. Affiliation to the Royal Engineers will provide unique training experiences for our CCF students.
Thank you to the OLs for making the effort to attend and share some wonderful memories and stories of your CCF experiences with John Lyon.
Andy Raffles brought with him a short video clip of the former CCF which many of the OLs present found themselves in. You can watch it here:
Here are some more photos from the evening:
All the guests, above, and some snaps from the night below.
