Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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5 Royal Wedding Celebrations On the day preceding the marriage of H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth to Lieut. Philip Mountbatten the School assembled to hear an address by the Colonial Secretary, the Hon. William Addis. Mr. Addis began by emphasizing the importance to the whole Empire of the marriage of the Heiress Presumptive to the British Throne, and went on to point out that the loyal interest displayed by this Colony in the Mother Country was not misplaced, for, without the support which we have for centuries received from her, We should be nothing but a tiny, insignificant island in the vast Atlantic Ocean. He then reviewed the early life of the Princess, showing how for many years she had been trained and disciplined to shoulder the immense responsibilities that she might some day have to bear. He ad ded that Her Royal Highness and the Empire were equally fortunate in that her choice had fallen on a man like Lieut. Mount- batten, whose career in His Majesty ' s Navy, already a distinguished one, displayed qualities that made him likely to prove an ideal Consort. The boys then proceeded to enjoy a veritable feast of cakes, minerals and a phenomenal quantity of ice cream in the School Hall before going home for the rest of the day. J.D.S. Empire Day Celebration The Empire Day ceremonies at Saltus Grammar School took place on Friday morning, when Vice-Admiral Sir William Tennant addressed the boys. Accompanying the Admiral were Lady Tennant and the Flag- Lieutenant, while Mrs. Leon Powell represented the I.O.D.E. Prior to the assembly the Admiral inspected a Cadet Guard of Honour, and later he met the staff at the Headmaster ' s House. In the course of his introductory address the Headmaster, Mr. R. E. E. Booker, reminded the boys that May 24th was the anni- versary of the birthday of Queen Victoria. It had been officially recognised as Empire Day since 1902, when Lord Meath inaugurated it as a day on which the training of young people in Empire citizen- ship should be thought upon. In Bermuda the festival had been kept alive mainly through the energy and initiative of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, and the I.O.D.E. visitor with them on that day, as often before, was Mrs. Leon Powell

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Valete This will be the last and, I hope the shortest, of the messages that I write tor the Saltus Year Book . The shortest because I do not like writing anything about myself and because no one should really write his own as-it-were-obituary! After fifteen years at the head of the Saltus Grammar School I am handing over the Headmastership at the end of this term to my friend and colleague, Mr. H. J. Hallett. I am, of course, after so many years in the service of this school and its boys, sorry that the time has come to leave; but 1 am extremely glad to know that 1 leave the school in such proved and competent hands. My work here has been a happy undertaking and I realise how much I owe to others and to their help, loyalty and support— the boys of the school, the Staff, the S.G.S. Trustees, and to the Parents. It is invidious to mention names for fear of the offense that might be given by omissions (I dare not even mention yours, Mr. Editor), but I do strongly feel that I cannot leave the school without acknowledg- ing with the deepest gratitude what my wife, who has devoted so much time and energy to Saltus and its interests, and I myself owe in every possible way to such families (sometime Trustees of the School) as Cox, Watlington, Butterfield, Dill, Triminghams (both Eldon and Kenneth), and to H.J.H., who has been virtually my partner for so long, and to J.H.K. whose enormous capacity for accurate work has been the foundation upon which such success as has been attained has been built. I know that I am leaving a school of enthusiastic, decent boys: the morale, work and organization of the school are in a healthy condition: the Old Boys ' Association is firmly on its feet (due large- ly to the work of a devoted few): new buildings, badly needed, are at last on the way. You will have, additionally and most important of all, a Headmaster already well-known to you and whom you can trust. My most earnest best wishes remain with the Saltus Grammar School and with you all: you will be constantly in my thoughts. R.E.E.B.

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6 SiiKX ' 1986, with iwo cxccpiions, all their speakers on iliat occasion had been Admirals serving in Bermuda. J hey wf;uld I ' lulerstand how approjjriate this was and had been when they thought ol what their sea-girt island necessarily owed to the Royal Navy. Now, more than ever, he was glad to have the Admiral with them to encourage them in those difficult times, when war was once again spoken of everywhere, and to remind them of their duty to the British Empire. This was, as they would remember. Admiral lennant ' s second visit and he hoped certainly not his last. He thought they knew him well enough to say that he represented two very important things— Tradition and Originality . . . t radition from his service in the Royal Navy . . . Originality in that he was not content to serve in a stereotyped manner. For example, he had recently been to South America, really as a kind of ambassador, where he delighted the people by addressing them in their own lan- guage, which he had taken the trouble to learn in the few months prior to going there . . . quite an undertaking, they would agree, and a first-rate diplomatic idea also. They would listen with respect and interest to what he had to tell them. V ice-Admiral Sir William Tennant spoke of the pleasure it gave him to be with them again on Empire Day. Most of them had heard his address of the previous year, and some would recognise bits of his talks on that occasion; but he was encouraged to hope that they would not adopt the attitude suggested by a conversation between two friends of his after listening to a speech . . . It was the same old stuff, said one. I ' d heard everything before. It just w nt into one ear and out of the other. Quite so , retorted the other, but then there was nothing in between to stop it, was there? Two things in particular he wished to repeat. The first was: think of the other fellow ' s point of view. In the navy there was an expression which summed up the opposite attitude,— I ' m in the boat, shove off. If they could wake up one morning to find everybody in the world doing his best to help the other fellow, then there would be a world changed for the better, and the prospect of a reign of peace; now although there did not appear to be much likelihood of that happening, either tomorrow or the next day, it was at least possible for each one of them to try and do his bit. Secondly, when addressing a ship ' s company he had often felt con- scious that there might be some of the younger men in the back rank who felt that they didn ' t count. That was a very misguided conception. It mattered very much what every man in that ship ' s company thought, and what he said and did. So, too, in any other community. Could anyone imagine a boat ' s crew winning a race unless all were fully bent to their tasks. The same applied to the nation. It was up to each pipie qI th m to do his bit.