Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

Page 21 text:

19 gurated during the Easter Term. This was a series of talks to be given by well known men, speaking with special authority on their subjects. It will become, we hope, a regular feature of the Club ' s proceedings in the future. The first talk was given to a large and most appreciative audience by Mr. H. D. Butterfield, M.C.P., Chairman of the School Trustees. The subject was The American Bases and the Bermuda Delegation t© London, and the talk was so successful that Mr. Butterfield, at the Headmaster ' s request, later repeated it at greater length to the whole school. Our second talk was by Commander Smythe, R.N., on ' ' The War at Sea and was also very much appreciated. We hope we shall hear both Mr. Butterfield and Commander Smythe again. For our third talk and as a natural complement to Mr. Butter- field ' s address we are expecting to welcome the Hon. W. J. H. Trott, C.B.E., M.C.P., the leader of the Bermuda Delegation who has promised to talk on the delegation ' s visit to London. Further talks are being arranged and it is expected that this series will add greatlv in the interest and instructive value of the Club. H. R. The Choir and Music Since Mr. Robin Tucker left the school four years ago, Mr. Bridge was engaged as Choir and Music master. On his arrival, the Choir was merely a collection of boys whose voices had not then broker, and who sang, as a choir solo, the third verse of every hymn. Now, however, we have a choir of about seventv voices, fortv treble, ten alto, ten tenor, and ten bass, which voices sing harmony and only very occasionally discord. Strangely enough the trebles are the weaker voices, the other parts being able to follow music fairly readily, or at least to pick up their parts without much trouble. Regarding the Hymn -singing in hall. — For many years the School was on a diet of about twenty hymns which followed each other in rotation, some being reserved for special occasions. Mr. Bridge introduced a few new ones, and recently some more have been added to the Hymn -list. We find, however, that there are very few hymns in Hymns Ancient Modern which lend them- selves to mass singing, and so we have had to resort to hymns stencilled on paper. Before long we hope to have more such hymns. Introduced some years ago, but, regrettably very much in its infancy, is the practice of allowing boys to play the hymns for prayers in the morning. It is a great pity there are not more boys good enough to do this as it is excellent practice for performing in public, an essentia) sphere of one ' s musical education. It is rather

Page 20 text:

18 Sergeant Pedrolini led us to the first trench, and started on a most interesting lecture which lasted for a brief half-hour. As he led us from trench to trench, our knowledge of modern warfare grew, as he told us of the uses of the trench against attack by aero- plane, tank and artillery, and of the protection it afforded the men against bullets and shell-splinters. The first object of interest was a Crawling trench, at the end of which was a Weapon Pit and an uncompleted trench. The Crawl- ing trench was only 18 inches deep, and gave very little protection. It was made so that the men could crawl from trench to trench and thus be able to communicate with one another. The next trench we looked at was a completed one. It had been dug by tasks as the others had been. A task consisted of digging a hole 6 feet long, 6 feet deep, and 2 feet wide. Each man is assigned to a task, and in addition, a Crawling Trench has to be dug. The completed trench was a work of art in comparison to the others. It was 4 feet wide, and approximately 8 feet deep. A firing step is made to enable the men to fire over the top. The sand-bags made a very good elbow rest, and the wooden flooring at the bottom of the trench served to keep the soldiers ' feet dry. The revetments were made of oleander boughs which gave a very smart aspect to the trench. The next thing we saw of interest was a machine-gun trench, which was very much smaller than the completed trench we had just seen. The gun was fired from a standing position. These little machine-gun trenches are usually placed on the flanks of the main trench in order to produce an effective cross fire. We were shown one or two more trenches, and then fell in for the homeward march. We left with the band playing lustily, and the boys in high spirits. So ended one of the most interesting Cadet afternoons we have had for a long time. H. C. D. C. World Today Club The last two terms have seen a considerable increase in the membership of the Club. Of necessity, at the present time, the war is the chief subject discussed at meetings although local affairs and world affairs distinct from the war have had their share of attention. This is in accordance with the original object of the Club, which was to discuss any current problems and matters of general interest both in Bermuda and overseas. A new feature was inau-

Page 22 text:

20 unfortunate that the talent which I beUeve to be as yet undeveloped in the school could not be revealed, but this, as yet, cannot be helped. The most crying need in the school at the present time is a good piano. The instrument now in use is in its final death throes and may be expected to expire at any moment. It woulo be well worth the money, as the instrument at present is abominable. The most significant achievement which the choir can boast is our performance of Stanford ' s ballad, Phaudrig Crohoore. This, with the help of Mr. Goolden, we put on three years ago. Feehng confident of ourselves, we then tackled C. H. H. Parry ' s Pied Piper of Hamelin. We were left without any doubt, how- ever, that this was too difficult for us and it had to be abandoned unfinished. Mr. Goolden having left school this vear we resorted again to ' ' Phaudrig. It is much to Mr. Bridge ' s credit that this cantata which took us over a year to do before, we now can do in less than two months. Phaudrig will be performed in public in June and the proceeds derived therefrom will be devoted to pro- curing copies of Handel ' s great oratorio, The Messiah. We realise the great difficulty that confronts us, but, ' f nothing else, we can sing a few arias from it. We may finish it before we all are dead. The thought of attempting anything harder than Hymn 165 before Mr. Bridge ' s time was unheard of; now we are attempting the Messiah. With but seventy unmusical boys to work with, the results Mr. Bridge gets are much to his credit, as it is he who has made the choir a credit to the school and what it is t6day. Cult A At the outbreak of the war. Cult A was greatly affected by the loss of a truly enthusiastic leader, Mr. Goolden, who left the staff to take up a position in the Royal Navy. Hi.s enthusiasm and zeal for the society was so great that we all caught asparkof it and from the very beginning it was evident that the fruition of the society was owed to his early leadership. Until the beginning of the Christmas term last year, the activities of the society had been suspended owing to his absence, but with the arrival of Major Welch on the staff of the school, we again welcomed an ardent leader who was willing to reform the society, and once more put it on the path of success. The main idea of the society is that any branch of cultural activity be oui concern, from play-reading to play-acting, and from the theatre of local industries. Our first effort, that of play-acting was unfortunately unsuccessful, owing to the scarcity of time in the school curriculum for rehearsals. We then decided to devote our time to the theatre and local industries. It was, therefore, with