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band (Mr Lax), but also a bugle band (C.S.M. Dunglison). The programme of music for Grand Day includes items by all three, a cornet solo by Cpl. M. Emmett, and a vocal solo (L/Cpl. N. Dick again). In " Pipe Notes" the correspondent says," This being only half-way through the summer term, we have not fulfilled many engagements." He then lists six. For the standing-down ceremony of the Home Guard, the School provided two bands simultaneously, one at Comrie and one at Dunblane. A regular engagement was to play at the crowning of the May Queen in Stirling. The newly appointed Boy Drum-Major was A. Morrison, now Drum-Major at the School. With band practices, engagements, and competitive kit-inspections, one wonders how much time there was for ordinary lessons. But the " Educational Notes " say it was a memorable year in the educational history of the School, " records having been broken " and results being " well above average ". One boy passed the Army Special Certificate examination, said to be accepted by some universities as equivalent to their entrance standard, at the age of 14 years and 10 months, and this was thought to be perhaps a record for the whole Army. Thirteen boys passed the First Class Certificate, and 31 the Second Class Certificate examination. It is added that 3 boys were awarded Junior Secondary Certificates by the Perth and Kinross Education Committee. It was some years yet before the School began to present boys for the Scottish Certificate instead of for the Army Certificates.
There are several letters from Old Boys, telling of their war experiences and encounters with other Victorians. One is from Donald Macintyre, serving with the British force in Norway. The soldiers there still had to carry rifles and ammunition when leaving billets, for the Germans still outnumbered them by about 200 to 1 and were still armed. He mentions the prices offered to the troops : £50 for a pound of tea, and £20 for half-a-pound of tobacco. A visiting Old Boy, Captain H. H. Stevenson, 6th Ghurka Rifles, who was on leave from the Burma front, told somebody that another Old Boy, " Nealan ", had also been commissioned in India, but he did not know what had happened to him. We think the reference must have been to Lt.-Colonel Nealon, whose son leaves the School this year. If so, we can say that plenty happened to him. An account of his military career was printed some years ago in the " Victorian."
Two other items of news in 1945. The Meritorious Service Medal was conferred on Mr J. Strathdee of Ramoyle, who had 23 years' service in the H.L.I, and then was " Master Cook " at the School for 22 years. The medal was presented to him on parade in the presence of the whole School, and Mr Strathdee took the salute at the march-past that followed. The Strathdee family have been well represented in the service of the School. Two of Mr Strathdee's sons worked here, and another member of the family is Nurse Kay of the School hospital. The other item is the short obituary notice recording the death of
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Mr J. B. Penny at his home in Whitecross.
Victorians of older generations may find it surprising that " Jock Penny's " no longer means anything to the present School. His little shop, so conveniently situated near the School gate, was long patronised by many of our boys, but has now been closed for some years.
The editorial reports the appointment of Lieutenant-General Ritchie as G.O.C. in Scotland, and therefore also as Vice-President of the School's Commissioners. As we tell in the Old Boys' column, he was present at the ceremony in Canada when Craig Walker received his gold award. Duke of Edinburgh's scheme.
Finally we would like to mention an article published anonymously in the 1945 magazine. It is called "Adventure in Greece," and it describes vividly the experiences of members of an R.A.F. unit who became prisoners of the E.L.A.S. forces. We have no idea who wrote this, but it would be interesting to find out. We would like to reprint it in full, if space permitted, and may be able to do so in some future number. It is certainly an outstanding piece of writing, with its straightforward unpretentious account of the hardship and misery.
PIPE BAND AND DANCERS
We have some notes from senior members of the band and the dancers, but are not printing these in full. The stereotype for these notes is a list of engagements, generally with an implication that there are not enough of these, compliments to the instructors, praise of own performance, and optimistic forecasts of big engagements rumoured for the future, these usually involving nights away from School. So we are using the notes as a basis, saving the band and dancers the embarrassment of self-praise, and cutting out the forecast.
The pipe band, which we can assure Old Boys is still a highly-honoured School institution, has been away five times this term, once at Dunfermline, twice at Gleneagles, once at Dumbarton taking part in a K.A.P.E. display (Keep the Army in the Public Eye) and, most important at Edinburgh on June 12th, the Queen's official birthday, when the band had the honour of beating the retreat on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle. There has been a fairly small band this year, and it has been handicapped by absences, for medical or surgical reasons, of some leading pipers. But, by general agreement, it is a very good band, and has rightly earned compliments wherever it has played, especially for its performance at Edinburgh Castle, where it rose splendidly to the occasion. Pipe-Major Mackenzie and Drum-Major Morrison have reason to be proud of the results of their tuition ; and we understand they are specially pleased with the progress of the young boys who will be ready to take their places in the band next term. Three veteran pipers are leaving : D. Robertson, who is Senior Monitor and Boy Pipe-Major, N.
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