Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

Page 10 text:

It was the same outside the classroom; he soon started to play a very full part in the life of the school. He coached the Junior Rugby, and his jubilation when his team won the Whitney Sevens trophy was more explosive than that of his team. He designed and built the sets for ' Oliver ' and, remember, he had virtually to build a new stage too. He was often at the school hammering away till midnight, but we all remember how good that setting was, how sound, how perfect in detail and how much in tune with the piece. And, more recently, there has been his enthusiasm and work for the Duke of Edinburgh scheme; 35 boys involved this term. I remember thinking, when I went to visit the campsites on the Saturday before he died, that it was the boys who had the fun, the challenge and the medals, and the teacher who or- ganised and collected the kit and the rucksacs. But among the personal posses- sions that we sent back to the family last week were his own Duke of Edinburgh medals; he wanted to hand the idea on. And, again, this was just a beginning . . . just preparation for and promise of what was to come . . . Why? There must be bafflement mixed with our sorrow and, indeed, causing much of it. It needs a faith wider and more penetrating than mine to com- prehend this mystery. You have to realise, if you haven ' t already, that it is of- ten only the easy answers that your eiders and betters can provide. If you have lost a teacher who, like till good teachers, was more than a teacher, we have lost a good colleague and, many of us, a very good friend. We are together in this. All we can do, I suggest, is value Adrian Poole, and what he did at Saltus. I don ' t often disagree with Shakespeare, but I don ' t believe that only the evil lives after men and that ' the good oft lies interred with their bones. ' Some of Mr. Poole ' s good can live in us, if we think about it, and remember in the right way.. The diversity of human nature falls broadly into two divisions, I find; there are those who seek to mold external things and other people to suit themselves; and there are those who try to mould themselves to be of service to others. To this latter, smaller number, Adrian definitely belonged. He want- ed to learn, he wanted to serve, and — significantly — he counted his bless- ings. He said, to me and to others, how lucky he was to be at Saltus; his father died when he was only an infant; he did not bemoan this; instead, he said how well his mother had done to bring up a large family on her own. In a word. Humility; one of the greatest virtues, and one perhaps least un- derstood today. Not a faceless, grovelling ineffectiveness that it is sometimes seen as, not the opposite of masculinity and ambition, but a genuinely dynamic virtue, the opposite of Arrogance and Pride, the sterile ones. There was noth- ing unmasculine or feeble about Adrian; he could be direct and forthright when he needed to be, you know, but the sheer unpretentiousness of his contribution was such that we perhaps did not recognise it till he died. As I said, a school is a living organism; life goes on, as it must and should; a sense of mourning and sorrow will fade, and that is right, too. But it would be wrong if there also faded our gratitude for what Adrian Poole was allowed to give in his four short terms — and wrong, too, if his example of service and true humility bore no fruit.

Page 9 text:

edictine order; traditional, perhaps, strict and non-nonsense. This letter tells of Adrian Poole before we met him, an ordinary, decent boy, undramatic, and nearer to most of you than you probably suspect. I could not go to Britain to interview candidates that year, but I was lucky to be able to ask Mr. Lamacraft, a friend recently retired from the headmastership of Warwick Academy, to see my short-list for me. He wrote to me after he had seen each candidate; about Mr. Poole he wrote this: ' 1 feel sure he would prove to be an asset and likely to fill the bill well, and be the sort of fellow who would do a good job in the classroom, fit into the Bermuda scene and into many aspects of school life, as he seems to have a serious and sincere dedication to teaching as a life-career ' and a great interest in young people. ' ' The boys would respect him and I got the impression there was quite a lot of good common sense and hidden strength of personality which, at first, may have been masked by his modest, but entirely likeable, manner. You know the story fronfi here. Mr. Lamacraft was not wrong. Adrian settled quickly and was soon one of us; you found he stood no nonsense, but you found too how real his interest and concern was, and how quickly he responded to any enthusiasm; his very youth was an asset, allowing him to relate imme- diately with your whims and aspirations, if you were serious about his subject. And, watching from the sidelines, I noticed, in c year, the improvement in the art-work of the school, improvement in direction, in quality and in variety; va- riety particularly, for Mr. Poole seemed able to draw the best out of most indi- viduals, the quality of a real teacher. And this was just a beginning . . . 7

Page 11 text:

FAREWELL WITH THANKS PETER M. B. WOOD Behind Peter Wood ' s quiet and unhurried demeanour lies great administrative effi- ciency and the ability to get to the heart of anything he undertakes without fuss or delay. His organizational ability, as any member of staff would vouch for, is immense (if not obsessive!) and his structured methods carry through to the classroom and down to the students. If only the smallest part of Peter ' s attention to detail has rub- bed off on eight years ' worth of History students, then they can consider themselves well prepared. He came to Saltus in September 1967 from the University of Durham, with refresh- ing ideas on the teaching of History, and throughout his stay, has succeeded in creat- ing great interest in the subject — witness the involvement of younger boys in their annual ' ' project , the construction of family trees (what a cunning way to discover the background of new boys!) and the model Medieval forts and imaginary defences. Outside Room 4, he has engendered great enthusiasm in the Chess Club, and it is no rare sight to see 7 or 8 games in progress during lunchbreak — the obvious rea- son behind the school ' s prolonged run of success in the Schools ' Chess Competition. In oddition, Peter assisted with Rugby Sevens and gave birth to the Photography Club, which functions in a quiet and unpublicised manner, deep in the bowels of the school (underneath the boy ' s toilets to be precise!). The tangible result of this activi- ty is the production of a slide collection of the school and its many facets, consisting solely of photographs taken by the boys themselves. Saltus has cause to regret his departure, as has Teachers R.F.C., where he was a much respected player and administrator. Although Monday mornings were tending to produce more stiff limbs and scars than they did a few years ago (nothing compared to A.M. mind you!), he was still an automatic choice for the club and continued to represent Bermuda on numerous occasions. Peter Wood has done a lot for Saltus, and we wish him, his wife Barbara and fami- ly every success on return to their native Yorkshire. THE CRUICKSHANKS Len ond Anne Cruickshank arrived at Saltus In September 1969 after respectively golning B.Sc. and M.A. degrees at Aberdeen University and completing their education courses at Jordanhiil College 6f Education in Glasgow. Len came to teach Geography ond Mothematics, with initially some Chemistry: Anne came to introduce Biology, a new subject on the 1969 timetable, and also help with Ehglish. The Geography de- portment olso had her assistance before her retirement in 1972 to raise a family. From the timetabling point of view their combined teaching skills and talents have been very voluable indeed during their nine years at Saltus. In the classroom and loboratory, pupils have been under firm but friendly guidance, their modern teaching methods, with field trips playing their part maintaining interest in their respective subjects. Their conscientious and non-nonsense approach earned them the respect of the student body and their teaching colleagues. B