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General Sir Gerald Templer visited the 120 cadets undergoing military training at the V.I. on August 12, 1953. They were members of the V.I. Cadet Corps and the St. John's Institution Cadet Corps. The five-day course was conducted by the officers of the First Somerset Light Infantry and the Federation Military College. The camp was the first taste of military life for the boys of the newly reconstituted V.I. Cadet Corps which was disbanded during the War. The Malayan Film Unit spent many hours filming the boys at work and at play. The High Commissioner praised the boys for their smart appearance and turnout at parade. But there was something missing, he said. There was no music. "I am a firm believer in martial music for boys," he told the parade. Turning to the teachers and headmasters present, he said: "I hope the boys will have a band of their own by next year." Sir Gerald urged the cadets to train themselves to become future leaders of Malaya. What the country badly needed in its march toward self-government, he said, was trained and efficient leadership. The youths of the country must be prepared to serve Malaya in the civil service as well as the armed forces. (Two years later, in 1955, the first band platoon of the Cadet Corps, comprising 18 boys, was formed. This embryonic Cadet Corps Band would later grow and diversify and become the famous V.I.C.C. Band of today.) |