February 6th marked the 70th anniversary of the Accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne. The following extract and photo was published in The Campbellian Vol 12, No 11 picured above. At this time, it was commonplace to comment on current affairs in the foreword and in the prior edition published in December 1951, there was mention that everyone was relieved to hear the King had recovered well from his recent surgery - the King had been due to visit the school in June 1951 to bestow the Royal Charter, however, ill health had affected his ability to travel.

It was on the morning of Wednesday, the sixth of February that the Head Master announced to a special assembly of the school the grievous tidings of the sudden death of the King. Our first reaction was, as might have been expected, one of stunned amazement and this was quickly followed by a sense of profound sorrow on the part of us all and of genuine and heartfelt sympathy for the Queen, the Queen Mother and all the Royal Family, in their inseparable loss. This emotion felt by each of us in his own way as we stood reverently in silence, was made the more acute and personal by our memories of that so recent and so glorious occasion when the Queen Mother, acting on behalf of his late Majesty, graciously bestowed upon the school its Royal Charter.…

…And now, at the beginning of a new Reign, we tender to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, the reaffirmation of that profound and indeed, sacrificial loyalty that has always been and that will always be the strongest characteristic of this school. For us, it is not without significance that our own buglers were among those who sounded the fanfare at the Royal Proclamation of Her Majesty’s Accession. Long and glorious may she reign!