2015 Grey College Reunie

When I was still at school at Grey College, I marvelled at those old boys who managed to come back to visit their old school after 50 or more years. Back then, I resolved to do the same if I was spare that long. This year I was able to do so and the privilege did not escape me. When the time came, the decision to do so was not difficult to make, as it would also afford me the opportunity to take a short break with Edith, and to visit some of the haunts from my youth. As it turned out, the time to do so also proved to be most opportune, as I needed to take my mother's ashes to Welkom in order to make arrangements for their interment. While in Bloemfontein we would also spend some time searching for my paternal grandfather's grave, something I had been wanting to do for some time.

As we would have to return to Pietermaritzburg a day earlier than expected in order for me to compete in the Amashova Durban Classic cycle race, we left for Bloemfontein a day earlier than expected. That allowed Edith and I to both visit the school together the day before the Reunie actually commenced. This was quite a meaningful experience for me as it allowed me to share a significant period of my life i.e., my five high school years spent as a boarder at Grey College, with her. Five years that undoubtedly played a major role in shaping me into the adult I would become.

I basically enjoyed my school years and certainly enjoyed the years I spent at Grey College as a boarder. Being there afforded me the opportunity to grow in ways I would not have been able to, had I stayed at home. For that I am indebted to my mother, as she played a significant role in making this possible. Also to my two sister's who I had in a sense also abandoned in Allanridge. Like quite a few of the other pupils at the school, I was the second generation to attend the school, with my father and his older and younger brother also having done so. They too would have been borders, as my grandparents lived some way out of town at Mazelspoort.

Many of the school's building are preserved in terms of the National Monument's Act and the boarding establishment's dinning room, Hamilton Hall was of the those, and one that I wanted to show Edith. The hall has not changed much, what has changed is the extent to which the foyer and old kitchen are now used to accomodate the enlarged boarding establishment. Since I left the school, the hall has been adorned with photographic tributes to teachers who made significant contributions to the school. I have include photographs below of the tributes to two of these, Jaap Rousseau, and Davie Marquard, as they both left deep impressions on me. They were also both already at the school when my father and his brother's attended the school, and may have taught all of us.

I did not really like Rousseau as at the time I was somewhat disturbed by the manner in which he promoted his own language, Afrikaans during is lessons (during my years in grades 11 and 12). It was as if he continually had to remind the English speaking class that I was part of, that Afrikaans was as good a language as any, especially English. I was never quite sure why he had to do so, as Afrikaans was the dominant language in the Parallel Medium School, and very much so in the Orange Free State province. At the time I was also very much aware of the divisions that existed in the land between the white English and Afrikaans speaking communities. I was also equally aware that this division was not nearly as marked in the environment within which I was being educated. The extent to which that barrier was broken down within the school , and especially the boarding establishment, was remarkable. That Rousseau was a fine teacher, sports coach and an individual with a taste for the arts was clear. His, and his wife's passion for the latter saw all the members of the senior hostel, Leith House, perform in the annual variety concert that they produced. It was no mean achievement, and something that I am sure influenced all of us for the good.

Davie Marquard was quite the opposite, he did not ram anything down your throat, least of all the mathematics (grades 11 and 12) which he taught me. While I was aware that he was a clever individual, I never fully appreciated his stature until I read the tribute to him that hangs in Hamilton Hall. There were of course other teachers that influenced me, Des Schonegevel, Joe Barry, Chain Marais, George Sabbagha and Dr Heyns. Heyns also taught me mathematics (grades 9 and 10) and he also coached swimming. I was never really sure what his swimming credentials were, but his enthusiasm was not to be faulted. So much so that he threatened to find a long pole, attach a rope to it, and to then use it to drag me up and down lengths of the pool if I did not pay more attention to what he had to say. His efforts are to be commended.

Life in the hostels was basically great, we had our studying, sport and almost everything else regulated. We also had ample free time to roam the extensive grounds, and to amuse ourselves in numerous ways, some more inventive than others. On Saturdays we were free to walk or cycle into town to do some shopping, watch sport or a movie. On Sundays we were allowed to attend church services, and in the afternoon, to visit the local girl's schools, something that usually only happened towards the end of one's school career.

Edith and I ended our visit by spending some time in the Reunie Hall, the hall the high school pupils gathered in for school assemblies. This hall was built in 1929 and is bedecked with various honours boards and cabinets holding trophies and other items such as Springbok rugby jerseys donated by pupils who had gone on to represent their country. I was particularly interested in seeing the Matriculation honours board for my year, as I thought it would be interesting to see what it meant to do well at school academically back then, and what it means to do so these days. Quite clearly much has changed. The other board that I was interested in seeing, was the one that recorded the names of those pupils who had lost their lives serving their country in the armed forces during the Second World War. I could remembered looking at it while I was at school, as it bore the names of my father's two brother's, George and William. George had matriculated in 1935 and was at the University of Cape Town when he decided to join the Royal Air Force. Much to my surprise, the board was no longer there.

On the Friday I was up at the crack of dawn to drive from Mazelspoort to Bloemfontein in order to make the 7:30 AM deadline for the traditional gathering of old boys and pupils in the Reunie Hall for a school assembly. There I got together with the other, 'Class of 1965' pupils who had come back to the school for the 50th Reunie. It was great to see some of my class mates there and some of the guys I had spent five years with in the boarding establishment. While we were waiting for the assembly to commence, the current pupils entered the hall and started to sing school songs, some familiar and some new. During the assembly it was interesting to see how the staff had changed in terms of the representation of female and male teachers. In 1965 there were very few female teachers. Now they make up almost half of the staff complement. It did make me wonder how this affected the schools many and succesful sporting programs, as one would expect most of these extra curricular duties to be handled by male staff members. The highlights of the assembly were for me without doubt, the singing of the hymn. 'Onward Christian Soldiers', the school song, and war war cry. It was also very interesting to hear what past head boys had to say about their school experiences.

After the assembly the old boys from every fifth year got together at different locations on the school premises to have a chat and share memories. The 'Class of 1965' ended up at the old school tuck shop were it was great to catch up over a Coke and a doughnut. After this I wondered around the school visiting some of my old haunts before heading to the School Museum and the Reunie Office and Shop.

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