Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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16 of engine-driver after the first railway journey, or of that of an officer in His Majesty ' s Brigade of Guards after a visit to Buck- ingham Palace to witness the ceremony of the changing of the guard; while there were others who favoured the profession of schoolmaster, on the principle, no doubt, that it was more blessed to distribute corporal punishment than to receive it. At that early stage there was little or no apprehension of the years of hard work required in order to qualify for a profession; yet it was a fact that life had never been easy for those who wanted to do something worth while, and it was getting harder and harder each generation. The days when a son could walk easily into the lucrative profession of his father were, in his opinion, gone for ever in England, and by the time many of them grew up it would not exist even here in Bermuda. Competition was becoming sterner, the war had left the world in a chaotic state, and they would have to compete with all sorts and types of people and problems with which their fathers had never had to contend. They were on the threshold of the combat of life, but here at Saltus was presented to them the glorious opportunity of arming themselves for the combat; they must work hard to prepare them- selves for the fight. O Gosh! they might think, surely he knows we all hate work. Well, he too might hate work, but what he knew now and did not know when he was a schoolboy was that a reasonable amount of hard work when young could make all the difference to the happiness of one ' s future life. He had hated Latin (perhaps they didn ' t exactly love it!), but he had had to realise that it was a necessary preparation for entry to Rugby and Cambridge, and he had to get to Rugby and Cambridge in order to qualify for the Colonial Administration Service, for which an Honours Degree was essential. He was going to talk to them about that Service, not entirely because it was one of the finest professions, but also because he doubted whether any of them knew much about it. They had met doctors, lawyers, clergymen, — and even schoolmasters! All these were excellent professions, but he knew more about his own. His own choice of a profession had crystallised finally after he had met a six-foot-seven member of the Colonial Administration Service whose stories of adventure in Africa had thrilled him. His own father had been a banker, but the prospect of being, as he then thought, chained to a desk, did not appeal to him; he sought rather a life of action and adventure. So his choice was made, and on his twenty-second birthday he received from the Secretary of State a letter which concluded with the words: ' ' I have the honour to be, Sir, Your humble and obedient Servant; not until later did he come to realise that it was he himself who was to be the humble and obedient servant! In due course he was posted as a Cadet in the Colonial Ad- ministration Service for the territory of Zanzibar. He had already

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9 himself to all at Saltus and he will be very much missed v hen he leaves us to visit his family in Great Britain, and perhaps, to live there. Mr. R. R. Thompson, at one time Head Prefect of this school and since 1943 a member of the Staff is also leaving to take up once again his course for a Degree at the Uni- versity of Toronto. His valuable work on the teaching staff and in the Bursary will long be remembered here. Earlier in the year, also, we lost the assistance, after fourteen years of service, of Mr. Harry Richardson; his vast fund of geographical knowledge has been missed by the pupils of Saltus. Mr. Hugh Masters, whose place as a teacher of Spanish was temporarily taken by Major Mason, was another valuable member of the Staff who left the school during the past twelve months. His enthusiasm and cheer- fulness were sadly missed here, but I am glad to say that from time to time he has come to fill in and to resume his old activities. He is now returning to Williams College in Massachusetts. This term the school was fortunate enough to secure the services of Major R. C. FitzGibbon, who has had a remarkable war record and whose scholastic career was brilliant ... at one time he gained, aged fourteen, a School Certificate with a Credit or better in all eight subjects offered : he has also been educated at Oxford and in France and Germany. To the newcomers, whoever they may be, we ex- tend a most hearty welcome and to those who have served and have left, or are leaving, our grateful thanks and heartiest best wishes. R. E E. B. Visit of the Acting Governor His Excellency the Acting Governor, the Hon. William Addis, visited Saltus Grammar School on a tour of inspection on Tuesday Nov. 6th. Accompanied by his A.D.C., Lieut. J. B. Trimingham, B.V.E., His Excellency was met at the school gate by the Head- master, Mr. R. E. E. Booker, and the Head Prefect. His Excellency first inspected the Cadet guard-of-honour, drawn up at the flag-staff, and then made the tour of the class- rooms to see the boys at work. Following the inspection the school adjourned to the Assembly Hall, where His Excellency delivered an address. The programme had provided for a physical training display on the playing field, but this was cancelled owing to the inclement weather. At the conclusion of the proceedings the staff were pre- sented to His Excellency at the Headmaster ' s House. In the course of his address to the boys. His Excellency said that the question of his future career loomed large in a boy ' s thoughts from an early age. It was a burning question in the nursery, with a predilection, perhaps, in favour of the profession

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11 mentioned the requirement as to an Honours Degree, but that was not all. It was also necessary to pass a stiff medical examination, for life in the colonial service could be pretty tough. In addition, it was necessary to satisf} a Selection Board that one possessed the necessary personality; the ideal Administration Officer has to understand human beings, to be able to humour them, to know when to be strict and when to be lenient, when to be serious and when to joke. Many a tribal uprising has been nipped in the bud by making the crowd laugh. The next step was a year ' s course at either Oxford or Cambridge at which one studied subjects such as book-keeping, surveying, criminal and civil law, tropical agricul- ture, and African languages. So he arrived in Zanzibar, a British Protectorate ruled by a Sultan. Compared with Bermuda it was huge in size, and in popu- lation it was one of the most cosmopolitan parts of the world. The landed gentry were Arabs, the shopkeepers Indians, and there were representatives of most other races living there. His work as a Cadet, and later as District Commissioner, was mainly magisterial, but one had to be prepared for all sorts of jobs, including engineer- ing, doctoring, and even schoolmastering ! Life was never monoton- ous. Later he had been posted as District Commissioner over an area of 10,000 square miles in Northern Rhodesia. The journey from the coast was difficult and adventurous, and it had taken him forty-seven days to reach his destination. He and his wife and family had been paddled up the Zambesi on a barge with a crew of sixteen native paddlers. It was impossible to carry sufficient stores, and so they had been largely dependent for food on his rod and gun; he must go ashore to shoot birds, or to shoot buck, a difficult task. They passed through dangerous country; frequently there was a hyena in the tent at night, and one slept with revolver or gun by the bedside; some of the snakes were extremely dangerous, and a government regulation required its officers to carry with them a supply of anti-snakebite serum. His Excellency told several amusing anecdotes of life in Zan- zibar and Northern Rhodesia, and then in conclusion stressed two points. One he had already elaborated, and that was that it was essential for them to work when young, however much they hated it. The other he had already told them indirectly by talking to them about life elsewhere in the huge continent of Africa: it was that Bermuda was a very small place, and if they lived there all their lives, there was always the danger that they might become too insular. If they couldn ' t travel themselves, let them learn as much as possible about other countries and other peoples: there was always something else beyond the horizon.