The Headmaster's Diary - 1945. Victoria School - Kurseong. |
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2/3/1945 The first school party numbering 70, in charge of Messrs Ferris and Murray-Smith arrived in very bright weather. 3/3/1945 The second school party numbering 66, in charge of Messrs Bloud and Paine, arrived in school. The weather continues warm and sunny. Dr Kumar, the school doctor and Mrs Prins, the Hospital Matron inspected the boys. As a result one boy, R. Slacke, was found to have developed measles. He was removed to hospital, and the school was placed in quarantine. 4/3/1945 A meeting of the teaching members of the Staff was held in the school office. The time-table was discussed and various duties assigned to the Masters outside their teaching hours. The school has assembled this year with last years Staff complete. There is still no Steward owing to lack of living accomodation. The need of further quarters for the staff is a severe handicap to the efficient working of the school. 5/3/1945 The whole school assembled at 8.45 this morning and after an address, in which it was pointed out what was expected of each and every boy, in the matter of behaviour, attention to school work, and observance of discipline generally, the names for the various classes were read out, and school work began with the giving out of class books and stationery. 6/3/1945 A meeting of the Games committee was called to elect a secretary for 1945. Mr Olliver the retiring secretary received a cordial vote of thanks for his efficient work during 1943 - 1944. Mr Paine was elected Games Secretary for 1945. An entertainments committee was elected for 1945. 6/3/1945 The following were elected to the Entertainments committee - Mr Paine, Mr Ferris, Mr Murray-Smith and Mr West. It was considered advisable that the Headmaster should attend the meetings of the Inter-School entertainments committee. 7/3/1945 The following boys were appointed Prefects for the term. O'Dwyer. P. Kazi. S O'Driscoll. P. Klemis. L. Ma Wa O'Driscoll. E. Godfrey. D. Strelly. J. Badal. B. and Badali. I. were appointed temporarily as Ma Wa and Godfrey had not returned. Flt. Lt. Elliott visited the school in the interest of the Indian Air Force. He delivered a singularly instructive and interesting lecture on the work of the Air Arm, including the RAF and Indian Air Force, since the beginning of the present war. His revelation of facts concerning the "Battle of Britain" was of absorbing interest. 17/3/1945 The school got a holiday for St Patrick's Day. 18/3/1945 As the hospital has only two nurses at present there is considerable dislocation of the classes during the first morning period arising from the necessity of having to send "out patients" to the Hospital for treatment' It is to be hoped that the nurse for Victoria will report soon, as the present arrangement is bad in all its aspects. 24/3/1945 The cricket season opened with a match between teams got up by Mr Olliver and Mr West respectivley. Net practice had been going on for some time previously. 29/3/1945 The Easter Holidays began this afternoon. 2/4/1945 The Easter Holidays concluded with a whist drive conducted by the Rev. G.B. Elliot. 3/4/1945 There was a farewell given by the Staff and boys to the Rev. G.B. Elliot, Anglican Chaplain to the school, who, after sixteen years of earnest and fruitful work, was transferred to Calcutta Cathedral, to act as Senior Chaplain. The farewell consisted of a dinner, followed by a a school entertainment got up by Mr Olliver, our scout master, and whole-heartedly supported by the entire staff and school. On the conclusion of the entertainment the Headmaster presented Mr Elliot with a purse, on behalf of the Staff, present boys and Old Boys. The response of the Old Boys, in particular, showed the esteem in which Mr Elliot was held by those who, for the past sixteen years, had had the benefit of his precept and example. 5/4/1945 Rev A Solomon arrived to take over the Chaplaincy of the school. 6/4/1945 Re. G.B. Elliot left to take up his new post. 13/4/1945 There was a cricket match, an annual fixture, between the Staff and the boys. the experience of the former prevailed over the enthusiasm of the latter, and the staff won by a considerable margin. 16/4/1945 The lists of boys for the Junior and Senior Cambrisge examinations for Decmebr 1945 were compiled. The Seniors numbered 12 and the Juniors, 20, making a total of 32. 21/4/1945 Messrs Prins and Olliver took a number of boys to Darjeeling to assist at the finals of the scout competition being held in Darjeeling for the past few days. 22/4/1945 Mr J.M. Bottomley, Officiating Inspector of European Schools, arrived. 23/4/1945 The meeting of the Governing Body of the two schools was held at Victoria. 24/4/1945 Mr Bottomley inspected the school. 28/4/1945 The first XI played the "Rest" in a cricket match. The Rest won by a slender margin of 5 runs. 30/4/1945 The return match between staff and boys was played. The staff won. 3/5/1945 The first XI went to Darjeeling to play a cricket match against St Paul's. The game was drawn. 8/5/1945 The news of the end of the war in Europe with the surrender of Germany was received. Preparations were put in hand to celebrate the Victory. 9/5/1945 V.E. Day was fittingly celebrated. The hoisting of the flag in the presence of a full attedance of Cadets, Boy Scouts, Cubs, Girl Guides and Blue Birds took place at 9. am. A matinee cinema performance was attended by the whole school. A social and dance at Dow Hill finished off the celebrations. 10/5/1945 Victoria played St Joseph's, Darjeeling in a cricket match. St Joseph's won. 14/5/1945 Victory Holiday and Parade of Scouts at Kurseong. 21/5/1945 The Cricket House matches concluded with the final match between Irvine and Mallory. irvine won. The Tournament was won again by Kellas House. 22/5/1945 The foorball season opened with pick up teams. There is apparently, fair promise of a good football eleven in Victoria this year. 24/5/1945 The Junior Cambridge results were received. 13 Passed out of 21 presented - a most disappointing result. Three who were regarded as certain passes failed. Detailed results are awaited. The Senior results have not yet been received. 26/5/1945 The Senior classes were allowed to the pictures. 31/5/1945 A full holiday was granted. The Staff played the boys in football. 3/6/1945 The tuck shop has been difficult to run owing to the shortage of supplies. Tuck is supplied once a week on Wednesdays. Mr West is in charge. Tuck was sold by one of the 'alternate' suppliers. 8/6/1945 The Matron of A & B Dormitories arrived. Mrs Moore took over Mrs Scott's duties. The latter left on May 2nd. Having given a months notice. Considerable delay has occurred in the appointment of her successor, as the effort was made to get a married couple to fill the posts of Steward and matron. The school has been without a steward since the beginning of 1944, as there were no available quarters.The appointment of Mr and Mrs Moore to the posts will solve the difficulty for the present. Mr Moore has to work out his notice before taking up his duties at Victoria. 10/6/1945 The school played a military team from Jalapahar on the school ground. The school won by 6 goals to 1. 14/6/1945 With the break of the rains, the very bad condition of the roof in the assembly hall and class rooms is revealed by serious leaks which appear to be more numerous than usual. Appeals to the C & W avail very little. The condition of all the school buildings is noticeably deteriorating. Unless serious repairs are undertaken without much further delay, the damage to the building will be well nigh irreparable. 16/6/1945 The first XI (football) played Goethals on their ground. The game resulted in a draw. 19/6/1945 Mr Moore the new Steward arrived and took over his duties. 24/6/1945 Mr West, Games Master, took Class V to Castleton Tea Estate for a swim. 25/6/1945 The half yearly Examinations began. In 1942 the Director of Public Instruction Bengal issued a circular on the subject of term examinations in European schools. Owing to paper shortage he directed that not more than two examinations should be held during the school year and inclined to the view that, in the circumstances more than one examination should not be held. Our experience is that the suppression of one of the term examinations of the school had had the effect of lessening the healthy spirit of competition experienced by these examinations. 27/6/1945 Cadet Drill was held. The weekly meeting of the scouts, also the cubs, was held. 28/6/1945 Victoria 2nd XI played Goethals on their home ground and lost. The scores being Goethals 3, Victoria 0. 2/7/1945 The Mid-term examinations concluded. Owing to today being a Govt Holiday, salaries and bills generally were not drawn down from the Treasury. 3/7/1945 Salaries etc.. were drawn down from the Treasury. 4/7/1945 Pay was disbursed for non-gazetted and manual (?) staff. The weekly deposit was made to the Treasury. 6/7/1945 To mark the close of the first half school term, a weekend holiday, Friday to Sunday, inclusive was granted. 7/7/1945 The Senior boys were allowed to the cinema. 8/7/1945 Mr West took a party of boys to Castleton for a swim. 10/7/1945 A football match against the military was played on the school ground. The school team won. 21/7/1945 The school football team played the first round of the Herlihy (?) Tournament against the military and easily won. 25/7/1945 The school was defeated in the semi-finals of the Herlihy Cup. 3/8/1945 Mr C.A. Price, Geography Master, returned after more than five years of military service and took over from Mr W.A. Ferris, who had been officiating in the post. The latter reverted to his substantive appointment of Middle School Master, to which he had been recently appointed on the recommendation of the Public Service Commission. 16/8/1945 The news was received over the Radio that the Japanese had surrendered and that the day should be marked as VJ Day. The Governor of Bengal ordered two days of public holiday to celebrate the victory. 17/8/1945 The second holiday to celebrate VJ Day. 20/8/1945 This day was ordered by Government to be observed as a Thanksgiving day, 22/8/1945 The Cadets paraded, and the Scouts and Cubs held a Rally. 23/8/1945 The school eleven played a hockey match against Goethals, and won. 25/8/1945 The senior boys went to the cinema. 4/9/1945 Home matches (hockey) were played. After study, the Senior Cambridge and the Pre-Seniors rehearsed a play which is to be put on by Mr Olliver. 6/9/1945 The school Hockey eleven played Goethals in a practice match and won by two goals. 11/9/1945 The school was granted a sunshine holiday. St Paul's, Darjeeling visited Victoria to play a game of hockey. The school scored an easy victory. 12/9/1945 There was an ovehaul of fire extingiushers and a number were found to be not in working order. The matter was reported to the C & W for prompt repairs. 14/9/1945 The supply of sugar has obviously fallen short in the station; our quota has been reduced to half. This state of affairs makes the work of the Lady Housekeeper extremely difficult. 15/9/1945 The school Pliva Shield team went to Darjeeling and played in the first round of the tournament against St Robert's, Darjeeling. Our team won by 2 goals to nil. 21/9/1945 The controlled rate of potatoes Rs 16/4 appears to be under the market rate, consequently the merchants refuse to supply at this rate and demand Rs 20/- per maund. The matter was reported to the Sub-Divisional Officer and to the Officer in control of Civil Supplies. 25/9/1945 The school held a fete in aid of H.E. the Governor's Red Cross Fund. Alhough Dow Hill girls were not able to attend owing to quarantine and few outsiders were able to come due to transport difficulties, the function was a great success. Rs 2,500/- was the nett sum realised. Of this amount Rs 200/- was sent to the Kurseong Hospital for special purposes. 28/9/1945 The Cadets left for Camp at Tukdah. A complete set of temporary prefects was appointed to take the place of those at Camp. 1/10/1945 The Governing Body Meeting of the two schools was held at Dow Hill. The number of members attending was fewer than normal. 2/10/1945 The Cadets returned from Camp, after a disappointing outing due to the extremely wet weather. 4/10/1945 There was a dress rehearsal for the concert. 5/10/1945 The scouts and cubs went to St Helen's to attend the Victory Rally held under the direction of the Magistrate, Mr Ross. 6/10/1945 The concert prepared for the monsoons was held, and was a very great success. 10/10/1945 The Annual School Sports were held and attended by a large number of Old Boys who put up at the school for three nights. This was possible owing to the numbers of boys who went out for the Pujah Holidays which began today. 11/10/1945 A complete programme of events for the Puja Holidays was started.
Editors Note: On this date, the first meeting of The Old Victorians Association was held. To see the minutes of this meeting and the 5th and last "Red Letter", please click here.
12/10/1945 The school attended Dow Hill Sports. 15/10/1945 The Athletic team went to Darjeeling to attend the Darjeeling Districts Sports. The scouts and cubs left for the Pujah Camp. 20/10/1945 The S.D.O. phoned to fix the price of potatoes at Rs 18/-. this difficulty over the supply of potatoes is likely to lead to grave consequences, as the suppliers are not willing to supply at this rate. 21/10/1945 Boys returned from the Pujah Holidays. 22/10/1945 There was an outbreak of fire in the locker room of Mrs Doyle's (C & D) Dormitory . The Prefects used the extinguishers and the fire was put out doing very little damge. 27/10/1945 A number of boys attended St Helen's sports. 1/11/1945 Morning Sevices were held both in the Anglican and Catholic Chapels. 2/11/1945 Similar morning services were held in both chapels. 3/11/1945 The school attended a concert at Dow Hill. Earlier, the commission set up by the Inter-Province Board, to make a survey of European and Anglo-Indian Education in India, interviewed me at Sorabjee's refreshment rooms, Kurseong. 4/11/1945 Owing to the low temperature in the early morning, the morning P.T. has been discontinued since the 1st of the month. Instead P.T. either in the form of games or a run takes place between 3.30 and 5.30 PM. 7/11/1945 The Cadets had a shooting practice on the Rifle range in preparation for the Baker Shield competition. 9/11/1945 There has been no intimation from the Secretary - Inter Provincial Board regarding the Cambridge Examinations Papers so far. The time seems to be running short. 10/11/1945 Ma Wa. was withdrawn from school as he was not considered fit to take the School Certificate examination. 11/11/1945 The Armistice Day Remembrance from World War. It was marked by the sale of poppies in aid of the maimed survivors of both wars. Fires were supplied in the Assembly Hall in the evening. The temperature after sundown is very low, necessitating fires each evening during study, from now to the end of term. 13/11/1945 In view of the coming Government Holidays for the next three days, the Treasury day was put forward from the 14th (tomorrow) to today. 14/11/1945 Today being a Pujah, it is observed as a Government Holiday, but owing to press of work at this time of the year the school office remained open. 17/11/1945 The Prize Distribution was held privately. 18/11/1945 A Dinner and farewell were given me, by the Staff and boys. 19/11/1945 Handed over charge of the school to Mr. V.C. Prins. I retire from Govt. Service today at 12.30 pm. Signed T.D. Nugent.
As far as Government was concerned, it appeared that this business of “taking –over-charge”, which consisted of counting much money and signing forms in triplicate, was all that mattered. When left to myself, I reflected that this was a small part, though an important part, of my duties as Headmaster. This ‘office’ existed because there was a school of boys with bodies, minds and souls and to whom I stood in ‘loco-parentis’. There was a staff (academic and administrative) to help me. My first act in office, therefore, was to call a meeting of the whole staff for the next morning. I told the Master-on-duty I would take prayers with the C-of-E boys and talk to the school afterwards. I was glad I did it. Quoting Arnold, I told them what I looked for here was “a religious life, gentlemanly conduct and intellectual ability”‘ I pointed out to them, from my long experience of them, the sins of omission and commission I saw in them now. They were: - DIRT Litter, untidiness in dress, uncleaned and unmended boots (one boy was literally walking about without soles to his boots), unwashed necks. CONDUCT Not standing up when spoken to by staff, especially in the dining room; omitting to cap masters; unpunctuality; slouching with hands in pockets when moving from one place to another. UNSAVOURY PRACTICES Scribbling on walls, especially the latrines, kicking tennis balls about in classrooms and throwing them about on walls; going to in and out of classrooms out of class hours, through the windows, as a normal means of ingress and egress; cheating, lying, stealing, smoking. WORK Lack of preparation of homework; inattention in class; untidiness in exercises. This motto for the rest of term was to be “Work, more work and still more work.” NO boy would be promoted in the coming Final Examinations, who did not satisfy the examiners. In conclusion, I informed them that I would take Evening prayers daily with the CoE boys and that I would be in he Headmasters’ room every evening after prayers. I would like anyone to come to me then, if in any way, he was in trouble, sorrow or distress or wished to see me on any matter. At the Staff meeting next morning, which lasted for no more than 35 minutes, I repeated my reflections on the subject of “taking over charge”. I felt confident that they would continue to give the school the same unselfish service as they had in the past. I briefly summarised my talk to the boys and asked them to help. I requested the following. 1. Masters to resume wearing gowns when teaching. 2. The Master-on-duty to visit the day latrines at least once a day, and the night latrines when doing his rounds. 3. That the classes should not be taken out in the sun. (It was an excuse for idleness). Physically it is very satisfying, but mentally its effects are soporific). I announced that I would hold a Headmasters’ inspection of the boys before class each morning. After a brief elucidation of certain points, the meeting closed. I am confident all present, felt they had left behind an era of indifference. Much of what I had said was, I know, common to many of them.
The Final Examinations commenced
28/11/1945 The Baker Shield was played for, but had to postpone to the next day, after the first two practices on account of the mist 29/11/1945 30/11/1945 As a farewell dinner was arranged on the 18th., at which a present, as a token of his long service to the school, was handed to Mr Nugent; no Last-day-of-Term dinner was held. There was the usual bonfire but this year it was arranged like a Scout Camp fire. All the staff were present. Each class gave an item and the boys were prive ledged to call upon members of staff, in turn, including the Headmaster, for a contribution. It was all taken in good part. Each of those leaving, in the School Certificate Class, including the Head Boy, made a short speech. Afterwards all adjourned – the boys to the Assembly Hall for cocoa and the staff to the Headmaster’s room for coffee. Everyone voted the night a great success and an improvement on the old, mad, unregulated “jug day” bonfire. 1/12/1945 2/12/1945 3/12/1945 As it was too late to make other arrangements for some one to take my place St Helen’s Convent, where I was appointed to preside at the centre, I went there daily. On my return, on the second evening of the examinations, I was informed of an act vandal breaking of glass panes by some unknown boys. I was distressed about this and slept on it. One always expects trouble during ‘Cambridge Week’ here. I had tried to anticipate it by a) forbidding “trenches” (?) in the dormitories - a practise by which no one sleeps on a bed but everyone on mattresses on the floor, surrounded by upturned beds. B) Bizarre costumes, especially the use of a jersey with large letter – that of the girl friends initial and a woollen cap made out of the arm of a jersey. I ordered normal class. c) scribbling on the index numbers of the girls in the Examination Hall. I put the exam hall out of bounds during recess. Therefore I decided that the vandalism reported was another aspect of the same general attitude, all of which was due to the complete absence of controls, which it had been the practise in the past, completely to drop during the period. I asked Mr Price (who very kindly) consented) to act as a duty-master daily. I myself visited Chota Hazri and dinner and took morning and evening prayers immediately after each of these meals. Mr Price saw that they did an hours study every night. I asked for the boys, who did the damage, to come and report to me. They did. I felt no punishment would be useful but that only a change in attitude all round was the only cure. I think I got it by the end of the Examination. 12/12/1945 On the night of the 12th, my wife and I had all the School Certificate boys who were leaving this year to dinner. On the 13th night we had a “squash” (?) for everyone, masters and boys, including Fr Desbrulais who presided at the Exams. The party gave over after 11pm! 4/12/1945
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