Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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5 Address To Saltus Grammar School Empire Day I want if I can, gentlemen, to begin by describing to you a scene of which you may well have read in your history classes. The setting is the House of Lords in London and the date is 1802. At that time Britain had been for some years at war with revolutionary France. Both sides were feeling the pinch and had agreed to make peace — the peace of Amiens. The terms had been agreed upon, but Napoleon, a treacherous and ruthless dictator if ever there was one, was not fulfilling his part of the bargain. The question was whether or not to renew the war. As usual on such occasions there were those who feared the consequences and there were those who could see no profit but only further loss. During debate Nelson rose to speak. His physique had never been robust and he bore for all to see the marks of grievous wounds, having lost an eye in 1794 at the siege of Calvi and an arm in 1797 in the unsuccessful attack on Teneriffe. It is difficult to imagine the agonies suffered in those days when there were no anaesthetics for those who lost a limb. Imagine then, Nelson, a frail and shot- torn figure, the marks of suffering on his face rising to speak among the lords. His words were as follows: I, my lords, have in different countries seen much of the miseries of war. I am, therefore, in my inmost soul, a man of peace. Yet I would not for the sake of any peace, however fortunate, consent to sacrifice one jot of ENGLAND ' S HONOUR. That, gentlemen, is the spirit which makes empires and keeps them alive. What is honour? I suppose in our nurseries and at our mother ' s knee and in our schools we have all learnt a simple code of honour. We were taught to tell the truth, to respect other people ' s property, to deal honestly with our fellows and not to bully the weak nor fear the strong. It may be that this code will be represented to you as one which applies only when you are young. As I get older the more I am convinced that the code we are taught in our nurseries and our schools is the one to which we must cling throughout our lives. It is the only one worth having. In the world you will have to learn to protect yourselves from those who do not conform to this code but you must never compromise about it yourselves. Fear nothing and let your word be as good as your bond.

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Foreword It is with thankfulness that I can report that the new addition to the School building is now complete. As the present boys and those Old Boys who have recently visited the School school will know, this addition consists of a gymnasium, a changing room and a new Assembly Hall. The gymnasium and changing room have been in use for over a year, but it was not until the beginning of last term that we were able to use the Assembly Hall, although, even then, it was still in an incomplete state. The old Assembly Hall has been divided into three much-needed classrooms, and nov we can conduct all classes except Art and Manual Training under one roof. There are still a number of alterations to be made to the interior of the Old building, but these will have to wait until a later date. During the coming summer months it is hoped that a double verandah will be added to the front of the School. This will provide a lunchroom where boys may sit and enjoy their lunch in an orderly manner. There are several changes taking place in the members of the Staff. Mr. Osborne, who undertook the teaching of Science for the Christmas Term last year until the arrival of Mr. Barton at the beginning of this year, has already left us. Mr. Weedon and Mr. Barton for personal reasons find it necessary to return to England at the end of this term. Mr. Weedon ' s jollity and Mr. Barton ' s kindliness and interesting exposition of Science will be greatly missed — our best wishes go with them in their future careers. We were exceedingly fortunate to obtain the services of Mr. V. Ridgeway, who for many years was a House Master at Tonbridge School and latterly a Master at Merchant Taylors. His teaching experience and knowledge of boys has been a great asset to us and we trust that his time with us has been enjoyable. The Old Boys ' Association has continued its valuable support to the School, both morally and financially. An innovation this year was the Leap Year Ball held at the Bermudiana Hotel on February 29th. It was pleasing to see the Old Boys with their wives and friends enjoying this reunion and it is hoped that a Ball will become an annual function of the Association. The Old Boys ' Committee worked very hard to make it the success it was, and our grateful thanks go to them.

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6 The same holds good of nations and empires. Once a nation allows itself to be actuated by motives of greed and fear it is finished. We, in our empire, have a record of which we are justly proud, and in the recent war we nobly upheld the honour of our country. We did not hesitate to fight the forces of wrong and we did not flinch when the odds were over- whelmingly against us; we did not stop to reckon the cost nor the odds but fought on when all save honour seemed lost. We were all in it together. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Colonies including this, the most ancient of them, did not argue that the danger was far and might be avoided by discreet neutrality. They did not pause to consider whether dishonourable neutrality might not be more profit- able than war. They fought because it was the honourable course and disregarded the consequences. That is the spirit and while we have it we are a great empire, when we lose it we ' re finished. No matter what losses we have sustained, what difficulties we have to overcome, nor what hardships we suffer, while that spirit lives we are great, when it dies we sink. The mantle falls upon you, the rising generation. You will hear people advocating this or that because there is more profit in it or it avoids risk. Make profit if you can but if there is the slightest taint or dishonour in any of the proposals, re- sist them with all the force you possess. Remember Nelson ' s words and never consent to sacrifice one jot of the empire ' s honour. The Stamp Club As so often happens with a club of this kind, enthusiasm is succeeded by apathy. To offset this, it was decided to hold meetings fortnightly instead of weekly during the Easter Term. This had the desired effect. Towards the end of the term there was an influx of new members, chiefly among the lower school. Consequently we are now looking forward to a very success- ful Christmas Term. The Debating Society The balloon went up on November 22nd. The four passen- gers were: Dr. Uranium, Atomic Scientist (M. G. Marsh); Mr. Optimus Pessime (Schoolmaster), J. M. Berridge; Mr. I. Skinyu, Lawyer (D. V. Ridgeway); and Mr. Wetyer Wissle, Liquor Merchant (C. W. Kempe). When optimism was at its