Students at the Dixie were fortunate to hear personal stories from two teachers as part of the school’s Remembrance Services. Dr Rimmington spoke about his Great Aunt, Mary Watkins. She had volunteered for the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1939 when she was 19 and was selected for special duties with MI8 because of her love for crosswords and solving puzzles. Mary was told her work would be top secret and she would never be able to talk about it, nor would there be any formal recognition for what she did. Although Mary sadly died at the age of 103 last March, she did in fact receive medals a month before this, recognising her work at Bletchley Park. Mr Baden had been part of the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, who had fought in the Falklands War. His description of the events brought home to students some of the realities of warfare, ranging from a healthy rivalry with the Marines to dealing with loss. Zac Jones (Year 11) showed both tremendous courage and talent as he played the trumpet before the school observed a minute’s silence both in the morning assembly and at 11.00am.
