Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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8 The Admirars Address Vice-Admiral Sir Alban Curteis first spoke of the great extent of the British Empire; for them, hVing in a small island, it was not easy to grasp its immensity. At the beginning of the war the Em- pire had been intact, though perhaps not so strongly entrenched as before. That Empire could be a great power for good, a League of Nations in itself, but it entailed responsibilities, and in order to stand it must be strong enough to ward off the attacks of enemies. For centuries England had stood at the centre, the main base, and at one time ships alone were sufficient to protect it; but with the development of air power in the hands of neighbouring nations England had become very vulnerable, and a determined attack by the enemy at the beginning of the war would have been difficult to withstand, and might have dealt a crippling blow. Stretching throughout the Empire was a chain of bases on whose adequate defence the integrity of the whole depended. Bermuda was such abase. It was a very important place in the At- lantic, and though it has so far been remote from the buffets of war, it could be a very important and essential base. The island of Malta had demonstrated what could be achieved in the face of great odds by an island base. There were few powers that could have held Malta in like circumstances, but its resistant power had been largely due to the part played by its population, and that in turn was to be attributed in great measure to the affection which they felt for the Empire to which they belonged. The recent campaign in Tunisia also had shown the import- ance of adequately protected sea communications. It had been a tremendous campaign to keep supplied. Those supplies had gone mainly by sea, and the victorious conclusion of the campaign was in itself a great tribute to the integrity of the naval power and its associated bases. In conclusion the Admiral spoke of the importance of self- discipline, and of the importance of organised games in inculcating the right spirit. Cricket was such a game. It was not everybody who could bat, but let them bear in mind that teamwork in the field was equally essential for winning the match. Cricket and Football Last year ' s cricket season was again hampered by the lack of suitable opposition for the 1st XI. The School, however, had some very useful batsmen and bowlers and they will undoubtedly be heard of in local cricket during the next few years. Six matches were played during the season, of which two were drawn and the other four lost. As usual, on Founder ' s Day the

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7 Visit of H E the Acting Governor On Aprl 17th we were honoured by a visit from His Excellency the Acting Governor, Mr. W. L. Murphy. He was accompanied by Mrs. Murphy and the A.D.C., Lieut. D.C.A. Goolden, R.N.V.R. After inspecting the Cadet Guard of Honour drawn up to receive him, His Excellency made a tour of the school, visiting each class room. In his address to the boys he began by asking whether the school acquired its name from the Latin word ' saltus, ' a derivation which would appropriately imply that their education progressed by leaps. He then passed to some reminiscences of his own vschooldays in Tipperary, and commented with regret on the death of many of his school friends. The headmaster of his old school had himself been killed in a raid on the school. The boys here were fortunate to be away from the neighbourhood of the war, and should take advantage of their opportunity. He stressed the value of tradition in a school, saying that Old Boys of Saltus Gram- mar School had already attained a distinction that should serve as an inspiration to the present boys, and mentioned the career of Sir John Waddington as an example. After the address the boys went down onto the field and His Excellency watched a display of physical training. Empire Day Celebration Empire Day was celebrated at Saltus Grammar School on Friday morning by a service conducted by the Headmaster, Mr. R. E. E. Booker, in the School Hall. Vice-Admiral Sir Alban Curteis, Commander-in-Chief, At- lantic and West Indies Station, was present with the Flag-Lieu- tenant, Lieut, the Hon. A. L. Hood, and Mrs. Leon Powell re- presented the I.O.D.E. Prior to the assembly in the Hall the Commander-in-Chief inspected a Cadet guard of honour. In the course of a brief introductory address, the Headmaster reminded the boys of the significance and objects of Empire Day. It had been officially recognised since 1902, when Lord Meath inaugurated it for the purpose of emphasizing the necessity of training young people in citizenship, and the day thus set aside was Queen Victoria ' s birthday. Each part of the Empire had its own method of celebration : in Bermuda it had been kept up in the schools by the efforts of the I.O.D.E. He had great pleasure in welcoming the Naval Commander-in-Chief, whose work was so largely responsible for the security in which they had lived, and in welcoming Mrs. Leon Powell, representing the I.O.D.E.

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9 School 1st and 2nd XI ' s met the Old Boys ' XI ' s and some excellent cricket was witnessed. The Old Boys won the 1st XI match by 56 runs, whilst the 2nd XI game ended in a draw. The Senior House matches provided some very interesting games, the shield being won by Watlington House. The Colts had some very promising players and won all three matches played against other schools, but lost to Mr. Gor- ton ' s XI. The Junior House Matches were again quite successful although Saltus House had by far the best side and won easily. The football season was also successful, the 1st XI. winning four games, drawing two and losing two. The team was fairly well balanced, the defence being sound and the attack was usually dangerous, but often guilty of individualism. The Colts again played very good football and won all six matches in the Junior League competition, scoring 29 and only conceding 3 goals. Consequently, they easily retained possession of the B.S.S.A. trophy. In the House competitions, Darrell House won both the senior and junior shields in the Christmas term. In the Easter term, Darrell House lost the senior shield to Watlington House, but re- tained possession of the junior shield. H. J. H. 1st XI Football Results (194243) Oct. 29, 1942, 1st XI v. S.G.S. Old Boys ' XI won 4-3— Home Nov. 9, 1942, 1st XI v. Admiralty House won 5-1 — Home Nov. 19, 1942, 1st XI v. S.G.S. Old Boys ' XL... draw 2-2— Home Dec. 11, 1942, 1st XI V. Admiralty House XL... draw 3-3— Home Feb. 2, 1943, 1st XI v. Admiralty House XI lost 3-6— Home Feb. 12, 1943, 1st XI v. One of H.M. Ships lost 0-3— Home Feb. 20, 1943. 1st XI v. S.G.S. Old Boys ' XI won 5-2— Home Athletics The Field and Track Sports were held this year on March 18th, when an interesting programme was staged. Previous to this, nine events had been completed, so as not to overtax the competi- tors with too many contests on Sports Day. The standard of performance in most events was good, and in five events new re- cords were established. In the senior House competition, Watlington House were easily the winners with 73 points, their nearest rival being Saltus House with only 28 points. The junior competition was closer, Darrell House bettering Butterfield House by 31 points to 23 points.