Hugh Skillen, with his fluency in languages and remarkable Scottish pronounciation of French was noted as having been a 'real' major in the Second World War, unlike his colleague Major/Colonel Bigham, who had achieved his rank through the cadets.
Hugh did not say much about his wartime experiences at school. He could not, of course, because it was all still secret until the 1970s. those of us who kept in contact with him or read about him in later years realized what an important and interesting role he had played.
Hugh, who later wrote 14 books, also contributed articles to the Old Gaytonian magazine:
The Law Society and the CCF - an autobiographical article covering 1946-66.
Cinema and Early Memories - another autobiographical article.
Movie Treasure - about the making of the School Films.
Images from the film "Makers of Men"
Hugh Skillen with an unidentified class from the 1950s
If anyone would like to contribute an article about Hugh Skillen, please email [email protected]. Howard Friend has suggested that his remarkable Times obituary is worth reading: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1017387.ece