According to the latest statistics available and to the best of my knowledge and belief it is now acknowledged that yours truly is the Elder Statesman of all Ex-Victorians in Calcutta who is still around and kicking. Alas, though the spirit makes itself felt in our many get-togethers, the plain fact remains that the flesh is decidedly weak and the solid legs of which I was once so proud are now prone to severe and painful bouts of Arthritis.

To revert to the core subject, I could possibly write a novel of my reminisces covering the period from 1932 to 1960 (the last year of my several visits to V. S. and Darjeeling, both as a student and as an Old Boy but that would take up too much time, pen and ink. Therefore, I propose to confine my memories to some salient features that come to mind as I sit down and put pen to paper.

To begin at the beginning, when I first set eyes on Victoria School way back in 1932, I was sure there was some mistake, at first glance it appeared more like a Railway Station or even some sort of a hospital but certainly by no stretch of imagination like the famous hill school I had heard so much about. Immediately, I saw a couple of Tin Sheds linked together by a one-storeyed middle portion and surrounded by a verandah on all sides. I also observed a very long playing field (length without breadth) and a rather ramshackle pavilion which looked as though it would collapse and topple over at any moment.

I joined the School in Standard VI from St. Xaviers College in Calcutta and I must confess that I was most unhappy and devastated during the first few months but soon made friends and settled down to the usual hill school boarding life. The fare dished out at meals was not to my liking as I did not relish any kind of meat except chicken in those salad days but somehow we all managed to survive. On Sundays we would look forward to a plate of FORCE (corn flakes) in place of the usual oatmeal and an egg or two. The worst dishes from my point of view were a lousy kind of beef stew (meat as tough as shoe leather) and the white blancmange pudding which tasted like lye (glue). The only meal I really enjoyed was the "JHUG" dinner when the school went to town and did us proud. I particularly remember the Prefects with the special caps with tassels who were a law unto themselves, and woe betide any unfortunate soul who incurred their displeasure. Then there were the silent meals, any number of them I am sorry to say, if there was too much noise and merriment going on at the lower tables.

It would not perhaps be out of place at this juncture to say something about the Monsoon Rains at Kurseong. At times it would rain cats and dogs daily for a spell of 4/5 days at a stretch accompanied by growling thunder and howling winds. After the downpour when the Sun would peep out of the clouds, the whole school would rally round the Prefects to go to the Headmaster's office and request a holiday, more popularly known in school jargon as "Sunshiner". And after the rains everything from clothes to shoes and perishables would become covered with mildew and cause a lot of headaches.

In my time, strange to relate, Indians were not admitted as Boarders. In fact there were only three Day Scholars in the School, H. Roy who I think later joined the ICS., N. Chatterjee whose father owned the then Dow Hill Stores situated at the Crossroads where the road to VS takes off from the main road to Dow Hill and P.T. Lama whom I understand in languishing in Kurseong in a poor state of health.

Now I'd like to present some impressions of the staff during my sojourn:-

1. Headmaster - Mr. E. C. Hessing, English Public School et al who tried to introduce a Public School atmosphere into VS. It did not last very long though he did manage to introduce Rugby. I can recollect witnessing a game of Rugger in Calcutta between VS. and La Martiniere which we lost badly. Mr. Hessing was a strict disciplinarian and many were the times I suffered at his hands, literally speaking.

2. Senior Master, Mr. E V. Staynor, a brilliant Mathematician who in later years after he had left VS. became Inspector of AI. Schools in West Bengal. He took over as Headmaster after Mr. Hessing's return to the U. K. His nickname was Cockles, why I could never find out. I kept up a friendship with his family even after leaving VS.

3. Next on the list was Mr. V. C. Prins (Verny) who was an ex-La Martinian and taught us Latin. He was also the Scout Master and organised several outdoor treks for the Boy Scouts. His wife was a teacher in the junior grade. I became friendly with him in later years and was shocked one day to learn of his sad demise while conducting a Scouts meeting somewhere in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, struck by lightning, where he opted to go when he left VS. A very able and fine gentleman he was too.

4. I come to Nobby Clark, a whiz in English and Latin, who left before the war broke out. His wife, Mrs. Clark, was a fine artist and she it was who was responsible for our new School badge and Motto "Quo lux ducit". I had the good fortune to be around in' 1933 when the new emblem took shape.

5. Of the several masters who taught me was Mr. C. A. Price (Puttoo was his nickname) a thorough gentleman if ever there was one. He was a bachelor and lived alone with his old mother. A great sportsman, he was our spearhead centre forward at Hockey and a remarkably proficient Tennis player. The only time I was invited to the Headmaster's House for a game of tennis in 1948 was when Puttoo was Headmaster. He retired soon after and emigrated to Rhodesia where he passed his last days.

6. Mr. Nugent was the Science Master, his two sons were educated in North Point. His nickname "Tody" suited him admirably. Somehow we didn't hit it off. He was Headmaster in 1942 when I visited VS. as an Old Boy.

7. Next on my list was Mr. Texeira, a small made man, adept at Art and Carpentry, both subjects in which I did not excel. I can never forget his mannerisms and explanations regarding the "Point of Sight" and "Imaginary Line" in drawing and the correct method of planing a block of wood. He was a master Craftsman.

8. Then we had Pundit Ram Brat Singh, a venerable Hindi Scholar who was the author of a Hindi Primer which was used as a school text book in VS. A simple soul, the boys in his class period used to take advantage and be up to all sorts of mischief.

9. I must make mention of our beloved Padre Elliot who took the school in community singing on Saturday mornings. I can still recollect the words and tunes of several English ballads and ditties which he taught us. A bachelor, he was a very popular and engaging personality, especially if you were among the lucky few to be invited to his flat for tea and pastries. He became Pastor at St. Paul's Cathedral for a number of years and I can remember a gathering of Ex- Victorians on his lawn at the Parsonage during the early 40's.

10. I cannot leave out Mr. Berry our PT. instructor. He really imagined he was training a bunch of raw Army recruits. His favourite punishment was "Fatigue Drill" which comprised of running up and down the Khudside, steps, stairs and what have you, until one was a physical wreck by the time it was over. His wife Mrs. Berry was our Dormitory Matron and his son Edwin later came out to Calcutta as an Executive in William Jacks & Co. and afterwards took over the post of Bursar at Dr. Graham's Homes, Kalimpong.

11. Junior School masters such as Mr. Robson (Bip) whom we school boys observed at dances paying special attention to Mrs. Hessing and Mr. Bailey (Basu) make up the list. Mr. Bailey played the violin and was instrumental in putting together a 4/5 piece ensemble for special occasions.

12. We had a nice Hospital midway between Dow Hill and VS. and Nurse McKechnie was the senior nurse for many years. Regularly every week we were obliged to swallow a horrible dose of Magsulf to keep our innards: in good shape.

13. Last but not least it is my privilege to say a few words about my very good friend and master, Carl Bloud, who unfortunately came to an untimely and tragic end in the School Church, (Note: RC Chapel. johnf) in February 1978. My first encounter with Mr. Bloud in the J. C. was disastrous. I was a few minutes late for his English Class as I had been detained in the infirmary for my broken wrist to be attended to. Notwithstanding the circumstances, he barked out "Write out the whole of 'As you like it' and bring it to me within one week." After I had left VS. I did meet Mr. Bloud on a few occasions at a mutual friend's residence. Those days he was quite a lad, all togged up with his bow ties and snazzy suits. In 1941 and 1942 he vas absent from VS. as he had volunteered for the Naval Service. I really got friendly with him in 1945 when he requested me to share his small place in commercial. During winter months he would spend his vacations in Calcutta and played tennis with us at the Dalhousie Athletic Club and of course tried his luck at the races. Many are the hard luck stories of how he missed the Jackpot by a whisker.

We had quite a gang of old VS. chaps and would meet regularly at India Coffee House or Magnolias. I came to know his family quite well. In those days he would reside in his late Aunt's flat at Waverly Mansions (in front of Calcutta Boys School). His late brother, Ronald, was a keen racing fan. His sister, Ivy, taught music at Mount Hermon for sometime prior to her marriage and her son, Robin Bird, attended VS. as a young boy. Carl was a good athlete, hockey player and mountaineer and trekked with Eric Shipton of Everest fame. I still possess and treasure his special VS. School blazer with Crest made by Whitaways in Calcutta. But he was at his best after a few drinks and vamping at the piano singing oldies like "The Sheikh of Araby", "If I had my way" and other party gems. He was particularly friendly with the late Charlie Dunne and the Dunne family of Darjeeling. He was a great guy and we all miss his company.

14, It would not be out of place to hark back to a venerable old soul, the late Father C. J. Prior who adopted the school as his very own and who somehow contrived to spend a few days at both schools whenever possible. I struck up a great friendship with him and he was responsible for maintaining a record of all old boys' names and addresses when we formed an "Old Victorian Association" sometime during the forties. Unfortunately all these records were lost when the then Hon. Secretary emigrated without prior notice to the U. K. taking with him all books and funds belonging to the Association which then died a natural death. [You will find the RED LETTER here: http://www.vsdh.org/vsdh/ww2/index.htm on this page: Editor]. Father Prior was stationed in Barisal (now Bangladesh) and breathed his last over there at a ripe old age. We used to communicate regularly with each other and I would attend the Annual Dinner on 6th January each year at Oxford Mission, 42 Cornwallis Street.

It is now time to dwell on the Sporting Activities of the School as I remember them. Hockey was the prime sport in our day, 6 months out of 9 being entirely devoted to this game and the remaining 3 months to Cricket and Football. In 1933 I recollect that the Aryans brought over a Cricket team which included such illustrious sportsmen like Lala Amarnath, Shute. Banerjee and others. Over to Athletics.

Quite apart from the various Sports Day functions of all Kurseong Schools and the fantastic inter-school rivalry between VS. and Goethals and Dow Hill and St. Helens (specially in the 220 yards straight and relay races) the highlight of the ahletics season was the D.D.S. (Darj. Dist. Sports) to which every one looked forward and gathered at the North Point grounds to witness. We middle school boys would literally paint the town red on such occassions.

At VS., we were given a lot of freedom out of school hours provided one wrote his name in a register and stated where one intended to go. Needless to mention, St. Helens. and Kurseong Town were out of bounds. In my days, I was surprised to find that many young boys were unable to cope with the tough school life and made several attempts to run away but they were always nabbed and severely punished for such escapades.

At this juncture it would be pertinent to reminisce about our outings to Forest School, Bagdogra, Saddle and Chimney and the leeches that stuck to our legs like glue, Castleton Tea Estate (just below the station now famed for its specially flavoured Darjeeling Tea), Ambhutia Tea Estate much lower down just above the Balasun River, Singell Tea Estate in Kurseong itself, the Shooting Range higher up the hill, the Canefields, where we used to make ourselves lovely Malacca canes after cutting our hands rather badly, the Bhoota fields (corn) which we would raid from time to time, sometimes with dire results, Guru's Chucks which were dirt cheap and which tasted at least to our ravenous appetites, like Flury's confectionery, the shops at the village halfway down the hill near the parting of the ways to VS. and Dow Hill where we would oft betake ourselves to partake of paratas and aloo dum to fill our empty bellies. In this manner, one could carry on and on reviving old memories like cooking outside the school premises to make stickjaw treacle toffee and fudge in an old Jacob's Cream Cracker tin.

I should make mention of some of the illustrious personalities that the school produced in my time, H. Roy (ICS. retired), P.T. Lama (Kurseong big shot), Maurice Rassaby (now in Sydney, 1st in S.C. West Bengal), Desmond Doig (famous artist since decd.), General J. F. R. Jacob of Bangladesh war fame, Mr. Aspi Moddi. Ex-Director, Hindusthan Lever Ltd. stand out above the rest. And now we have a new star on the horizon, Mr. Manish Gupta, the present Home Secretary of the W.B. Government at the Writers Buildings.

In conclusion, I would like to state that as an old boy, I visited the School in 1941, 1942, 1945 to 1948, 1953, 1955, 1958 and 1960. Apart from 1941 and 1942 I always stayed with my good friend, Carl Bloud, even for a few days between visits to Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

Those were the days, my friends!