A letter to the guild from down under

 

CORRESPONDENCE COLUMN

'I was very interested with the article on page 28 of your 1981 summer issue by Mr. Charles Hemus and his nostalgic memories of Goldings, etc. I myself was at Goldings between 1935 and 1937 and remember Mr. Hemus slightly as I was in the machine "department of the Printing Division and found his comments very interesting indeed. Maybe a few of my following comments might also be of interest to him.

Though I did not still remember all the names of Goldings officials, etc, he certainly revived my memory. Yes, Mr. Marchant was the band master then. A tall boy by the name of Smith used to lead the band on marches as mace swinger. Mr. "Joe" Patch is well remembered by me as I was one of his gym squad boys, also Mr. Jenkins and The Reverend F. C. MacDonald.

Does Mr. Hemus remember the Governor's two great danes - Nemo and Nero? - and the way the boys used to wrestle with them up the "top" field in particular.

Mr. RandaIl was my housemaster - Mount Stephen ­ he wore a monocle and was classed as a "toff" and in more ways than one. Mr. "Skipper" Culver was well known and liked by all the boys. A big boy named Levi (or Levy) was School Captain. Mr. Jones used to cut our hair and gave us a friendly "belt" when he caught us swinging on the water pipes in the wash and shower rooms. Mr. "Brushy" Bames used to be night watchman and I can always remember his "Rise and Shine" call in the mornings after "Charlie Up" sounded and certainly left no stone unturned if he caught any boy in bed after his second "quiet" round. Mr. "Stormy" Tempest was also a well-known personage there too. "Defaulters" list on a Saturday afternoon was and is well remembered by me and I seemed to be on it pretty regular, but no regrets, I guess I asked for it!"

My younger brother, Eddie, was also at Goldings between 1936-8. I have met a few of the "old" boys over the years and one in particular, Arthur William "Tom" Thompson, also an old gym squad boy, but lost contact with him about 25 years ago, and if anyone knows of his whereabouts, I'd dearly like to know.

ERNEST JEWSON Australia

 Reproduced from The Guild Messenger Summer 1982

 

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