Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

Page 20 text:

18 Sergeant Pedrolini led us to the first trench, and started on a most interesting lecture which lasted for a brief half-hour. As he led us from trench to trench, our knowledge of modern warfare grew, as he told us of the uses of the trench against attack by aero- plane, tank and artillery, and of the protection it afforded the men against bullets and shell-splinters. The first object of interest was a Crawling trench, at the end of which was a Weapon Pit and an uncompleted trench. The Crawl- ing trench was only 18 inches deep, and gave very little protection. It was made so that the men could crawl from trench to trench and thus be able to communicate with one another. The next trench we looked at was a completed one. It had been dug by tasks as the others had been. A task consisted of digging a hole 6 feet long, 6 feet deep, and 2 feet wide. Each man is assigned to a task, and in addition, a Crawling Trench has to be dug. The completed trench was a work of art in comparison to the others. It was 4 feet wide, and approximately 8 feet deep. A firing step is made to enable the men to fire over the top. The sand-bags made a very good elbow rest, and the wooden flooring at the bottom of the trench served to keep the soldiers ' feet dry. The revetments were made of oleander boughs which gave a very smart aspect to the trench. The next thing we saw of interest was a machine-gun trench, which was very much smaller than the completed trench we had just seen. The gun was fired from a standing position. These little machine-gun trenches are usually placed on the flanks of the main trench in order to produce an effective cross fire. We were shown one or two more trenches, and then fell in for the homeward march. We left with the band playing lustily, and the boys in high spirits. So ended one of the most interesting Cadet afternoons we have had for a long time. H. C. D. C. World Today Club The last two terms have seen a considerable increase in the membership of the Club. Of necessity, at the present time, the war is the chief subject discussed at meetings although local affairs and world affairs distinct from the war have had their share of attention. This is in accordance with the original object of the Club, which was to discuss any current problems and matters of general interest both in Bermuda and overseas. A new feature was inau-

Page 19 text:

17 Inspections. Held by His Excellency the Governor on Jan. 14, 1941, and by Major Murdoch, V.D., Officer Commanding, Bermuda Cadet Corps, on Nov. 26, 1940. Lectures. Lt. A. McDonald, 4th Queen ' s Own Cameron Highlanders, gave an interesting account of his experiences in France in the early days of the war. In February, the Company ' s Instruccor, Sgt. Pedrolini, B.V.R.C., lectured at Prospect Camp on Defence Entrenchments. An account of this, written by Cadet Cox, H., appears elsewhere. Field Day. An excellent Field Day, organised by Maorj B. B. Walton, Brigade Major, was held on Feb. 26 at Castle Harbour. Saltus Company was in the attack, and carried out their operations with workmanlike precision. At the conclusion of the battle. His Excellency the Governor complimented No. 2 Platoon for the manner in which they captured an enemy position on the left flank, and especially commended Sgt. Petty for his skilful leadership. Band Drum Major, Sgt. Welch, P. S. Under the enthusiastic in- struction of Sapper Aitken, B.V.E., and Sapper H. Williams, B.V.E. the Band, which commenced the year with an unusually large num- ber of recruits, has made considerable progress and is now well up to the standard of past units; New members in Cadets: Tucker (J), Greenwood, McLay, Davis, Whitney, Taylor, Howe, Tucker (D), Parker and Darrell have brought the strength up to 24. The Band was in much demand in Camp and are to be commended on the way in which they voluntarily practised on frequent occasions in their spare time. Bugles have been kindly presented this year by Capt. Johnson, R.A.O.C., and H. Browne, (O.S.). A Day with the Cadets On February the 4th, the Saltus Cadets marched to Prospect to inspect some trenches which had been made by the soldiers. They were accompanied by the band, and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves, including a number of coloured children who joined us on the way. After a brisk half hour ' s march we reached our destination, and were shown the trenches which were situated on the side of a hill to the east of barracks. There was a number of them, each in a different stage of construction.

Page 21 text:

19 gurated during the Easter Term. This was a series of talks to be given by well known men, speaking with special authority on their subjects. It will become, we hope, a regular feature of the Club ' s proceedings in the future. The first talk was given to a large and most appreciative audience by Mr. H. D. Butterfield, M.C.P., Chairman of the School Trustees. The subject was The American Bases and the Bermuda Delegation t© London, and the talk was so successful that Mr. Butterfield, at the Headmaster ' s request, later repeated it at greater length to the whole school. Our second talk was by Commander Smythe, R.N., on ' ' The War at Sea and was also very much appreciated. We hope we shall hear both Mr. Butterfield and Commander Smythe again. For our third talk and as a natural complement to Mr. Butter- field ' s address we are expecting to welcome the Hon. W. J. H. Trott, C.B.E., M.C.P., the leader of the Bermuda Delegation who has promised to talk on the delegation ' s visit to London. Further talks are being arranged and it is expected that this series will add greatlv in the interest and instructive value of the Club. H. R. The Choir and Music Since Mr. Robin Tucker left the school four years ago, Mr. Bridge was engaged as Choir and Music master. On his arrival, the Choir was merely a collection of boys whose voices had not then broker, and who sang, as a choir solo, the third verse of every hymn. Now, however, we have a choir of about seventv voices, fortv treble, ten alto, ten tenor, and ten bass, which voices sing harmony and only very occasionally discord. Strangely enough the trebles are the weaker voices, the other parts being able to follow music fairly readily, or at least to pick up their parts without much trouble. Regarding the Hymn -singing in hall. — For many years the School was on a diet of about twenty hymns which followed each other in rotation, some being reserved for special occasions. Mr. Bridge introduced a few new ones, and recently some more have been added to the Hymn -list. We find, however, that there are very few hymns in Hymns Ancient Modern which lend them- selves to mass singing, and so we have had to resort to hymns stencilled on paper. Before long we hope to have more such hymns. Introduced some years ago, but, regrettably very much in its infancy, is the practice of allowing boys to play the hymns for prayers in the morning. It is a great pity there are not more boys good enough to do this as it is excellent practice for performing in public, an essentia) sphere of one ' s musical education. It is rather