Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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12 Next he would place self-confidence, one of the essential ele- ments of leadership. Then they all realised the importance of loyalty— loyalty to whatever they belonged, to the home, to their family, to their school. Finally, there was efficiency. Now was their opportunity to dig out and to learn to become efficient. But all these qualities must have a background of character be- hind them. Money, position, marks of rank, these didn ' t mean so much nowadays unless they were backed up by character. The Admiral then related some incidents falling within his experience during the War, to illustrate the value of cheerfulness in times of depression, of unselfishness, and of determination in the face of odds. It was acts such as those he had described which had made the Empire and all the Empire stood for. No doubt the Em- pire had lost most of its money through the war; that loss was not ir- retrievable. But there was something it had not lost, and could not afford to lose, and that was its reputation for integrity— Word of an Englishman. The Empire was not worn out. It embodied a living and con- tinuing ideal. He would quote from the speech made by His Maj- esty the King at the Guildhall on his return from South Africa . . . These were the words: If I had to single out one thing as out- standing in my visit, it would be my realisation that the faith of South Africa in Britain is not only unimpaired but has become stronger on account of her unflagging effort in war and peace. His Majesty concluded, Come what may, nothing will shake my belief that this old country, old in history, old in experience, old in achievement, is at heart as young and vigorous as she has ever been. And that is the heart of your Empire. But who was going to keep the heart of the Empire as young and vigorous as ever it had been? It was they and their generation. God had been wondrous kind to the Empire during the past five years. Their enemies had made endless mistakes, while the English people had never known when they were beaten. God would continue to help them, he felt sure, if they of their own efforts deserved it. Let them all see to it that they did. S.G.S. Company Bermuda Cadet Corps 1 his year has been one of several changes in the organisation of the Bermuda Cadet Corps and these changes have of necessity affected the Saltus Company. We now have no Junior Branch in the unit and membership in the Corps is restricted to boys who

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11 them on that day, as often before, was Mrs. Leon Powell. Since 1986, when Admiral Sir Matthew Best came to visit them on that occasion, six British Admirals had come to address the Saltus Grammar School on their Empire Day celebrations. Vice-Admiral Sir William Tennant was the sixth and he hoped that he would bear with him whilst he reminded the school of his predecessors. In 1936 Admiral Best had addressed them, and in 1988, Admiral Mer- rick. In 1940, 1941 and 1942, Admiral Kennedy Purves had visited them; he had been a close friend of the school, and he, like Admiral Best, was no longer with them, having died on the Sunday after last Empire Day. In 1948 and 1944 Admiral Curtis had spoken to them, and in 1945 and 1946, Admiral Glennie. Now, in 1947, they were fortunate enough to have Vice-Admiral Sir William Tennant and he hoped that he would stay long in Bermuda and become a fixture there at Saltus Grammar School on Empire Day. Admiral Tennant had served at sea throughout the War, and had experienced the malice of the enemy in its most acute form. It was not necessary for him to remind them in any detail of the essential part played in the life of Bermuda by the Royal Navy: they knew as well as he did that without them as their strong shield and buckler they would not have survived the years of war. They knew, too, that without that defence their way of life, which they so valued, could not have sur- vived. They would listen with respect and interest to what the naval Commander-in-Chief had to tell them . . . Vice-Admiral Sir William Tennant stressed first the importance of discipline and obedience. No doubt they were being chased , a process in which they would learn the value of obedience and dis- cipline, the necessary foundations for the assumption of leadership later on. The schoolboy of today was important, vitally important; all his thoughts and feelings and actions mattered greatly to the community in which he lived. Were they pulling their weight? Could they imagine a boat ' s crew winning a race if one man was not pulling his weight? What they were doing now was going to mean something a few years hence when they would be faced with sterner responsibilities; following the period of discipline came leadership. One of the greatest troubles in the world today was selfishness. It was to be seen at work in the family, in the town, in the national life of countries. In the navy there was an expression to sum it up— I ' m in the boat, shove off. But is was necessary for all of them to remember the other fellow ' s point of view; that was one of the chief requirements of good citizenship, and he felt sure that they all aspired to become good citizens. Another requirement was self-respect. If that went, it was the beginning of the end. At school they could help to retain it by always looking clean and smart.

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13 liave reached their fourteenth birthday. There was, as a result, only one camp last July at which S.G.S. was well represented. Major T. S. Murdoch, V.D., Commandant of the Corps, re- signed his commission after a distinguished career in the B.V.R.C. and the B.C.C. We were indeed very sorry to learn of his resigna- tion, but were pleased to hear that he had retained his position on the Cadet Committee where we are sure he will continue his inter- est in the Corps. The new Commandant is Major Rosewarne, from the Whitney Institute. Another change which has considerably affected us at Saltus has been the resignation of Capt. Hallett as our Company Com- mander. Capt. Hallett has taken a great interest in all phases of Cadet work and he will be greatly missed. His position has been taken by Capt. Gascoigne, who was until his appointment, the Ad- jutant of the Corps. Lieut. Stephenson was commissioned last November upon his arrival from England and has shown a great interest in his cadet duties. The strength of the Saltus Comany stands at the moment at fifty-eight and is organised into one Platoon and a band. N.C.O ' s. Sgt. D. H. Harrison, Cpl. D. A. Gosling, Cpl. G. Smith, Cpl. G. Leseur, L Cpl. D. S. R. Smith, L Cpl. Bray, L Cpl. N. Richardson, L Cpl. A. A. Michielson. S.G. Athletics The athletic programme at Saltus Grammar School is a very varied one and in a day school it is extremely difficult to find the necessary time for so many activities. Nevertheless, these have not been curtailed in the slightest during the war years, and now that our staff is once more at full strength, games and athletics will con- tinue to get their deserved attention. Soccer Football, Track and Field, Swimming, Cricket, Boxing, Tennis, Gymnastics and Physical Training will continue to flourish under competent gamesmasters and Instructors as they have in the past. At Saltus we are proud of our aim in games and sports which calls for the participation of every boy. This is the principle which guides our whole programme, and as Old Boys will remember, it is still an inspiring sight to see the whole school engaged in a short period of combined Physical Training each day. This year has been a successful one in sport as the detailed report which follows will show; we are looking forward to an even more successful year during 1947-48. S.G.