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School and military representatives joined civic dignitaries to unveil a commemorative paving stone in honour of an Old Elizabethan who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroic actions on the Western Front 100 years ago.

Captain Allastair McReady-Diarmid’s attempts to regain enemy territory near Cambrai in France were successful, but he was killed in the action and was awarded the VC – the highest award in the UK’s honours system – posthumously.

The paving stone close to his birthplace in Grove Road, New Southgate is one of a series being laid around the country and unveiled on the centenaries of the deaths of VC recipients.

Among QE representatives attending the ceremony organised by Enfield Council were: Headmaster Neil Enright; one of his predecessors, Eamonn Harris (1984–1999); Head of History Helen MacGregor; the Combined Cadet Force with three CCF staff members (Mev Armon, Charlie-Maud Munro and Richard Scally), and Old Elizabethans Martyn Bradish (1962–1969), Ken Cooper (1942–1950) and Alan Solomon (1951–1957).

Military representatives included Johnson Beharry, who was awarded the VC for saving members of his unit in Iraq in 2004. He joined QE’s CCF on parade. Lieutenant Colonel D W Utting read out the VC citation.

Guests were welcomed to the ceremony by Councillor Doug Taylor, the Leader of Enfield Council. Also present was Ann Cable, Deputy Lieutenant for Enfield. The unveiling of the stone was carried out by the Mayor of Enfield, Councillor Christine Hamilton, and by a member of Captain McReady-Diarmid’s family. It was followed by prayers and by a bugler sounding the Last Post and Reveille.

Born Arthur Malcolm Drew in 1888 in Grove Road, New Southgate, Captain McReady-Diarmid was the son of Leslie McReady-Drew and Fannie. The family later lived in Barnet and he attended Queen Elizabeth’s School. He then lived in his mother’s native Jersey for a short period, before moving with the family to Acton, West London, in 1905.

He joined the army at the start of the First World War in 1914 and a year later married 27-year-old Hilda, the couple setting up home in Dursley, Gloucestershire. He changed his name by deed poll to Allastair Malcolm Cluny McReady-Diarmid, apparently because there were so many other Drews in the Middlesex Regiment.

The Account of the Deed – an official summary of the events which led to his being awarded the Victoria Cross – records: “On the 30th November/1st December 1917 at the Moeuvres Sector, France, when the enemy penetrated into our position, and the situation was extremely critical, Captain McReady-Diarmid led his company through a heavy barrage and immediately engaged the enemy and drove them back at least 300 yards, causing numerous casualties and taking 27 prisoners. The following day the enemy again attacked and drove back another company which had lost all its officers. The captain called for volunteers, and leading the attack, again drove them back. It was entirely due to his marvellous throwing of bombs that the ground was regained, but he was eventually killed by a bomb.” His remains were never found.

The VC is given to members of the British armed forces for gallantry in the face of the enemy. The medal bears the simple inscription, ‘For Valour’.

Captain McReady-Diarmid’s VC was presented to his widow at Buckingham Palace in 1918 by George V. In 1927, his daughter, Alison, wore it when the Prince of Wales opened the White Rock Pavilion in Hastings and spoke to the prince of her pride in her father. He was also honoured during this year’s Act of Remembrance at the School in November.

His medal is displayed at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, while Captain McReady-Diarmid’s name is listed on memorials in Cambrai, in Dursley and on Jersey.

QE sixth-formers Aadil Kara and Brian Kong enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime experience when they competed alongside other young engineers from across the world in a competition hosted by NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

The Year 13 pair were part of a 12-strong European Union team who joined up with other finalists from India, Argentina and the USA to form a 60-strong fictional company, Rockdonnell, in the 24th International Space Settlement Design Competition.

Working against tight deadlines over a long weekend, the companies had to produce a proposal to win a contract to build a settlement in space for 10,000 full-time residents on the surface of Venus in the year 2092. The settlement’s role included harvesting raw materials from the planet’s surface, taking advantage of the extreme conditions for specialist manufacturing and beginning work on terraforming – the process of making changes on the planet to make it more hospitable for humans.

During a break on the final day while the judges were deliberating on the results, competition participants were treated to a tour of the vast Cape Canaveral site. The tour took in sights including:

• The Vehicle Assembly Building – the largest structure in the world when it was built in 1965
• One of the Saturn V rockets, which remains the tallest, heaviest and most powerful rocket ever to have flown
• The retired Space Shuttle, Atlantis.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Aadil and Brian worked tremendously hard to reach this international final and I congratulate them on their achievement – what a singular opportunity!”

Brian said: “This was one of the best experiences of my life so far, giving me insight into different cultures from around the world and the way business and company management works. I managed to gain so much experience in leading a team of over 60 individuals from different backgrounds, and definitely came away with many new friends.”

The pair’s company finished as overall runners-up in the competition. “The judges praised our design for its expandable, modular structure and for a water distillation system using external heat from the Venusian atmosphere,” said Aadil.

Brian and Aadil were chosen for the EU team following the UK Space Design Competition, which saw a QE team of 12 win the regional round, before the QE boys then participated in the national finals held at Imperial College, London.

Brian, who was the EU’s team student leader, explained that after arriving in Florida, he and Aadil spent an afternoon and evening meeting participants. “We got to know everyone that evening and the night was finished with a Rockdonnell company meeting, where we decided managerial positions of the company. I was voted in as the vice president of the company, looking after marketing and sales.”

For his part, Aadil worked within the operations engineering department to design emergency procedures in response to disaster scenarios.
The following morning, they headed off to the Kennedy Space Center and received technical briefings specific to each department (automation, human, operations, structural and management).

They then set to work. “From this point, it was a race to meet the RFP (request for proposal),” said Brian. “We worked flat-out, before heading to bed for a few hours at around midnight. The following morning was an early start from around 7am and we worked in the hotel in the early morning and late night, and at the Kennedy Space Center throughout the day.

“I was in charge of putting together the presentation and organising the speakers for the final day and so, along with a few members of each department, I stayed up throughout the night to finish our settlement proposal to meet the 7:30am deadline.

“We were first to present to the panel of judges, an array of aerospace experts and business individuals in the industry. Both Aadil and I were presenting.” After the 35-minute presentation itself, there were questions from the judges before the final results were announced several hours later.