No, unfortunately, I was not a school girl during the above years, I was fortunately or otherwise a school boy at Victoria Boys' School, rather than a stone's throw away from Dow Hill School. In those days and I suppose even now, Dow Hill was the sister school to Victoria. By that it was meant that if one was a student at Victoria and had a sister, she was expected to go to Dow Hill, and vice versa if a school girl at Dow Hill had a brother at home. It was expected that the students of the sister school never had boy friends except at Victoria, and the latter was in turn expected to maintain a mutual fidelity. Dow Hill always cheered Victoria during sports and games competitions and we did the same for our sister school when she raced against their rivals St. Helen's Convent, Kurseong. Every now and then boys having sisters in Dow Hill were allowed to visit them but these visits had a sinister or romantic purpose, for the boys served as decoys to smuggle in heart rending messages to girl friends, and for every Romeo at Victoria there was willing Juliet in Dow Hill. I remember that these episodes of gun running or rather letter running got to such a pitch that the academic staff of both the schools were concerned that such distractions would greatly harm the scholarly achievements of the two schools, and there resulted much persecution.

I have begun this article in a light vein, and even to-day Dow Hill somehow brings to mind such associations - socials where we primmed and scented ourselves and with much heart thumping and shyness took our first manly steps into the social world, dances where we clumsily put into practice the steps of the fox trot and waltz that we had rehearsed so assiduously for weeks. But of course there must have been the deep serious changes that were taking place beneath the light hearted gaiety and superficial world of our boyhood and girlhood dreams. The years 1941 - 1948 were momentous years, years of the second world war, the year of Indian Independence 1947, and the end of the British Raj. Dow Hill then was almost full with British and Anglo-Indian girls, and most of the staff were from these categories.

I particularly remember Miss Harley who was the Headmistress at that time, a large slightly grey haired Australian lady, whose speeches during Speech Day were always something to be listened to. She ran the school extremely well and maintained a very high degree of academic and social excellence. Dow Hill used to produce some very entertaining and polished plays and concerts, and to these many British and Allied soldiers vacationing or convalescing at Darjeeling or Kurseong, used to come. Teas would be served for the troops and money collected for the Red Cross and other war societies. I remember a concert where the attire of the performing girls were a little on the scanty side, and raised eyebrows from certain prudish members of the audience, but the whole thing was done in great taste, and I am sure the troops enjoyed the show. Anyway Dow Hill was not a frumpish institution but took the lead in everything that was changing and modern.

I also remember Mrs. Siddons (I believe she lives in England now, and hope she will blush pleasantly in reading this) who was probably the most chic and fashionably dressed school teacher I have ever come across. She always managed to look social and once again chic, whenever she visited Victoria, no doubt on scholarly matters, we used to find it difficult to keep our eyes off her. She always appeared to be discussing something controversial judging from her vigorous graceful gestures and the awed manner in which her audience of young school masters listened. We of course dared not approach within hearing distance to listen.

Dow Hill was good in hockey and in the inter-school sports, she did well. Dow Hill also used to have some marvelous fetes where we ate and played with relish and then there was a concert to look forward to after the fete or better still a dance, where Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington and Victor Sylvester tunes CHARMED our hearts and feet. The jitterbug was then in fashion, and I believe the Samba was just coming in.

Dow Hill also served as a fillip to our physical efforts. We used to have a burly games master named Mr. C. J. Hill, who while we groaned agonisingly having done a score of 'dips' used to berate us with words such as 'You, chaps, should get your girl friends at Dow Hill to see you now. Never seen such a lot of weaklings in my life before'.

I also remember Dow Hill before Independence putting on a play done entirely in Bengali. This was quite a startling novelty, against Raj traditions but Dow Hill had the temerity to put it on. In such matters she took the lead amongst the English speaking hill schools. Am I wrong in thinking it was a Tagore play, Rabindranath Tagore who died in 1941, and we had a holiday that day to mourn his death?

I'm afraid this article is a bit brief, but in conclusion I must say that my memory of those days of Dow Hill is of a lively modern institution, taking the lead in many fields, giving the girls an excellent education, stressing not only the academic side of life - an institution charming, attractive, very British, but at the same time keeping up with the times, and educating the girls to face up to and live in a new India, where the British political control would be no more, but where certain British traditions would still survive to play an important role. I'm glad Dow Hill has flourished to celebrate its Centenary, and wish it well for the future, a future in which its part in the education of young ladies will continue to be vital and prominent.

Dr. T. Y. Pemba
M.B.B.S. (London) F.R.C.S.

"Yishy Pemba" wrote a book, click here to read more.

Editors Note:

I suspected the claim that Miss Harley was an Australian. so I placed a msg in the vsdh List and received the following answer. My thanks to Doreen, for her reply, shown here.....

"Re Miss Harley, she was headmistress in our day and was a formidable figure indeed.

She would have been horrified to have been called an Australian. She was very British - M.A. Oxon (hence her nickname - Ma Oxen!). She retired to England and subsequently died there. She first went to India as a missionary, and taught at a school (I think it was in Bombay), before being appointed Headmistress of DH, I believe. She was very High Church and was the only person I've seen genuflecting in an Anglican church.

I now realise she was quite forward-thinking for her day and while she was there, the number of "socials" between the two schools increased considerably. But she was a martinet and expelled seven girls for quite minor misdemeanours. "

Doreen Grezoux
19 December 2003

 

And another one from Peggy Littlewood....

NO, NO. Miss Harley was very definitely English! She retired in England, had a charming little cottage in a village in Kent, where several of her old pupils visited her. I forget the year she died, but I will check with Mrs Solomon; Padre and Mrs S were very friendly with her both in school and in England, and Mrs S has wonderful memories of her.

28 December 2003