Each year the CCF would attend a summer camp at a military establishment, and many of the boys at school would participate. Malcolm's first camp was in 1956 when the cadets went to Gandale Training Camp at Catterick in Yorkshire. Catterick was a pretty austere place and not much fun was to be had. The cadets were allowed out on one day during which Malcolm visited the city York. At the end of the camp, Malcolm found his way home by train. These photos show Malcolm having returned home afterwards.

The camp in 1956 was at Cultybraggen Camp in Comrie, Perthshire, at which Malcolm's brother Stewart also attended. This was a real adventure and Malcolm thoroughly enjoyed it. The cadets slept in tents and, after being woken early and washing in cold water, breakfast usually comprised stodgy porrige with lumps of salt in it. Everyone had to take turns in preparing for the evening meal which basically comprised peeling potatoes with a paring knife.

Much of the activity involved exercises, one of which was at nighttime. Malcolm recalled one incident when he was in a patrol seeking the enemy but ran into an ambush. Thunderflashes were used by the enemy and one came Malcolm's way and he could hear it hissing so he ran off. As he ran, he could still hear the hissing steadily behind him then realised that it was lodged on top of his backpack.It could have caused him serious damage but he managed to remove it before it went off.

Another exercise was a 36 hour initiative test in which the cadets were made up into teams of three. They were given a set of cryptic instructions and a map plus 10/- emergency money then taken to a remote unknown location. The object of the exercise was to find each point on the instructions and obtain proof that it had been visited. It was also prohibited to purchase any food and to be self-sufficient, however, Malcolm and his group broke that rule. They had gone into a cafe and won 2/6 on a fruit machine so they used their winning to buy breakfast. It had been organised that all the groups finished up in the same place by Loch Earn at nighttime so they camped together under supervision. Malcolm and his team decided to forage for food so they 'borrowed' a dingy and rowed to the other side of the loch where they found a henhouse and took an egg each. The next day Malcolm's group finished their journey back to camp in the back of a tipper truck, arriving amongst the leaders.

One day, Malcolm was in the squad who had to perform guard duty at the camp main gate. Whilst on the gate, he was supposed to challenge any unauthorised traffic entering, also recognise and salute any officers. In fact, none of the cadets could identify anyone easily in the short space of time needed, so some officers were ignored and a few other ranks given a smart salute. Malcolm's shift continued during the night so he had to sleep in uniform in case thr guard was turned out. The next morning it was discovered that some rifles were missing from the armoury. Although the cadet guard were not in trouble, there was an immediate search but nothing was found. A rumour went round that the IRA were responsible.

On Sunday the cadets had a free day so Malcolm took a trip into Pitlochry. He and a friend explored the town, finishing up by the well known Salmon ladder. There they met and chatted with a girl called Morag who went to fetch her sister when requested to make up the numbers. The landscape around the camp was mountainous and one particular plce was called "Little Hill"which was a total misnoma as it was hard work to climb. That Sunday evening, Malcolm and a few others were out of camp and walking up "Little Hill" and were attracted by the sound of bagpipes. On reaching the spot they found a piper standing and playing on an isolated outcrop of rock with his wife and daughter sitting beside him. All were dressed in traditional Scottish style.

At the end of camp, there was a special train to take the cadets to Edinburgh. From there, Malcolm and his brother took the train the Kings Cross, having lunch in the dining car for 19/6 on the way. They crossed London on th etube then took the train from Waterloo to Camberley. Malcolm had fallen asleep shortly before reaching home so his brother tied his shoelaces together then woke Malcolm sharply. He tried to leap to his feet but fell over in a heap, breaking his laces in the process. The journey home had taken an entire day.