AGS Magazine December 1950

THE

ABERDEEN GRAMMAR SCHML MAGAZINE

ABERDEEN

printed forThe Former Pupils' Club at-The University Press Price Volume LIV, No. 1

- One Shilling and Sixpence December 1950

TIME for a look around Bisset's Book Shop, for here

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Tel. 20484

85 Broad Street Aberdeen

Opposite Marischal College

•

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ABERDEEN

CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS Facing pap

Facing page

Mr. D. M. Andrew, M.A. Middle II, 189516 .

. '

. a Upper VI, 1950-51 . . . 66 . 27 Combined Cadet Force, Officers and N.C.O.s, 1950-51 . . . 67

Death of Mr. D. M. Andrew . . . .

F.P. Club Memorial Schemes Appeal Fund . .

W. P. Stewart Memorial Fund . . . . .

Grammar School House. Ambassador in the Antipodes Books by F.P.s . . . . . . .

Notes about Old Boys . . . . . .

University Notes . . . . . . .

New Honorary Member of the Club . . .

An Old Class Group—Middle II, 1895-96 . . .

Roll of Honour . . . . . .

The Sheriff and I Go Back to School. By J. M. R. The Birth of a Nation. By Cecil A. G. Savidge .

The Warmth of Other Days. By G. T. Simpson .

Marriages . . . . . . . . , Obituary , .

School Section— School and Random Notes . . . .

Tension . . . . . . . .

Flying in Egypt. France-195o . . .

Spanish Holiday . . . . . .

A Yank in Scotland . . . . .

The Fire . . . . . . . .

Above the Earth . . . . . . .

Changes in the School Staff . . .

School Sporting Activities— Rugby . . . . . . .

Hockey. Swimming . . . . .

Cricket . . . . . . .

Rambling and Mountaineering Club . .

House Notes . . . . . . .

Literary and Debating Society. Arts Club .

Lower School Notes. Scottish Schoolboys' Club Scout Notes . . . . . . .

Combined Cadet Force Notes. Pipes and Drums The Former Pupils Club— The Annual Dinner . . . . .

School and F.P. Rugby Fixtures in the South F.P. Club Consuls . . . . .

Glasgow Centre. London Centre . .

F.P. Golf Section . . . . .

F.P. Cricket Section . . . . .

F.P. Hockey Section. F.P. Clothing for Sale F.P. Rugby Section . . . . , F.P. Club Boarding House . . .

New Members of the Club . . .

F.P. Club Office-Bearers, 195o-51 . .

Club Subscription Rates . . . .

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine OM year, No. 167 (New Series, 58th year, No. 1-58) Vol. LI V

DECEMBER 19 50

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No. I

The Magazine is published under the auspices of The Former Pupils' Club, twice a year at present—in December and July. Communications should be addressed to the Editor.

ALAN C. R. WATT, M.A., LL.B., 12 Bon-Accord Crescent, Aberdeen.

[NOTE : An asterisk after a name indicates that the F.P. is a member of the F.P. Club; dates after a name indicate theyears of attendance at the School.]

Death of Mr. D. M. Andrew Mr. DAVID MIDDLETON ANDREW, Rector of the School from September 1924 to February 1942, died suddenly at Aberdeen on 23 October 195o, aged seventy-three. Golf had always been his favourite recreation and during his retirement he played regularly on the Royal Aberdeen course at Balgownie. On the day of his death he collapsed and died a few minutes after driving off the first tee.

A son of the late Mr. Allan Rannie Andrew, M.A., LL.D., an Aberdeen graduate who was H.M. Inspector of Schools for the Western Division of Scotland and previously H.M. Inspector for Banffshire, Mr. Andrew was a native of Bothwell, Lanarkshire, and was educated at a school in Bothwell and at Keith Grammar School. He graduated at the University of Aberdeen with first class honours in Classics in 1897, and won an Open Exhibition at Christ Church, Oxford. There he obtained a Second Class in Classical Moderations. In 1901 he was appointed Classics master at Hillhead High School, Glasgow, and two years later he became Classics master at Hamilton Academy.

In 1907, at the early age of twenty-nine, he was appointed Rector of Hamilton Academy, a post which he held with distinction until he came to the Aberdeen Grammar School in 1924.

During his seventeen-and-a-half years at the School great changes took place in its buildings and in its organisation, and the athletic side of School life, particularly physical training, rugby and pure athletics, was developed to a very great extent. The School was Mr. Andrew's one great interest in life and his chief concern was that its traditions should be worthily maintained. Proposals for the improvement of its amenities always had his support, and the School Library, to mention only one of these amenities, owed much to him. Before his retirement it had become one of the finest libraries of its kind in the country.

2

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Mr. Andrew was honorary president of the F.P. Club throughout the period of his rectorship, and he maintained at all times a very close interest in its activities. He obtained much pleasure from his regular attendance at Club Dinners in Aberdeen and in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and many F.P.s will remember with gratitude the Messages to Former Pupils which he contributed to the Magazine at regular intervals from 1926 until he retired. He seemed to be at his best when writing these friendly letters containing just the news about the old School that F.P.s were anxious to obtain and conveying the School's greetings to its sons abroad. These Messages were marked by a deep sincerity which was his greatest characteristic.

After his retirement, much to the regret of all connected with the School, he imposed on himself a rule that, being no longer directly connected with the School, he would attend none of its functions.

With one exception he strictly observed this rule and courteously declined every invitation he received. But his interest in the School and all pertaining to it never diminished, and when he met his former pupils he was always anxious to know how they were faring. Five months before his death he returned to the School for the first time since his retirement, and was present on the platform on the occasion of the unveiling of the War Memorial in the School Hall in May of this year. More than half of those whose names appear on the Memorial were bit boys.

Colonel James Dawson, D.S.O., M.A., Director of Education in Aberdeen during the whole of Mr. Andrew's rectorship, and an honorary member of the F.P. Club, writes:— What could have been more appropriate than that this quiet, modest man should have had such a sudden death and how fitting it seems that he should have passed away in the pursuit of the game he so greatly enjoyed in life.

Apart from the playing of golf and the reading of Classics—a practice which he maintained till the end—his sole interest was the School, whose wellbeing was ever his chief consideration and care. He is unfortunately not the only Classical scholar whose work as Rector of the Grammar School did not receive the public approbation which it justly deserved.

Mr. Andrew's professional manner, which at times it must be admitted was provokingly dull, was in reality only the protective covering of a courtly and considerate personality. He did not inspire by enthusiasm but he attained his ends by his meticulous sincerity. Mr. Andrew's strength of character was sufficiently evident to prevent any liberties being taken, and ensured, naturally and effectively, a ready submission to School tradition and discipline. The loyalty of the boys was always evident, and their pride in the School was to Mr. Andrew a sufficient reward for his efforts on their behalf.

An observer would be easily misled by the apparently casual attention which Mr. Andrew appeared to give to matters under discussion, but it would soon become clear that he was missing nothing. He was able from his knowledge and experience to take an active part in the deliberations. At the same time, his knowledge of School affairs and of boys' personalities was far deeper and wider than he is usually given credit for.

A man of few words, he was never slow in promoting any scheme which would add to the efficiency of the School in providing for the boys a worthy and fitting preparation for the great adventure of life.

Mr. Andrew was under all circumstances and on every occasion a true gentleman.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

3

F.P. Club Memorial Schemes Appeal Fund The Fund for the F.P. Club's three Memorial Schemes, for which an Appeal was issued in March 1948, has now been closed. The following is a final statement showing revenue and expenditure:—

By Donations received £ 1,447 11 „ Savings Bank interest 55 16 „ Payments for copies of Roll of Honour.

120 5

4 DR. THEODORE WATT'S PORTRAIT: 1 To paid for Portrait, O

Replica and incidentals . .

£274 19

/

9

WAR MEMORIAL IN SCHOOL HALL :

To paid proportion

/

/

i

of cost of erection (Balance paid by Aberdeen Town Council) . .

/

1S9 15 II

ROLL OF HONOUR:

To paid for printing 400 copies . .

594

7

7

450

0

0

144

9

2

£I,623 I2

5

W. P. STEWART MEMORIAL

/

FUND:

To paid into Savings Bank . . .

GENERAL CHARGES:

To paid printing, advertising, postages and incidentals .

/ £1,623, 12

5

W. P. Stewart Memorial Fund As will be seen from the above statement, the sum of £450 from the Memorial Schemes Appeal Fund has been devoted to the W. P. Stewart Memorial Fund which has now been established. From this Fund grants are to be made to enable Grammar School boys who show promise in games or athletics, or are otherwise deserving, to participate in extra-scholastic, sporting or youth organisation activities in connection with the School, in which they might not otherwise be able to take part.

At a recent meeting the Executive of the Club decided that grants will be made on the recommendation of the Rector of the School, and that the Fund will be administered by three Trustees, who will be the Chairman of the Executive, the Secretary of the Club and the Rector, ex °Ails. It was also decided that the money should be spent during a period of about ten years—i.e. so that the boys to benefit will, in most cases, be those who were at the School when Mr. Stewart was a member of the Staff. The first grants will be made during the current session.

4

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Grammar School House Since the war the recruitment of boys for Grammar School House has probably been adversely affected by uncertainty about the terms of admission to the School, after the abolition of fees. The position has, however, now become clearer, and the reassurance felt by parents is reflected in the increased number of boarders last year. The average number in pre-war years was about sixty, but the number fell considerably in 1947-48 and 1948-49. Last session the average number of boarders rose to fifty-five.

Grammar School House was established in 1928 primarily for the convenience of F.P.s who were living furth of Aberdeen and who were otherwise unable to send their sons to their old School. That is still its principal purpose. Any boy attending the School is eligible for admission, but priority is given to the sons of members of the F.P. Club.

Like other schools, Aberdeen Grammar has these days more applicants for admission than it can accept, and some process of selection is unavoidable. Applicants for admission to the Boarding House are not, however, at a disadvantage compared with boys resident in the city.

F.P.s—and other parents—who wish their sons to come to the Boarding House should make application to the Secretary of the Boarding House Company, Mr. J. C. Duffus, 7 Golden Square, Aberdeen, as early as possible, stating the date when admission is desired, in order that their sons' names may be put on the waiting list. Application forms received by the Secretary will be passed by him to the Rector, who will in due course communicate with parents and make the necessary arrangements.

Ambassador in the Antipodes Douglas W. C. Smith* (1929-41), M.B., Ch.B., a member of the British Isles Rugby Union Team, 195o, which toured New Zealand and Australia during the summer, returned to this country early in October. The injury which he sustained to his right arm prior to the team's leaving for the Antipodes prevented his playing in any of the matches during the first half of the tour, and he made his first appearance in the match against Manawatu Horowhenua at Palmerston North, New Zealand, on 12 July 195o. Subsequently he was selected to play in the first Test Match against Australia at Brisbane on 19 August 195o, when the British Isles team won by 19 points to 6.

We regret that he is not permitted to contribute to the Magazine an account of his experiences on the tour, but it may be permissible to state that he was given a very warm welcome by several F.P.s, both in New Zealand and Australia and also at Colombo.

ALASTAIR HENRY KINGHORN* (1905-14) met him on a few occasions in Hamilton and Wellington, New Zealand, and in Wellington Smith also met JOHN MORRISON FERRIES (1934-42), M.B., Ch.B., who was ship's doctor in the Dominion Monarch. He had lunch in Wellington with THEODORE GRANT GRAY (1895-1901), C.M.G., M.B., Ch.B.,

Lafayette

DAVID M. ANDREW, M.A.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magatine 5 formerly Director-General of New Zealand Mental Services, and now a consultant psychiatrist.

In Sydney, New South Wales, ALISTAIR MITCHELL HENDERSON (1912-21), B.Sc.(Agri.), came to see him, and at the Sydney Cricket Club he met the Reverend GEORGE COWIE (1907-08), B.A. On the return journey Smith had "a most memorable day ", which he enjoyed as much as any on the tour, with our Consul at Colombo, CHARLES JAMES STRACHAN* (1917-2I), and in he also met STANLEY GEORGE WILLIAMSON* (1922-25). Colombo Dr. Smith, who graduated at the University of Aberdeen 1947, has now been appointed an assistant in a medical practice atinGrays, Essex, and he is playing rugby for London Scottish, of which he is vice-captain this season.

Books by F.P.s ALLAN HENRY HECTOR FRASER (1916), B.Sc.,

M.D.: Farmingfor Beef.

Crosby Lockwood. los. 6d.

Dr. Fraser is lecturer in Animal and Dairy Husbandry at the University of Aberdeen. *

*

*

ERIC LINKLATER* (19 I 3-16), M.A., LL.D. :

Two Comedies: Albania and To Meet the Macgregors. Macmillan. los. 6d.Love in To Meet the Macgregors was originally written for the Aberdeen University Theatre Show, 1946, when the author was Rector of the University.

Mr. Linklater is also the editor of The Thistle and the Pen, an anthology compiled from the works of modern Scottish writers.

Nelson. 12s. 6d. * * * JOHN MACMURRAY (1902-04), M.C., M.A.: Conditions of Freedom.

Faber and Faber. 6s.

The author is Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh and this book contains the Chancellor Dunning lectures which he delivered at Queen's University, Kingston, Trust Ontario, in 1949. * * * FENTON WYNESS* (1915-20), F. R .I. B. A ., F. S.A.(Scot.) : Grammar School. Balmoral Castle. Robert Gordon's Colleges.Aberdeen Pocket Guides to Places of Interest in Aberdeen and the North-East.

Mearns Publications, Aberdeen. 6d. each.

These attractive booklets are very readable and be full of interest to resident Aberdonians no less than to " exileswill " and visitors to the North-East. The pocket guide to the School contains information about its history, its buildings and its amenities, much of which is all too unfamiliar to Grammarians. The guide to Place " and its associated Technical Colleges—a smaller the " Other booklet—is similarly succinct and authoritative, and also gives an outline of the history of the site in Schoolhill on which the College is now built, during the five centuries prior to the days of Robert Gordon.

6

** * The Editor will be glad if F.P.s will send him, from time to time, information for this section of the Magazine. News of appointments, promotions, etc., and other items of interest which are not reported in the Press are particularly requested.

James Smart Abernethy* (1925-26), M.A., LL.B. (Abend.),

W.S., who was appointed to be a resident magistrate in Tanganyika at Dar-es-Salaam in May 1949, was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh in July of this year.

Henry Gavin Alexander* (1932-36 and 1938-4o), M.A. (Aberd.), obtained a "First" in Mathematical Moderations at the University of Oxford in June 1947 and a "First" in the Finals School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics in December 1949. He is now assistant lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Manchester.

Alexander Elder Anton* (1932-33 and 1935-40), M.A., LL.B., legal assistant with Messrs. Patrick Cooper Son & Hay, advocates, Aberdeen, was admitted to the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen in October of this year. He is a step-son of the late WILLIAM ELDER LEVIE (1889-93), M.A., advocate in Aberdeen. At the same time three other F.P.s were also admitted to the Society : they were Alexander James Duffus* (1932-38), B.L., elder son of JAMES CArro DUFFUS* (1 897-1904), O.B.E., M.C., M.A., LL.B., advocate in Aberdeen ; Harvey Ferries* (1925-39), B.L., son of JOHN GEORGE DUNCAN FERRIES (1894-1905), advocate in Aberdeen ; and Gavin Milne* (193o-42), M.A., LL.B. These three new advocates are legal assistants in Aberdeen with Messrs. Wilsone and Duffus, Messrs.

Carle, Duthie and Ferries and Mr. J. Downie Campbell, respectively.

Adam John Guilbert Barnett* (1915-20), B.Sc., Ph.D. (Edin.), A.R.I.C., F.R.S.E., is now lecturer in Agricultural Biochemistry at the University of Aberdeen. After leaving the School he attended the Intermediate School, Guernsey, Channel Islands, and Daniel Stewart's College, Edinburgh, before proceeding to the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated B.Sc. in 1930 and Ph.D. in 1932.

For the next thirteen years he was in the Colonial Education Service and held appointments in Nigeria as lecturer in Chemistry and lecturer in Organic Chemistry in relation to Medicine. He has studied at the University of Leyden and at the Biochemical Institute, Helsinki, and has travelled widely in West and North Africa, Holland, Belgium, Sweden and other countries. He is the author of various scientific papers and one textbook on Physical Chemistry. During the war he served for two years with the Royal West African Frontier Force,

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

7 and thereafter he was for two years on the Supply Board, Nigeria, being deputy controller of motor transport. He took up his present appointment at Aberdeen in 1949.

William Stephen Benton* (1904-11) retired from service with the Government of India in July 1948 and is now living near Belfast.

Between the wars he was on the engineering staff of the Oudh and Rohilkhand State Railway, and on his return to India from home leave in June 1941 he joined the Railway Board, Government of India, at Simla, as chief civil defence and war planning officer for Indian Railways. In September 1943 he was appointed Director of Civil Engineering on the Railway Board, in which capacity he had to deal with all important civil engineering projects on Indian Railways.

The most important of these projects was increasing the capacity of the railways to cope with the greatly increased traffic for war purposes, particularly in Eastern Bengal and Assam. On account of ill health he returned to the United Kingdom in May 1946 on leave prior to retirement. He hopes to visit Aberdeen next year.

Eric Ros Birkett* (1920-22), C.A., who has been secretary of John Menzies & Company Limited, wholesale booksellers and newsagents, Edinburgh, since 1940, has recently been appointed a director of that Company. He has also recently become treasurer of St. Matthew's Parish Kirk, Edinburgh. He has demitted office as president of the Aberdeen, Banff and Kincardine Association in Edinburgh but still retains a characteristically lively interest in the Association's activities.

Ronald Birss (1931-34), M.A., assistant teacher in Mathematics in the Central School, Aberdeen, since 1947, was in July appointed headmaster of Holywood School, near Dumfries. He graduated at the University of Aberdeen in 1937 and thereafter joined the staff of the Demonstration School, Aberdeen. During the war he served with the Royal Navy and was latterly a naval schoolmaster.

Charles Ogilvie Will Bowman* (1910-15) has now left the Malayan planting industry, which he joined in 1948, and has accepted a Government position in Australia. He is manager of Capital Hill Hostel, Canberra, the largest of the Government hostels in the Australian Capital Territory : it has over 325 residents and thirty of a staff. The former, he says, are a very mixed crowd of New Australians from European countries and Old Australians, so his job is " quite a handful ". Canberra, he thinks, is disappointing as a capital city, but the climate is excellent and the surrounding country very beautiful. The mountains there remind him of the Crieff district.

His appointment as F.P. Club Consul at Canberra is gazetted on another page of this issue and he will extend a very hearty welcome to any F.P. arriving in Australian Capital Territory.

Nelson Charles Bowman* (1931-43), whose marriage is reported on another page, is a civil engineer in the City Offices at Chichester.

Duncan Ian Campbell (1925-34), M.A., assistant Classics master at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, from 1947 to 1949, is now Classics master at the Downs School, Malvern. After graduating

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

M.A. at the University of Aberdeen in 1938, with first class honours in Classics, he went to Shanghai to join Jardine, Matheson & Company Limited and from 1942 to 1945 he was a prisoner of war in Japanese hands. After repatriation he attended Moray House Training College, Edinburgh, for a year.

William Stephen Catto* (1895-19oz), B.Sc. (Aberd.), retired last year from the staff of George Watson's College, Edinburgh, of which he had been a member for thirty-six years. He joined the Mathematics Department of Watson's in 1913, was appointed deputy head of the department in 1919 and head in 1926. In 1945 he became deputy headmaster while continuing as head of his department. He was Modern Dux of the School and Gold Medallist in Mathematics in 19oz, and graduated at the University of Aberdeen with honours in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in 1906. Thereafter he taught Mathematics at the United Services College, Windsor, and from 1907 to 1911 he taught Mathematics and Science at Dumfries Academy.

For the next two years he was on the staff of the Higher Grade School, Kirkwall, and then went to Watson's, thereby, in the words of a tribute in The W/atsonian, " adding another Aberdonian to the many teachers who came south to join our College and who helped to make Watson's the great educational institution that it is to-day ".

Alan Chalmers* (1915-79), who has been with the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank for twenty-nine years, latterly at Singapore, joined the Malacca branch of the Bank on return from home leave this summer.

David Low Cowie* (1942-44) is now with the Mercantile Bank of India Limited in Singapore. He went to the Far East in November 1949, after a year in the Bank's London office, and he spent two months early this year in their office at Ipoh, Perak. There he met George Edward Fearby* (1937-45), who is in the Ipoh office of McAlister and Company. In Singapore Cowie shares a flat with Alastair George Simon* (1932-45), who has also recently joined the Mercantile Bank of India Limited. Another F.P., Harry Maitland* (1931-33), also lives in the same building. He has been with the Mercantile Bank since 1936 and was interned in Singapore during the Japanese Occupation. Since the end of the war he has been successively at Mauritius, Colombo and Bombay. When at the School, Cowie lived at the Boarding House and recently he had a reunion with another exboarder, Robin Burness Taylor* ‘(1938-44), Pt S (P. 1 who was passing through Singapore on his way to Hongkong to take up an appointment with the Jardine Engineering Corporation. (See page 57). Cowie's younger brother, James Alexander Cowie (1944-46), another ex-boarder, has spent two years in H.M.S. Conway since leaving the School and is now serving his apprenticeship with the Clan Line.

Francis Fairhead Crichton* (i916-19) has retired from India after almost thirty years in the jute industry in Calcutta, and is now living in Banchory. He was president of the Bengal and Assam Centre of the Club in 1949-50.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

9 Eric Kennedy Cruickshank* (1920-32), M.D., M.R.C.P. (Lond.), who is Professor of Medicine in the new University of the West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica, left Aberdeen at the end of September and is now organising the establishment of his Medical School. The School will not be ready to receive students until September 1951, and Professor Cruickshank expects to return to this country in March to make appointments to his staff and to choose equipment after he has had an opportunity of surveying local conditions.

Alexander John Davidson* (1928-40), C.A., was appointed this summer to be assistant secretary to the world-famous group of gin distillers—Tarqueray, Gordon & Company Limited, Charles Tarqueray and Company Limited, Gordon's Dry Gin Company Limited and Gordon Distillery Company Limited, which all form part of the large organisation of the Distillers Company Limited. After qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1946, he was for a time in the accounts department of British European Airways, and in September 1948 he joined the London staff of the Overseas Food Corporation as a senior accountant. Subsequently he spent about nine months in Kenya and Tanganyika in the celebrated groundnut areas.

Scott McKenzie Davidson* (1934-44), who is with Harrisons and Crosfield Limited, has been transferred from Pertang Estate, Bahau, Negri Sembilan, to Diamond Jubilee Estate, Jasin, Malacca.

Philip Dawson* (1925-37), M.A., LL.B., solicitor, has been appointed secretary of the Scottish Kipperers' and Herring Freshers' Association. He is a legal assistant with Messrs. George Alexander and Gillan, advocates, Aberdeen. His marriage is reported on another page.

Eric Francis Ducat* (1929-40), M.B., Ch.B., has since November 1949 been in practice at Batheaston, near Bath. He graduated at Aberdeen in 1945 and, after holding a junior resident post at the City Hospital, Aberdeen, for six months, spent two years in the R.A.F. Thereafter, until he obtained a practice for himself, he was an assistant in another practice in Somerset.

TWICE CHAIRMAN OF THE " ROYAL HIGHLAND"

James Durno* (1900-02), C.B.E., has been elected chairman of the board of directors of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland for the ensuing year. During his term of office the Society's Highland Show is to be held at Aberdeen. He has been a member of the board since 1923, with the exception of one year, and this is the second occasion on which he has been appointed chairman. He was first elected to this office in 1938-39, but on account of illness he was unable to play his part as chairman at the Highland Show held at Edinburgh in 1939.

Neil Donald Duke Elder* (1938-46) has been appointed junior overseer with the Ste. Madeleine Sugar Company in Trinidad, British West Indies.

Robert Fleming* (1891-98), our Club Consul in Toronto, replied to the toast of " Scotland " at the annual dinner of the Watsonian

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Club of Toronto held there in January. According to the report which appeared in The Frat.tonian, " Bob is one of the most charming of men; of rich personality shot through with a love of Scotland and its people. His address was a delight, pregnant with Scottish atmosphere and descriptions of Scottish scene-character." As reported elsewhere in this issue, he intended to fly to this country in order to be present at the F.P. Club Dinner at which his great friend " Stunner " Kyd presided but, unfortunately, an important engagement in Ottawa on the previous day prevented his doing so.

William Flett (1896-1900) was inadvertently stated in the last issue of the Magazine to have predeceased his brother, the late JOHN Fu1rr (1897-1903). Happily this is not the case. He retired from business in November 1948 after thirty-five years on the staff of the London and Lancashire Indemnity Company of America, and now resides at Hartford, Connecticut. In 1918 he became Superintendent of Claims at the Company's New York office, which was then the head office in America, and in 1921 he moved to Hartford when the administration office of the Company was opened there. Some time later he was appointed assistant secretary of the Company. Now that he is retired, he spends much of his time golfing, gardening and motoring.

Patrick Beaumont Forbes* (1937-42 and 1949-5o), younger son of Mr. William Forbes, formerly senior English master at the School and now Rector of Galashiels Academy, was in July awarded a Strang Steel bursary of £30 per annum for three years, tenable at the University of Aberdeen. He is now a medical student at the University.

Thomas Guthrie Forbes (1898-1902), who was engaged in farming in Saskatchewan for many years, returned to the United Kingdom at the outbreak of war in 1939—having managed to get himself taken on as one of the engine-room crew in the Empress of Britain—and served with the Royal Scots in this country for over three years.

After being wounded as the result of an accident, he was discharged and later took charge of the stores required for canteens, hostels, etc. in Perthshire. He is still doing the same job, but for a larger area under the Department of Agriculture for Scotland. He lives at Errol, Perthshire.

Richard Michael Fraser (1925-29) is one of the Conservative Party's full-time research workers. In September the Party's Political Centre in London published a pamphlet written by him and entitled " The Worker in Industry ". It explains the practical application of the Conservative Party's Industrial Charter.

Alan George Gibb* (1926-36), M.B., Ch.B., F.R.C.S.E., has been appointed ear, nose and throat specialist (consultant) in Dundee under the Eastern Regional Hospital Board. In 1944 he obtained the diploma of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in Laryngology and Otology and during his service in the R.A.M.C. he was an ear, nose and throat specialist in West Africa Command. He is a well-known golfer in the North-East of Scotland and this year he won the Cullen Open Amateur Golf Tournament. to

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11

John George Crichton Grant* (1908-15), who has been engaged in tea planting in Assam and Bengal for over twenty-five years, retired from the East in the spring of 1949. Since then he has bought a small estate near Ardrishaig, Argyllshire, and he is to specialise in the breeding of poultry and pigs.

Robert Imray Alexander Gray* (1932-35), who is with the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China in Ceylon, expected to return to this country in November via New York on completion of a four years' tour. He was posted to the Bombay branch of the Bank in 1946 and thereafter was transferred to Colombo.

George McKenzie Denny Grieve* (1935-3.7), M.A., B.D., minister of St. John's-Edenside Church, Kelso, since 1944, has been inducted to the charge of St. Bride's Church, Helensburgh.

George Ian Griffiths* (1925-36), M.A., B.D., has been unanimously elected minister of Chalmers Church, Wishaw. For the past six years he has been minister of South Church, Bonhill, Dunbartonshire.

David Haine (1930-42) went to Australia this summer to take up a post on a very large sheep station in South Victoria.

Alexander Harper* (1927-29), who joined the R.A.F. in 1939 and was thereafter employed on special work for Foreign Office Communications in Cairo, Teheran and other Middle East countries, has since demobilisation spent four years in the Diplomatic Wireless Service as radio officer at the British Embassy, Paris. In October he left for India and he now holds a similar post in the Office of the United Kingdom High Commissioner in New Delhi.

Sir Hubert Douglas Henderson* (1901-o4), M. B.E., M.A. (Cantab.), LL.D. (B'ham.), Professor of Political Economy in the University of Oxford, was in July appointed a member of the Committee of Inquiry which has been set up by the Government to examine Anglo-Scottish financial and economic relations.

James Alexander Innes* (1921-32), who joined the Bank of Scotland on leaving School, has been teller at the High Street branch of the Bank at Inverness since August 1949. He went to the Kingussie branch in 1939 and then served in the R.A.O.C. for two-and-a-half years before being discharged in 1942 on medical grounds. He then returned to the head office of the Bank in Aberdeen and from 1943 until last year he was in the Fort Augustus branch. An all-round sportsman at School, he is continuing his sporting activities. He is honorary treasurer of the Highland Rugby Club and one of the selectors for the Highland area. He plays cricket for Northern Counties and this year he headed the bowling averages in the Highland League. Two years ago he headed the batting averages.

Sir (William) Wilson Jameson* (1892-1902), G.B. E., K.C. B., M.D., LL.D., D.Sc., F.R.C.P., K.H.P., has been awarded the Bissett Hawkins Medal of the Royal College of Physicians in recognition of his services in promoting public health during ten years as chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health. The Medal was presented

Aberdeen Grammar School Magatine to him in October by the Registrar of the College in the presence of about seventy Fellows.

James Patrick Jeffrey* (1906-18), T.D., B.Sc.(Eng.), C.A., has been adopted as the Progressive candidate for Rosemount Ward in Aberdeen's municipal election to be held in May 1951. The retiring councillor in the ward is Joseph Robert Carry* (1918-30), M.B.E., who was elected to the Town Council in November 1947 and is not seeking re-election.

Richard Gemmel Jones* (1928-38) was awarded a diploma in Architecture in June at the School of Architecture, Robert Gordon's Technical College, Aberdeen.

James Killah (1939-44), B.Sc., is now a Science master at The Gordon Schools, Huntly. His marriage is reported on another page.

Alistair Anderson Laing* (1934-45) is manager of the new Palace Restaurant, Aberdeen, which has been opened by A. A. Laing Limited. The restaurant specialises in French service. He was formerly assistant manager at the Douglas Hotel, Aberdeen, and then completed his training at the West of Scotland Catering College.

Albert Alexander Lawrence* (1940-46), a medical student at the University of Aberdeen, has played for the Aberdeenshire County XI during the past three seasons. In 195o he headed the team's batting averages for County Championship matches and in the match against Fifeshire at Mannofield in July he scored a " not out" century, being the first Aberdeenshire batsman, apart from their former professional, to do so in a post-war County match. A newcomer to the County side this season was Eric Hugh Cruickshank* (1940-49), who only last season was captain of the School XI. John Drennan Lees* (5914-26), M.B., Ch.B., is in general practice in London, S.E.4. His two brothers are also G.P.s: Francis Jamieson Lees (191o-22), M.B., Ch.B., is at Banff and Robert Norman Lees (1920-33), M.C., M.B., Ch.B., is in partnership at Shaftesbury, Dorset.

Eric R. R. Linklater* (1913-16), M.A., LL.D., was one of the central figures in Edinburgh this year at the time of the Fourth International Festival. As President of the Scottish Centre of P.E.N., he presided over the twenty-second International P.E.N. Congress which opened a few days before the Festival began, and at a dinner given by the Corporation of Edinburgh to the delegates attending the Congress, he was one of the three speakers—the other two were the Lord Provost of Edinburgh and Mr. Lewis Douglas, the American Ambassador—whose speeches were broadcast by the B.B.C. in its Scottish Home and North American Services. A few days later his new play," The Atom Doctor ", based upon the model of Ben Jonson's play " The Alchemist", was presented, and it immediately became the subject of great controversy. Was it or was it not " Festival "?

It may be noted that the eminent dramatic critic, Ivor Brown, had this to say:—" If any complain that such diversions are insufficiently cultural, it may be replied that Linklater carrying Jonson to Edinburgh offers much better entertainment than Jonson in his own Smithfield, however bravely the ' Old Vic' may struggle to state a la

Aberdeen Grammar School Magatine

13 case for the London comedy ". " The Atom Doctor " was one of the Festival performances patronised by the Queen and Princess Margaret.

Towards the end of the Festival Mr. Linklater was the chief speaker at a ceremony held to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Robert Fergusson, the famous Scottish poet. The ceremony was held at Fergusson's graveside in the Canongate Churchyard and " The Scotsman's Log " in The Scotsman reported that his open-air tribute to Fergusson was one of the highlights of the Festival period. His eloquence, it was said, could not have been surpassed. The report concluded with this tribute:— More than anyone else Mr. Linklater has had to personify, in public, our Scottish culture during the past weeks, and for undertaking these duties so willingly, so seriously, so successfully, and with such good nature and modesty, Edinburgh owes him a special vote of confidence. Mr. Linklater relishes, no more than most professional writers, personal appearances in public, but he can rest assured that his contribution to the past few weeks has been widely appreciated and widely admired.

Sir Arthur Cunningham Lothian* (1892-94 and 1-9R R-19o4), K.C.I.E., C.S.I., M.A., B.Sc., Indian Political Service (retired), received the honorary degree of LL.D. from his Alma Mater, the University of Aberdeen, on 7 July 195o. In the course of his laureation address Professor T. B. Smith, Dean of the Faculty of Law, said:— Sir Arthur is one of the select group of men—largely recruited from this University—who dedicated their lives to the service of India—a service calling for restraint, integrity and vision in exceptional measure. It has been given to others to complete the work for which they have laid the foundation —and it may well be that full acknowledgment of their achievement and devotion will never be made by those under greatest obligation. Accordingly, Vice-Chancellor, it should give as exceptional pleasure to confer honour where it is most properly due.

Duncan Ronald Macgregor* (1925-38), M.A., who graduated at Aberdeen with first class honours in Geography in 1948, now holds the posts of lecturer, cartographer and map curator in the Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh. He lives, however, in Dollar. One of his brothers, Kenneth Stuart Hall Macgregor (1929-42), M.B., Ch.B., completed his military service in the R.A.M.C. in June 195o, and is now a house doctor at Plymouth General Hospital; and the other, Herbert Cecil Macgregor (1938-47), is in his final year at Exeter Grammar School, where he is carrying on the family tradition as a prefect and member of the 1st XV. Cecil intends to proceed to the University of St. Andrews in October 1951 to study for a degree in Dentistry.

Donald Hugh James Mackay* (1912-18), B.L. (Edin.), W.S., has returned to Canada. In July he was employed by Western Forest Industries Limited at Gordon River Camp, Honeymoon Bay, Vancouver Island, which, he says, is quite the finest equipped logging camp in B.C. Norman Ramsay Mackay (1924-25), M.B., Ch.B., was admitted a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in July of this year. He graduated in Medicine at the University of Aberdeen ill 1943.

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

OUR FIRST HOCKEY INTERNATIONALIST Kenneth William MacKenzie* (1893-97), D.S.O., M.C., M.B., Ch.B. (Edin.), should have been included in the list of F.P. hockey internationalists which appeared on page 148 of the last issue of the Magazine. He should in fact have been given pride of place on the list as he was " capped" for Scotland at hockey nine years before Adam Alexander Ritchie* (1903-08), who was " capped " in 1914, and who was stated to be the first F.P. to have been so honoured. In 1904-05 Dr. MacKenzie was a final year medical student at the University of Edinburgh and he played for Scotland against England in that season. He was later to find his hockey experience a great asset in India, where he played a good deal of tournament hockey, culminating in the matches played at the time of the Delhi Durbar of 1911, when he played for the 3oth Punjabis in the finals.

Dr. MacKenzie's career has been divided almost equally between Medicine and the Church and since 1947, when he returned to this country from the C.M.S. Mission Hospital, Srinagar, Kashmir, he has been priest-in-charge, Holy Trinity Church, Monifieth, Angus.

He has now retired from this charge and settled in Edinburgh.

John Macdonald McKiddie (1929-32), M.B.E., M.B., Ch.B., M.R.C.O.G., is now consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist to the Wakefield Group of Hospitals, Yorkshire. He graduated at Aberdeen in 1937 and then held hospital appointments at Rochdale and Bath.

Thereafter he attended a post-graduate course in Obstetrics at the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, and obtained the diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London in 1939.

During the war he saw active service with the R.A.M.C. in North Africa, Greece, the Middle East and Italy and held various appointments, including the command of the City of London Field Ambulance and the Field Ambulance of the Guards Brigade. In 1946 he was demobilised with the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and he resumed his study of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Medical School of the University of Aberdeen. In 1948-49 he held an appointment with the South Devon and East Cornwall Hospital Group at Plymouth.

John Mackie (1924-26), of The Bent, Laurencekirk, has been selected as prospective Labour candidate for the North Angus and Mearns constituency. Since 1930 he has carried on a large arable and dairy farm in the Mearns and he holds many agricultural appointments, including membership of the Secretary of State's advisory committee on agriculture and of the B.B.C.'s advisory committee on agricultural broadcasting.

William Mackay McLachlan* (1876-78), M.A., W.S., the senior member of the Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet, was in 1913-14 chiefly responsible for the planning and establishment of the Edinburgh Association for the provision of Hostels for Women Students and, ultimately, for the erection of the fine hostels in a spacious and attractive setting at Craigmillar Park, Edinburgh. This

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15

year he celebrated his semi-jubilee as chairman of the board of management of the Hostels, and in recognition of this event and of his services to the Hostels, he and his wife were entertained in June at a garden party at which they both received a presentation.

Duncan Arthur Hutchison McNaught* (1928-35), M.B., Ch.B., is in general practice at Perth, in partnership with a fellow R.N.V.R. officer. He himself is still a regular R.N.V.R. medical officer and last year he went on a trip to Denmark and Sweden. This year he has been to France and Belgium in the local training ship, H.M.S. Montrose. In common with one or two other F.P.s in his area, he is anxious to have a reunion of all Grammarians in Perth and the surrounding district.

Colin Robertson Macpherson (1935-4o), M.B., Ch.B., graduated in Medicine at the University of Cape Town in December 1947, and is now lecturer in Bacteriology and Pathology at that University. He went to South Africa in 1940 and was a student at the University of Grahamstown before proceeding to Cape Town.

Edward George Marnoch* (1918-21) has since February 1949 been in the service of Kennedy & Donkin at Portobello Power Station, where his firm are the consulting engineers engaged by the British Electricity Authority to supervise extensions to the existing plant. From 1928 to 1946 he was with Babcock & Wilcox Limited, engaged on water tube boiler design, except during the war when he was transferred to gun carriage production. After the war he was similarly employed with Yarrow & Company, Glasgow.

George Campbell Massie* (1924-38), M.A., assistant master at Pitmedden School, Aberdeenshire, has been appointed headmaster of Craigievar School, Aberdeenshire.

William Ferrier Mayor* (1923-30), M.A., was appointed captain of the Island Golf Club at Singapore for 1950. He qualified for the match-play stages in the Singapore 195o Colony Golf Championship but, as happened last year, he was beaten in the quarter-final. He broadcast a commentary on the Championship.

Neil Ian Wilson Meldrtun* (1925-37), M.A., LL.B., advocate in Aberdeen, was assumed as a partner in the firm of Morice & Wilson, advocates, Aberdeen, on 15 September 1930. One of the other two partners is Alexander Morice Wilson* (5895-1906), M.A., LL.B., advocate in Aberdeen.

Lewis Middleton* (1919-32), B.Sc.(Eng.), is still distinguishing himself on the golf course. In September at Balgownie, Aberdeen, he won the Jaffrey Cup which is played for by those who return the lowest scores in the Journal Cup Competition, in which teams from the various clubs in Aberdeen and district take part. He previously won the Jaffrey Cup in 1934.

Francis James Milne* (1924-35), M.R.C.V.S., has been appointed Assistant Professor of Veterinary Surgery at Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College, Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.A. Before going to America he was for two years lecturer in the Department

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magaine

of Surgery, Royal Veterinary College, London. He is now Club Consul at Colorado.

Harold James Milne* (1904-07), M.C., solicitor, Fraserburgh, was appointed Provost of Fraserburgh in May 195o. He was elected to Fraserburgh Town Council seventeen years ago and became a magistrate in December 1946. He has been a member of Aberdeen County Council since 1935 and is convener of the Council's Planning Committee. He is chairman of the Aberdeen, Banff and Kincardine War Pensions Committee of the British Legion and vice-president of the Area Council and he has been a member of the National Executive Council of the British Legion since 1934. He holds several National Health Service appointments and is a member of the District Committee of both the Scottish Gas Consultative Council and the Scottish Electricity Consultative Council. In addition his activities in Fraserburgh are manifold.

Malcolm Ross Milne* (1926-35), M.B., Ch.B., completed a threeyear tour of duty as district medical officer at Broome, pearl-fishing centre of West Australia, in November and during 1951 he is to be registrar in Princess Margaret's Hospital for Children, Perth, Western Australia. In June there appeared in an issue of the Perth Daily News a paragraph describing how he had used his own blood to save the life of a patient at La Grange, an isolated station about too miles from Broome. He had had to amputate the patient's right arm above the elbow and had sent an urgent call to the Flying Doctor Service for blood plasma. This could not be supplied in time, so he set up his transfusion apparatus and donated enough of his own blood to keep the patient alive until the plasma arrived by air.

In a letter home Dr. Milne wrote:— The patient had been driving with his arm resting outside his car door as he approached the ranch gate; the steering failed, and his arm got the full weight of the collision with a two feet thick gate-post. When I arrived, he had been carried to a bed in the Post Office, where he lay a sorry sight, his right arm pulped and ripped open, pulseless, and with multiple fractures.

There was only a six-volt electric light. We [a Sister, an orderly and he] scrubbed the kitchen table and prepared to operate. The patient's condition improved slightly after morphine, and at 4 a.m. I amputated above the elbow. He took hours to come round but his condition was fair. I 'phoned Broome, ordering plasma and other supplies to be parachuted to us but these could not arrive until 4 p.m. At to noon I took off two pints of my own blood and we set up a transfusion, regulated to last until 4 p.m. so that we could continue with plasma when the plane came. . . . A yellow parachute came down with four petrol tins containing the plasma packed in wool.

We had the plasma up just as the last drops of blood ran in.

His pulse became perceptible for the first time, and then I knew we had hopes of getting him alive to Broome. We took turns during the night to watch him, and his condition was fair by 7 a.m. . . . At 8.3o a.m. we made him comfortable on a mattress in the back of my Utility car and set out for Broome. . . . It took us over ten hours but we made it I Exhausted, dirty and sleep-hungry, we lifted him into bed the same evening. . . . He is fine now and the stump is healing well.

Alexander Wyness Mortimer* (1924-27) has been serving with the Control Commission for Germany since demobilisation in 1945.

He is stationed meantime in Bonn, the seat of the Federal Government,

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17

and is now an established civil servant on the staff of the Foreign Office. He would very much like to meet other F.P.s in Germany.

Douglass Alexander Mortimer* (1895-99), solicitor, was in November appointed by the Lord President of the Court of Session to be a legal member of the Iron and Steel Arbitration Tribunal and president of the Tribunal in Scottish proceedings. He already holds corresponding positions in the Electricity and Gas Arbitration Tribunals.

Thomas Henderson Murdoch* (1921-27), M.A., L.R.A.M., L.G.S.M., L.L.C.M., has been appointed to lecture to Divinity students at Christ's College, Aberdeen, on elocution and public speaking. This is a part-time appointment and he continues with his other activities of which details were given in the last issue of the Magazine.

Alexander John Robertson Murray* (1928-39), B.Sc., Ph.D. (Aberd.), holds a post in the Research Department of the Plastics Division of Imperial Chemical Industries Limited in Hertfordshire.

He graduated B.Sc. at Aberdeen in 1943, was commissioned in the Royal Signals in August 1944 and drafted to the Far East. Until the end of the war he was attached to 14th Army L. of C. Signals and, after a brief sojourn in Malaya early in 1946, he was transferred with his Section to B.M.A., North Borneo, with headquarters on the island of Labuan. He returned to the University of Aberdeen in October 1946 and did two years' research in the Chemistry Department there before moving to Birmingham with Professor Melville's research school and finishing his work for his Ph.D. thesis. He obtained his degree at Aberdeen in July 1949 and then took up his present post.

His marriage is reported on another page.

William Ogilvy Pattullo* (1939-41), M.A., LL.B., formerly a legal assistant with Messrs. Davidson & Garden, advocates, Aberdeen, left for Edinburgh at the beginning of October on being granted a legal probationership by the Colonial Office, under a scheme whose object is to provide suitable candidates for the higher posts in the Colonial Legal Service by enabling solicitors to qualify as barristers. He expects to leave for an overseas post next summer.

Herbert G. Pope (1890-19oz), City Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer for the City of Aberdeen since 1919, is retiring at the end of this year. He was to have retired in May, but his services were retained on account of the death of the Assessor appointed to succeed him.

HONORARY PHYSICIAN TO THE KING

Harry James Rae* (1898-1904), M.C., M.A., M.B., Ch.B., D.P.H., was appointed an honorary physician to the King as from 1 July 1950.

The appointment is for three years. He has held the triple post of Medical Officer of Health for the City of Aberdeen and the Counties of Aberdeen and Kincardine for over twenty years, and is due to retire on reaching the age of sixty-five next January. It is understood,

18

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

however, that his services are to be retained by the three local authorities concerned for a further year.

Arthur Smith Rattray* (1923-35), who served for six years in the R.A.F. Meteorological Office as a forecaster, and who has been teaching in Aberdeen for the past three-and-a-half years, has now turned to librarianship. He is on the staff of Aberdeen Public Libraries and has recently been employed on the new mobile library which is proving very popular in the city. He is studying for his A.L.A. Alan Reid* (1911-12) retired from the service of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China in 1948 after twenty-eight years' service. He left Calcutta in October 1945 on transfer to the Bank's Hongkong branch to assist in the reopening of the office there after the reoccupation of the Island. He had been in Hongkong from 1926 to 1933 but, of course, found conditions much changed. When he arrived there, there were few people in the Colony but, he says, the Chinese soon began to return in their thousands. He left Hongkong for home leave in May 1946, and in January 1947 he went to the Philippine Islands to take charge of the Bank's office at Cebu. Owing to ill health, however, he had to return home later that year and after a spell in the London office of the Bank he retired. He is now living in Sydney, New South Wales, and is one of our new Club Consuls.

Robert Lawrence Richards* (1922-34), M.D., has been elected a member of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (M.R.C.P.E.). In 1946 he obtained a medical travelling scholarship under the Rockefeller Foundation, New York, and spent a year in U.S.A. and Canada. From November 1947 to November of last year he served in the Army as a medical specialist, and since the beginning of this year he has been doing research work in the Department of Surgery, University of Edinburgh, and some clinical work at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

John Hugh Gunn Ross (1924-3O, O.B.E., M.A., B.D., who has been deputy minister of St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, for the past four-and-a-half years, was inducted in October to Newark Church, Port Glasgow.

James Henry Scott* (1920-26), M.A., M.B., Ch.B., has now settled in Blackpool, where he is in medical practice on his own account.

Harry Edward Ross Shand* (1925-34), C.A., was in April appointed secretary to Smith & Wel'stood Limited, ironfounders and manufacturers of cooking and heating appliances (including Esse products), Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire.

Richard Lyall Sharp (1920-27), M.A., who in 1948-49 was a private secretary to Sir Stafford Cripps, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, was appointed private secretary to Mr. Hugh Gaitskell, on the latter's becoming Minister of State for Economic Affairs.

When Mr. Gaitskell became Chancellor of the Exchequer, the office of Minister of State for Economic Affairs lapsed, and with it the post

19 Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine of his private secretary. Mr. Sharp is now doing an ordinary divisional job in the Treasury. His marriage to a daughter of SIR JAMES IAN COMMACK CROMBIE* (1908-21), K.B.E., C.M.G., M.A., Third Secretary at the Treasury, is reported on another page.

John Lyon Shaw* (1907-20), who was appointed vicar of St. Matthew's, Custom House, London, E.16, in May 1943, was in October inducted and instituted to the benefice of Langwith, Nottinghamshire. The living is in the diocese of Derby and consists of a mining village with a population of some io,ooo and surrounded by some very charming country.

William Douglas Simpson* (t9ot-I3), M.A., D.Litt., F.S.A. (Scot.), librarian to the University of Aberdeen, was one of the directors of excavations this summer at Dundarg Castle, near New Aberdour, Aberdeenshire. The work was carried out by a party of archeological students from the Universities of St. Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The original castle was destroyed by Robert the Bruce in i 308 but was repaired twenty-six years later by Henry de Beaumont, the English Earl of Buchan. De Beaumont was subsequently besieged in the castle by the Regent of Scotland, who captured it with the aid of a bombardment—the earliest recorded instance in Scottish history of the use of siege artillery. In July Dr. Simpson played a leading part in the Viking Congress held in Shetland and Orkney under the auspices of the British Council and the University of Aberdeen. About forty scholars from the British Isles, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark attended and heard lectures, took part in discussions and visited important antiquities.

FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS Herbert Tower Sorley* (1899-1909), C.S.I., C.I.E., M.A., D.Litt.,

I.C.S. (retired), who, as reported in the last issue of the Magazine, holds a two-year appointment as secretary to Government, Finance Department (Revenue), and a member of the Central Board of Revenue, Karachi, Pakistan, was in June elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (F.R.S.A.). In a recent letter he tells us that he is now learning Arabic.

John Hastie Speirs (1911-24), M.A. (Aberd.), B.A. (Cantab.), lecturer in English Language and Literature in the University College of the South-West of England, Exeter, gave two talks on the B.B.C.'s Third Programme in August on Robert Fergusson, the famous Scottish poet who was born at Edinburgh on 5 September 175o.

Mr. Speirs is the author of " The Scots Literary Tradition: An Essay in Criticism ", published in 194°. In 1935 he was appointed lecturer in English Language and Literature in the University of Riga, Latvia, and two years later he took up the same position in the University of Egypt, Cairo. He is the elder son of the late Mr. Alexander Speirs, M.A., B.Sc., a well-known member of the School staff for many years.

George Stephen* (1936-42) went to Canada last spring to take up a post as advertising manager with the Caxton Publishing Company

20

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Limited, Toronto. He was in Canada during the war prior to being commissioned in the R.N.V.R., and he says that there are more F.P.s than ever in Ontario and that there is a warm welcome for all who call on " Bob " Fleming, the Club Consul at Toronto.

Douglas Alexander Sutherland (1933-45), who served his apprenticeship with John M. Henderson & Company Limited, engineers, Aberdeen, has obtained an appointment with Finlay and Company on the Khadim Tea Estate in South Sylhet, Eastern Pakistan.

John Sutherland* (1899-1904), M.A., headmaster of Sunnybank School, Aberdeen, since 1939, retired this summer. He had been in the service of the Aberdeen Education Authority since i 908 and was promoted to the grade of headmaster in 1931.

John Herbert Taylor* (1909-1z) and his sister are partners in the firm of A. S. Taylor, ladies' costumier and furrier, St. Nicholas Street, Aberdeen, which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary this year.

The business was founded by Mr. Taylor's father, the late Mr. Andrew S. Taylor.

HIS MAJESTY'S AMBASSADOR IN MEXICO John William Taylor* (1906-I 1), C.M.G., M.B.E., M.A., Minister dealing with economic and commercial affairs at the British Embassy, Washington, D.C., since September 1948, was in July appointed Ambassador to Mexico. He joined the British Consular Service in 1919.

PATRICK J. M. WALKER (1914-20), C.A., Club Consul in Mexico, reports that, shortly after Mr. Taylor's arrival in Mexico City as British Ambassador, the British Society organised a cocktail party in his honour so that the British Colony and others could meet Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. In the short time they have been there, he says, they have become very popular.

Alexander McGregor Thom* (1911-22), B.Sc.(Eng.) (Glasg.), is still with Associated Industrial Consultants Limited, which he joined in 1933. He lives in Carnoustie and pays frequent visits to Aberdeen. For a time he was in Calcutta with Eastern Bedaux Company, an associated company in the East, and during the later years of the war he was seconded to the Government of India's large ordnance factory at Khamaria, near Jubbulpore, C.P., India.

Alexander Sutherland Thomson (1936-38), who has been a pilot with the Arab Airways Association of Amman, Jordan, for about two years, was in charge of an Arab plane which was forced down

by Israeli fighter planes while flying over Israel in June. Along with an American business man and five Arab passengers, he was detained for a few days before being handed over to the Arab Legion at the Mandelbaum Gate, at the border of the Jordan-held part of Jerusalem. During the war he was an R.A.F. pilot and after training in the United States he served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Holland and Germany.

Arthur Landsborough Thomson* (1899-1908), C.B., O.B.E., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.E., F.R.G.S., who is Second Secretary of the

Aberdeen Grammar Scbool Magazine

21

Medical Research Council (under the Committee of the Privy Council for Medical Research), has been appointed by that body to be chairman of a new Public Health Laboratory Service Board to which the administration of the Service in England and Wales on behalf of the Ministry of Health has been delegated. He is president of the British Ornithologists' Union, the senior society in this country concerned with the scientific study of birds, for the period 1948-53 and recently attended the Tenth International Ornithological Congress at Uppsala. There he had the honour of being elected president of the Eleventh Congress to be held in Switzerland in 1954.

George Eddie Thomson* (1894-99), M.A., B.D., minister at Monquhitter, Aberdeenshire, since 1929, has retired. After graduating at the University of Aberdeen he studied at the Universities of Jena and Berlin and then was assistant minister successively at Ferryhill Parish Church, Aberdeen, and Shettleston Parish Church, Glasgow. He was appointed minister at Murthly, Perthshire, in '913.

Kenneth Drummond Thomson (1925-29), C.A., was assumed as a partner in the firm of Barstow & Millar, chartered accountants, Edinburgh, in January. During the war he served successively in the British Army, the Indian Army and the Royal Indian Navy. After nine months as an officer in the East Lancashire Regiment, he went to India in January 1942 and served with the Royal Indian Army Service Corps in Northern India, during which time he was engaged in running transport between India and Persia. He then joined the Combined Operations branch of the Royal Indian Navy and visited Akyab just after the Japanese had moved out. The Japs had never lived there and it was uncanny, he says, to see this fairly large town with nobody in it. The houses had been unoccupied for three years and were overgrown and the large rice mills on the river were in a similar condition, the machinery being covered with rust and partly obscured by weeds. He completed his C.A. apprenticeship in 1947 and joined his present firm in June 1948. He is treasurer of Edinburgh International House, a club which has been formed in collaboration with the British Council for fostering friendship between the citizens of Edinburgh and visitors from abroad. He lives with his grandfather, the Very Rev. R. J. Drummond, D.D., who is aged ninetytwo and still plays golf.

Donald Elmslie Robertson Watt* (1931-43), M.A., who graduated at the University of Aberdeen in July with first class honours in History, is now doing research in Mediaeval History at Oriel College, Oxford.

John Petrie Watt* (1925-36), who is an accountant with Dalgety and Company, merchants, at Nakuru, Kenya, has been home on leave this year. On his return he is likely to go to his firm's Nairobi office.

He recently qualified as a chartered secretary.

George Clark Whyte* (1908-14), A.M.I.M.E., returned earlier this year from Calcutta, where for many years he had been with Williamson, Magor & Company. He has now joined his firm's London house, George Williamson & Company, as a partner.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine George Alexander Williamson* (1904-12), B.L., D.L., advocate in Aberdeen, has been appointed convener of the Eastern Divisional Council of the Scottish Unionist Association. It is understood that he is likely to become president of the Scottish Unionist Association next year.

Norval Stewart Williamson* (1904-07) has retired after fortythree years of banking in Scotland and London—thirty of them in London with the National Provincial Bank Limited. He is now living at Worthing. His twin brother, Arthur Alexander Williamson* (1904-07), has been with the Royal Insurance Company Limited, Aberdeen, since 1907 and is due to retire in 1952. He was accountant till 1949 and has latterly been cashier. Two elder members of the family were also at the School: Alfred John Williamson* (1897-1902), D.S.O., M.A., M.D., D.P.H., is in practice at Watford, Hertfordshire, and William Beveridge Williamson* (1900-02) is head of the firm of John Williamson & Sons, fleshers, poulterers and game dealers, Aberdeen.

Robert Bertram Williamson* (1906-18), D.S.O., M.A., LL.B., advocate in Aberdeen, is secretary of the Aberdeen branch of the Victoria League. At this year's Braemar Gathering, where there were as usual many visitors from Australia and New Zealand, he and his wife were presented to the King and Queen.

Hugh Andrew Willox* (1925-35) is this year's champion of the Deeside Golf Club.

Alexander Milne Wilson* (1919-30, A.R.I.B.A., who has been in the office of the City Architect, Aberdeen, since the war, left in September to become senior architect to the Northern Ireland Housing Trust. He qualified in 1937 and in the early years of the war he was senior assistant in the Architect's Department of Carter Paterson and Company Limited, the London carriers.

Peter Metcalfe Worling* (1933-40 and 1945), M.P.S., qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist in July of this year and has now gone to take up an executive post with Carnegie Chemicals (Welwyn) Limited in Welwyn Garden City.

James Smith Yule* (1915-19 and 1926-28), B.A., has accepted a post with the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation of Canada, the headquarters of which are in Ottawa. He is working in the Toronto branch of the Corporation.

22

GRAY'S SCHOOL OF ART, ABERDEEN

The following diplomas and prizes have been awarded to F.P.s at Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen:— Diploma in Drawing and Painting—George Fraser Chrystal* (1927-38).

Diploma in Architecture—Richard Gemmell Jones* (1928-38).

Gregory Prize in Architecture—David John McKenzie Davidson* (1934-45).

Aberdeen Society of Architects Prize in Architecture (Junior)— George Alexander McNab* (1936-44).

23

University Notes James Edward Fraser * (1936-49) is this year's editor of Gaudie, the weekly students' newspaper in the University of Aberdeen. He was a School editor of the Magazine in 1948-49. *

*

*

Douglas Stewart Robbie* (1935-48) was awarded a half blue for cricket at the University of Aberdeen in June 195o. He is now a third year student in Medicine. * * * Degrees and Prizes At the Summer Graduation in the University of Aberdeen on 6 and 7 July 1950, degrees were conferred on the following:— HONORARY DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF LAWS (LL.D.) Sir Arthur Cunningham Lothian* (1892-94 and 1898-1904), K.C.I.E., C.S.I., M.A., B.Sc., Indian Political Service (retired).

DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (M.A.) (1) With First Class Honours

Alastair MacKenzie Brown* (1934-46), in English (Language and Literature).

Alexander Matheson Cain* (1937-46), in English (Language and Literature).

Theodore James Crozier (193i -4 3 ), in Classics.

John Bryce McLeod* (1937-46), in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy.

Charles Albert Morrison* (1938-44), in History.

James Sinclair Taggart* (1931-42), in Economic Science.

Donald Elmslie Robertson Watt* (1931-43), in History.

Ian Allan Watt* (1931-43), in History.

(2) With Second Class Honours

John Wilson Baird* (1936-46), in History.

John Thomson Clifford Gillan* (0934-46), in Classics.

Alexander Davidson Henderson* (1937-46), in Economic Science.

Brian Ludwig (1922-29), in English-Psychology.

Hamish Chisholm MacHardy (1929-39), in History.

George Harley Turnbull* (1939-45), in English-Psychology.

(3) Ordinary Degree

Thomas Ballantyne* (194 2-47).

Robert Kilgour Booker* (1928-41).

Calthorpe Emslie* (, 941-47).

Alexander Proven Farquhar (1940-47).

Alastair William Fordyce Forrest (1927-40).

Ian Sinclair McIntyre (1929-40).

24

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Gavin Milne* (1930-42).

Lawrence Walker Milne* (1939-43).

Albert John Horne Paterson* (193 5 -47).

Charles Lewis Colby Soutar* (1933-41).

DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF LAWS (LL.B.) (i) With Distinction

Robert Kilgour Booker* (1928-41). (z) Ordinary Degree

Gavin Milne* (1930-42).

Lawrence Walker Milne* (1939-43).

Charles Lewis Colby Soutar* (1933-41).

Robert Clement Steven* (1933-41), M.A. DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF LAW (B.L.)

Alexander James Duffus* (1932-38).

William Scott Gilchrist* (1929-36).

DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B.Sc.) (t) With First Class Honours

Roy Cameron Stephen (1937-40), in Botany.

Russell Black (1940-46), in Geology. (z) Ordinary Degree

Thomas Ian Morrison* (1934-47)• DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN FORESTRY (B.Sc. (FOR.))

George Alexander Dey* (1936-42).

John Erskine Leslie (193o-33).

DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING (B.Sc. (ENG.))

Graham Erskine Burr (1941-47), in Civil Engineering.

Robert Forbes Farquhar (1940-41), in Electrical Engineering.

Roy Stewart Naylor (1933-40), in Mechanical Engineering.

In the Faculty of Arts Theodore James Crozier* (1931-43) was awarded the Black Prize and the Seafield Gold Medal in Latin ; Charles Albert Morrison* (1938-44) was awarded the Caithness Prize and the Forbes Gold Medal in History; Alexander Matheson Cain*

(1937-46) was awarded the Minto Memorial Prize and the Seafield Gold Medal in English, the Senatus Prize in English Literature and the James Macpherson Wattie Prize in English Language; and John Bryce McLeod* (1937-46) was awarded the Rennet Gold Medal and the Simpson Prize in Mathematics.

In the Faculty of Law Robert Kilgour Booker* (1928-41) was awarded the Edmond Prize (for the most distinguished graduate in Law for the year 1949-50 who has attended the classes of Scots Law and Conveyancing), the Lyon Prize (for the most distinguished

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

25

graduate in Law) and the Society of Advocates Prizes in International Private Law and Procedure and Evidence; Norman Alexander Shepherd (1930-32) was awarded the Society of Advocates Prize in Public International Law. In the Faculty of Medicine James Kerr Finlayson* (1933-37) was awarded the Dr. Alexander Smith Cardno Prize and the Silberg Prize in Anatomy and the Silberg Prize in Physiology.

In the Faculty of Science Roy Cameron Stephen (1937-40) was awarded the Trail Prize in Botany. * * * At the Medical Graduation in the University of Aberdeen on z7 September 1950, degrees were conferred on the following:— DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MEDICINE (M.D.)

(i) With Honours for Thesis Ian Alfred Anderson* (1912-24), M.B.E., B.Sc., M.B., Ch.B.

Thesis—" Osteoporosis and Osteomalacia: Studies of Calcium and Phosphorus Metabolism, with special reference to Postmenopausal Osteoporosis and Renal Osteodystrophy". (z) Ordinary Degree Ian Campbell Cowan* (1924-33), B.Sc., M.B., Ch.B.

Thesis— " The Plasma Viscosity Test in Chronic Rheumatic Disease ".

Laurence Gardner Tulloch (1921-33), M.B., Ch.B. Thesis— " The Staphylococcal Dermatoses ".

DEGREES OF BACHELOR OF MEDICINE AND BACHELOR OF SURGERY (M.B., CH.B.)

(1) With Commendation Duncan Morison McLellan (1937-45).

(z) Ordinary Degree Ian Mackintosh Brooker* (1934-45).

Austin Leslie Smith Duthie (194o-45).

Douglas Thomson Gordon* (1 935-44).

Kenneth Terence Gruer (1927-3z), M.C.+ Robert Thomas Smith Henderson (1933-45).

Cameron Roy Innes* (1926-39).

Alexander Wood Laing (1935-45).

Alexander David Lyall* (1932-45).

Donald Simpson McConnach (1933-45).

Alexander Wilson McIntosh (1 932-45).

Norman Thomas Nicol* (1925-39).

William Jack Watson Rae (1929-41).

Alexander Sillars (1937-38).

Ian William James Strachan (1938-44).

Kenneth Ian Sutherland* (1937-45).

Roy Deans Weir (1 932-44). final M.B., Ch.B. degree examination with distinction in Midwifery.

Passed t

z6

Aberdeen Grammar School Magintine

Ian Alfred Anderson* (1912-24), M.B.E., B.Sc., M.B., Ch.B., gained the Thursfield Award (for the best thesis worthy of honours for the degree of M.D. during the year 1949-50); and Duncan Morison McLellan (1937-45) shared with another the Keith Gold Medal for Systematic and Clinical Surgery. * * * At the Graduation in the University of Aberdeen on 25 October 195 o, degrees were conferred on the following:— DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (M.A.) James Samuel Dobson* (1925-39), M.C. John Middleton Melvin* (1935-44 DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B.Sc.) David Scott* (1932-44).

DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING (B.Sc. (ENG.)) Stanley William Arnaud* (1930-43), in Civil Engineering.

Edward Gray Cran* (1944-47), in Civil Engineering.

Richard Charles Davidson (1932), in Electrical Engineering.

Eric Rogers (1940-43), in Civil Engineering.

James William Rogers* (1940-43), in Civil Engineering. *

*

*

In July 1950 Fullerton, Moir and Gray Scholarships were awarded at the University of Aberdeen to the following:— Theodore James Crozier (1931-43)—in Classics (£i65).

John Bryce McLeod* (1937-46)—in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (£185}.

Alastair MacKenzie Brown* (1934-46)—in English (Lioo).

Charles Albert Morrison* (1938-44)—in History (Lion).

At the same time Iain Cuthbertson* (1946-48) was awarded the Martin Prize in Christian Evidences.

New Honorary Member of the Club At a recent meeting the Executive of the Club unanimously decided to invite MISS EDITH M. IRVINE, Liverpool, to become an honorary member of the Club, and she has gratefully accepted the invitation. Miss Irvine is a daughter of THOMAS IRVINE (1829-33), and in March 1944 she presented Liooo to the School in memory of her father. From the annual income from the Thomas Irvine Memorial Fund grants are made each year to pupils at the School for their maintenance or benefit in the absolute discretion of the Rector and the Chairman of the Executive. Miss Irvine has always had and still maintains a very great interest in her father's School and everything pertaining to it.

29

The Sheriff and I Go Back to School It was the Sheriff's idea. I have always been afraid to reopen the door. Too many memories crowd upon me. Besides, professional sympathy told me it was not just opportune for visitors to inflict themselves on the Rector in the opening week of the session. The Sheriff had no qualms. It was his vacation, and he particularly wished to see the new War Memorial. He had not been present at the Unveiling Ceremony as I had been. He had not heard those noble, moving speeches. There was, too, this additional interest ; it was one of our class, Jim Kyd—" Stunner " to us—who as this year's President of the F.P. Club had had the privilege of handing over the Roll of Honour volume to the custody of the School. * * * I was there in good time. It does not do to keep Sheriffs waiting.

At the main entrance the " Abandon all hope " to would-be motorist pupils gave me to think. So the Welfare State had still a remnant of jeunesse dorie. The Butcharts' smart gig, liveried coachman and all, with Harry in his kilt in the back seat, was the only vehicular transport we knew in the 'nineties, and that was to the east gate. The bicycle era was still to come. There was, of course, Charlie Minto's wheeled chair, which I remember being carried by boys shoulder-high from the Westfield gate in the snowstorm of 1895, when the roads were almost impassable. I rather think the Sheriff, slim and agile then as now, was one of the porters.

The grounds and grassy slopes were trim: the trees we used to climb were, of course, of greater girth. The Victorian baronial pile was as imposing as ever. " Bentley's " Garden flourishes. I am sure the boys do not now examine the roots daily. The more I think about " Bentley ", the more 1 realise he was a teacher in advance of his time. We, young barbarians, made great fun with his crosssectioned apples, his autumn leaves—Percy Thomson from Banchory specialised in these—his " ten and a triangle " assessments of our skill.

His queer " posers " were really meant to make us think—" Write down Ten Differences between a Boy and a Cabbage ". " A boy can walk: a cabbage can not." " A cabbage is green: a boy—usually— is not." The rest was silence. Good old " Bentley ". He was the only Bentley most of us ever knew. The Bay of Nigg and St. Cyrus and starfish and methylated spirits, keepsakes till the unscientific members of the family protested at odours that were odious, will always be " Bentley " memories.

The Burn has its old fascination. Boys may come and boys may go, the Burn goes on for ever. " Theodore " was emphatic in these latter days that it should be known, not as the Denburn, but as the Den Burn. Anyway, this September morn it was as lovely as Julia's, and made Sweet music with the enamell'd stones, Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge He overtaketh in his pilgrimage.

But not always. There were days when the Burn was a raging, resistless

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine 30 torrent. The memory always haunted us of the boy who, venturing too near in time of flood, was swept away and drowned.

Byron's statue is up at last. The battle was on in our day, the battle and the breeze. H. F. M. S. never lowered his flag.t It is surely symbolical that the School's poet is of world-stature. He is the most European of all our poets after Shakespeare. His poems range over the globe, even to Pitcairn Island, haven of the Bounty mutineers, rightly prophetic of a world-ranging school.

But here was the Sheriff. His car swept in at the gate—no " infernal" regulations for him—and came to rest in the nook beside the Hall doorway where as boys we fought out, on school scale, the University Rectorial fight of Huntly and Murison.

We went to the west door, the door from which we had made our exit fifty years ago. Here, too, one may moralize: for Grammarians, unlike Fitzgerald's sage, come not out by the same door as in they went.

Our world of school begins east and ends west, and it is with a real sense of progress we affirm with Kipling that " east is east, and west is west, and never the twain shall meet ".

Even so, we paused at the door. Once across that threshold and well-nigh sixty years would fall away—in Demosthenes' phrase— " like a cloud ". It was our Waverley or 'Tis Sixty Years Since.

An electric bell buzzed. It was " change classes ". We found ourselves in the Corridor, in a swirling tide of eager, jostling youth; out poured the tributaries from the various classrooms. Even the old Rector's room now disgorged boys. That was a door we knocked at as seldom as possible.

In his sunny sanctum further west we found the Rector and a sunny welcome, the beginning of session notwithstanding. The boys in waiting gladly faded out. I whispered to them, " It's the Sheriff, but he's not for you, nor you for it ".

Two photographs caught the eye, the one of that great classic, R. A. Neil, who went from the Glengairn manse beyond Ballater, and from our King's College, to be a luminary of Cambridge, the other the Napoleonic countenance of rector Melvin, who, 'twas said, had a different copy of Horace for every day of the year. We were shown some of the treasures of the School that the long years had gathered, rare Aldine editions of the Classics, and some of the tomes of the Melvin, Geddes and Moir dynasties. And now there was this latest jewel in the treasury, the Roll of Honour, so patiently and painstakingly fashioned by son of " Theodore ".

We sought the Hall, but there were the Corridor walls to scan, with all their galaxies of stars of " rugger" fifteens and cricket elevens. "Elevenses" indeed! The Sheriff had played in the ist XV and was eager to see his name once more as well as those of his fellows.

It was another Fifteen we beheld in the Hall—the fifteen Panels with the names in letters of gold of those who had died in either world t At the recent Annual Dinner " Stunner " told us how he received a special prize from " C. D."—whose absence from the Dinner we all deplored—for a poem

on the Statue.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

31 war, those who had poured out the red wine of youth as libation to the Lord of Hosts. Many of the names were familiar to us, our own schoolmates, heroes of the playing fields—their names were in the Corridor without, now they are here on the Wall within—duxes and medallists, the Rector's own first-born; and now, while we had become grave and reverend signiors, another race, successors of the former race, sons of school and college classmates and friends, sons of first bursars, sons of masters of the School, youths with all the promise of fair years to come— ,red nox atra taput tristi circumvolat umbra.

It was Valhalla after all, in a sense we never dreamt when so we called it long ago. Now it is indeed the Hall of Heroes, the Hall of Remembrance. The crimson cord foreclosing the Panels sets the wall apart as a hallowed shrine; and still, how easy and seemly it will be on high occasion, in days to come, for the succeeding generations of boys, the inheritors of this renown, at the word of command, " Eyes right ", to look and make acknowledgment of the glory of that golden chain of names.

So round the walls we wandered and conned the various portraits and photographs of famous sons of the School—" Theodore ", the latest, not far from the panel inscribed with his eldest son's name; the redoubtable Keith Leask of Interamna fame; H. F. M. S. stately and austere—a son of Northumbria, but Aberdonensior Aberkensibus was Leask's verdict; Charles McLeod, revered and beloved of all his pupils, not least the duffers; Samuel Pope, with his whiskered benevolence—" Don't worry, annoy, perplex and badger me "—the Sheriff recalled his admonitory pun on his name; Doctor Moir, the first D.Litt. of Aberdeen University—all are commemorated here; and higher up the walls the names of the rectors, the duxes and gold medallists, the first bursars, all testifying to a virile, throbbing, school heart-beat.

The Rector was our cicerone. He told us about F.P.s we did not know or had forgotten. He must have bathed in the waters of Anamnesis, he was so well up in the history and tradition of our School.

He dreams of a larger Hall. As it now is, it barely accommodates the Middle and Upper Schools. The Sheriff and I were taken aback.

We were aborigines. We had been at the metamorphosis of the Hall.

The Sheriff remembered it as the gymnasium. Gavin Allardyce and I, with the aid of our Smith's Principia, had deciphered of a morning the growing texts on the frieze—Nisi Dominus aedifiraverit domum in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eat. But the Rector reassured us.

All would be as before—the same picture set merely in a larger frame.

The Library! Has any other school in Scotland such a library?

To its serene air we now ascended. The Library was in being in our day, but now how much bigger! One recalled the devoted labours of Stanley Russell and lieutenant " Theodore ". Again one felt the School had been in advance of the times. For it was not only on the football field that the " Grammar " had led, in the brave days of old, when " Gordon's" went down, fifty to nil, in their first

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine 32 rugger match with the School, and Tommy Robertson romped through the dazed Collegians, as it were, backwards. Here are feasts for the book epicure. King's College knows of them and casts envious looks.

Here is Mr. Murison's choice library, with volumes written by distinguished former pupils. Here are delights for the connoisseur and the savant, and not merely for the neophytes in learning. Here too—a war echo—is an alcove of books specially for young boys, handsome volumes with a fund for constant renewal and replenishment, a memorial gift from a bereaved parent.

Is there time for youth to-day, so distracted with competing interests and activities, to cope with, to enjoy this embarrassment of riches? The answer was there as we stood and looked round on a number of senior boys browsing at leisure in the fields of literature during a period set definitely apart for such rumination.

Time sped on. We must not outstay our welcome. Might we have a look at one of the old classrooms? Some were changed even in outward shape. The one facing the stairhead was the same as in our day except for an up-to-date blackboard. It was here that " C. D." had thrilled us Nx ith his intoning of Bellum, bellum, bellum, as though he were veritably Bellona's bridegroom. Here Kirwin Ward, fleet of foot on the rugger field, dragged us slowly in the footsteps of " Les Deux Brigands ", and still more slowly in the maze of French irregular verbs. Latin conjugations were plain sailing to French intricacies. Alter, to go was Mr. Ward's King 'Charles's head, and what we should now call our bite noir. He was for ever asking the infinitive ofje vais and now irons. Round the class swept the pointer, and we ducked or drew bow at a venture. Bertie Dunn stuck to his one line, like the football-poolers, sure that in the long run he'd make a hit—Je donne, to donors, it donne. Gordon Danson bobbed up with many suggestions, none of them in accordance with strict philology, and Willie Mackie created an interlude by insisting he had to get his train for Drumoak at ten minutes to three. At the top of the class sat one who, in the modern phrase, knew all the answers—Andrew Clark of Kingswells. There he sat, like Saturn, quiet as a stone, while down below raged the fretful sea of conjectures. " Tell 'em Clark ", wailed the exasperated Ward. Alter, to go, said Andrew and relapsed into his wonted calm. I pictured it all again as I looked at the well-worn benches and their new occupants. The Rector and the Sheriff waited patiently till I awoke—and behold it was a dream.

Gratefully we said our adieux. We had had a right rectorial welcome. Floreat Schola Grammatica Aberdonensis. The Sheriff went off to make ready for his own welcoming of the Queen to the Quincentenary celebrations of St. Andrews University, and I to fresh woods and pastures new.

J. M. R.

33

The Birth of a Nation Cecil A. G. Savidge* (1913-24), M.B.E. M.A. I.C.S. (retired), the writer of this article, was Agent to the Governor-General and Chief Commissioner in Baluchistan, Pakistan, from April 1948 to January 1949.

Thereafter he was compelled to retire from the East on account of ill health.

I could never take kindly to the seemingly interminable lists of dates we were required to master at School as an essential part of our education in matters historical. These bleak milestones of the past seemed so unreal and ephemeral that I found it difficult to raise much enthusiasm for the great events to which they related and my youthful energies were chiefly directed to limiting my knowledge of the tiresome things to the absolute minimum, which might hopefully suffice to defeat the machinations of an unpopular examiner. A similar unreality very often tends to accompany the landmarks of contemporary history made before our eyes. We find it difficult to appreciate and measure the changes marked by the advent of another date in the march of Time. " The sun rose, the day dawned and the birds sang as on any other day, but how different the day was to any other." The date was 15 August x 947, and the speaker one of India's elder statesmen with whom I was discussing the simple ceremony at Hyderabad which, like many others all over the sub-continent of India, had earlier that day marked the termination of British rule in India. It was indeed difficult to comprehend on that fateful morning, as the train bearing the last British Resident steamed slowly out of Hyderabad station, that this date and this ordinary happening signified the end of a once great and proud Empire. British Rule in India, for so many generations the guiding force for countless millions, had become overnight a mere subject of past history and the making of India's future history had passed from our hands to those of others who might take up the flag in the two Dominions which were born that day. Little wonder the day seemed so devoid of reality.

My immediate fortune was to take me to the Dominion of Pakistan, where I had been invited to assist in the task of laying the foundations of the new Muslim state. It was with very mixed feelings that I packed my belongings and bade farewell to the Nizam's Hyderabad, where I had made so many friends and found so much loyalty to the British connection. The overnight train journey brought me to Bombay, where I was to take ship to Karachi, the new capital of Pakistan. Remembering previous journeys to Karachi in the spacious days before the world war, I had visualised a pleasant few days on the coastal steamer which runs between the two ports, and it was with considerable consternation that I viewed the indescribable scene of confusion which was being enacted on the docks in the vicinity of any boats chartered for Karachi. The birth of the two Dominions had been followed by an unprecedented wave of hatred and fear on the part of the two major communities composing the new nations, and the port of Bombay had become a bottleneck for the many

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine 34 thousands of Moslems, who, fearful of remaining in their ancestral homes in Hindu India, were streaming into the city with the single object of taking ship to Pakistan with the least possible delay. Many of these unfortunate people had been squatting on the quaysides for weeks, waiting for accommodation on the few refugee boats which plied at irregular intervals between Bombay and Karachi. The arrival of a vessel was the signal for a mad rush to get on board and the gangways were hard put to withstand the onslaught of the surging mass of humanity, fighting to secure a foothold on the precious deck, which had for so long been the focal point of all their hopes and prayers. The few Hindu police in view soon decided that discretion was much the better part of valour and contented themselves with maintaining a disinterested watch over the scene from a safe distance.

As a British officer on my way to serve the new Pakistan Government, I was warmly welcomed at the Pakistan Embarkation Office and was immediately given a priority passage on the next ship to Karachi. On the day of sailing I turned up at the quayside at the time appointed for embarking in the morning, but the seething crowd of refugees, which was already beleaguering the boat, made it quite clear that any attempt to reach the gangway would be doomed to failure and I was advised to return in the late afternoon. My second attempt proved more successful and I managed to make my way on board with most of my baggage intact. The scene on deck beggars description. I never imagined that so many human beings could possibly be compressed into such a limited space. But in spite of all the difficulties and discomfort, there was almost a festive feeling about the crowds which thronged the decks, and, as we cast off, the evening air was rent with joyous cries of Pakistan Zindabad (Long Live Pakistan).

The short sea journey up the western coast was fortunately uneventful and the only excitement was on the afternoon of the second day when a shout from a self-appointed look-out announced the first sight of the longed-for shores of Pakistan. Our further progress to the dockside at Karachi was made to the waving of flags of every shape and hue and a continuous chanting of Pakistan Zindabad and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Zindabad. At last we were alongside and the gangways were in place. The long-awaited moment to set foot on the Promised Land had arrived.

In contrast to the confusion which had attended our departure from Bombay, the process of disembarking at Karachi was carried out with comparative orderliness and the port authorities had made commendable arrangements for the reception and disposal of the stream of refugees. I was anxious to see what changes had taken place in Karachi since its elevation from a mere provincial capital to the first city of a new Dominion and the seat of government for the whole of Pakistan.

As I drove through the long streets, I became immediately conscious of the enormous increase in the city's population, even in the very brief period since the inception of Pakistan. The streets and open spaces were thronged with crowds, wandering aimlessly as is

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35 the wont of strangers in a new country, and the railway stations were packed to overflowing with refugees hopefully waiting for transport to convey them northwards. The new Government of Pakistan was already well in the saddle and had begun to tackle the stupendous task of laying the foundations for the administration of the State.

And what a task it was tool Almost every essential for efficient government was lacking. Staff of all grades, office and living accommodation, records and even the common impedimenta of government offices such as paper and pens and typewriters, were in woefully short supply. The partition of the sub-continent, resulting in the repatriation to the new India of many thousands of Hindu officials of all ranks, who were formerly the mainstay of the administration, combined with the exodus of the greater part of the British element in the Services, had created a vacuum in the official machine which could only be made good by years of patient training. At the same time, the commerce and industry of the country, which prior to the Partition had been very much a monopoly of the Hindu bania, were practically at a standstill and even the ordinary shops supplying the day-to-day needs of the city were totally inadequate. And as though the situation was not already sufficiently hazardous and difficult, the Government found itself faced with the greatest migration of populations the world has seen, as refugees numbering many millions poured over the borders of the two Dominions.

MUHAMMAD ALI JINNAH

To many observers at the time, it appeared impossible for the young Dominion to surmount the enormous difficulties with which she found herself faced at the very outset of her existence and many were the gloomy forecasts of what the future held for Pakistan.

But these forebodings gave scant credit to the leaders of the country and to the spirit that permeated the people in their new-found freedom.

Under the inspiring leadership of Pakistan's first governor-general, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, they set out resolutely to overcome the dangers and difficulties which overshadowed the Dominion, and the stability achieved by Pakistan to-day, after only three short years, is a fitting tribute to the courage and deterniination of these administrators. In those first dark days, the personal standard of Pakistan's founder and first governor-general, flying proudly from the masthead of Government House, where previously a British governor had ruled over the Province of Sind, signified to all the determination of the people's leader to overcome every obstacle and set Pakistan firmly on the road to success.

No account of the first days of Pakistan would be complete without more than a passing reference to the creator of the new Dominion, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, or as he was generally and affectionately called, the Quaid-i-Azam. It was some months after my arrival in Pakistan that I first met the governor-general. Little did I realise at that meeting that shortly afterwards I was to be privileged to welcome him to The Residency at Quetta and to see much of him

36

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both officially and privately during the four months he spent in the - province of Baluchistan till the day of his death.

My immediate impression of the Quaid-i-Azam was of a tall and austere figure dressed in immaculate European clothes sitting in his study surrounded by despatch boxes. It was impossible not to be impressed by him and I was soon to appreciate the indomitable will which had made the creation of Pakistan as the only solution of Moslem freedom, his sole aim and dream during the difficult years before the attainment of his goal. His belief in the righteousness of the cause he had espoused was unshakeable, and in spite of the enormous difficulties which seemed continually to lie in the path of Pakistan's survival, he never for a moment lost faith in the ultimate outcome.

When he spoke of Pakistan, and any conversation with him invariably came round very soon to this topic, a fire seemed to light up his eyes and even in the latter days of his life, when his strength was obviously failing rapidly, he would discourse ceaselessly and passionately on his plans for Pakistan. It was impossible not to fall under the spell of his enthusiasm and optimism.

URDU-A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

He had a great command of the English language, as befitted one of India's foremost lawyers. When official business was being discussed with him, he would suddenly break off the discussion and rap out in his peremptory manner—" Take this down ". There would then follow his orders or views dictated without hesitation in masterly English prose. I was surprised at first that in his public speeches he invariably spoke in English, a language which was often unintelligible to the majority of his Moslem listeners. One day after a function in Quetta, at which he had greatly pleased the huge crowd by speaking for a few minutes in Urdu, after delivering a lengthy oration in English, which had aroused little enthusiasm, I asked him why he did not speak more often in the people's language. He astonished me by replying that until a few years previously he had not known any Urdu and had had to take up the study of the language as a beginner. For him to attempt to speak on any important matter through such a recently-acquired medium, would clearly be difficult and court misrepresentation. But how odd indeed it seemed for a governorgeneral not to be able to use the language of his own Dominion!

Jinnah was a very hard taskmaster and spared nobody including himself. There is no doubt that his untimely death, just over a year after the founding of Pakistan, was largely attributable to the tremendous burdens he imposed on himself. He would spend hours reading through with meticulous care the official files and correspondence with which he was continually inundated. Possessed of a great memory and a legal mind trained to sift out the important, he kept himself constantly informed on day-to-day matters of every kind. He had a gift for appreciating big issues and was never slow in making up his mind on the course to follow. Having once done so, and events generally proved the wisdom of his decision, he would adhere unwaveringly to the objective he had decided upon.

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37 It was not often that he permitted himself to relax, but when he did so he could be very human and was capable of subtle humour.

One incident I remember in particular was typical of the lighter moments he occasionally allowed himself. When the Quaid-i-Azam was on tour, it was the first duty of one of his aides to see that the governor-general's personal standard was hoisted immediately on his arrival at his new headquarters. The day Mr. Jinnah arrived at the Residency in Quetta, his flag was flown by my staff at the mast in the grounds, unnoticed by the A.D.C., but not by the governor-general.

Shortly afterwards, the Quaid-i-Azam was sitting on a balcony of the house immediately below an unused flagpole affixed to the roof.

All at once an urgent summons came for his A.D.C. The latter hurried to the balcony to find the Quaid-i-Azam pointing to the bare pole overhead. "Mr. Ahmed ", he rapped out, "where is my flag?" The unfortunate A.D.C.'s gaze fell with dismay on the empty pole, and having completely forgotten to check the flying of the standard, he tried to stammer out a lame excuse for the apparent omission to hoist the flag. His excuses were cut short by Mr. Jinnah's peremptory finger pointing through the trees, where the hapless A.D.C.'s gaze came to rest on the governor-general's standard flying bravely from the mast in the grounds! " Mr. Ahmed ", said the Quaid-i-Azam, waving his finger at him, but with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, " never tell a lie; if you don't know, say so ".

And the A.D.C. escaped to ruminate with chastened spirit on the unfairness of a governor-general indulging in practical jokes.

"THE

BRITISH"

A very pleasant memory I will always have of the early days of Pakistan was the warmth of the feeling of all classes towards the British officers who helped the new Dominion to get on her feet.

I experienced constant instances of the sincerity of this feeling and I remember in particular being greatly impressed by a reference made

by Mr. Jinnah to the British people in general. I had accompanied him to the delightful hill station of Ziarat, high up in the highlands of Baluchistan, which he found greatly to his liking. After dinner on the first evening, he was in reminiscent mood and talked long and fascinatingly of his political career. Describing the growth of the Muslim League and the emergence of the idea of Pakistan as a separate state for the Moslems, he went on to speak of the battle he had waged with the powerful forces of the Indian Congress Party on the one hand and what he termed " the British ", on the other. Then referring to the final decision of " the British" to form the two separate Dominions of Pakistan and India, he paused and then added, " and they left with grace and friendliness ". A few minutes later he repeated this fine tribute. I like to think that, although our Empire in India is a thing of the past, and many of the material benefits we brought to the peoples during our centuries of rule may disappear or change, at least in Pakistan the " grace and friendliness " we left behind will long be remembered with honour and affection.

38

The Warmth of Other Days Turning a corner into Aldwych, opposite India House, I almost collided with a tall, elderly Rajput gentleman, with beard parted in the middle and brushed upwards in the old-fashioned way so rarely seen nowadays outside the remote villages of Rajasthan. We apologised to each other and passed on, but the day for me had been transformed and I spent the next hour recollecting a very happy week-end in the heart of just such a village more than a quarter of a century ago, when Aubrey and I decided to accept a long-standing and frequently pressed invitation to visit a remote thikana in the desert wastes between Rajputana and southern Sind.

Aubrey was principal of the local chiefs' college at this time and I was operating the State railway which was the main link between Bombay and Sind until the birth of Pakistan cut it in two. Ganpat Singh, the Kanwar Sahib, or eldest son, of the Thakur, or feudatory baron, of the thikana was a pupil of Aubrey's and had long pressed him to make the trip to his village where he hoped to show him a few glimpses of the real, unspoilt India existing some forty miles away from either rail or road communication.

Accordingly Aubrey and I set forth one night in my saloon for the first stage of our journey to railhead. The relative luxury of this journey was in marked contrast to the rest of our travels. In India, railway officers whose duties require them to tour are allotted saloons which are attached to and detached from trains as required and form the officer's living quarters and office while touring. Officers of other services, not untouched by the green-eyed monster, were inclined to jeer at this " expensive pampering " of their railway colleagues (though I never met one who refused the loan of one of these when offered), forgetting that over a period of many years this is a far cheaper and more convenient form of touring than their own costly panoply of tents, rest houses and the hosts of minions attendant on these, and is impracticable in their own case only because their tours are not confined to places served by the railway system.

Arriving at railhead in the early hours of the morning, our saloon was cut off, to the accompaniment of the usual hoarse clamour, frenzied excitement, earth-shattering bangs and shrill whistle-blowing that such an operation necessitates in eastern countries, and we rose an hour or two later to greet the dawn on one of the coldest mornings I have ever experienced. The piercing quality of the cold of an Indian desert winter, especially as experienced in a railway carriage, has to be felt to be believed and is always a shock to the newcomer, conditioned to stories of an India with sweating sahibs perpetually sinking iced theta pegs beneath a lazily-flapping punkah.

Emphatically a morning for a pbulgar, that flowered, all-enveloping, quilted Rajput garment which not only gives one the warmth of two overcoats, but satisfies the latent male lust for the wearing of flamboyant colour that can normally be gratified only in the privacy of the bedroom. When the late King George V saw Sir Pratap Singh, that celebrated Maharajah-Regent of Jodhpur, wearing a pbulgar at

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39 the Delhi Durbar, he was so fascinated by the potentialities of this monarch of all dressing gowns that Sir Pratrap summoned his private durzi to make one upon the instant for His Imperial Majesty. From then until the end of his life it was the proud privilege of the Maharajah of Jodhpur to present a phulgar annually to King George V and when the king was recovering from his serious illness at Bognor Regis, he was frequently wrapped in his phulgar.

A brisk turn up and down the sandy, low-level platform of this modest little roadside station to restore the circulation before breakfast gave the station-master baba his chance to unburden himself of the usual string of " requests ", which he had been saving up against the visit of his officer. White ants were his main bugbear to-day, as I had known they would be, for he had penned a letter of three foolscap pages to me a day or two previously. The first of these pages had conveyed the oft-repeated allegation that I was his father and mother and that he " frustrated himself at my lotus feet ". The third page was devoted to the concluding honorifics, ending with, " There is none to whom I can appeal but God and your Honour; and God is not hearing ". Somewhere towards the end of the second page one came upon the " meat " of the request : " White ants are attacking the records on my office shelves. Kindly arrange to paint their backs and bottoms with coal tar."

THOUGHTS ON CAMELS

When we had disposed of the termite problem and Aubrey and I had swallowed a quick breakfast, we were ready to mount our camels, which had been lent to us for the trip by the good offices of the local Sub-Inspector of Police. It is axiomatic, if one contemplates a long camel journey in Rajputana or Sind, to endeavour to borrow police camels. Whether it is merely their powers of charm and persuasion or the enormous local prestige they enjoy I cannot tell, but the police always seem to have secured the best riding camels in a district, though they are fortunately always willing to lend them when duty permits.

The camel saddle resembles a couple of large sabres placed horizontally, blades uppermost, along the flanks of the animal and bridged across the camel's high back by three stout wishbones of timber and brass, raked at an angle like the funnels of a liner. The spaces between the wishbones, well padded, form two comfortable seats in which one leans slightly backwards and is supported by the padding on the wishbone behind. These seats strike one as being of armchair comfort at the outset of a journey but by the time a few miles have been covered the body forces a revision of opinion.

In all my years in India I never succeeded in remembering which end of a squatting camel rose into the air first, but no sooner had I mentally adjusted myself to anticipate one end of the brute rising suddenly upwards than the other end would promptly do so, nearly precipitating me out of the saddle. True to form, this happened once more and then we were off on our forty mile journey.

The camel is controlled by a single rope, one end of which is held hopefully by the rider and the other passed through the beast's nostrils.

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Any similarity between this contraption and the reins of a horse is, as the novelists say, purely unintentional and woe be him who relies upon it to perform similar functions. I did succeed in persuading my camel to turn to right or to left by pulling his head in the desired direction but I could never manage to pull him up. Any attempt at this merely brought his head to one side or the other, in consequence of which he would trot round in circles until his owner caught up with us on another beast and uttered the magic word which commanded him to halt and start the threefold dropping process which would lower one to within easy reach of the ground.

Camels are very rude and sometimes of uncertain temper. Every now and then, with a hideous gurgle like the boiling of a witch's cauldron, they blow their stomachs inside out and one is disconcerted to see what appears to be a slimy and foaming haggis dangling out at the side of their mouths. Occasionally, when feeling bored with a long journey, they will crane their serpentine necks round and nonchalantly attempt to bite the rider, and once, when I was walking along a road past a string of camels going in the opposite direction, the rearmost beast lifted its rear leg, planted its huge fleshy pad in the small of my back and precipitated me on my nose a few feet down the road to the huge delight of a circle of naked urchins playing near by.

The Great Thar or Indian Desert is fascinatingly monotonous— always the same yet always different; each facet completely unlike any other, yet all adding up to that strange impression of sameness.

Although it receives practically no rainfall in the year, the number of green shrubs and stunted trees which penetrate its endless soft, yellow sand never ceases to amaze and the brilliantly scarlet spiders occasionally to be seen scuttling over its bed are nature's exception to her usual camouflage—perhaps she is sure that by their very• fascination they will be the enemies of none.

At the point where we came to our first halt on this desert trip there seemed to be a profusion of yellow melons growing everywhere.

These, however, might have been but another desert mirage for all the good they were to us for the camel drivers told us they were not melons at all but were used as a " purgative for cows ". The effect on the human frame, we gathered, would have been gargantuan.

On through the long day we trotted, jogged into an uncomfortable coma by the regular pounding of the saddle below and reflecting lazily on life in general—a hazy state which is neither thinking nor dreaming but a half-formulated No Man's Land between the two.

We arrived at our destination tired, cold, saddle-sore and with apparently permanently bowed legs, and after greeting our cheerful host and his father we were shown to the tent they had erected for us.

Could we, dared we (we wondered) hope for a hot bath to thaw us from our crippled stiffness? Miraculously we found we could, for although our host and his fellow-villagers bathed themselves daily under cold running water, he had remembered the curious penchant of the sahibs for immersing themselves in boiling water when tired, and 0 with true Oriental hospitality he had seen to it that this age-old luxury should not be lacking in his desert village.

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41 Twelve steaming kerosene tins were found to be boiling over twelve separate little fires—enough water to lave us most royally.

The village did not run to a bath tub, but a dyer's cauldron, a vessel about four feet high, with a waisted neck about two feet in diameter, had been placed inside the tent, and into this was poured the water for the first bath.

Aubrey being my senior by quite a number of years, I conceded to his grey hairs the honour of the first bath and busied myself with unpacking until he should have finished. There was little privacy and indeed the tent flaps were constantly being disturbed and little brown heads being popped inside until I shooed them away. One, more persistent than the rest, came back again and again until I finally asked him what he wanted. He explained to me that he and his companions wanted proof of a point they had debated hotly all day, namely whether the sahib-log were really white all over or whether it was only on the parts that showed I DISTRESS IN THE BATH

Soon I was startled by a cry for assistance from Aubrey. Of a thin and wiry build, he had decided that the best way of having a bath in this tall, narrow cauldron was to lower himself into it seat first. This he had successfully accomplished, but when he had thawed sufficiently and wished to come out again he found he could not do so unaided. With much concentration and not a little delicacy his bearer and I ultimately levered him out, but judge of our horror when it was revealed that all traces of the dyer's art had not apparently been removed from the cauldron before the hot bath water was poured in, and Aubrey's bottom emerged a bright purple I At this moment another small boy's head appeared beneath the tent flap, so no doubt startling tales went around the bazaar that night regarding the sahib's appearance in the parts that did not normally show.

The following morning our host showed us over his manor house, built, in the usual Rajput style, round a spacious courtyard, the walls of which were adorned with gigantic, gaudily coloured paintings with a vaguely warlike background—a couple of Reckitt's blue elephants fighting with trunks interlocked; a posse of startlingly spotted yellow panther with Cheshire-cat grins; a few caricatures of British soldiers in the outfit and puttees of the Kaiser's war; a host of Rajput warriors in the frilly muslin kilts of byegone days; dogs and attendants ; and, for full measure, a couple of biplanes of Bleriot vintage, with visibly whirring airscrews, flying over the whole indeterminate scene.

In his principal living room upstairs, adorned with mirrors, American pendulum clocks, gilt photographs of his ancestors and an Army and Navy Stores catalogue of 1897, the Thakur Sahib conducted a charming little ceremony of welcome, presenting us each with a gold mohur (the old gold sovereign of the State now used mostly for ceremonial purposes) and calling upon the village poet to recite an ode of greeting to us.

This, to the accompaniment of a breathy, hand-pumped, portable

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine 42 harmonium, informed us that we were " justice officers, breaking wind upon the shorn lamb " and concluded with the wish that we would be blessed with " many umbrageous sons ". Aubrey, I may add, is a bachelor of no uncertain convictions.

Later in the day we were bidden to distribute the prizes at the local school, in the small dusty compound in which the entire village seemed to be assembled—a brilliant though homely gathering such as Rajasthan alone can produce with its gorgeously coloured turbans.

It would have been even more so had ladies been present in their dazzling saris, but strict purdah is observed here among the more delicately nurtured and, apart from a few peasant women in their duller reds and yellows, the gathering was entirely male.

The aged headmaster read myopically from his long and excessively dull report on the school's progress throughout the year, to be followed by an entertainment provided by the boys in the vernacular. The school did not teach English, but a quartette of little boys, who had a slight acquaintance with it through contact with their fathers, had been schooled into an expressionless rendering of Tvinkell, Tvinkell, Little Eshtar and a succinct summary of life's philosophy:— Work when you work; Play when you play.

That is the way to be Happy, I say.

The entertainment concluded with a dramatic scene from the history of Rana Pratap which was surprisingly well performed. Indian boys throw themselves whole-heartedly into play-acting and have none of the self-consciousness that stifles the average English boy.

The distribution of the prizes followed. The majority of the boys seemed to be Scouts and were in uniform and as each came up for his prize he delivered himself of a well-rehearsed salute, involving not only a wide-sweeping raising of the arm to the forehead but a simultaneous heel-clicking (they were barefooted) which started with a raising of the right leg to a position at right angles to the other and a crashing of it downwards that almost knocked the left leg from its position as sole prop to the body.

The ceremony was beginning to drag a little by now, for our chairs, of the small and fragile tin bazaar variety, were excessively uncomfortable, but the Indian likes his entertainment long (theatres sometimes last five or six hours) and before we were permitted to depart, our friend the harmonium player of the morning was again laid on to sing us an " ode " of his own devising, in English, to his own accompaniment. Unfortunately we could not make out much of his " English " except for a portion where he referred to " my wife, the joy of my life " and the periodically repeated chorus:— Today is a happy day.

Today is a happy day.

Praising, blessing to the officers And sing a lovely song.

That evening, as the highlight of our visit, the Thakur Sahib entertained us to dinner, a true deshi-khan eaten at ground level and without the aid of knives and forks. Each guest has in front of him

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

43 twelve or which are placed some a that, a large round metal tray, on more smaller round metal bowls, each containing a different variety of foodstuff, some hot, some bitter, some sickly sweet, but all adding up to a delicious and most satisfying meal. The Rajput theory of digestion is that it is advisable to vary the taste in the mouth with each mouthful—a mouthful of curried goat, for example, would be followed by a mouthful of sweet baba, then a mouthful of parched gram, a mouthful of orange, another mouthful of curry and so forth.

This stimulates the flow of saliva and so aids digestion—an aid, I may add, which is undoubtedly necessary in coping with the huge volume of food eaten, for it would be uncomplimentary to the ladies in the purdah portion of the house who have cooked this delectable meal not to eat well beyond one's capacity, just as it would be not to belch heartily at its conclusion.

"TABLE" MANNERS

The place of knife, fork and table napkin is taken by the chapatti, the round, flat pancake of unleavened bread which could be a meal in itself and indeed is so to the poorer sections of the community. These should be eaten when fresh off the girdle, so a succession of them is handed round by a servant throughout the progress of the meal. A piece is broken off and used as a shovel to spoon up the contents of the little round bowls in much the same manner as our present generation of schoolboys and movie fans use the lid of an ice-cream tub to transfer the contents to the mouth.

Before and after dinner an attendant stands in a corner of the room with a bucket of water, and a brass iota to dip into it so that the guests may wash out their mouths and cleanse the hands in the trickle which he pours out. To see a bearded Rajput washing out his mouth is in itself an evening's entertainment.

There is not much conversation during a deshi-khan for the emphasis is rightly placed on the serious business of eating. Conversation comes later when the company have removed themselves into another room and continues with sublime disregard for whatever form of entertainment may be laid on for the guests' diversion. On this occasion there was a conjuror waiting to entertain us, a wizened, rascally-looking individual with sparse hair and a toothless smile, clad in a well-stained dress suit which might have beers cast off by a Soho waiter, but with bare feet protruding beneath.

His equipment was of the scantiest—a home-made magic wand, a few metal cylinders and canisters made from old kerosene tins, a greasy pack of cards and a few grubby silk handkerchiefs, but with these simple accessories and with none of the soft illusion, created on a stage by distance and discreet lighting, he bamboozled us at close quarters with skill and dexterity and with a disarming, feigned simplicity that forced an unwilling admiration.

Then came the pike de risistance—Geeki Bai, a dancing girl from Allahabad, who had obviously been imported at no little expense for the evening's entertainment, together with her orchestra of three— the leader on the harmonium, the runner-up with a ten-stringed viol

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

and the also-ran with the percussion battery of tablas on which are beaten out tantalising rhythms that the western ear finds difficulty in comprehending. You listen carefully; you think you have got it, and then—slap, slap, boom, slap, boom; the beat you are anticipating does not materialise and you have to start your calculations at the beginning again.

The lady herself, like the bagpipes, takes some time to warm up.

To the accompaniment of a few desultory drones and slaps which do not add up to anything, she half hums, half sings a vague, tuneless cadenza which scarcely seems to get by the wad of brick-red pan she chews and which is accompanied by a frequent plucking of her sari over her well-greased head and an equally frequent picking of her bejewelled nose. Where the glamour is to be seen in these Indian equivalents of our movie stars, I have never been able to find out, for I have never seen one who was not physically repugnant.

With little warning, and with no cessation of conversation on the part of her audience, the cadenza gives way to a strident and brassy roar from her constricted throat that nearly splits the eardrums; the tabla player sweats and works himself into a fever of excitement and the song is well under way. Each verse seems to begin with four long-sustained, brassy bellows, rising in the minor key, followed by a coloratura interlude of throat gymnastics, which gives one the impression of never being likely to come to an end and which is taken so fast that it appears to be a race between madame and her instrumentalists to see who can finish first.

Nor does it come to an end, for an hour later the lady is still in full cry with the musicians in hot pursuit; indeed now she merely seems to be getting into her stride and looks like going on for ever. Aubrey and I pined for bed and began making signs at each other, for on the morrow we intended to rise early to start the journey home. Our hosts, with true eastern hospitality, were most reluctant to let us depart—if they had had their way of it, we should still have been there at dawn—but experience had taught us both that this was a moment when firm insistence pays and we said good-night and hied us to our tents, secure in the knowledge that our departure would not have broken up the party; that, on the contrary, freed of the restraint of our presence, it would have progressed to a 'degree of liberty and licence that would have been unattainable had we remained.

The journey back to railhead the following day was as fascinatingly monotonous as the outward journey, except possibly for my bearer, who began to experience saddle-soreness through his thin cotton pajamas and who was bleeding by the time we reached railhead.

Luckily there was a small village dispensary there where mollification was applied. While the sufferer was being treated, I studied idly the List of Tools and Plants hanging on a wall and was delighted to discover the entry " a Chambers or Fish Pots ".

I now know why the chowkidars of so many small rest houses give these articles a place of honour with jug and basin on the top of wash tables !

G. T. SIMPSON (1910-20).

45

Marriages Aggett (x930-42).--At St. Lawrence Church, Scunthorpe, Lincs, on 13 September 1950, t ICHAEL ALEXANDER AGGETT,* younger son of Mr. and Mrs. T. F. Aggett, 5 Louisville Avenue, Aberdeen, to Alice Rachel Elsie Mitchell, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. F. Mitchell, Uplands, Scunthorpe.

Bowman (1931-43).—At St. James's Episcopal Church, Aberdeen, on 15 July 1950, NELSON CHARLES BOWMAN,* only son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bowman, 28 Camperdown Road, Aberdeen, to Joan Salmon, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. • • Alfred B. Salmon, zo Harlaw Road, Aberdeen.

Buchan (x930-42).—At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on x July 1950, OGILVIE MILNE CLARKE BUCHAN, SOD of Dr. William Buchan and of the late Mrs. M. Buchan, 183 Great Western Road, Aberdeen, to Margaret Miller, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. Miller, 6 Donmouth Road, Aberdeen.

Burns (t925-31).----At Bishop's Cleeve, Cheltenham, on 4 November 1950, GEORGE RErria BURNS, Malaya, elder son of the late Mr. William Burns and of Mrs. Burns, Aberdeen, to Margaret Helen (Peggy) Thomas, daughter of Mr. F. Mowbray Thomas and of the late Mrs. Kathleen Thomas (nee Walker, Fyvic).

Connon (193o-4o).—At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on lo July 1950, WILLIAM LEWIS Comiorr,* B.L., advocate in Aberdeen, son of Mr. and Mrs. J: L. Connon, t so South Anderson Drive, Aberdeen, to Doreen Margaret Wood, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Wood, Salween, West Cults.

Coull (1923-36).—At John Knox's (Mounthooly) Church, Aberdeen, on i i August 1950, DAVID COULL, younger son of the late Mr. William Coull and of Mrs. Catherine Coull, 25 Anderson Drive, Aberdeen, to Irene Jean Dunn, M.A., only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Dunn, 280 Union Grove, Aberdeen.

Courts (1928-38).—At Aberdeen, on 13 November 1950, CHARLES DEWAR Cotrrrs, 40 Carden Place, Aberdeen, to Violet Scott, younger daughter of Mr. Edward Scott and of the late Mrs. Scott, roz Walker Road, Aberdeen.

Curnine (1939-43).—At Holbum Central Church, Aberdeen, on 22 September 1950, MALCOLM DOUGLAS CUMINE,* son of the late Mr. Alexander Cumine and of Mrs. Cumine, Woodburn, Carron Terrace, Stonehaven, to Gladys Isobel Crighton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Crighton, 738 Great Northern Road, Woodside, Aberdeen.

Dalgleish (1930-36).—At Craiglockhart Parish Church, Edinburgh, on 1 July 195o, ANDREW MARTIN DALGLEISH, A.R.I.B.A., second son of the Rev. G. W. and Mrs. Dalgleish, Manse of Monymusk, Aberdeenshire, to May Stuart Crichton, younger daughter of the late Rev. A. S. Crichton, D.D., Inverurie, and of Mrs. Crichton, 5 Craiglockhart Park, Edinburgh.

Dawson (x925-37).--At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on 7 September 1950, PHILIP DAWSON,* M.A., LL.B., younger son of Mr. and Mrs. James Dawson, 5o Forest Road, Aberdeen, to Iola Simpson M`Donald, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George G. M`Donald, Kimberley House, 79 Walker Road, Aberdeen.

Farquharson (1929-43).—At St. Martyr's Church, St. Andrews, on 27 July 195o, JOSEPH FARQUHARSON,* only son of Mr. and Mrs. James Farquharson, 38 Ashley Gardens, Aberdeen, to Norah Reid Fitzgerald, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Fitzgerald, 109 North Street, St. Andrews.

Ferries (1925-39).—At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on 28 August 1950, HARVEY FERRIES,* B.L., son of JOHN GEORGE DUNCAN FERRIES (1894-1905), and of Mrs. Ferries, The Elms, Bieldside, to Margaret Johnston Hay, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John G. Hay, Bank House, Woodside, Aberdeen.

Pickles (1927-37).—lit St. Cuthbert's Parish Church, Edinburgh, on 24 June • 195o, BRIAN JOHN FIDDES, younger son of Sir James and Lady Fiddes, 3 Kaimes Road, Edinburgh, to Dorothy Odette Thomson, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Thomson, Bayeux, France.

Grant (1935-4z).—At Christ Church, Down Street, London, on x August 1950, JoHN PETER GRANT,* younger son of the late Mr. George Grant, Glenfarclas, and of Mrs. J. Grant, Dundarroch, Lossiemouth, to Hilary June Cunynghame Robertson, daughter of Brigadier and Mrs. Robertson, Little Struan, Pangbourne.

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Hughes (1925-35).—At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on 15 September 1950, JAMES HUGHES,* son of Mr. Alexander B. Hughes and of the late Mrs. B. J. Hughes, 207 Forest Avenue, Aberdeen, to Madge Alexander, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Alexander, 49 Rubislaw Den South, Aberdeen.

Irvine (1929- 34 —At the West Church of St. Nicholas, Aberdeen, on 21 October 195o, NEIL CULLEN IRVINE, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Irvine, Heston, Rubislaw Den North, Aberdeen, to Margaret Catherine Meldrum, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Neil and Mrs. Meldrum, to Carden Place, Aberdeen.

Killah (I939-44).—At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on z August 1950, JAMES KILLAH, only son of Mr. and Mrs. James Killah, 23 Leggart Terrace, Aberdeen, to Georgina Mary Robertson, elder daughter of the late Mr. Alexander Robertson and of Mrs. Robertson, 239 Rosemount Place, Aberdeen.

Lindsay (1935-38).--At Kelman Memorial Church, Peterculter, Aberdeenshire, on 16 September 1950, ANGUS WILLIAM LINDSAY,* B.Sc. (Eng.), son of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Lindsay, Stanley Cottage, Peterculter, to Muriel Cooper, daughter of Mr. J. W. Cooper, Glaramora, Milltimber, Aberdeenshire.

MacHardy (1929-39).—At Birse Lodge Hotel, Aboyne, on 17 August 1950, HAMISH CHISHOLM MACHARDY, M.A., son of Mr. and Mrs. James MacHardy, Cruadalach, Aboyne, to Agnes (Bunty) Harper Gill M'Lennan, younger daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. M'Lennan, Balnahard Cottage, Finzean, Kincardineshire.

McIntosh (19z8-33).—At St. Thomas's Church, Calcutta, on it February 195o, IAN McINTosn,* second son of Major and Mrs. Murdoch McIntosh, Drummond Tower, Inverness, to Leslie Joy Everett, youngest daughter of the late Mr. Cyril Everett, Ashford, Kent, and of Mrs. E. S. Everett, Calcutta.

Malcolm (1924-26).—At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on 8 September 1950, WILLIAM MALCOLM,* L.D.S. (St. And.), elder son of Mr. William Malcolm, 2 Alexandra Terrace, Fraserburgh, and of the late Mrs. Malcolm, to Laura Blackball Cormack Thompson, only daughter of the late Provost James M. Thompson and of Mrs. Thompson, Blythswood, Fraserburgh.

Mayor (I928-36).—At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on 8 September 195o, GEORGE EDWARD MAYOR,* M.A., M.B., Ch.B., F.R.C.S.E., youngest son of the late Mr. William D. Mayor and of Mrs. Lena Mayor, Viewmount, Craigton Road, Aberdeen, to Jean Eileen Smith, S.A.N., S.R.M., Sankos, Bieldside, Aberdeenshire, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. A. Greig Smith, Jalpaiguri, Bengal.

Meldrum (1925-37).—At Adelaide Road Presbyterian Church, Dublin, on 25 July 1950, NEIL IAN WILSON MELDRUM,* M.A. LL.B., advocate in Aberdeen, younger son of Rev. Dr. Neil and Mrs. Meldrum, to Carden Place, Aberdeen, to Ivy Williamson, daughter of Mr. R. C. Williamson, Naas, Co. Kildare.

Menzies (193I-40).—At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on at June 1950, THOMAS MENZIES, M.B., Ch.B., elder son of Major-General THOMAS MENZIES* (1905-1o), C.B., O.B.E., K.H.P., and of Mrs. Menzies, to Margaret Ledingham Davidson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Davidson, to Angusfield Avenue, Aberdeen.

Murray (1928-39).—At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on 2.3 September 1950, ALEXANDER JOHN ROBERTSON MURRAY,' B.Sc., Ph.D., son of Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Murray, 12 Norfolk Road, Aberdeen, to Mary Maxwell Davidson, M.A., Glengaim, West Cults, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Davidson, 49 Duthie Terrace, Aberdeen.

Neish (1927-30).—At Holbum West Church, Aberdeen, on 7 June 1950, ROBERT PETER MILNE NEISH, son of Mr. Robert Neish, 27 Landale Road, Peterhead, to Isobel M. D. Walker, 398 Great Western Road, Aberdeen.

Ogilvie (I944-47).—At St. Andrew's Cathedral, Aberdeen, on 8 July 1950, JAMES MARTIN OGILVIE,* only son of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Ogilvie, Beechwood, Peterculter, to Hilda Elizabeth (Dad) Kinghorn, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. K. W. Kinghom, 224 Springfield Road, Aberdeen.

Patterson (1917-38).-At South Church, Torphins, Aberdeenshire, on z7 June 1950, HAROLD STEPHEN CAITHNESS PATTERSON, younger son of the late Mr. J. Cochar Patterson, spirit merchant, Aberdeen, and of Mrs. Patterson, 45 Woodend Place, Aberdeen, to Mary (Molly) Pirie, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. Pirie, Tillyskukie, Corse, Lumphanan.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine 47 Poison (1938-41). At Bucksbum, on 31 October 1950, JAMES SINCLAIR POISON, only son of Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Poison, 6 Anderson Drive, Aberdeen, to Jean Murray, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Murray, zi Auchmill Road, Bucksbum.

Rae (I929-41).--At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on 7 November 1950, WILLIAM JACK WATSON RAE, M.B., Ch.B., younger son of HARRY JAMES RAE* (1898-1904), M.C., M.A., M.B., Ch.B., D.P.H., K.H.P., and of Mrs. Rae, 85 King's Gate, Aberdeen, to Gladys Evelyn Melville, M.A., only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. T. Melville, 5 St. John's Terrace, Mannofield, Aberdeen.

Reid (1924-28).—At Rosemount Church, Aberdeen, on 24 June 1950, FRANCIS REID, second son of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Reid, 4a Springbank Street, Aberdeen, to Phyllis Margaret Whyte, elder daughter of Mr. Joseph D. Whyte and of the late Mrs. Whyte, 23 Wallfield Place, Aberdeen.

Rhind (x933-36).—At Holburn Central Church, Aberdeen, on 23 September 1950, ALEXANDER DONOVAN RHLND, elder son of Mr. and Mrs. G. M. Rhind, 26 Fonthill Road, Aberdeen, to Margaret Helen Stuart, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Stuart, Wilmar, 18 Gordon Road, Aberdccn.

Roberts (1928-39).-At St. Mary's Cathedral, Aberdeen, on 22 July 1950, DAVID ROBERTS,* youngest son of Councillor and Mrs. George Roberts, 16 Polmuir Road, Aberdeen, to Isabelle Gunn Lobban, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lobban, 37 Whitehall Place, Aberdeen.

Rogers (194o-43).—At King's College Chapel, Old Aberdeen, on 6 October 1950, JAMES WILLIAM ROGERS,* eldest son of the late Mr. Eric Rogers, May Pen, Jamaica, and of Mrs. Rogers, 14 Cranford Terrace, Aberdeen, to Doris Isobel Bisset, M.B., Ch.B., only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Bisset, 276 Queen's Road, Aberdeen.

Sangster (1942-44).—At the West Church of St. Andrew, Aberdeen, on 28 October 1950, DENNIS RUSSELL SANGSTER, only son of Mr. and Mrs. P. Sangster, West Leamey, Torphins, to Elizabeth Logan, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Logan, Millport.

Sharp (192o-27).—At Muswell Hill Presbyterian Church, London, on t September 195o, RICHARD LYALL SHARP, second son of the late Mr. Alexander Sharp, advocate in Aberdeen, and of Mrs. Isabella Sharp, O.B.E., 45 Gray Street, Aberdeen, to Jean Helen Crombie, eldest daughter of SIR JAMES CROMBIE* (1908-21), K.B.E., C.M.G., and of Lady Crombie, 63 Grove Avenue, Muswell Hill, London.

Sim (I933-37).—At St. Mary's Cathedral, Aberdeen, on 21 November 1950, WILLIAM JOHN SIM,* son of Mr. and Mrs. William J. Sim, Green Braes, Balnagask Road, Aberdeen, to Ellen Doreen M`Donald, M.A., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William P. M`Donald, 88 Hainmerfield Avenue, Aberdeen.

Stephen (I936-42).—At Trinity United Memorial Chapel, Kitchener, Ontario, on 22 July 1950, GEORGE STEPHEN,* elder son of the late Mr. James H. Stephen, East Mathers, St. Cyrus, and of Mrs. Stephen, 152 Osborne Place, Aberdeen, to Dorothy Loma Ross, younger daughter of the late Rev. William A. Ross, and of Mrs. Ross, Toronto.

Strathdee (1932-44).—At St. John's Episcopal Church, Aberdeen, on 24 June 1950, GEORGE STRATHDEE, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Strathdee, 48 Rubislaw Den South, Aberdeen, to Doris Nairn, younger daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Nairn, 36 Irvine Place, Aberdeen.

Whyte (I93I-4x).—At Commercial Hotel, Keith, on 16 September 1950, JOHN Cowxx WHYTE, M.B., Ch.B., Aberdeen, to Flora Elizabeth Clark, Rowater, Cornhill, Banff.

48

Obituary James Adam (1867-71), known as " The Grand Old Man of Kokstad and East Griqualand ", died at Kokstad, Cape Province, South Africa, on 14 September 195o, aged ninety-four. A son of the late Mr. William Adam, The Bush, Crathes, he went to South Africa in r88o and was one of the pioneers in farming in East Griqualand. The farm which he owned, known as The Wolds, was bare country in his early days in South Africa but is now one of the most beautiful farms in East Griqualand, set amidst rolling hills and surrounded by many fine trees.

He spent his first months in South Africa building walls to earn a livelihood.

He then obtained employment with the owner of The Wolds at a salary of La los. per month and, when the Basuto war broke out, he was called up as a Kokstad Town Guard. With the small sum that he managed to save from his military pay he bought a few cattle, which the owner of The Wolds allowed him to keep on the farm, and later he obtained a small share in the profits of the farm. Soon after he acquired The Wolds and it was there that he spent the rest of his days.

He was a lifelong member of the East Griqualand Agricultural Society and, in short, it has been said, he was Fast Griqualand agriculture.

In a a fine tribute published in The Kokstad Advertiser it was stated : " he was a man esteemed and renowned wherever he went and his passing has severed a historic link that never will be forgotten ". In the same newspaper there was published a list of the names of almost three hundred people who sent wreaths to his funeral.

One of his brothers, ROBERT ADAM (1866-68), also attended the School. He died in 1919, after being cashier to Messrs. Rcith & Anderson, cattle salesmen, Aberdeen, for forty-six years. Mr. Adam was an uncle of Mr. Robert Adam, advocate, of Messrs. Adam, Thomson & Ross, advocates, Aberdeen, and a granduncle of WILLIAM ADAM* (1925-47), B.Sc. (Agri.), who is now farming at Lower Bodachra, Dyce.

Herbert John Anderson* (1898-1901), of Glenoaks, Moor Park, Northwood, Middlesex, died after a long illness on 17 October 195o. He was in his sixtysecond year. After leaving the School he was for four years in the office of Mr. Richard W. Lewis, engineer, Aberdeen, and then for four years he was a mercantile assistant with Alex. Young (London) Limited, London. In 1909 he became a mercantile assistant with Matheson & Company Limited, Lombard Street, London, and from 1916 to 1918 he was a technical assistant for the purchase of stores in the Contracts Department of the War Office. In 1920 he joined Mr. T. R. Stayers in the firm of Stayers & Anderson, timber merchants, London.

Mr. Stayers writes :— I first met Herbert John Anderson in 1919, just after he had left the Contracts Department of the War Office, where he had served with efficiency and distinction during the war which had just ended.

I came in contact with him several times during the next few months and was so impressed with his integrity and capacity that I asked him to become my partner. He agreed to join me, and we have worked together happily ever since. No one could have wished for a more helpful or cheerful partner.

Our business entailed frequent visits to Scandinavia, Finland and the South Baltic States and " Andy" became a great personal friend of some of the largest industrialists in these countries. The dry humour of the Scot and his absolute commercial integrity greatly appealed to them.

He was a great motorist and before his illness thought nothing of a journey from London to Aberdeen in a day.

During the General Strike of 1926 he sympathised so much with the people who had to walk miles to their work that he volunteered to drive a London bus, which he did until the Strike ended.

His illness started as a result of a cold contracted on a visit abroad in 1938, and his courage and fortitude during his long illness made a great impression on us all. He will be greatly missed.

James Brown* (1876-79), formerly manager of the Bank of Montreal, Waterford, Ontario, Canada, died at Toronto on 3o July 1950, aged eighty-five. He had been in poor health for several years. He was with the North of Scotland Bank in Aberdeen for five years before going to Canada in 1887. From then until

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

49

1906 he was on the staff of the Ontario Bank at Toronto and thereafter, on the amalgamation of the Ontario Bank and the Bank of Montreal, he served with the new Bank successively at Toronto, Guelph and Waterford. He was manager at Waterford for twenty-two years and retired in 1928. In his younger days he was an ardent fisherman and canoeist: he was a life member of the Argonaut Rowing Club.

Thomas Duncan Hunter Brown* (1897-1900), of 2 Lawrie Park Crescent, Sydenham, London, S.E. 26, died suddenly on is September 1950, aged sixtyfive. He was going with some friends to have lunch at the Café Royal in Regent Street, and collapsed as he was entering the building.

On leaving the School he entered the service of Messrs. Macqueen & Knox (later Macqueen & Findlater), advocates, Aberdeen, qualified as a solicitor in 1909 and became the firm's principal assistant in the following year. In 1911 he joined the accident claims department of the Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company Limited, Liverpool, and two years later he was promoted to be head of the department. From 1916 to 1918 he was secretary to Brotherton and Company Limited, ammonia and tar distillers, Leeds, and in 1918 he joined the accountants' department of the Gas Light & Coke Company, London. In 1920 he became wages officer and from 1938 to 1941, when he retired, he was chief officer for labour with the company. During the recent war he was comptroller with Short Brothers, Rochester, and latterly he acted as an expert on labour matters with the National Federation of Vehicle Trades.

He was secretary of the London Centre of the F.P. Club from December 1927 until January 1933, and one of the members of the " 1940 committee " who helped to restart the Centre's activities after the 1939-45 war.

Robert Selbie Clark* (1894-1901), M.A., D.Sc., who retired from the post of director of the Scottish Home Department's Marine Laboratory, Torry, Aberdeen, in 1948, died at Aberdeen on 29 September 1950, aged sixty-eight. Biologist to Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-16 and a marine scientist of international renown, he was also one of the School's outstanding sportsmen, having been " capped " for Scotland at cricket.

After teaching for three years at Blairgowrie he graduated M.A. at the University of Aberdeen in 1908, and B.Sc. three years later. He then worked as a zoological assistant in the Scottish Oceanographical Laboratory at Edinburgh for a year, and as a Carnegie scholar engaged in research on the rarer marine fishes. In 1913-14 he was naturalist to the Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, a post to which he returned in 1919 for four years after his Antarctic experiences and his war service on the North Sea as a Lieutenant, R.N.V.R. In 1923 he was appointed senior naturalist at the Fishery Board Research Station, Torry, Aberdeen, and in 1934 he became superintendent of scientific investigations under the Scottish Fishery Board. In 1935 he was appointed lecturer in the University of Aberdeen on the scientific study of fisheries. Since 1933 he had been chairman of the Scottish area committee of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, which sponsors fishery research in the North-East Atlantic, and from 1946 he was chairman of the Council's consultative committee which co-ordinates the work of all the area committees and advises the Council. All European maritime nations are, or have been, affiliated to this Council.

As a cricketer R. S. Clark played at different times for Carlton, Dunfermline and Aberdeenshire and he was captain of the County team for several years. He is one of the few Aberdeenshire players who have scored a century in a County game and he was " capped " for Scotland against Ireland in 1912, against South Africa twice and against Yorkshire in 1924. He was a brilliant wicketkeeper and as a footballer he kept goal for Aberdeen University in his student days.

It was in the Endrerana that he sailed with Shacklcton to the Antarctic in 1914 as biologist to the expedition. In November 1915 his ship was sunk by ice pressure in the Weddell Sea and he was one of a party of twenty-two who had to make a hazardous journey in three small boats through the ice floes to Elephant Island, the most northerly island of the South Shetland group. During four winter months the party were marooned there until a trawler got through from the Falkland Islands to relieve them in August 1916. (An article on his experiences was contributed by Dr. Clark to the Magazine of March 1920.) In virtue of his Antarctic experience he had the distinction of belonging to the Antarctic Club.

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Aberdeen Grammar School Mag.:Rine

Another member of that Club, WILLIAM CLARK SOUTER * (1893-98), M.D., D.O., writes:— Bob Clark was justly proud of his connection with the Grammar School, and the School held him in high regard for his services on the cricket pitch as well as on the football field. Particularly in cricket, for School, 'Varsity, 'Shire and for Scotland, he ranks among the School's immortals. For purity of style and for driving power as a bat, as well as for quickness of action as a 'keeper, Clark had a great reputation. When he came on the field people woke up and took notice (perhaps even took cover when he punished each bowler's best by boundaries). This grace and finish were features of all he did, whether it was chirography, golf, fly-fishing or spinning on his beloved Dee, or tackling a scientific problem—yes, he was a stylish stylist.

By 1914, after Discovery and Nimrod experiences, Shackleton must have known what type of man suited Antarctic work, and for his ambitious Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-16 he had to pick fifty-six personnel out of nearly 5ooo applicants. One of these was Clark. No doubt Clark's sporting record, the fact that he had " played cricket " for so long, influenced The Boss, as he was called, but he may have been struck also by Clark's fine figure and bearing and obvious sincerity and interest in his subject, biology.

Clark set out full of high hopes that he might add to knowledge by ploughing up the fallow ground, to use an odd metaphor. What might he not dredge out of the vasty Deep? Changing from Pliny's Africa we might say Ex Antarctica temper aGyuid novi. Clark did all he could, collecting, observing, recording, up to the time of the crushing of the Endurance (never was a Polar ship more appropriately or grimly named), in the ice of the Weddell Sea, when he lost everything. What Clark might have done with reasonable luck no one can tell but he had a colossal disappointment—in the struggle for survival all else had to be sacrificed. Already Clark had shown industry, ingenuity and interest in his work on the way out and now, when the Endurance was nearly gone, he was using the deep dredges to get specimens not for the lab. only but for what had now to serve as a table. The cry of the Adelic penguin has often been recorded as " Ack-Ack " but the Endurance men heard it as " Clark, Clark ", and this high approach to onomatopoetic verisimilitude may serve to perpetuate his memory down South.

The dreadful drift on the ice and the thoroughly miserable sojourn for over four months with twenty-one others on Elephant Island, without shelter or fuel, almost without any ordinary food, full of tenuous hopes and solid fears as to rescue, even by the unconquerable Shackleton, must have had a deep influence on a sensitive man like Clark, but he stood it out and returned to this country to take up on mine-sweepers work of a more swiftly acting, hazardous type. Happily he was preserved to return to his life's work, ichthyology in the narrow anatomical sense, and the broader subject of fisheries in general.

Clark came under the influence of such men as the late Professor Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson of St. Andrews, our own Professors James Ritchie, now of Edinburgh, and A. C. Hardy, now of Oxford, besides collaborating with various Continental, particularly Scandinavian, experts, among whom he was held in high regard as evidenced by the laudatory messages, lamenting his loss, that came from the International Congress for the Exploration of the Sea, sitting in Denmark at the time of Clark's death. Clark was to have been at this Congress, had he been spared.

Granitic in his reliability, generous to a degree, dignified in bearing, somewhat shy, he became to those who had the key to his affections one of the best of friends, and wherever he worked or played he left the impression of a fine character and a lovable personality.

Neil Collie Duffus* (1916-27), youngest son of the late Mr. William Duffus of the firm of Messrs. J. & A. Gibb, warehousemen, Market Street, Aberdeen, died at Aberdeen on 1z October 195o, at the early age of thirty-nine. He entered the service of the North of Scotland Bank Limited at Aberdeen, but was compelled for reasons of health to seek an outdoor occupation. In 1938 he joined the staff of the Norwich Union Life Assurance Society as an inspector and during the war he served with the Navy. His principal sport was tennis and he was one of the

Aberdeen Gratmar School Magazine oldest members of the Four Courts Club being a member of their match team for many years. He also played for the North-East of Scotland in representative matches.

One of his brothers, GEORGE GIBB Deus (1912-24), C.A., was also at the School. He died in February 1942, aged thirty-five.

Herbert Anderson Eccles* (1905-13), T.D. M.S., Ch.B., died at Bon-Accord, New Herrington, County Durham, on z9 August 1950, aged fifty-four. He studied Arts and Medicine at the University of Aberdeen in 1913-14 and then served for four years in a field ambulance. After the war he returned to the University and graduated in Medicine in 1923. Thereafter he held appointments in the Royal Aberdeen Hospital for Sick Children and the Royal Infirmary, Sunderland, before going into practice at New Herrington in 1925. Between the wars he was medical officer to the 7th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, and during the second world war he became an A.D.M.S. with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

He was a rugby enthusiast and played for Durham County on several occasions, including their match against the " All Blacks " in 19 24.

In a tribute published in the British Medical Journal, ALEXANDER ADAM MCINTOSH Nicot.* (1915-17), M.B., Ch.B., F.R.C.P., wrote :— As a practitioner he took a personal interest in his patients, not only in their illnesses but in their family affairs. Their welfare affected him much more than was generally appreciated. To those who had not the privilege of knowing him well, he may have appeared unduly forceful and even blunt. Below this facade there existed a kind, almost sentimental, nature and a sincerity which endeared him to all who gained his friendship. . . . He will be sadly missed by a wide circle of friends in the North-East of England, in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Cecil Gordon Foggo 0878-83), L.R.C.P.(Edin.), L.R.C.S. (Edin.), died suddenly at Pinclands, Cape Town, on 6 October 1950, aged eighty-two. He was the fifth son of the late Mr. Robert Gordon Foggo, sometime factor of the Invercauld Estates, and one of nine brothers, six of whom attended the School. He qualified at Edinburgh in 1894, and after practising in Yorkshire, went to the Orange Free State in 191o. For twelve years he was in practice successively at Senekal, Hibernia and Bushmaskap before settling in Zastron where he was district surgeon from 1922 to 1933. He then retired and went to live in Cape Town.

He was a very keen freemason and had earned high honours. Last year he came to this country on holiday and visited the School.

PERCY GORDON FOGGO (1878-86), is the only survivor of Dr. Foggo's five brothers who attended the School. He now lives in Euroa, Victoria, Australia, but was previously engaged in sheep farming in New South Wales with another brother, EDWIN GORDON FOGGO (1878-84), who died in 1933. WILLIAM STEWART Fouuo (1878-8z), sometime solicitor in Aberdeen, took up fruit farming in British Columbia and died there in 1918; ROBERT GORDON FOGGO (1878-84) was at one time a farmer at Larchmont, West Chester County, New York State, but retired after the 1914-18 war and died in the Midlands in 1939; and GEORGE MURRAY 80-86), who was in the Orange Free State for a time, died FARQUHARSON FOGGO at Biggar, Lanarkshire, in 1932.

James Sutherland Balkwill Forbes (1903-to), M.A., M.B., Ch.B., late Major R.A.M.C., died at Addo, South Africa, on to October 1950, aged fifty-eight.

Having graduated at the University of Aberdeen in Arts in 1913 and in Medicine, in 1917, he served for three years in the R.A.M.C. (S.R.) and in 1920 he was granted a regular commission in that Corps. In 1929 he was promoted to the rank of Major and he retired in 1937. Two years later he was recalled to the R.A.M.C. but, after being in charge of an ambulance train in France, he was finally invalided from the Service in 1940. Thereafter he spent some months with his sister in Edinburgh before renting and furnishing an isolated old manse in Glenbuchat, Aberdeenshire, wheie he lived until the end of the war. In February 1947 he set out for South Africa in a 30o-ton steam yacht, Tornado II, which came by more than her share of adventures. She ran out of fuel off Madeira, was towed to Funchal, spent eight weeks in Las Palmas harbour, was adrift for seven days after her boiler had broken down, and eventually was towed to Lagos. Thereafter Major Forbes was glad to resort to a more conventional vessel, and almost six months after he had left England, he reached Cape Town without further adventures.

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He was a nephew of Sir Arthur Keith, F.R.S., M.D., F.R.C.S., who was Rector of the University of Aberdeen from 1930 to 1933, and was one of three brothers who attended the School. THOMAS GUTHRIE FORBES (1898-1902) lives at Errol, Perthshire, and holds a post under the Department of Agriculture for Scotland (see page to), and ARTHUR KEITH FORBES (1908-12) was killed in an accident at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in 1932.

WILLIAM CALTHORPE MACKINNON* (1906-Io), M.A., M.B., Ch.B., Colonel, R.A.M.C., writes:— To all his friends, J. S. B. Forbes was always known as " Pirate " Forbes, but why so, none of us ever seemed to know. He inherited from both sides of his family considerable intelligence and ability, and this was always apparent during his School and University career. He played for the School at rugger and cricket, and was a prominent member of the Debating Society and of the old " bug-hunters ". In 19to when the 4th Gordons began to recruit from amongst the senior pupils of the School, he was one of the first to enlist.

At 'Varsity he took his Arts degree preparatory to taking Medicine. In the scholastic field, all things, whenever•he cared, came easily to " Pirate ".

In anatomy, the via dolorara of medical students, inspired perhaps by the fame of his celebrated uncle, Sir Arthur Keith, he cleared every prize and medal, without apparent effort on his part. On the social side he continued his interest in rugger and hockey. He was president of the S.R.C. in 1915-16, was one of the first members of the University O.T.C. (Medical Contingent), and in 1916-17 acted as its R.S.M. Entering the R.A.M.C. on graduation in 1917, he served during World War I in Mesopotamia, and between the two wars in many parts of the world, until ill health caused his premature retirement. Recalled to service at the outbreak of World War II, he served with the B.E.F. in France, but ill health dogged him and he was invalided to retirement. Retirement did not suit his active and energetic spirit, and in spite of poor health he emigrated to South Africa, where he held various medical appointments until his recent sudden and unexpected death.

There was nothing that he loved more than to recall with me pe0ple and incidents of our days at the School, for which he had a most remarkable and retentive memory. All past and present events concerned with the School always interested him deeply, and by his passing the School has lost one more true and faithful son.

George Ogg Gauld and Alexander McRobbie Guild, second and sixth sons respectively of the late Mr. Edgar Gauld, builder, Aberdeen, both died suddenly this summer within three months of each other. They were aged seventy-six and sixty-nine respectively. There were six Gauld brothers who attended the School and the other four survive: WILLIAM E. GAULD (188z-86), F.R.I.B.A., retired architect and valuator, lives in Aberdeen; EDGAR GAULD (1887-91), formerly of Messrs. Strachan & Gauld, Aberdeen, is a commercial traveller in Aberdeen for a London firm; JAMES GAULD (1891-93) was until recently engaged in tobacco and mixed farming at Umtali and is now living in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia; and ROBERT McHAitnx GAULD (189z-95), formerly a partner in his father's firm, is now in the service of Messrs. Gordon & Watson, funeral directors and motor hirers, Aberdeen.

GEORGE OGG Galax* (1886-91), 1\1.B., Ch.B., died suddenly at his home, 7 Park Terrace, Nottingham, on 16 June 1950. He graduated in Medicine at the University of Aberdeen in 19ot and practised at Elvington, near York, from 19oz to 1910. He then took over a practice in Nottingham where he remained until he retired in 1946. He then went to live in Kent but returned to Nottingham after about a year and assisted various doctors in the city right up to the time of his death. He was captain of both rugby and cricket at School, was one of the three founders of the F.P. Rugby Section, and gained his place in a final Scottish international rugby trial.

His interest in cricket was lifelong. At Elvington he re-established the cricket club in 1907, and on going to Nottingham he played regularly for the Notts.

Amateur Cricket Club up to the outbreak of war in 1939. He played one game even after the war although then over the age of seventy. In 1913-14 he captained the Notts. County Cricket Club, being one of the two Scotsmen ever to captain an

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English County cricket team, and in 192o, at the age of forty-seven, he played in a match for the M.C.C. and finished with a bowling analysis of 5 for 4o (including a hat-trick). His best performance for the County was an innings of 90 out of 155 in sixty-five minutes against Derbyshire at Trent Bridge in 1914. In 1922 he became honorary secretary of the Notts. County Cricket Club and held this position until 1934, when he resigned in consequence of the bodyline bowling controversy.

On the day after his death the Notts. players, in their match against the West Indies at Trent Bridge, wore black bands as a mark of respect to him.

WILLIAM MACKAY* (1884-94), M.A., B.L., advocate in Aberdeen, writes:— With him no surname was necessary; everyone knew him as " G.O." His passing tends to revive affectionate memories of varying sorts depending on the nature of the contacts between him and his friends.

I was younger than " G.O." and therefore not a contemporary but more of a follower during his Grammar School and University days, after which I rather lost immediate touch with him. My contacts were more in the line of sport and holidays. To these spheres alone I now refer. I am not in a position to speak of his professional life.

He introduced me to my spell of cricket at Mannofield, and to my years of playing in the Former Pupils' rugby team of the Grammar School. Through these and many other mutual interests a very warm friendship grew up between us.

His tireless, accurate bowling and carefree batting at cricket are well remembered by those who knew him in the days of many happy matches at Mannofield. On the rugby field his speed and unexpectedness gave much worry to his opponents, and (be it said softly) gave some anxiety to those, like myself, who played in the three-quarter line along with him. But what mattered it when he scored so often? However strenuous games might be, he remained imperturbable, and was free from any touch of temper or resentment.

Some of his outstanding characteristics in all phases of life were his kindliness, gentleness and unselhshness. In hOliday jaunts his companionship was ideal. He loved the country and open spaces. Hill rambles seemed to intensify his joy of life and bring out in him an irresponsible playfulness which gave his friends a faint suggestion of sporting lambs in springtime. I well remember his lying on his back at the top of Ben Macdhui on a perfect summer day and saying with a sigh, " Oh, Bonnie Scotland what I'm sufferin' for ye nool" His humour, ever gentle, was nearly always brim-full of fine old Scots sayings, pungent but abounding in kindly wisdom and pith.

It was impossible to dislike " G.O." It was very easy to love him.

ALEXANDER MCROBBIE GAULD (1893-96), solicitor, died at Old Kilpatrick, on 15 September 795o. He served his law apprenticeship in Aberdeen and Leith and was for about nine years assistant to the late DOUGLASS DUNCAN (1851-54), advocate, secretary of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen from 1889 to 1919. In 1912 he qualified as a law agent and in the following year he commenced practice on his own account in Aberdeen. From 1916 to 2958 he served with the R.A.M.C. and in 7979 he was commissioned in the Gordon Highlanders. He recommenced his practice in Aberdeen in 1922 and went to Glasgow in 1930 to practise on his own account there. He was an elder of Barclay Church, Old Kilpatrick, and devoted much of his spare time to Church affairs.

Rev. Colin Campbell, M.A., B.D., minister of that Church, writes:— By the death of Mr. Alex. Gauld, Barclay Church sustained a grievous loss.

He was a member of the Kirk Session and an ardent and enthusiastic Church worker. In our (-lurch counsels we shall miss his kindly and helpful presence.

He was a man of lovable disposition. Ever zealous to do what was upright and good, he cared more for principle than for popularity. Furthermore, he had a natural gift of humour, which made him a good companion and an excellent friend.

He never liked to miss divine worship. I could expect him there every Sunday, unless he were ill. This fine habit disclosed not only his deep interest in the Church, but also his profound faith in religion and in the abiding realities for which it stands.

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Edward John Harper (1909-14) died suddenly at Glen Inns, New South Wales, on 3o June 1950, aged fifty. He was the eldest son of the late LOUIS HARPER (1881-83), A.M.I.C.E., and one of three brothers who attended the School, with which the family have been connected for at least three generations. He qualified as a wireless operator in 1917 and was commissioned as a second radio officer in the Mercantile Marine in July of that year. In 1920 he was senior wireless operator in S.S. Andalusia, trading between Texas and Antwerp. He left the Mercantile Marine in 1924 and joined the Shanghai Municipal Police with whom he was a pioneer in the use of radio for police work. In 1940 he retired and settled in Australia.

His brother, LOUIS REGINALD HARPER* (1910-17), is on the engineering staff of the B.B.C. in Aberdeen and his youngest brother, DOUGLAS Ross HARPER (1957z6), died as the result of an air liner accident near Bali, Dutch East Indies, in 1940.

Alexander Ernest Lee* (1884-9o), who lived at Brimmond, Woodsend Road, Flixton, Lancashire, died in hospital on 15 February 1950, in his seventy-fifth year.

After leaving the School he entered the service of Messrs. A. Ogston & Sons (now Ogston & Tennant Limited), Aberdeen, and in 1898 he became departmental manager of the English Co-operative Wholesale Society Limited at their soap, candle and lard works in Irlam, near Manchester. He remained in the Society's service until 1940 when he retired. Thereafter he continued to be very active and during the war years he was a full-time voluntary civil defence warden. He was always keenly interested in the social activities of his district and was the principal organiser of most of them. He also did a great deal of work for the local Mission Church. He had the honour of being presented to Royalty on two occasions, first to the late King George V and Queen Mary at the Wembley Exhibition, where he represented the English Co-operative Wholesale Society, and later to the Prince of Wales when he visited Irlam.

George Elder Levie* (1884-88), C.A., F.C.I.S., A.S.A.A., died at Bromley, Kent, on 2 June 195o, aged seventy-seven. He was for five years with Messrs.

Strachan & Gray, chartered accountants and stockbrokers, Aberdeen, and for four years with Messrs. Marquis & Hall, chartered accountants and advocates, Aberdeen, and he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1901. In 1909 he went to Bradford and became a partner in the firm of Butterfield & Hartman, chartered accountants, London and Bradford. In the same year his first book entitled " Practical Book-keeping" was published, to be followed in 1910 by another text-book entitled " Modern Book-keeping ", and he collaborated in the compilation of the "Accountant's Dictionary" which was published in 1922. In 1910 he was appointed lecturer in Accountancy at Bradford Commercial College. In 1927 he became a director of George Ingham & Company Limited, worsted spinners, Greetland, near Halifax, and from 1934 to 1949 he was chairman of the directors of this Company. From April 1928 until he retired in 1949 he was a partner in the firm of Elder Levie, Bryan & Company, chartered accountants, 31-34 Fenchurch Street, London, E.C. 3.

His partner, Mr. H. V. Bryan, states that Mr. Levie was intensely proud of his old school and kept in his office the family copy of the School armorial bearings showing the names of the ten members of his family who were pupils at the School between 18o 3 and 5933.

He was the eldest of four brothers who attended the School and he is survived by two of them: DANIEL A. LEvrE (1886-91), F.R.I.B.A., F.R.I.A.I., has been in practice as an architect in Cork for about forty years and is now senior partner in the firm of Chillingworth & Levie, architects, Cork; JoIL" BEGG LEVIE* (188892), L.R.I.B.A., also worked for some years with this firm but since 1928 he has been an assistant architect with Messrs. W. H. Byrne & Son, architects, Dublin.

His youngest brother, WILLIAM ELDER LEVIE (1889-93), M.A., advocate in Aberdeen, was a partner in the firm of Messrs. L. Mackinnon & Son, advocates, Aberdeen, until his death in 1945.

John Leys (5882-84), M.A., M.D., died at his home, Culdearn, Grantown-onSpey, on 15 September 195o, aged eighty-five. Born at Glcnmuick, Ballater, he was a son of the late Mr. Alexander Leys, Townhead, Balmoral, He graduated at the University of Aberdeen in Arts in 1888 and in Medicine in 1891; four years later he dbtained the degree of M.D. His professional life was spent in medical practice at Norton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and he retired in 1921. After travelling abroad he settled in Grantown-on-Spey a few years later.

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John Marnoch (1887-88), son of the late Mr. George Marnoch, Townhead, Kintore, died at 17 Urquhart Street, Aberdeen, on 25 September 195o. Born in 1873, he was apprenticed as a clerk at the Inverurie Paper Mills before entering the service of Hall, Russell & Company Limited, Aberdeen, in a junior capacity in 1897. Thereafter he occupied progressive positions in the service of that Company, being made book-keeper in 1909 and chief clerk and cashier in 1917, which post he held until he retired in February 1943. During the long period of forty-six years he served the Company with diligence and fidelity and earned the respect and esteem of all who came in contact with him.

Wyndham Anstruther Milligan * (1887-88), M.A., M.D., F.R.C.S.E., fourth son of the late Very Rev. Professor Milligan, D.D., who held the chair of Biblical Criticism in the University of Aberdeen from 186o to 1893, died at his London home on 25 August 1950, aged seventy-eight. He was educated at " The Gym " but came to the School for one session in 1887-88. He graduated at the University of Aberdeen in Arts in 1892 and in Medicine in 1895 and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, in 1899. Seven years later he obtained the degree of M.D. at Aberdeen.

A medical colleague writes:— Dr. Milligan was in general practice in London for over fifty years, and was one of the best-known practitioners in the Mayfair district. He was a family doctor of the finest type, wise, kindly, conscientious and hard-working.

His medical knowledge was up-to-date, his judgment sound and his experience immense. In the rush of a very large practice he found time for more specialised interests as physician to the Margaret Street Hospital and as honorary gynaecologist to the Farringdon Dispensary. He continued his practice even during his final illness when he knew the end was near.

Dr. Milligan had many outside interests. Although his time at the School was very short, he maintained an interest in it, and was present at many of the F.P. Club's London functions. He was well known to many F.P.s through the Aberdeen University Club, London, of which he was for many years secretary, and latterly president. At an age when many men would have retired, he played an active part on the medical side of various aspects of civil defence throughout the war, and for four years from 1945 he was chairman of the Westminster and Holborn Branch of the British Medical Association. His repeated election to this office was a sign of the respect and affection felt for him by his medical colleagues in Westminster.

Arthur William Paterson (1883-87), M.B., C.M., died at S7 Marlborough Road, Ipswich, on 23 May 1950, aged seventy-nine. A native of Ballater, he studied at the University of Aberdeen after leaving the School and graduated in Medicine in 1892. He then became a medical practitioner at Wallsend-on-Tyne and at Dartford before commencing practice in Ipswich in 1898. He retired twelve years ago. Throughout the 1914-18 war he served in the R.A.M.C. and during the second world war he did locum tennis work for local doctors on military service.

David A. Pope* (1881-88), second son of the late Mr. Samuel Pope, who was for many years Art master at the School, and one of five F.P. brothers, died at Edmonton, Canada, on 12 July 1950, aged seventy-seven. He retired in 1946 after farming at Hayter, Alberta, for thirty-two years, during which time his farm ,expanded from 16o to 1300 acres. He specialised in the growing of registered seed grain and the rearing of Aberdeen-Angus cattle.

He was predeceased by his elder brother, SAMUEL POPE (1876-87), solicitor, Aberdeen, who died in 1946: he is survived by WILLIAM A. POPE* (1881-90), who has retired 'after being in the service of the Caledonian Insurance Company in Aberdeen and Manchester; Jomm ROBERT POPE* (1885-96), formerly General Manager of the Caledonian Insurance Company in Edinburgh, who retired last June; and HERBERT G. PoPE* (1890-1902), who is to retire at the end of this year after thirty-one years as City Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer for the City of Aberdeen.

David Smith Rattray (1881-85), Ph.C., lecturer in Pharmacy at Robert Gordon's Technical College, Aberdeen, from 1919 to 1938, died at 24 Whitehall Road, Aberdeen, on 3o June 1§5o, aged seventy-six. He took his Ph.C. at Edinburgh

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in 1897 and was in business as a chemist from 1904 until 1919. During his nineteen years as a lecturer at Robert Gordon's Technical College some Soo students qualified in Pharmacy, and " D. S. R." is remembered by them especially for his tremendous enthusiasm for his subject and the great capacity he had for ' putting it over " in such a way that even the dullest student could understand. One of the pioneer cyclists in Aberdeen, he was still to be seen at the age of seventy-four on his familiar green cross-bar Raleigh and, being a great advocate of outdoor life, he greatly enjoyed cycle-camping tours. He was a keen painter in water colours and no mean performer on the piano which he played by ear.

He is survived by his son, ARTHUR SMITH RATTRAT* (1923-35). (See page 18.)

James Lyon Johnston Ross (1912-15) died suddenly at Foresterhill, Aberdeen, on 13 June 195o, aged fifty-one. He came to the School from Ashley Road School and in 1916 he entered the service of Adam Brothers Limited, coal merchants, ship and insurance brokers, Aberdeen, as an office boy. He was with Adam Brothers Limited for thirty-four years and latterly he was general manager of the Company and of its subsidiary Companies. He was a former president of the Scottish Commercial Travellers' Association. During the second world war he was among the first to join the Local Defence Volunteers and he rose to the rank of Major, commanding " B " Company, 4th (City of Aberdeen) Battalion, Home Guard.

John Cameron Taylor* (19o4-06), a former F.P. Club Consul at Hongkong and Tientsin, died suddenly at 8 Babylon Lane, Lower Kingswood, Surrey, on a August 1950, aged sixty. On leaving the School he entered the London office of Guthrie & Company Limited of Singapore and three years later he joined Matheson & Company Limited. In 1912 he was sent to their Eastern House, Jardine, Matheson & Company Limited, and he served in their head office at Hongkong and later in Shanghai, Tientsin and Hankow. In 1923 he returned to Hongkong, where for two years he was F.P. Club Consul; in 1925 he was posted to Tsingtao; in 1928 he went to Tientsin, where he was also our Consul; and he thereafter returned to Hongkong. From 1935 to 1939 he was again in Tientsin, and he returned to this country from Hongkong in 1941 prior to the outbreak of war in the Far East. For a time he was on the staff of the Manpower Board of . the Ministry of Labour in Aberdeen, but in June 1943 he left for London to rejoin Jardine, Matheson & Company. After the end of the war he was one of the first to return to Hongkong and he played an important part in the reconstruction of the Colony as well as in the reconstruction of his own Company there. Unfortunately, he was compelled for health reasons to return to this country after a year and he retired from the Company's service. During his short retirement he lived at Torphins for a time before settling in Lower Kingswood in 1948.

Under the heading " Death of Old China Hand " the following tribute to Mr. Taylor appeared in the Weekly China Mail:— " Jock " spent half his life in the service of the Princely House and rose to a high position in the firm. He was fur many years their agent in Tientsin, where he will long be remembered by the Chinese community no less than by the foreign residents, not only for his great personal qualities but for his exceptional public services. He was, for example, for a long period chairman of the Tientsin General Chamber of Commerce and his annual speech to this international body was always a landmark in the events of the year.

But though Mr. Taylor spent a considerable time in the North, Hongkong remained his first and last love. I-Ic retained an unabated interest in its welfare and its doings. . . . He was forced to leave the Colony at the end of 1946 for health reasons and had to " go slow " at Home on that account. Broadshouldered, fresh-complexioned and cheery, " Jock " was a good friend and a fine man, with much of the " saltiness ' and shrewdness of the true Scot in his make-up, and a worthy representative both of his race and of his firm.

IAN GEORGE INNES* (1905-08), M.A., B.Sc., B.Sc.(Agri.), M.D., Hull, writes:— During the interval between the wars J. C. Taylor returned from the Far East every five years on leave, and he usually spent his holidays in Scotland.

I shall never forget the many games of golf he played with me. On one occasion we travelled goo miles by car and played a5o holes of golf in five days! These included full rounds at Gleneagles (both courses), Domoch,

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Nairn and Lossicmouth. " Cammic " was very keenly interested in all forms of sport. A great rugby enthusiast, and of course a strenuous (and vociferous) upholder of Scotland, he loved seeing the Calcutta Cup match played when he could. He was a great protagonist of the old School, and no F.P. was more enthusiastic in its praise.

Taylor was a man who could not endure humbug or pretence, and he suffered fools with little gladness. He held strong convictions not only in religion but also in politics, and he was no upholder of nationalisation. He was a first-class letter-writer and as he was well versed in English his letters were always worth preserving. He was a very dear friend and had a most lovable nature. Extremely fond of music, he had an excellent voice which gave great pleasure to his friends on many occasions. He was full of humour, especially that peculiar to the North-East, and his hearty laugh will long be remembered by all who knew him. It is sad to relate that the evidence of the illness which caused his death was first discovered in Hongkong, and this prevented his obtaining one of the highest posts in the service of Jardine, Matheson & Co. The large number of people from all over Scytlancl and England who attended his funeral service in the little chapel at Reigate was a wonderful proof of the great respect and esteem in which he was held by his friends and acquaintances.

Mr. Taylor's three sons were all at the School. ALAN CAMERON TAYLOR* (1938-41) served with the R.A.F. and the Fleet Air Arm until the end of 1946 and thereafter joined the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China at their Hongkong office. He has been on leave in this country this year. IAN BRYSON TAYLOR* (1933-40), B.Sc. (Eng.), A.M.I.C.E., has since last April been working on a civil engineering contract at Lagos, West Africa. ROBIN BURNESS TAYLOR* (1938-44), B.Sc. (Eng.), joined the Jardine Engineering Corporation at Hongkong in August of this year. All three sons lived at the Boarding House during their years at the School.

Ian McCrae Thom (1915-25) died at Yonder Bognie, Forgue, Aberdeenshire (the residence of his father-in-law), on z1 July 1950, aged forty-two. From 1929 to 1944 he was in the service of the Dunlop Rubber Company Limited at their Aberdeen depot, first as stock sheet clerk, then as section clerk, and as chief clerk during the war. He was never of a robust nature and, after joining the Army in August 1944, he contracted a severe chill. He was in a military hospital for several months, was discharged from the Army in 1945 and had then to spend many more months in an Aberdeen hospital.

In a tribute which appeared in the magazine of the Dunlop Rubber Company, the writer stated that he had visited Ian on several occasions during his hospital days and that his cheerfulness and confidence in the staff were things to marvel at.

He referred also to Ian's dislike of flattery and superficiality, although few deserved praise as he did. The memory that his friends will treasure most is that of his genuine unassuming, gentle-spoken and gentle-mannered self, whether at the fireside, on the golf course or at work.

His brother, JAMES NORMAN Timm* (1915-28), has been farming in Alberta for many years. He has recently become a life member of the F.P. Club.

Douglas Herbert Walker Williamson* (1894-1902), M.A., L.D.S., R.C.S. (Eng.), eldest sun of the late WILLIAM HERBERT WILLIAMSON (1864-69), M.D., dental surgeon, Aberdeen, died at Hastings on 5 June 1930, aged sixty-five. After graduating in Arts at the University of Aberdeen in 1905, he attended medical classes at the University and then studied at the Middlesex and Royal Dental Hospitals in London from 1906 to 1909. He qualified as a dental surgeon in the latter year and was in practice in Aberdeen until 1917. In November of that year he joined the London Regiment but was soon commissioned as a dental surgeon and attached to the Cadet Brigade of the Royal Flying Corps. In 1920 he was promoted Captain in the R.A.F. and for some years thereafter he served in Iraq. In 1926 he was transferred to the Army Dental Corps; in 1929 he was promoted Major; and in the following year he went to Bengal as dental surgeon to the Presidency and Assam District. He retired in 1937, but in September 1939 he rejoined the Army Dental Corps, which during the war became " Royal", and he finally retired in 5943. He was married in November 1945 and settled in Hastings.

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

An all-round sportsman, he was dogged by bad luck in the matter of injuries.

His career as a very tine centre three-quarter was brought to an abrupt end soon after he left School, when he damaged his knee during a cup final match between F.P.s and Panmurc at Dundee. This injury also put an end to his swimming, in which he had made a name for himself as a water polo player. He was also a good golfer with a single figure handicap but that sport too was denied to him after a motor cycle accident at Tidworth in the mid-twenties, when he had seven ribs fractured in addition to sustaining other injuries.

His brother, MACRICE JOSEPH WILLIAMSON* (1894-1903), M.C., M.B., Ch.B., Brigadier, who retired from the R.A.M.C. in 5947 after thirty-eight years' service writes:— He was always keen on games of all kinds and yet I never heard him bemoan his fate—that his two accidents had ruined his chances of enjoying and doing well in the games he liked best. It was this equability of temperament that gave him such a host of friends wherever he served. I never walked down a West-End London street with him without a halt or two to talk to someone who greeted him.

W. W. J. writes:— I recall vividly Douglas Williamson's arrival at the Grammar School.

At that time I was a member of what was known as the Third Lower, over which the late James Davidson presided, when one day two small boys wearing sailor suits and wide-brimmed straw hats were ushered in. One was Douglas and the other Maurice Williamson. Maurice, being younger, was placed in a lower form, but Douglas remained a class-mate of mine at School, at King's, and at Marischal College. Ever since then we kept in touch with one another though at times we did not meet for years on end.

More than any other man I have known, Douglas had the inestimable gift of friendship. He was intensely interested in people and was a mine of information about the doings of his innumerable friends. He was a great letter-writer and his letters were characteristic of him-full of snappy, unrelated sentences, each one containing a bit of news about some mutual acquaintance.

Incidentally, these letters were usually addressed to his friends' wives, who tended to he better correspondents than their husbands. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than to escort one or more of these ladies to one or other of the less well known of London's restaurants, the rival merits of which he knew most intimately. We all thought he was a confirmed bachelor and his engagement caused us no little surprise. It is good to know that his married life, short as it was, brought him great happiness. Douglas Williamson was a most unselfish, lovable person and, through his death, the School has lost one of its staunchest supporters.

LEONARD JOHN SMITH* (189o-19oz) writes:— " Doug." Williamson! His death brought to me a real personal loss, but I shall ever carry treasured memories of a very dear friendship.

When I think of Douglas, I am back in the old School and F.P. rugger days—halcyon days! Then gaps, when " Doug." was East, and I West.

Our reunions, when reminiscence was the order of the day, were to me redletter days.

He had a genius for friendship. His amazing memory was quite unique, making every meeting a bridging of the years and a joy indeed.

Yes, " Doug." was one of the salt of the earth, and the savour remains. * * * The deaths of seven other F.P.s have also been reported, but obituary notices have had to be held over until our next issue. These F.P.s are James Napier Adams (1895-1901), F.F.A., Edinburgh; Alexander Johnstone* (z 904-59 i o), M.C., M.A., M.D., D.P.H., Greenock; Alexander Low* (1883-86), M.A., M.D., LL.D., Emeritus Professor of Anatomy, University of Aberdeen ; Charles Fowkes Macpherson (1910-11), solicitor, Dufftown; James Alexander Rhind (19oz-04), Dundee; John Lamb Walker (1887-89), NI.A., Dumfries; and Alexander Henderson Wyness (1876-80, Aberdeen.

59

SCHOOL SECTION School and Random Notes So must the writer whose productions should Take with the vulgar, be of vulgar mood.—Waller.

Of course, Dear Reader (that's the phrase we've wanted to use since

we were quite small), we mean no insinuation against your moral or

intellectual character, but the darned notes have got to begin somehow. . . I * * * We welcome this session two new members of Staff. Mr. Norris takes over the post of principal Music master, and M. Labrosse comes to assist in the Modern Languages Department. Both have already established themselves firmly in their respective spheres, and we hope that their terms of office with us will be happy. It was at first rumoured that Mr. Norris had brought a female assistant along with him, but we are informed by the M.I.S. branch of the Prefecture that he merely indulges in soprano and baritone duets with himself.

Well, well, these days we suppose that anything is possible. * * * It is with regret that we report Mr. Collie's departure from amongst us. He served the School over a period of twenty-four years, and his caustic comments, no less than his frolics with the force-pump, have " damped " the ardour of many over-enthusiastic students of Archimedes (the only scientist we know). Nevertheless, we extend our best wishes to Mr. Collie in his new post, and our sympathies to his new " chaps ". * * * The following boys were appointed Prefects for the current session :—A Stewart Fraser (Senior Prefect), Gordon M. McAndrew (Deputy Senior Prefect), Gordon S. Cowie, John L. Brebner, Kenneth E. G. Coates, I. Howard Marshall, Stanley Monro, Andrew A. B. Philip, Iain K. Robb, and Roy H. Thomson from Class VI ; and Robert Bain, John A. S. Bat, David M. F. Bright, Andrew S. Noble, James L. Wilkie, and Hugh R. Wynne-Edwards from Class V. Since their appointment, Andrew Philip and Roy Thomson have left us to go to the University, and Charles L. Forbes and Anthony W. Milligan have taken their places. * * * Carefully casting the Editorial Mind back to the end of last session, we feel we must mention the outstanding achievements of two Grammarians. Kenneth Coutts won the one-mile race at the Scottish Schoolboys' Athletic Championships held at Glasgow, in the record time of 4 minutes 33.8 seconds and so won the Eric Liddell Memorial Trophy for the most meritorious performance of the meeting. Congratulations, Ken !

Congratulations also to Hamish Duncan who played extremely well to win the North-Eastern Boys' Amateur Golf Championship.

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

We take great pride in being able to announce that our 1st XV has once again triumphed over the warriors from the Other Place in a close-fought battle royal. Our team has been doing extremely well this year; at the time of writing it is still undefeated, and has amassed a total of 113 points, while conceding only ix. * * * We were all very interested by the Rector's recent announcement concerning the Pipe Band. Is the orchestra needing more wind, Mr. Norris ? * * * Several members of the over-worked Chemistry section of Upper VI have recently developed an unaccountable taste for a clear liquid with the property of turning certain indicators red. The countenance of one irrepressible youth so engaged did indeed turn to a particularly attractive shade of pink, but the said youth has unfortunately seemed loath to repeat the experiment I We understand that Mr. Park has kindly volunteered to give pipetting lessons between the hours of 4 and 4.3o three afternoons a week. Appointments should be made seven days in advance. * * * The rumour that, following recent reiterated warnings, " Coats " at last appeared bearing a neat name tag, has been refuted. * * * Considerable consternation was caused when one respectable member of the Prefecture made his appearance hiding modestly (so something was evidently wrong) behind a large and impressive eyepatch. Was he the unfortunate victim of evil circumstances, or was he just too " fast and keen "? * * * Owing to the intolerable Disturbance of the Prefectorial Peace by noise penetrating from Room 29, which rendered our once quiet haven quite uninhabitable, the hallowed atmosphere of the Library has been graced by the presence of sundry D.P.s (Displaced Prefects), who have been imbued with a " bouncing" enthusiasm for their work. * * * The final stages of the work on the School's own kitchens are being watched with eager anticipation by the z so odd boys (and we mean odd) who regularly have lunch in School. Considerable speculation has been going on as to the number who will survive until the kitchens are in working order, and the latest forecasts are posted daily outside the Prefects' Room.

Still, things are not so bad as they might be. The standard of food has improved since the Committee saw fit to raise the price of lunch from 4d to 5d. As a result of a recent census, taken over a considerable period, it was found that, on the average, there were lif more peas per helping of soup, and 34.2f more granules of sago

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

61

per helping of pudding. As a result 3.7 per cent of the boys ask for more soup, while 98.035 per cent of them throw away more pudding I So widely acclaimed has been this improvement in our meals that we are daily expecting to have to cope with a greatly increased number of Staff, and to stand by to repel " Boarders ", to " boot ". * * * Aren't we ?

With pen and with pencil we're learning to. say Nothing more cleverly every day.

* * * The rumour that Upper VI Chemists are to be supplied with sun-glasses has been refuted. * * * Despite the scornful, incredulous laughter which this note will doubtless occasion, we feel it our duty to make it known to the world at large that the redecoration of the Prefects' Room has begun.

Admittedly, it has not proceeded very far, but we appreciate the plain, buff hardboard which now encases half the walls, and are unanimous in our wholehearted commendation of the far-sightedness and consideration of the Committee in changing the position of our towel-roller from the left- to the right-hand side of the wash-hand basin; it really has made all the difference to our comfort and wellbeing. Indeed, if we each had a little mat, to make squatting on the floor a trifle more comfortable, we should not have much room to complain. (We haven't much room anyway.)

These far-reaching structural alterations were completed in the short space of a few days at the beginning of term, but since then we have not heard the slightest rumour of any continuation of the work. Arc the Committee satisfied with what has already been achieved, or are they merely allowing sufficient time to elapse for us to recover from the initial shock? With trepidation we await the next outburst of frenzied activity. * * * The Annual School Service was held in Rubislaw Church on Sunday, to September, and was conducted as usual by our Padre, Rev. P. D. Lawrence, M.A. We regret that there was only a moderately-sized congregation of pupils, Staff, F.P.s and parents. * * * A party of nine boys this year paid a week-end visit to the Edinburgh Festival. As always, the visit proved both enjoyable and profitable, and we thank the Committee for giving us the opportunity of not only hearing the very best of the classical style of music but also of immediately comparing it with the gems of red-hot Dixieland bee-bop which could be heard in a certain concert-hall cum restaurant at the western extremity of Princes Street. We hasten to assure the Committee, however, that, in our humble opinion, Haydn did not suffer from the comparison.

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

After a period of many long years, during which, we believe, nothing of note has made its debut on the dusty shelves of the Museum, and a good deal seems, in one way or another, to have taken its last bow, we have been most fortunate in our acquisition of a fine specimen of the twink (genus Twinkus Twinkus Mathematics: Grammarius).

It can be seen in the position of honour between the Gabbus Commercalis and Artus (partms arbor). We understand that this specimen is unique and trust that the boys of the School will take full advantage of this unprecedented opportunity of widening their knowledge of biology. * * * We are sorry to hear that Mr. Park has had to give up the charge of School Hockey activities. We thank him for his long and valued service to the School in this sticky field, and at the same time take the opportunity of conveying our best wishes to Mr. Couper as he takes over these responsibilities and pleasures. * * * The rumour that the Prefects have started to keep pigeons has been refuted. * * * We note with appreciation the appearance of two new electric docks in the upstairs corridors. They are really very nice electric clocks but we feel that their usefulness as clocks is somewhat impaired by the fact that they don't go. Still, they make exceedingly handsome ornaments. . . .

A ne-e-ew a-an-gle he-e-re, e-e-eh, Mr. Wa-a-alke-er? *

*

*

We note with interest that the Literary and Debating Society held a Middle School Debate this term, from which all elders and betters were ruthlessly excluded. Details are withheld, but we understand that growing-up is no longer a necessity. Odd. At time of writing, the Secretary has made his appearance at two (a) debates. We think that this is extraordinarily decent of him and wish him luck in writing the Minutes. *

*

*

We have noted with considerable gratification that the standard of Prefectorial attendance in Hall has been well-nigh irreproachable this year. What if some of them do arrive a trifle out of breath, their hair uncombed, and their cheeks aglow as a result of their great efforts to be in time ? They are there, and we feel sure their presence is making all the difference. They certainly cannot be held responsible for certain unaccountable "organic" maladies which have been making their presence felt recently. Did Mr. Norris lose the place or did he just forget to press the little white button at his right hand? . . . We do not know.

65 Aberdeen Grammar School Maga#ne We do not know either quite how to bring these notes to a satisfactory conclusion. (You see, they've got to end as well.) And Samuel Johnson said Nothing is ended with honour which dues not conclude better than it began.

So, since we wish above all to protect our honour, and since we feel sure that the notes are equally clever throughout, we mean to finish with a better quotation (better from the reader's point of view, that is) than the one at the beginning. We hope, however, that the reader will not altogether agree with Pope— Who shames a scribbler? break one cobweb thro', He spins the slight self-pleasing thread anew.

Destroy his fib, or sophistry—in vain, The creature's at his dirty work again: Throned in the centre of his thin designs, Proud of a vast extent of flimsy lines.

Tension I clutched my weapon nervously. It was covered by many dark stains, the records of previous encounters of the like. Yet, somehow, this time it all seemed different; no nonchalance now. Everything depended on it. Beads of sweat stood out on my forehead, and I kept saying to myself: " I can't do it, I can't ".

I racked my poor brain for a way out, but it was of no avail. Yet it was not as if I were alone in the venture, and I swept my eyes hurriedly over my comrades, none of whom seemed to be aware of my anxiety, though they all looked grim enough. Little did they seem to care, if they even guessed, how personal all this was to me.

I couldn't do it! I looked at my watch—time was running out.

Despairing, I gazed at my dark-stained weapon which had served me so well many a time before. I looked venomously at the man who was forcing me to this ordeal that made my throat go dry and my knees knock. His eye caught mine, and he stared at me with a dark and obvious suspicion. What did he care? He would not run any risk.

Five years ago I had been light-hearted and happy, and had not thought of the dreadful consequence of my silly act of signing on.

How could I have dreamt that it would all end with this? Now, with hope at its lowest ebb, there came to me, as in a flash, the sudden realisation of the only way out. " I'll do it," I muttered to myself. I made a furious stab with my pointed steel and exultantly drew it forth, now stained and dark anew. The effects of the Peace of Westphalia had come back to me. I finished the L.C. History paper just on time.

LAIN K. ROBB (Lower VI).

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Flying in Egypt This summer I was very fortunate in being chosen to represent the Air Training Corps of Scotland on a trip to Egypt with R.A.F. Bomber Command. I left this country on 3o July, and after a night in Malta, I arrived in Egypt on i August. The station at which I was to stay was about four miles north of Suez, and completely surrounded by desert.

Because the Egyptian Government have restricted the areas which British servicemen may visit in uniform, I was unable to go everywhere I wanted. I did, however, have several interesting excursions, of which the most memorable was a tour of part of the Suez Canal.

I managed this by becoming friendly with one of the Canal Control Officers, who himself took me on the tour. On another trip into the desert with a party to try out a zo mm. cannon, one of our native servants caught and killed a snake. If hung outside his hut door, it was supposed to keep off evil spirits.

One day I had a flight right down the Red Sea and, as the second half of the journey was by night, I was greatly interested to see how the ships leave a phosphorescent trail in the water. From about 5 ooo feet the Canal with its traffic of ships looks at night just like a busy thoroughfare. The day before I left, I went on an aerial tour of the neighbouring mountains and was greatly impressed by their ruggedness, for they rise almost zooo feet sheer upwards.

During my stay the daily temperature never fell below 95 ° Fahrenheit, although at night it sometimes fell as low as 74°. What a contrast, after a sojourn of six weeks under these tropical conditions, to return via Malta to this country of wind and rain!

MICHAEL NEWCOMBE (Upper IV(z)).

France—rgso Accompanied by Messrs. Cunningham and Coulthard a party from the School spent three weeks this summer at Param6 near St. Malo in Brittany. We were fortunate in our crossing and arrived at St. Malo without anyone's having been very sea-sick.

The party soon settled down to the regular routine of French holiday life—a bathe in the morning, a walk to St. Malo or another bathe in the afternoon, and evenings spent in one of the cafés situated in the main square of Parame. These evening sessions were enlivened by the wealth of tales, mainly of army origin, told by the Masters, and the samba band which played in the foyer of a big hotel opposite the café. Another favourite evening diversion was the cinema: we now think French films are greatly superior to their British and American counterparts. In addition to the obvious pleasures of a good French beach such as exists at Parame and St. Malo, the antics of our Masters in performing yoga-like after-swim exercises afforded us considerable amusement.

65 Aberdeen Grammar School Mag‘i%ine Mr. Coulthard, who knew the area quite well, was able to show us many places of interest in St. Malo, including the wonderful walk on top of its immense ramparts. The war has not left much of the town standing, but we explored what there was. We found time, too, to haggle with Algerian trinket merchants, who cluttered around the gates of the city.

All our time was not, however, spent at the home base, for we crossed the Rance, the big river estuary running from St. Malo to Dinan, to visit Dinard, the fashionable holiday centre on the other side. Another day we rose at four o'clock in the morning to catch the boat up the Rance to Dinan itself. Dinan is one of those quiet, old-world towns with quaint, half-timbered shops—and remarkably high prices.

On our return to Parame we found that the Bastille had fallen and preparations were being made for a fireworks display on the beach.

This spectacle duly took place, and it was followed by dancing in • the streets to the music of the town brass, or rather zinc, band until the early hours of the morning.

Our other expeditions were to the neighbouring fishing village of Curcale, and to the famous Mont St. Michel. The journey back to Aberdeen was uneventful, and we returned with beautiful tans and quite a broadening of our knowledge of French.

FRANCIS R. DALZIEL (Upper V(I)).

Spanish Holiday

During the past holidays I spent almost a month in a village called Fuenterrabia which is just across the Franco-Spanish frontier and lies on the shores of the Bay of Biscay. I was with two other boys from the School, and about thirty other boys from Liverpool.

Spain is a very picturesque country, with scenery which in places is not unlike that found in the Highlands of Scotland. The climate, of course, is much hotter than that experienced in Aberdeen, although we had about five days of both torrential and misty rain.

The people seemed to us to be very contented and quite happy, caring little about affairs concerning the fate of the world. One finds two classes of people, the poor man with his ox-cart and the rich man with his expensive car. In a country community the poor man usually holds a plot of land and a few hens, cows or oxen. He keeps his cattle on the ground floor of his house, while he lives upstairs. The rich man, on the other hand, usually stays either in his villa on a hillslope or in a hotel.

Luxuries in Spain are not quite so dear as they are in this country.

One can buy over a pound of grapes for 3d. and a peach costs a penny.

The Spaniards drink mainly wines and claret. The wines are ridiculously cheap and claret is about 6d. a bottle, although the Spaniard who earns very poor wages finds sherry, brandy and martini rather expensive. As an example of how low wages are—at the house

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magatine

where we stayed were two maids, who worked seven days a week and eighteen hours a day, from 6 a.m. to midnight. For this they received about los. a week.

Open-air dancing is a popular pastime with many young Spaniards.

To the accompaniment of the local brass band, whose stand has been erected in the street, they dance the tango, rumba, waltz and Basque dances. The swirling, lively Basque dances are a treat to watch, with the dancers snapping their fingers and whirling round and round.

Despite their poverty and hardship, the Spanish people are a happy, kind race, who would not hesitate to help a visitor in difficulties.

The courtesy shown by these people makes one ashamed at times of British society, which, compared with the Spanish, is hard and unfriendly.

KENNETH E. G. COATES (Lower VI).

A Yank in Scotland •

This is Otis P. Flitch of Byronsville, Mich., A big business Yank and exceedingly rich From the sale of tough Spam, And cans of boiled ham, From the cattle and pigs around Byronsville, Mich.

One day said his daughter, " Say, Pop, Otis P., I want to go sailing across the wide sea To visit old Scotland, From Berwick to Shetland, And see the Ness monster come swimming to me ".

So Otis P. Flitch set off for the East, Determined to capture this famous old beast.

If it's hide he could tan, Put its flesh in a can, He'd provide all the gourmets a luxury feast.

On his way to the North he looked up Aberdeen, For a statue of Byron was there to be seen, And the Rector in Hall For three cheers he did call, For the daughter of Otis, the Byronsville queen.

Now Otis P. spoke to the boys of the School : " At Grammar I've always been rather a fool At both Latin and Greek I am woefully weak, But old rams I can can—yes, even the wool!"

Upper VI, 1950-51

Sera hap

Standing-1. M. Stewart, A. E. Mellwain, B. MacDonald, I, R. Macpherson, N. lit% . P A. Murphy, W. I.. Raitt, R. C. Shand, A. Grant.

Sitting—S. A .C. Robertson, J. L. Brebner, G. S.Cowie, A. S. Fraser (Senior Prefect), Mr. J. J. Robertson (Rector), G. M. McAndrew, I. H. Marshall, C. L. Forbes, R. W. AlacIntyre.

School Contingent, Combined Cadet Force: Officers and N.C.O.s

Sim; han

Back Row—Cpl. D. N. McDonald, L/Cpl. R. F. Robertson, L/CprA. W. S. Brown, L/Cpl. W. H. Guthrie, Cpl. J. L. Wilkie.

Middle Row—Sgt. D. L. Anderson, L/Cpl. J. McBain, Cpl. I. L. F. Smith, Sgt. N. V. R. Simpson, Cpl. P. J. Bushell, Cpl. J. A. S. Bctt, Cpl. A. S. Noble, Sgr. R. W. Maclntyre.

Front Row—Sgt. K. E. G. Coates, C.S.M. A. S. Fraser, Lt. R. S. Couper, Major D. M. Annand, M.B.E., T.D., F/Lt. J. W. Barron, C.Q.M.S. W. Jack, Sgt. R. W. Glashan.

Absent—L/Cpl. C. J. Abel, L/Cpl. R. Bain, L/Cpl. H. R. Wynne-Edwards.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

By Loch Ness in his Packard drove Otis P. Flitch In his huge limousine from Byronsville, Mich.

Saw some loops in the water, Then looked at his daughter And steered his new Packard right into the ditch.

ALAN D. STEWART (Middle IT).

The Fire

The sunlit toil is done.

The air without is coGI and snow may fall Before the clouded morning shall appear.

In busy ease we let ourselves be borne On wings of thought.

Deep in the deepest mind's recess We gaze And gazing do but see the dancing flame As up and ever up it gaily speeds Out of the light, Out of the warmth and comfort, Out into the night, Colder and colder, Onward and onward Into the cold cruel mists ; Perhaps to see a sickbed Where some poor wretch lies in tossing sorrow, Unmindful of the ones who stand around, Some to weep And some to think on more material things; Perhaps to see a tramp Resigned in poverty, One who might once have been a rich man, Now poor, and cold, and with a hacking cough, Lies in the shadow of a hedgerow.

But think no more of this; The cat stretching his nighted satin length Upon the hearth Is thoughtless of his fellow on the roof: Man only when his own desire is fed Can wonder, and with his thoughts Can travel with the fire And see his comfort in another's woe.

JOHN A. BRAND (Upper V (i)).

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68

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Above the earth, The breeze blows: He gazes down, And sees the river wind below him.

He sees the Cairngorms, Savage, wild, and wicked.

From their heights The Silver Dee comes dashing, Tumbling from the crags Into the Garbh Choire, out, In wild tumultuous march into the Lairig, there, past peat-preserved stumps it flows, among the heathery boulders, fed by welcomed burns.

He sees the deer that wallow in the peat-bogs, hears the greenshank, wild upon the moorland.

He sees it, as it flows, come speeding Down the valley; Sees the alders dip to meet the rushing waters, and peat-brown ripples scuffle through the pebbles.

He sees it meet its many brothers, Gairn, and Muick, and Tanar; Sees it leap, in clamorous welcome, Sees the foam distil in silver salmon, Sees the jagged rocks bereft of danger Sink beneath the water; Sees the river pass beside the haunts of men.

And now he sees it, tangy with salt water, Flow past clumps of sea-weed ; Sees it lose its splendid beauty, Smirched with oil, and wood, and feathers ; Sees the rusty-sided trawlers crowd against the quays; Sees the grey-white Pirate gulls gorge among the fish-heads; Sees the breaking waves, and hears the river meet the sea.

What thinks he, the wind, of all this stretch of water?

Where is the worth to men, but at the mouth, Polluted, vile, and bonded?

What to them the rippling shallows?

The mighty mountains ?

The solemn firs ?

The dancing birches ?

Perhaps he laughs, the wind, as he blows on Above the breakers.

A. GRAEME NICOL (Upper V (0).

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

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Changes in the School Staff Departures MR. JAMES W. COLLIE, M.A., B.Sc., F.E.I.S., who has been an assistant in the Science Department since September 1926, was in June appointed headmaster of St. Paul Street School, Aberdeen.

Elder son of a well-known Kincardineshire farmer, Mr. Collie was educated at Robert Gordon's College and the University of Aberdeen, where he graduated with honours in Botany and Zoology.

After one year's service in Ruthrieston Junior Secondary School, Mr. Collie came to the School as successor to the late Mr. J. Bentley Philip, and for nearly a quarter of a century he carried out his duties with the greatest enthusiasm and vigour. He will long be remembered for the unfailing interest he took in the School Museum, in the Botanical Garden, and in his pupils, to whom he was always ready to offer advice and help.

Apart from his work in School, in which he was conspicuously successful, Mr. Collie took a prominent part in the work of his professional association. In 1948 he was made a Fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland in recognition of his services as secretary of the Teachers' Nursing Home Association and the Aberdeen Secondary District Committee of the Institute.

We offer him our hearty congratulations on his well-merited promotion, and wish him every success in his new post. * * * MISS MARY A. E. TOUGH has severed her active association with the School after a quarter of a century of faithful and conscientious service on the Lower School staff. It was with the greatest reluctance that, after more than a year's absence through ill health, she tendered her resignation, for the Grammar School and especially the young boys of the Lower School were the chief interest in her life. Miss Tough has left us with the sincere wishes of her colleagues and former pupils that improved health and happy retirement will be her fortune in the years to come. * * * Miss INA OGILVIE, after nine years' service in the Lower School, left us in July of this year for a new life in the parish of Longside as the wife of the Reverend Alfred S. Barron, B.D. We thank Mrs. Barron for her loyal and ungrudging service to the School and to the boys who passed through her classes, and wish her and her husband the greatest happiness in the years to come.

Arrivals MR. WILFRED NORRIS, B.A. (Hons.), B.Mus., F.R.C.O., who has been appointed to succeed the late Mr. Gavin E. Falconer, is Yorkshire born and bred. From Rotherham Grammar School he went to the University of Sheffield, where he graduated B.A. (Hons.) in Music, French and English in 1939. In the following year he gained the

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magatine

further degree of B.Mus. and the Diploma of F.R.C.O. Thereafter for six years he saw Army service in Britain and in India, holding the rank of Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery.

From 1946 to 1948 he filled the post of Music master at Wolverton Grammar School, Bucks; in 1949-50 he was director of music at Oakham School, and conductor of Oakham Choral Society as well.

While there he composed the music for an opera, the libretto of which was written by a staff colleague; this opera was successfully produced last December by the boys of Oakham School.

In sport Mr. Norris won his University and U.A.U. colours as a cross-country runner, but he is also a keen cricketer and cyclist; and since coming amongst us, he has already made himself well acquainted with the intricacies of training and refereeing in rugger! His other relaxations are mainly musical, as choir- and orchestra-conductor, and as flautist. Some Grammar masters and boys have already been privileged to enjoy an informal flute-recital of his (with piano accompaniment by Mr. Alan Wilkins); there can be no doubt of the masterly skill and expert ease with which he can make the flute speak its message in a wide range of musical composition. With most people music-making is a spare-time activity, and it appears that even the music master who spends his day teaching music can find his main hobby in making it. We wish Mr. Norris a happy and rewarding time in the Grammar, and assure him a full-house appreciation of the musical occasions he has to offer. * * * Miss ETHEL M. HILL, M.A., who has joined the staff of the Lower School is a native of the North-East. After completing her schooling at the Central Secondary School, Aberdeen, she graduated at the University of Aberdeen. A spell of teaching at Bridge of Don School, during which period her interest in young people and their activities was evidenced by a term of office as secretary of the Aberdeen Area Youth Panel, was followed by two years at Victoria Road Primary School in the city. Miss Hill is a certificated teacher of the Scottish Country Dancing Society. * * * MISS IRENE M. F. VALENTINE, M.A., now an assistant teacher in the Lower School, is a native of Montrose. After her secondary education was completed at Fraserburgh Academy, she graduated at the University of Aberdeen, where she furthered, in particular, her studies in Classics. Miss Valentine has had varied teaching experience at Strichen Secondary School and in schools in the city.

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

now dictating play and further scores were added by Fraser and left-wing Rennie without reply from Morgan.

Result—Morgan Academy, 8 pts.; School, 23 pts.

7 October 1930.—v. Gordonstoun, at Gordonstoun.

School was forced to make one change, E. Michie coming in for R. H. Thomson, who had left School. Gordonstoun elected to play with a strong wind behind them. At the commencement of play there was little cohesion between backs and forwards, but gradually School gained the ascendancy and determined the course of play. The School backs were usually subdued owing to the close marking of the opposing backs, and the forwards paved the way for most of the scores. The scorers in this half were Robb, Paton, Cradock, Noble (z).

In the second half the School backs took advantage of the strong wind with clever kicking, for the lively forwards to follow up. The backs now came more into the game and tries were scored by Cradock (z), Kernsley (2) and Robb. Secondrow forward Paton also scored following a line-out.

Result—Gordonstoun, nil; School, 37 pts.

14 October 1930.—v. Dollar Academy at Dollar.

The School side showed one change, L. Anderson coming in for W. Rennie.

School kicked off uphill and against the breeze. Conditions underfoot were not conducive to constructive rugby. The heavier School forwards kept Dollar on the defensive and only tenacious tackling by the Dollar backs kept School from scoring. School missed a chance to go ahead when a penalty kick in front of the posts failed. It was rather against the run of play when the Dollar stand-off ran through to score a try. School rallied and it was not surprising when Kernsley cleverly cut through, passed to Monro, who drew his man and sent Robb over at the corner for an unconverted try.

After half-time, as in the Morgan game, School forwards were slow to settle and several times Dollar came close to scoring, only a dour defence keeping them out. Accurate kicking by the School backs took play into the Dollar half. The School pack, now playing much better, began to dictate the run of play, and it was entirely with the run of play when Kcmsley ran through to score a well-merited try near the posts, also bringing out full points with the kick. After this score play swung from end to end and several passing movements by the Dollar forwards nearly led to other scores. However, School held on and ran out worthy winners of a strongly contested game.

Result—Dollar Academy, 3 pts.; School, 8 pts.

4 November 195o.—v. Gordon's College, at Rubislaw.

There was one change in the School pack, M. M. Farnsworth coming into the place of I. L. F. Smith who was injured. School had the advantage of the slope but the pitch was soft, making the ball rather greasy. There was a sensational opening to the game when the Gordon's full-back was caught in possession of the ball in front of his own posts. From the ensuing loose scrum the ball was passed back to Kernsley who dropped a smart goal. The excitement had scarcely abated when, following up a forward rush, Ritchie went over to touch down near the corner flag. Gordon's fought back strongly and a clearance kick by a School defender was blocked by a Gordon's forward who ran on to score. Play was now evenly contested and there was no more scoring before half-time.

In the second half Gordon's started out as if to swamp School but the defence held out. Play deteriorated into scrappy forward exchanges. Injuries were frequent in this half. However, in the closing stages of play School staged a great come-back and came near to scoring several times. Play finished with School on the Gordon's line.

Result—School, 6 pts.; Gordon's College, 3 pts.

11 November 1950.—v. Abbey School, at Fort Augustus.

The School team showed no changes for this game, but were unfortunate to lose S. Monro, due to a leg injury, in the early stages of the game. A. W. Milligan took over the captaincy and A. S. Fraser moved out to centre. From a line-out on the Abbey line Paton barged his way over for a try, which was not converted.

Abbey equalised when a centre broke through and kicked ahead for a winger to touch down mid-way between the posts and the touch-line. The kick failed to bring out full points. School scored another try when Cradock dived over the

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

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line from a scrum in front of the Abbey posts. School went further ahead when Anderson beat two men to score near the comer. Kemsley did well to convert.

In the second period the more powerful School pack completely dominated play, and from a line-out near the Abbey line Paton again scored an unconverted try. Then Fraser, backing up his wing man, took Robb's pass and scored a smart try for Kemsley to convert. In the closing minutes of the game Kemsley dropped a goal from in front of the posts.

Result—Abbey School, 3 pts.; School, 22 pis.

Hockey School Hockey has made a promising start this season. About 113 boys of Middle III and Upper School now play the game on Wednesday afternoons.

On Saturdays the 1st XI has regular matches, and occasionally a and XI finds some senior team in the city free and willing to accept a fixture. The younger players normally have practice at Rubislaw on Saturday mornings.

We have not yet enjoyed—nor could we expect—the success of last year's team, but the side is composed of boys whose skill and fast, open play has already won them numerous compliments. Of course there is plenty enthusiasm. Leslie Forbes has succeeded Andrew Philip (now left School) as captain, and ably leads the following:— W. J. McKay, D. J. Stephen, W. P. Hay, I. M. Stewart, J. L. Wilkie, D. N. Annand, S. C. Banks, G. D. R. Nelson, K. R. Gilbert and J. G. W. Philip.

In matches played to date, Aberdeen and Gordonians scored victories against us, while School satisfactorily discomfited Gordonians " B" and F.P.s " B ".

Gordonians " A " and Gordon's College were both rather lucky to draw.

In the inter-House competition Melvin has so far beaten Keith, and Dun has lost to Byron.

New inter-school fixtures have been obtained this year—with Gordonstoun and Fettes. These matches are eagerly awaited, and other similar fixtures desired.

Lastly, mention must be made of the extremely high promise shown by the young players of Middle III. The future of Hockey in the School seems very bright.

R. S. C.

Swimming This term has been marked by a very considerable increase in swimming activities. Much greater provision has been made for the teaching of beginners, especially in the Lower School.

Facilities for initial instruction are now available in classes which meet at the Municipal Pond on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; a class meets at the Beach Pond on Friday, and a fifth class at the Middle School.

Advanced instruction for seniors is given by Mr. Barron on Friday and Mr. Allardice continues to teach life-saving and to prepare boys for certificates of the Royal Life Saving Society.

The culmination of the swimming year will be the School Gala in February, organised by Mr. J. C. Hunter. This will provide an opportunity for competition at all levels, and the entry is likely to exceed even that of former years.

There is, therefore, abundant opportunity and stimulus for every branch of swimming and for every degree of talent. Swimming is purely a voluntary activity and much depends on individual enthusiasm on the part of pupils. More regular training on their part, however, is required if success is to be obtained in competitive swimming.

At the N.E. District Championships held early in November, R. Gauld took second place in the senior breast stroke and A. Duthie third place in the senior free style. The amount of latent talent in the Grammar School ought, however, to guarantee even better results.

The following officials were elected for the current year: Captain, R. Shand; Vice-Captain, K. Grassick; Secretary, W. Steel.

R. W.

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Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Cricket Due to the inability of some schools to travel, difficulty is being experienced in finding regular fixtures, especially for the 1st XI. This is most regrettable, but it is hoped that this state of affairs may be remedied in season )5I. There were many keenly contested encounters, and on reviewing results, season 1950 was most successful. The high standard of play set by the teams of previous years was maintained and, due to the keenness of the boys, all phases of the game arc being thoroughly mastered. All teams have developed a sound cricketing sense, which enables the game to be played with a full appreciation of all its aspects.

The Masters met the Boys in their annual game, but despite the " mixed and tempting " bowling of the boys, the masters had to admit defeat.

My thanks are due to all members of Staff who assisted with the coaching and umpiring of games. Recognition must also be given to the splendid services of Mr. Tyson in coaching, and in the provision of the excellent facilities for all games.

EDWIN HUNTER, Games Master.

Rambling and Mountaineering Club 3 June. Thirty-five members climbed Lochnagar by the Ladder and returned

by Glas Allt and the south side of Loch Muick to the bus at the Spittal. The weather was good on the whole, and the expedition proved very successful.

23-25 June. About thirty members attended the annual camp held near Luibeg in the Cairngorms. The weather played up well to the occasion, and several parties were organised on the Saturday, the largest climbing Ben Macdhui and Clim a' Mhaim, and another, composed of the most energetic members, making a lengthy tour of the western Caimgorms, including Braeriach, Cairn Toul (where a third party joined them), Monadh Mor and Ben Bhrotain.

The autumn excursions have been successful, but unhappily, although the Club's membership has reached the record high of seventy-five, the excursions have been poorly attended. However, it is hoped that when the warm weather comes, more members will venture out. The excursions held so far arc as follows:9 September. BENNACHIE. Starting from Oyne, a party of ten climbed Bennachie, all four tops being visited. The weather was blustery, but, although dull, rainless. Some anxiety was felt for certain members who exuberantly danced the Gay Gordons on the summit tor, but all returned safely to the bus after a most enjoyable day.

23 September. SOCKAUGI1. Fourteen members made good use of the glorious weather and, starting near Tarland, they climbed Pressendye and the other four tops in the area.

7 October. MORVEN. The party of eighteen proceeded to the Burn o' Vat, where several members tried to enter Rob Roy's cave at the risk of a ducking, but were unsuccessful. The party then climbed direct to the top of Culblean Hill, where a strong north-westerly gale was encountered, making walking difficult thereafter, and only twelve members completed the climb up Morven. The party re-assembled and rushed hectically via Glen Culsten to the bus at Tomnakeist. it November. RAEDYKES. From Stonehaven twelve members visited the Roman Camp near Rickarton, and starting from Broomhill farm, walked round the walls of the camp. The excursion was of exceptional interest, as Mr. McLeod, who had made a study of the camp, explained its layout to the party. The weather was very frosty and a warm drink on return to Stonehaven was much appreciated.

The Club met for a lecture for the first time for many years on TS November.

The speaker was Dr. G. A. Taylor, vice-president of the Cairngorm Club, and his subject was " The Cairngorms and Northern Highlands of Scotland ". The lecture was illustrated by a beautiful set of coloured slides.

HUGH R. WYNNE-EDWARDS, Secretary.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magatine

75

House Notes Byron House The following officials for the year were elected at a House meeting held early this term: House Captain, J. Brebner; Rugby Captain, C. Ritchie; Vice-Captain, J. Brebner; Hockey Captain, G. McAndrew; Vice-Captain, C. Forbes.

Our prospects this year in both rugby and hockey are much improved. An under-strength senior rugby team defeated Dun by 9-3 in a hard tussle, and the junior team defeated Dun House juniors. The hockey team had a narrow victory by 5 goals to 4 over Dun House. At this point we must congratulate C. Forbes on his election as School Hockey Captain.

The next important event is the Swimming Gala, and we are fortunate in having two fine swimmers in E. Anderson and A. Paton as our Captain and Vice-Captain respectively. I would call on all swimmers to rally round and help Byron House to regain its former supremacy.

JOHN L. BAEBNER, Horse Captain.

Dun House At the House meeting held early in the session the following officials were elected: House Captain, R. H. Thomson; Rugby Captain, A. W. Milligan; ViceCaptain, A. S. Noble; Swimming Captain, K. Grassick; Vice-Captain, B. Grassick; Hockey Captain, D. Nelson.

Owing to the departure of R. H. Thomson, who left to continue his studies at the University, A. W. Milligan was appointed House Captain in his place. So far this year, our sporting activities have met with little success. Our senior rugby XV was rather unlucky to lose against a much improved Byron team. Our team played good, determined rugby, but many of the team lacked experience and gave way before the older Byron pack. Our Junior XV also lost to Byron, but although they were outclassed, they played a grand game. The Hockey XI also fell to a hard-hitting Byron side.

Prospects for this year's Swimming Gala are quite good and, if the House rallies round the swimming Captain, we should manage to retain the championship for the fifth successive year.

A. W. MILLIGAN, Horse Captain.

Keith House This year's officials are: House Captain, A. Stewart Fraser; Rugby Captain, A. Stewart Fraser; Vice-Captain, lain K. Robb; Hockey Captain, Gordon S. Cowie; Swimming Captain, Roy C. Shand.

We continued a long series of unbroken successes by winning the 5950 Athletic Sports by a very comfortable margin, and our cricket XI again surprised everyone by performing mighty feats of valour against much stronger teams.

Unfortunately, our senior rugby team has had to admit defeat for the first time for many years. We were vanquished by Melvin in a grand, evenly-contested game by 8 points to 3. Our junior team, too, was defeated by Melvin, but the score in this game was a trifle higher. The hockey team, we fear, has touched rock bottom, and it is wise to draw a curtain over their encounter with Melvin.

Though our prowess in the sporting world has dropped somewhat this year, I am very pleased to say that the standard of enthusiasm among the boys is still very high indeed, and I am confident that we shall not come off second best in our encounters with the other Houses.

A. STEWART FRASE.R, HMO Captain.

Melvin House At a House meeting held early in the term, the following officials were elected: House Captain, S. Monro; Rugby Captain, S. Monro; Vice-Captain, J. N. Kemsley; Hockey Captain, A. A. B. Philip; Swimming Captain, A. Duthie.

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So far, only one inter-House rugby match has been played—a hard fought game against Keith. Our senior team, weakened by injury, did very well to defeat the strong Keith side by 8-3. Our junior team, under the captaincy of D. Cook, defeated the corresponding Keith team 24-6.

Unfortunately, our School and House hockey captain, A. A. B. Philip, left during the term. I. Stewart succeeded him. The House hockey team, containing six members of the ist XI, defeated Keith 9-o.

We are fortunate in having A. Duthie, the runner-up for the Rector's Cup last year, as Swimming Captain, and I am sure that all the swimmers in the House will do their best to make Melvin victorious in this year's Gala.

The House has made a very good start to the year and I call on all its members to do their utmost to make Melvin the foremost House in the School.

STANLEY MONRO, FlOlije Captaitt.

Literary and Debating Society The membership of the Society has this year fallen somewhat below last year's record figure and stands in the region of 140. The average attendance at the weekly meetings has likewise dropped, and less than half the Society's members have the courage or the interest to come along. It is very encouraging, however, to note that the number of members who normally speak at the debates is much higher than the corresponding figure for last year, and the prospects both for the remainder of the session and for the sessions to come arc very bright indeed.

We departed from custom on one occasion this year when we held a debate for Middle School boys only. The speaking never flagged at this debate, and we feel that the experiment was fully justified, for many of the younger members of the Society obviously felt more free to speak in the absence of the senior members, and the confidence which they gained at this debate will stand them in good stead on future occasions.

The second meeting this year took the form of a Hat Night at which the speaking was of a very high standard.

A very lively and interesting debate was held with the F.P.s on the subject of Conscientious Objection. We were only sorry that more F.P.s did not find it possible to be present.

Senor Gilabert, who is at present on the staff of the Spanish Department of the School, gave us a very vivid and exciting lecture on his personal experiences in the Spanish Civil War, and we feel very much indebted to him for undertaking the difficult task of giving a lecture in a foreign language.

Our future programme includes the usual complement of inter-school debates and lectures and we feel confident that the remainder of the session will prove to be every bit as successful as the first weeks have been.

A. STEWART FRASER, Secretary.

Arts Club The Arts Club has met re arly during this term and there is an enthusiastic membership of forty. As we as individual work, the usual group projects have been undertaken, chief among these being the making of the animal masks for the Dramatic Society's Easter production of " Noah ".

Members have assisted in yet another film, this time featuring Mr. Ralph Ford's collection of Ancient Bibles and Manuscripts which was exhibited in the Public Library during September.

MICHAEL P. GILL, Ste/Warr.

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Lower School Notes Once again a new session is in full swing, and once again there are many changes and innovations to report. It was with regret that we learned that Miss Tough was unable to resume teaching, owing to continued ill health: we take this opportunity of expressing to her again our sincere thanks for her many years of faithful service to the School, and our best wishes for improved health in her retirement.

Mrs. Barron, better known to us as Miss Ogilvie, has changed her sphere of influence from the classroom to the manse and its many attendant activities—we wish her well in her new life. Miss Flynn, after two years' " temporary " and very good service, has moved to pastures new. We are pleased to welcome to the Lower School Miss Hill, Miss Valentine and Mr. Seller, all class-teachers with a wealth of experience from which their pupils will undoubtedly benefit.

Lower Vc is now included in the list of classes in the Lower School—a most welcome recruit whose appearance will do much to ease the burden of learning and teaching in Lower V. The Lower School monitors have been installed in office and are performing their duties industriously and efficiently. They arc Murray Bywater, Peter Howie and Leslie Nicol of VA, Douglas Joss, John Raitt and Alan Wright of Vs, Murray Milne, Hamish Mitchell and Billy Yule of IVA, and Neil Duncan, Dixon Gall and Douglas Maxwell of IVa. Alan Wright is head monitor.

Re-wiring of the Lower School buildings is nearing completion; an additional circuit has still to be installed to enable up to six classes at a time to listen to School Broadcasts. The radio equipment has arrived and should be functioning by next term. Two projectors, one film-strip and the other silent film, arc due to be delivered within the next few months. Building reconstruction is not yet at an end, but we hope that by the beginning of next session the old stairways will have been replaced, all sloping floors levelled and new desks and chairs supplied.

The Lower School choir, composed of boys from Lower II, III, IV and V, continues to meet regularly under the leadership of Mr. Norris, and we look forward to the opportunity of hearing the results of their weekly activities.

Swimming would appear to be the major sporting pursuit so far this session.

Three beginners' classes meet weekly, the groups consisting of twenty-five boys from Lower V, twenty-five from Lower IV, and thirty from Lower HI. We are particularly grateful to Mr. Wilson for finding the time to take the Lower III class. Soccer and rugger continue to be played enthusiastically on games afternoons, but to date only one outside fixture, a soccer game for the Lower IV soccer XI, has been played.

D. M. A.

Scottish Schoolboys' Club Since the departure of Mr. McCrea, the Club has been without a master-in-charge.

However, Mr. Lawson very kindly volunteered to take over this duty. On behalf of the Club, I thank Mr. Lawson for his generosity in spending some of his spare time at our meetings.

So far we have had very few meetings this year, but an extensive programme, which includes badminton, has been planned for the rest of the session.

STANLEY MONRO, School Representative.

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Aberdeen Grammar School ,Ilagane

Scout Notes 1st Troop An ideal site was chosen for this year's summer camp at Finzean, Kincardineshire, and the excellent facilities it provided for scout work, games, swimming and climbing were made full use of by the twenty-five campers. A new acquisition by the Troop, a marquee, proved to be worth its weight in gold, as eight out of the fourteen days spent under canvas were wet, and cooking out-of-doors was restricted. Practically the whole Troop, young and old, went on a day hike to Clachnaben. Dinner was cooked on an open fire, after which the ascent was completed. Tired but cheerful the climbers arrived back in camp as dusk was falling.

The Troop successfully ran a whist drive in October in the hut at Forhesfield Lane, to which a large number of parents and friends flocked. A sum of over £14 was realised and an enjoyable evening came to a close all too soon.

Troop and Pack both held Hallowe'en parties with no small degree of success.

Some parents will certainly agree--especially the patient mothers who had to scrub away treacle stains from the strangest places I It is proposed in the near future to issue a third edition of our Troop magazine, The Green Scarf. Ex-members of the Troop are invited to forward matter for the magazine to the editor, A.S.M. P. S. Brown, 135 King's Gate, Aberdeen, at their earliest convenience.

The following promotions have been made: T.L. D. Kilgour to Acting A.S.M.; P.L. R. Renton to T.L.; Second G. Murray to P.L.; Scouts R. McIntosh, A. Anderson and B. Sim to Seconds.

The Pack continues to flourish under the capable leadership of Miss I. McIntosh, and their athletic team at the Scout Sports this year swamped all opposition to carry off the Cub Athletic Shield. Their older brothers, the scouts, also did well to win second place at the Sports.

We wish to thank Miss A. Allan, who has recently had to resign from the Pack owing to pressure of work, for her invaluable assistance in the past.

P. S. BROWN, Assistant Scoutmaster.

(For J. K. Blair, Scoutmaster.) gth Troop Our summer camp in Glen Clova will he long remembered. We must have experienced the most rain of any camp since the Troop started, and the flooding of the Glen was a weird and awful sight. It says much for the organisation of Gavin Alexander and his assistants that all forty-five campers enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

For Scoutmaster we arc now fortunate to have Mr. Alexander Beaton, and as his assistants Messrs. Bob Tennant, Campbell Connon, Iain Esslemont, and Ian Brown. W. Hutchison, H. G. McPhillips and A. S. Brown have been promoted to P.L. rank, while P. Philip, J. Howie, J. Harper, and I. Davidson have been made Seconds.

Badge work and the construction of sledges and model aeroplanes for the Autumn Fair are going ahead with much enthusiasm.

The Cubs had a picnic at Loch pavan, the Burn o' Vat, and Cambus o' May in June. It is seldom that a wet picnic is so enjoyable.

Miss Gauld and Miss Taylor have led the Pack with much success for two-anda-half years. We are sorry they had to leave us at the end of September. Former Scoutmaster Tom Watson has agreed to run the Pack until Christmas, helped by Billy Hutchison and Sandy Brown.

Chief Troop and Pack events before Christmas are the annual feed and the open night which is planned for 15 December.

J. C. ESSLEMONT, Group Scoutmaster.

17th Troop A vigorous and adventurous summer camp has given the Troop new life for its autumn and winter activities. Even on the dark nights, we are doing as much

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of our scouting in the open air as weather permits. Recently a whole evening was spent in circle games in the Hazlehead Woods, followed by " camp fire ".

On to February 1951, we are holding our Cafe Chantant and Dance in School.

Tickets will soon be on sale for these, and we hope the other A.G.S. Troops will give us good backing in our efforts to raise funds.

Recruiting has been going well, over a dozen new members having joined us since summer. There is still some room, however, for further recruits.

Patrol meetings and excursions are becoming increasingly popular, and give ample scope for every scout to find a place for his hobbies and interests in the activities of his patrol.

At present our Patrol Leaders are: Senior P.L. Charles Ritchie; P.L.s Brian Bruce, George Macdearmid, Ian Macdonald and Donald Mackie.

RONALD W. HEPBURN, Scoutmaster.

Combined Cadet Force Notes The strength of the Contingent stands at present at 3 officers and 87 cadets.

The Army Section is 3o strong, the R.A.F. Section 2z, and the Basic Section 35.

Nineteen cadets of the Army Section possess Certificate A, Part II, while 3 cadets of the R.A.F. Section are holders of the Proficiency Certificate. The other cadets of these Sections have passed Part I of the Certificate A examinations.

The quality and quantity of this session's recruits arc good, and the Basic Section syllabus is being maintained to schedule, thanks to the efforts of Sergeant Cooper, 4/7 Gordons, and cadet N.C.O.s.

The Army Section is working in two squads. Those cadets who have not yet cleared the Certificate A, Part II, hurdle, are being put through their paces by R.S.M. Howitt, Scots Guards, of the University Contingent, S.T.C. Members of this squad can be easily identified after parade on a Thursday evening by their husky-voiced attempts at conversation. A drill and weapon training cadre is being run by R.S.M. Shore, 4/7 Gordons, for cadets possessing Certificate A, Part II. It is hoped to introduce signal training for these cadets next term.

The R.A.F. Section has embarked on a new syllabus of training which has been specially designed to meet the needs of C.C.F./R.A.F. Sections. Cadet N.C.O.s are nobly rising to the occasion and helping out with instruction.

Thirty-eight cadets of the Army and Basic Sections attended annual camp at Barry in July, where, despite indifferent weather conditions, a satisfactory training programme was carried out, along with the usual good measure of recreational pursuits. Fourteen cadets of the R.A.F. Section " camped " at the R.A.F. " holy of holies ", Cranwell, where there were many aerial exploits. B— said that he was not a bit squeamish after executing three rolls. This was the best R.A.F. Section camp so far, and has set a very high standard for future expeditions.

As regards this session's camps, it is desired that both Army and R.A.F. cadets do their week's training during the Easter vacation instead of during the summer.

Representations to this effect have been made to " higher authority ", and we shall await their decision with interest, and hope.

Pipes and Drums Practices were resumed this term with keenness by last year's members, but beginners were very slow to turn out. However, there has been in the past week or two an invasion of recruits, particularly for the piping class. It is to be hoped that they will persevere with their practices, so that a really good show can be put on at the public appearances of the Pipes and Drums during the summer term.

We are again fortunate to have as our instructors P/M. Rennie and Mr. Couper.

Unfortunately, owing to pressure of work with the Piping Society, Mr. Rennie will have to give up his duties as piping instructor, but he has very kindly consented to carry on until he has found a successor.

Our numbers at present are fifteen in the piping class and ten drummers. No more learners can be accepted at present, but boys who can already play will be gladly welcomed, if they care to join in our practices.

D. M. A.

tic

The Former Pupils' Club Founded *893

The Annual Dinner The attendance at this year's Annual Dinner, held in the Caledonian Hotel, Aberdeen, on Friday, 3 November 195o, was larger than ever before in the long history of F.P. Dinners. The final figure of 199 members and guests was larger by twenty-three than the previous record, which was set up at the F.P. Club Dinner in January 1947. The large gathering gave a warm welcome to thisJubilee year's President of the Club, Mr. J. G. KYD, and to the chief fittest of the evening, T. M. Taylor, C.B.E., K.C., LL.D., Principal of the University of Aberdeen. Mr. Included among those at the top table were three past presidents of the Club: Mr. A. G. NICOL SMITH (1926-27), Dr. EDWARD W. WAIT (1936-37), and Dr. W. CLARK SOUTER (1949-50). Mr. CHARLES DAVIDSON, another past president (1947-48), was unable to be present, but a characteristic message of good wishes from him was read during the evening.

Also accompanying the President at the top table were Mr. J. J. ROBERTSON, Rector of the School; Mr. D. E. Collier, Headmaster, Robert Gordon's College; Mr. ALEXANDER GRAY, Vice-President of the Club; Dr. JAMES HAY; Mr. Athol Benzie, President, The Gordonian Asociation; Mr. R. B. Farquhar, representing the Aberdeen Centre, George Heriot's School F.P. Club; Mr. Arthur Dickson, representing the Aberdeen Centre, Watsonian Club, and Mr. CHARLES S. MCLEOD, representing the London Centre of the F.P. Club. (Mr. McLeod received a special welcome as this was believed to be the first occasion on which an official representative of the London Centre had been present at the Dinner of the parent Club.)

Other Centre representatives were Mr. ALLAN C. FRAZER, Edinburgh, and Mr. BASIL. D. D. EMSL1E, Glasgow.

Apologies for absence were intimated by the Secretary, who also read, in addition to the message from " C.D.", a letter from Mr. C. J. Strachan, Club Consul in Ceylon, and a cable from Mr. Robert Fleming, Consul in Toronto, on behalf of F.P.s in Ontario. Mr. Fleming, a lifelong friend of the President, had intended to fly to this country in order to attend the Dinner but an important engagement in Ottawa on the previous day prevented his doing so. " THE SCHOOL AND THE CLUB " The time-honoured toast was proposed on this occasion by the Principal of the University of Aberdeen who, speaking as " the representative of a learned corporation of considerable antiquity ", said that, compared with the School (the most ancient academic institution in this part of Scotland), the University bound to have something of the air of a parvenu. Both had had their ups was and downs, and sometimes their repute and standing had been much better than at others. These were days when ancient things were apt to be put in question precisely because they bore witness to realities which often ran counter to the illusions of the time.

Both School and University had existed in the past to give a chance to " lads o' pairts ", not merely so that they might be enabled to carve out a career for themselves but also, and much more, that, in the words of John Knox, the commonwealth might have some comfort by them. They recognised some four centuries ago that there was a public interest of cardinal importance in providing tunities of advancement to the intellectually gifted in every stratum of opporsociety.

That was a far-sighted view of public policy based on the fundamental needs of the State. " This view ", Principal Taylor went on, " is to some extent threatened to-day by some contemporary developments which, in themselves, are quite admirable.

It is said that the old system was geared to the pace of the clever child and that others were neglected or, at least, made to feel inferior. This, of course, would never do. They might develop complexes! And yet I wonder. Sometimes I am tempted to think that it is no small part of the educational process that all of us

8I Aberdeen Grammar School iklagazine some things should be made to acknowledge at some time or other that there are we just have which we cannot do, and which we never shall be able to do, because which not got the capacity and ability to do them. It is a salutary experience is from the point enjoins and enforces humility. But how very awkward all this of view of extreme egalitarian theory, which cannot admit the existence of inherent differences of capacity! the "This awkwardness may be avoided in two ways, either by lowering distinction standards so that all can make the grade or by depreciating intellectual —a solution which has hitherto been quite out of line with the tradition of this part of Scotland. and it is right ' I should be the last to disparage the less gifted intellectually, them the kind for that schools, and particularly ancient schools, should providesacrifice of the more of course that is suitable to their capacity hut not—not—at thealso, in the long run, gifted pupil. That would be fatal not only to the school but to the country at large." not some So far as secondary education was concerned, he asked, was there notions of danger of this happening—a danger which arose out of misconceived into public equality and fair shares? It was time that a shot of realism was injected discussions on this subject. " and it is an " Except that they are both God's creatures ", he continued, aspect of life, exception with tremendous implications running out into every director there is no equality between any platelayer from Shotts and the managing the platelayer's of John Brown's. The managing director can if need be learn not work the other job and do it for him, but the process is not reciprocal. It doesHouse—Winchester way round. This is why—for all the money-bags of Transport it is also why Scotland and New College bulk so large in Mr. Attlee's Ministry, and is more sparsely represented in his Cabinet than in any Administration in living memory. " By all means let us make provision for diversity of gifts, but let it be rememsociety. bered that it is a great part which intellectual power plays in contemporaryreward." and We must see that intellectual power receives its due encouragement to him to Principal Taylor went on to say that the other danger that seemednation as a confront schools and universities was one which also confronted thewere told on whole. It was the exaltation of means over ends. Production, we directed. ever, hand, was the end to which our contemporary activities were it appeared, Procuction with a view to maintaining our standard of living was now,politicians of the chief aim of political action. It was accepted as a maxim by every view and every party. of " There is such a thing as justice", he continued, " and there are conditions about living which should not be tolerated, and most of us have had consciences to these conditions. Those who are more fortunately placed are very unwilling the underoppose measures which are designed to give a semblance of justice to everything privileged. Yet the truth must be stated and faced—that to subordinatematerialism to the improvement of the standard of living is to swallow the doctrine ofthis and the hook, line and sinker. There is no difference of principle between doctrine of the Marxist, and the time has come when we must examine this theory of the primacy of production. " It seems to me that ancient schools should not hesitate to maintain that the quality of living is more important than the standard of life, which easily may become pseudo-scientific jargon for that love of comfort which is the mother of servitude. Further, they must assert that there are things that make for quality that cannot be used as means to anything else, precisely because, like persons, they that are ends in themselves. They ought to assert that truth is not just anything in mine or serves the party line, that beauty is not just something to boost morale factory, and that goodness is not just being in the good books of the secret police. " This at least, or something like it ", he concluded, " would be fully in accordance with the traditions of your great School and of the Club whose function it is to keep them alive".

THE RECTOR'S REPLY

Replying for the School, the Rectos.spoke of the very long and intimate association between the Grammar School and the Colleges in Aberdeen. To trace the

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innumerable strands that connected them would be in great part to write the history of education in the North-East of Scotland. He reflected with much satisfaction on the long line of distinguished members of the University, including their honoured guest, who had taken part in the governance of the School, and he rejoiced that the University had sent its sons to the Grammar School. Its gracious interest had not lacked repayment, for the School had given to the University a steady recruitment of lively personalities, apt for student leadership, and its due quota of able scholars. If in any quarter there was more readiness to concede the lively personalities than the able scholars, it was perhaps worth recalling that in this very year no fewer than ten Grammarians had graduated with first class honours, while the last Medical Graduation List contained the names of fourteen or fifteen from the ancient School.

He thought that the University still looked with a kindly eye on its older sister, not as being a perfect school—for there were none such—but because it was a good school, and a school's title to be considered good rested not on the absence of faults but on the presence of persisting vital qualities that outweighed its defects.

One such quality was its stubborn conviction that in both work and discipline boys should be left with enough freedom to make their mistakes and to profit by them, another its concern to balance fairly the claims of the ordinary many and of the exceptional few. And he could assure the Principal that, although they had perhaps more complex functions to perform in these latter days, they still regarded it as a high and honourable task to preserve the tradition of good scholarship and maintain those intellectual standards which were none the less indispensable merely because they could not be reached by the majority.

Referring to the late Mr. D. M. Andrew, the Rector said that he was one who put faith in continuity, and in the seed growing secretly rather than in many innovations and the more elaborate mechanisms of schooling. For himself he had chosen the way of quietness, and in it he walked to the end. So long as the NorthEast kept its respect for good scholarship, quiet humour, faultless courtesy, and a fastidious dislike of all pretentiousness and vulgarity, Mr. Andrew would be held in remembrance and regard.

The Rector went on to speak of the War Memorial in the School Hall. He said that while the memory of the dedication and the unveiling was still vividly with him, he wished to express a word of special thanks. He was thinking not merely of the generosity with which the Club, like the City of Aberdeen, had given this beautiful Memorial to the School; he wanted also to record their indebtedness for the unusual care and time lavished on the simple and memorable ceremony. Referring to the School's heavy sacrifice—almost zoo names in the last war and in all 44o—he confessed that he found the presence of the Memorial strangely moving. As he sat in Hall each morning, while the Prefect read, he found his eyes passing from the ranks of the living to the roll of the dead, and reflected that that great, silent company whose names were inscribed on the Memorial was little smaller than that which daily confronted him in the crowded Hall. And so he concluded that, even if the Grammar School had every fault and weakness with which its worst detractor had ever charged it, even if it were stripped of every achievement of its sons in the halls of learning, in the world of affairs, and at the ends of the earth, it might still carry its head very high, remembering that proud, sad memorial with its fifteen panels and its golden names.

THE PRESIDENT'S REPLY

Mr. J. G. Kyd replied to the toast on behalf of the Club. He began by expressing his thanks to the members of the Club for electing him their President.

There was probably no event, he said, in his fairly long life that he valued more than his election to this high office. His career at the School had been simple and humble: he was not a great scholar and he took few prizes. In fact, one of the very few he won was a prize given by his dear friend, Charles Davidson, for an original poem about the statue of Byron. He still cherished the book which " C.D." had given him. After he had left School he joined the F.P. Club, and throughout his life he had always had great friendship and fellowship from members of the Club in Aberdeen, London and Edinburgh. The Club had been one of the great joys of his life and he wished to express the great pleasure he had in being there as its President. He trusted the Club would long flourish.

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anecdotes Mr. Kyd's remarks were interspersed with many highly diverting words based on experiences in Ireland and as Registrar-General for Scotland. Hisgreatest were perfectly attuned to the mood of the company and met with the possible acceptance. " THE GUESTS "

The toast of " The Guests " was proposed by Mr. Maurice Cramb who, refermany disring to Principal Taylor, said that the University of Aberdeen had hadimpression tinguished Principals, but that only a few of them had left a distinct that after they had gone. The outlook and vitality of their chief guest would ensure very the present Principal would join these few and that his name would tank to high among them. He went on to say that among the guests there seemed ", be he say a very large representation from the " Other Place ". " I can almost laughter.) added, " that years have mellowed these nasty little brutes!" (Loud Professor Henry Hamilton of the Chair of Political Economy in the University of Aberdeen replied to the toast. He said that for centuries the Grammar School alive had nourished the sons of the North-East and had done something to keep the mother wit and idiom of this part of Scotland. " THE CHAIRMAN "

In proposing the toast of " The Chairman ", Mr. Alexander Gray, VicePresident of the Club, said that if he were to summarise their chairman's career, he would say that Mr. Kyd was " by birth a Kyd, by profession an actuary, by appointment a registrar-general, by award a Companion of the Order of the British Empire, by choice a statistician, by inclination a mountaineer and lover of the countryside, and by election President of the Aberdeen Grammar School Former all Pupils' Club. He thanked the President for the real interest he had taken in his matters pertaining to the Club and for all that he had done for them during term of office. He had done everything asked of him with the greatest willingness.

They had sought to honour him by electing him their President but now they were further in his debt. Mr. Kyd replied briefly and announced that he was to send to " C.D." a message of thanks for his good wishes for the success of the evening.t * * * at the Dinner, the list being present were Club of the members The following arranged in order of seniority, based on date of entry to the School:1880. A. G. Nicol Smith (1880-88).

1883. James Hay (1883-87), E. W. Watt (1883-94).

1890. H. J. Butchart (1890-99).

1891. J. G. Kyd (1891-98).

1893. W. Clark Souter (1893-98), N. J. J. Walker (1893-1902).

1894. J. Minto Robertson (1894-1901).

1895. R. J. Anderson (1895-99).

1897. A. M. Geddes (1897-1903).

1899. Robert Richards (1899-1904).

1900. D. G. Robertson (190o-09).

1902. George Forbes (1902-04), J. F. Mackintosh (1902-I2).

1903. A. R. Abercromby (1903-13), G. P. Geddes (1903-11).

1904. C. G. Kennaway (1904-16), J. T. Sorley (1904-17), G. A. Williamson (1904-1 a).

1905. James Leith (1905-17), A. E. D. Mackie (1905-08).

C.D.'s reply to " My dear old ' Stunner'" commenced as follows:— " I cannot tell you how delighted and flattered I felt on getting your charming letter. It rolled back the curtain of half a century, disclosing the vision of troops of boys now men—some alas! no longer with us—passing in front like the phantom kings of " Macbeth ". Many thanks to you and the other F.P.s present at the dinner for their kind remembrance of me who, strange to say, still survives like some lone standing stone with the ruins of others strewn around. I think it is a sense of humour that has always acted as a preservative."

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1906.

J. P. Jeffrey (1906-18), W. C. MacKinnon (1906-to), H. J. Stewart (1906-12), R. B. Williamson (1906-18).

1907. A. C. Hendry (1907-14), J. L. Riddell (1 907-16).

1908. A. J. M. Edwards (1908-21), E. J. Galloway (1908-18), G. N. Gordon (1908-19), C. S. McLeod (1908-20).

1909. J. G. Kilgour (1909-16).

1910. Alexander Gray (1910-22), L. R. Harper (1910-17), T. K. Macdonald (,910-21), I. G. McPherson (191o-17), P. R. Wood (1910-20).

1911. W. G. Thow (1911-22).

1912. T. E. Anderson (1912-2.1), R. J. Maitland (1912-18), J. G. Sellar (1912-18), N. B. Sellar (19,2-21), R. D. Strachan (1912-59).

1913. J. B. Esslemont (1913-24), M. G. Gibb (1913-22), J. H. Henderson (19131921), J. I. Scott O913-2O, N. G. Taylor (1913-23).

1914. W. C. Bryce (1914-21), Leo Durnin (1914-17), Robert Duthie (194-19), W. G. Hutcheon (1914-23), D. L. Lamb (1914-20), John Maclennan (19141920), M. C. Ross (1914-21).

1915. J. W. L. Bain (1915-22), J. E. Bothwell (1915-23), F. B. Cartwright (19151924), Harold Esslemont (19/5-19), R. L. Milne (1915-26), N. S. Williamson (191 5-19).

1916. Maurice Cramb (1916-29), David Hanna (1916-22).

1917. D. S. Brown (1917-24), J. H. Gray (1917-29), G. A. C. Walker (1917-23).

1918. J. R. Carry (1918-30), W. M. Miller (1918-23), I. G. Shinnie (1918-28), A. J. Slessor (1918-30), I. L. Smith (1918-30), F. F. Stott (1918-30), D. M. Wood (1918-29).

1919. J. G. Bisset (1919-29), R. H. Campbell (1919-29), N. S. Clark (1919-29), A. Nicol Smith (1919-29), J. S. Stephen (1919-29), A. D. Troup (1919-22), R. P. Wishart (1919-31).

1920. D. F. Middleton (1920-25), A. J. Peters (1920-30), H. G. Stephen (1920-30), W. H. Stephen (1920-29), N. F. Wisely (192o-32).

1921. G. H. Henderson (1921-34), E. H. Manthei Stott (1921-24).

1922. J. S. MacLachlan (1922-32), J. S. G. Munro (1922-28), G. Q. Murray (1922-27), A. R. Smith (1922-26), F. A. Smith (1922-28 and 1930-i3).

1924. A. M. Irvine (1924-27), James Reid (1924-34), A. G. B. Young (1924-34).

1925. William Adam (1925-37), J. R. Buchanan (1925-36), C. R. Cruickshank (1925-39), A. S. Finnic (1925-35), A. C. Frazer (1925-30), N. I. W. Meldrum (1925-37), H. W. Rankine (1925-35), J. C. N. Reid (1925-37), A. C. R. Watt (1925-37).

1926. A. S. Matheson (1926-31), W. H. P. Walker (1926-39), H. M. R. Watt (19z6-38).

1927. F. R. Paterson (1927-40), R. G. C. Smith (1927 -37), N. R. Wishart (1927-40).

1928. Eric Buthlay (1928-40).

1929. R. J. Bain (1929-41), T. W. N. Davidson (1929-41), B. D. D. Emslie (1929-35), W. S. Gilchrist (1929-36), D. G. Patterson (1929-36).

1 930. H. F. M. Aitken (1930-33), W. L. Connon (1930-40).

1931. R. J. Anderson (1931-37).

1933. G. S. Williams (1933-46).

1934. J. M. Bruce (1934-45).

1935. A. C. Mutch (1935-41), R. V. Williams (1935-46).

1937. J. H. Warrack (1937-42).

Honorary Member. J. J. Robertson (Recto,-).

School and F.P. Rugby Fixtures in the South It has been suggested that more F.P.s in Edinburgh, Glasgow and other cities would be able to be present, and give moral and vocal support, at School and F.P. rugby matches in the South, if details of forthcoming fixtures were given in the Magazine. The following matches have been arranged for the spring of t951:— Jan. zo. F.P.s v. Morgan Academy F.P.s, at Dundee.

Feb. 3. F.P.s v. Royal Signals, C..atterick, at Edinburgh. „ 3. School v. Dundee High School at Dundee. „ 17. F.P.s v. Glasgow High School F.P.s at Anniesland. „ 24. School r. Paisley Grammar School, at Paisley.

Mar. 10. F.P.s v. Gala, at Galashiels.

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F.P. Club Consuls During the past year there have been the following changes in the roll of Club Consuls :— Resignations

I

I

Nigeria (Northern Provinces)—Captain CAMPBELL GRANT MCKENZIE (1910-12).

Returned to United Kingdom.

Nigeria (Southern Provinces)—Superintendent FREDERICK STATHERN PHILIP (1914-24). Retired from Colonial Service.

Malaya (Selangor)—ALEXANDER Ross MURRAY (1903-13), A.M.I.C.E. Returned to United Kingdom.

India (Bombay)—BENJAMIN BOOTH (1935-39). Transferred to Colombo office of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Company.

Appointments U.S.A. (Colorado)—FRANCIS JAMES MILNE (1924-30, M.R.C.V.S. Australian Capital Territory (Canberra)—Craauss OGILvIE WILL BOWMAN (1910-15).

Australia (New South Wales)—ALAN REID (1911-14).

Pakistan (Karachi)—HERBERT TOWER SORLEY (1899-1909), C.S.I., C.I.E., M.A., D.Litt., F.R.S.A. • • •

The full roll is now as follows :— AFRICA Egypt—ALEXANDER GEORGE WALKER (1906-20), c/o Northern Assurance Company Limited, St. Mark's Building, P.O. Box 1695, Alexandria.

Gold Coast—EDGAR REUBEN GAULD (1917-23), M.B., Ch.B., M.R.C.P., Medical Specialist, Sekondi Hospital, Sekondi, Gold Coast, B.W.A. Kenya—GRAEME GEORGE SUTHERLAND (1903-09), P.O. BOX 1002, Nairobi, Kenya Colony.

Portuguese East Africa—MARSHALL KEITH DUGUID (1919-29), C/O Duguid & Anderson Limited, P.O. Box 422, Beira, Portuguese East Africa.

Sierra Leone—EDWARD WILLIAM MURRAY WATT (1918-31), M.A., c/o Glenbnmie Park, Rubislaw Den North, Aberdeen.

Southern Rhodesia—JAMES WYNESS MACGREGOR (191o-23), P.O. Box 91, Umtali, Southern Rhodesia.

Tanganyika—GEORGE ALEXANDER WILSON (1920-23), M.B., Ch.B., Medical Specialist, Labour Department, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika Territory.

Union of South Africa Cape Province—Professor WILLIAM SOUTAR MACKIE (1895-1901), DM111021t, Greenfield Road, Kenilworth, Cape Town, Cape Province.

JAMES MELVIN (1904-10), C.B.E., M.C., T.D., M.B., Ch.B., 44 Queen Street, Cambridge, East London, Cape Province.

Natal—FRANK BRUCE FARQUHARSON DUGUID (1919-26), 8 Lambert Road, Durban, Natal.

Transvaal—JOHN EWAN HENDERSON (1884-87), P.O. Box 4466, Johannesburg, Transvaal.

AMERICA Canada Alberta—DOUGLAS HARPER (1888-98), M.A., B.L., 609 Tegler Building, Edmonton, Alberta.

British Columbia—WILLIAM ERNEST MILNE (1881-90), C/O Milne & Middleton, 547 Water Street, Vancouver, B.C. Manitoba—JOHN DUGUID CRUICKSHANK (1899-1904), The Canadian Bank of Commerce, Personal Loan Department, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

_,-.lberdeen Grammar .Vehoo/ Magazine

86

Of1L3/10-ROBERT FLEMTNG (1891-98), Wood Fleming & Company, Royal Bank

Building, Toronto a, Ontario.

Quebec—Noammg MACKINNON (1907-16), B.Sc.(For.), 16to Sherbrooke West, Montreal, Quebec.

Falkland Islands ROBERT STEWART SLESSOR (1927-29), M.B., Ch.B., S.M.O., Port Stanley, Falkland

Islands.

Mexico PATRICK JOHN MILROY WALKER (1914-20), C.A., Apartado 38 Bis., Mexico, D.F.

South America Brazil—JOHN BLAKE LYON (1900-04), c/o San Paulo Gas Company, Caixa Postal 19B, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Colombia—ROBERT WILLIAM YOUNG (1914-21), Embotelladora Tropical, S.A., Calle 9 del y Carrera Eugenio Macias, Barranquilla, Col ,mbia.

United States of America Colorado —FRANCIS JAMES MILNE (1924-35), M.R.C.V.S., Assistant Professor of Veterinary Surgery, Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College, Fort Collins, GiIirado.

Illinois—JAMES BRUCE SMITH (1918-25), The Bruce Smith Insurance Agency, 208 South Lasalle Street, Chicago, Illinois.

West Indies British West Indies—KENNETH REID (1901-04), King's Bay, Tobago, British

West Indies.

Dutch West Indies-GEORGE FERGUSON RITCHIE (1917-24), Lago Oil & Transport

Company Limited, Marine Department, P.O. Box 643, Aruba, Dutch West Indies.

AUSTRALIA Australian Capital Territory (Canberra)—.CHARLES OGILVIE WILL BOWMAN (1910-15), Manager, C:tpital Hill Hostel, Canberra, A.C.T. New South Wales—ALAN REID (1911-14), 3 lona Avenue, West Pymble, Sydney,

New South Wales.

Western Australia—IAN THOM (r9rz-z5), Wydga Station, Mount Magnet, Perth,

Western Australia.

EUROPE Channel Islands—WiwAsi MILLER (1894-?), Beaufort Hotel, St. Helier, Jersey.

Finland—ARTHUR Roy HANDASYDE KI.LI‘S (1926-32), M.A., I I.M. Legation,

Helsinki, Finland.

Switzerland (Geneva)—JAMES LAWSON MowAy (1915-16), M.A., Ph.D., c o

Bureau International du Travail, Geneva, Switzerland.

Switzerland (ZUriCh)—ROBERT ALEXANDER Esst.emoNT MENNIE (1924-36), M.A., B.Y. Benzin and Petroleum A.G., Handelshof, Uraniastrasse, Zurich, Switzerland.

FAR EAST Hongkong—FRANK CHARLES BRISCOE BLACK (1914-17), c/o Hongkong &

Shanghai Banking Corporation, Hongkong.

Malaya

(Negri Sembilan)—GRAHAM

HENDERSON

(I 906- 12),

Estate, Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan, Malaya.

SUR

Belong

SingapOte—WILLIAM FERRIER MAYOR (1925-3o), M.A., c/o Customs House,

Maxwell Road, Singapore.

INDIA, PAKISTAN and CEYLON India (Madras)—IAN CUNNING (1907-14), c/o Vernon & Company, 36 Second

Line Beach, Post Box 79, Madras.

Aberdeen Grammar School .VIagazine

87

M.C., The India (West Bengal)—HERBERT BREWER SCOTT (1905-o8), C.B.E., Royal Insurance Company Limited, 5-7 Netaji Subhas Road, Calcutta.

M.A., Pakistan (Karachl)--I IERBERT TOWER SORLEY (1899-1909), C.S.I., C.1.E., D.Litt., F.R.S.A., Somerset !louse, Karachi.

Ceylon—CHARLES JAMES STRACHAN (1917-21), Anglo-Ceylon General Estates Company, P.O. Box r 3, Colombo, Ceylon.

IRAQ Leader, Air Headquarters ERNEST STRACHAN (1923-24 and 1926-36), Squadron

Iraq.

Royal Air Force, Habbaniya, British Forces in Iraq.

NEW ZEALAND ANDREW ALEXANDER MARR DUCAT (1924-28 and

1929-34),5 Seaforth Terrace,

Karori, Wellington, New Zealand.

Glasgow Centre the At the Annual General Meeting of the Centre held on r November 195o, following were elected office-bearers for 195o-51:— President, James Stirrat (1911-21); Vice-President, C. S. Buyers (1895-98); G. Edwards Hon. Secretary and Treasurer, J. A. N. Watt (1927-39); Committee, Henry G. M. Birss (1905-14), Basil D. D. Emslie (1929-35), H. M. Morgan (1914-20), J. (1926-38) and Ian F. Stratton (1921-23). rendered The meeting enthusiastically indicated its appreciation of the services Centre's of the by the retiring president, Henry G .Edwards, during the twenty years existence. impossible, Regret was expressed that Basil D. D. Emslie had found it at present for business reasons, to continue to hold the office of Hon. Secretary.

Association, an In conjunction with the Glasgow Branch of The Gordonian In spite of the informal Dinner and Theatre Party was held on 26 October 195o. ", the two ancient rivalry that exists between the School and the " Other Place complete in bands of " exiles " and their guests passed a most enjoyable evening harmony I of writing, Final arrangements for the Annual Dinner have not, at the time 2.6 January Friday, been completed, but it is hoped that this function, to be held on 1951, will be well attended and as successful as its predecessors.

Glasgow Members of the Club who are, or will be, resident in the area of the the Hon. with Centre, for however short a period, are invited to get in touch (Office telephone— Secretary at 4o Stamperland Hill, Clarkston, Renfrewshire.

Douglas 25o1.)

London Centre Victoria Street, The Annual General Meeting was held in the Albert Tavern, an attendance over S.W. r, on Thursday, 12. October 195o. Lord Alness presided of about thirty-five members.

C. W. France The following were elected members of the committee to replaceand W. H. P. (1922-31), D. S. S. Marr (1919-32) and Drs. D. A. Milne (1923-35) Bowes (1915-28), Minto (1925-27 and 1928-36), who retired by rotation: G. W. Stewart (1931-35).

J. H. L. innes (1919-23), D. J. G. Sherman (1922-26) and G. W. the adoption of A. H. K. Slater (1923-35) was re-elected Hon. Secretary. After silence, at the call of the Report and Accounts, the meeting stood for a moment in deaths had been the Chairman, as a tribute to the memory of four members whoseT. D. H. Brown. reported, D. H. W. Williamson, J. C. Taylor, W. A. Milligan and School on the Lord Alness then gave an account of the proceedings at the much occasion of the unveiling of the 1939-45 War Memorial. Speaking with to perform feeling, he recalled that it was the second time he had been called upon Memorial. the melancholy duty of unveiling the School War the Aberdeen The Second Annual Joint Dance with the London Branch of Friday, 9 March High School Club is to be held in the Paviour's Arms, S.W. 1, on D. S. S. Marr of 1951. Arrangements are again, on the School side, in the hands and C. W. France.

88

Aberdeen Grammar School illasaVne

F.P. Golf Section Outings of the Section were held at Peterhead in August and Aboyne in September and the final outing of the year was to Ballater in October. All were well attended. The record of a dry day on every outing since Section has been maintained, but many members found it the formation of the a little difficult to convince their wives that they played round Aboyne accompanied by sunshine and no rain on 17 September. It rained heavily in every other place in Great Britain on that date.

The results of the outings were as follows:— PETERHEAD Handicaps 1 to 9— sat W. L. Connon . . 79 less 9 =- 7o and E. Buthlay . . . 8o „ 7 — 73 Handicaps to and over— ist J. G. Kilgour . . 85 less to -- 75 and J. C. N. Reid • 93 „ 12-81 ABOYNE Handicaps 1 to 91st (equal) W. L. Connon . 81 less 9 = 72 J. L. Riddell • 75 3 = 72 3rd I. Flockhart .

• 8i p. 8 = 73 Handicaps to and over— sat R. J. Maitland . . 84 less 18 = 66 znd D. M. Wood .

• 83 „ 13 = 7o 3rd (equal) J. I. Scott .

• 90 18 = 72 J. C. N. Reid .

• 84 „ 12 = 72 BAI.LATER Scratch Prize—Dr. M. G. Gibb . 76 Handicaps I to 91st W. L. Connon . . . . . 8r less 9 = 72 2nd (equal) W. C. Bryce . . . . 8o „ 4 = 76 J. L. Riddell .

• • 79 3 = 78 Handicaps 10 affif over1st G. E. C. Barton . . . . 87 less 18 = 69 2nd J. G. Kilgour . . . .

Si S „ 10 = 7t 3rd (equal) W. G. Thow • . . . 91 „ 18 = 73 W. S. Milne . . 9t „ t8 --• 73 Guests' Prke— Dr. H. Fowlie . . . . .

• 79 less 8 = 71 The Ballater outing was distinguished by G. E. C. Barton's guest, Mr. Melville Watson, a one-armed golfer, holing his tee shot Watson, who had previously had a hole in one atonthe 4th hole (130 yards). Mr. Birkenhead in 1939, was playing on this occasion withthe Arrow Park course near W. H. P. Walker, the donor of the Walker Cup. Notwithstanding the absence from the Section's Constitution of " Procedure Relating to Guests Holing in One ", Mr. Watson was suitably rewarded for his performance.

The scoring at Ballater resulted in a tie for both the Mug between G. E. C. Barton and R. J. Bain, who bothWalker Cup and the Jeffrey an average net score at outings of 4 be ow par. After completed the season with under handicap, R. J. Bain ran out winner of the a further 9 holes Medal Play Walker Cup by 4 strokes and G. E. C. Barton, therefore, won the Jeffrey Mug. The finalists of the Gibb-Thow Trophy were J. L. Thow in his semi-final tie, and G. N. Henderson, Riddell, who defeated W. G. who defeated R. J. Bain in the other semi-final. Henderson, finalist for second year in succession, produced good golf and defeated J. L. Riddell in thethe final, and 3.

Trophies were presented to the prize winners5 at the Section's Annual Dinner in the Northern Hotel on 3o November 195o.

As this Dinner was held after these notes went to press, a report will appear in the next issue of the Magazine.

HARRY G. STEPHEN, Hon. Secretary.

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-Aberdeen Grammar School Magaine

F.P. Cricket Section The 195o season was perhaps the most significant in the history of the Section, witnessing as it did the culmination of a long, hard, fairly steady climb since the re-formation of the club in 1932 and its admission to Grade I of the Aberdeenshire Association in 1933.

From that year to 19₹ 9, when the 1st XI were Grade I champions, the standard of play showed gradual improvement, but that the club still had weak foundations difficulty was plain from the fact that the and XI, which had been run with some in the Reserve Grade, was non-existent in 1938.

The resumption of cricket in 1946 saw the 1st XI still in the Aberdeenshire Association, but in 1947 it was admitted to the higher sphere of the Strathmore Union, in which its position is now well established. This meant that the club by the and XI, was now represented in Grade I of the Aberdeenshire Association the and the strain at first proved rather too great, relegation to Grade 11 being outcome of season 1947, and relegation to Grade III being only narrowly averted under the in 1948. With 1949, however, came the turn of the tide. In that year, captaincy of A. H. Innes, the and X1 were Grade II champions, and this year, under R. E. Wetherly, they ended the season third equal in Grade I. The Strathmore Union XI, for their part, were seventh in the league this season—one place higher than last year. Under the extremely popular captaincy four of Douglas Stuart they won five matches, drew three, lost eight and had either cancelled or abandoned owing to rain. It was, indeed, the wettest season rather for many years, which largely accounts for the fact that our bowlers fared to better than our batsmen, the loss of Eric Cruickshank to Aberdeenshire being Ronnie in batsman-wicket-keeper a of School from advent the by offset extent large a Hamilton.

STRATHMORE UNION XI AVERAGES

Bowling:—

L. E. Tyson .

A. A. C. Edmond ' G. B. Nicolson

. . .

. .

Batting:—

E. H. Cruickshank . .

J. S. Manley .

N. H. MacDonald . .

1. Stuart

. . . .

Overt

Maidens

Average

22

Rims 336

Wickets

125

z6

132 56

15 5

341 137

22

12'9 1 5'5 15.7

Innings

Times Not Out

AMU

to

Highest Score Average

63 73* 7o 52

169 1 6 109 1 5 1 8 148 231 I 13 * Indicates Not Out.

33'8 27'2 21 19. 2

three.

The Aberdeenshire Association XI won five matches, drew five and lost ball, bat and In this solid performance T. I. Morrison was a tower of strength with whose bowling and was ably supported by J. C. Masson, to the natural aggression of was added the grace of a new-found precision.

ABERDEENSHIRE ASSOCIATION XI AVERAGES

Overs Maidens

Bowling:—

.

S. Munro T. I. Morrison J. C. Masson .

A. H. Innes .

Batting:—

. . . .

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Wickets

Average

72 238 275 144

14

5'1 8.8

34 104 107 49

to 32 34 8

Innings

Times Not Out

Runs

M. Webster . .

H. C. Reid T. I. Morrison

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3 5 10

o o 4

8o tot 97

.

.

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109

J. Craig .

27 22

11.0

it

13.1

Highest Score Average

46 40 •

27 27

26.6 z0. 2 16. 2 12.1

93

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

It is clear that the znd XI is now of the standard of the pre-war 1st XI; and there is very little doubt that it would continue to hold its own in its present sphere.

Membership of the Aberdeenshire Association, however, has serious disadvantages, and the club has therefore withdrawn from that organisation: instead a complete and attractive list of " friendly " znd XI fixtures is being arranged. In a word, the club's development is, to all intents and purposes, now complete, at least for as long as can be foreseen—a state of affairs which is due above all to the experience, vision and work of L. E. Tyson and C. H. Webster. Lucky the club that can boast twin pillars of such a calibre.

At the heart of the game of cricket there lurks a vision of the tea interval, and assuredly cricket minus its better half would be dust and ashes in the mouth.

To Mrs. Tyson, Miss Mavis Tyson, Mrs. Wood, Miss Anne Inns and Mrs. Manley —the vertebral column of the club—we are once again very deeply indebted.

Thanks are also due to our skeely scorers, Miss Heather Innes and Miss Nancy Dalziel.

T. M. ALLAN, Hon. Secretary.

F.P. Hockey Section This season has, so far, been extremely successful, the ist and znd XIs having lost only one game each. It is extremely satisfactory that our znd XI is now a match for most senior XIs in Aberdeen. The 3rd XI is not yet as strong as we would desire. If all boys who play hockey at School were to continue playing on leaving, the 3rd XI would be in a strong position.

Nine members of the ist XI and one from the znd XI have played this season in some local representative game. The following three members have been included in the North XI:-T. I. Morrison, D. W. Johnston and I. A. Middleton.

At the New Year week-end the ist XI meet I.C.I., Grangemouth, and we also have a new fixture with Leeds University. Also in January there is a fixture with St. Andrews University. The annual tour to Glasgow is to be run at Easter, as in previous years.

On 17 January 1951 a social evening is to be held in the Royal Athenaeum, when it is hoped there will be a large turn-out of past and present members of the Sect ion.

In conclusion, we should like to thank Mr. Tyson for the excellent pitch which does so much to maintain our standard of hockey. rat XI Results

Sept. 3o. v. Richmond . . .

Oct. 7. v. Ruthrieston . . v. Perth . . . . ff 1 4 . „ 21. v. Dundee Wanderers .

28. v. Morgan Academy F.P.s .

Nov. 4. v. Grove Academy F.P.s .

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4-3 1-3 8-3 3-z

Won. Won. Won. Won. Lost. \Von.

and XI Results

Sept. 3o. v. 32nd Medium Regiment • . .

Oct. 7. v. Gordonians and XI . . . >, 14. v. Perth " A " XI „ 21. V. Centralians . . . .

28. v. Morgan Academy F.P.s " A " XI Nov. 4. v. Grove Academy F.P.s " A " XI „ rt. v. Aberdeen . - . . . „ 18. v. Ruthricston . .

• • .

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Won. Lost.

Won. Won. • . . z-1 Won. • • .

• 6-5 Won. • • • . 3-1 Won. . . . .

5-z Won. R. P. WisHART, Hon. Secretary.

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F.P. Clothing for Sale

•

A navy blue blazer, with F.P. badge, a white pullover, with F.P. colours, and a pair of white flannel trousers (all average man's size) arc available for sale. Any F.P. who is interested should get in touch with the Secretary of the Club, 220 Union Street, Aberdeen.

Aberdeen Grammar School F.P. Club Boarding House Co. Ltd. GRAMMAR SCHOOL HOUSE SENIOR HOUSE

JUNIOR HOUSE

8 QUEEN'S

6

ROAD

QUEEN'S

ROAD

ABERDEEN

The Houses are conveniently situated in the west end of the town, and are equidistant from the School and the Playing Fields.

The Senior House, which can accommodate 45 Boarders, is specially designed and fitted for the purpose, having large common rooms, modern dormitories, bathrooms, changing rooms, etc.

The Junior House, which has accommodation for about 18 Boarders, is available for boys up to 11 years of age.

The Company have their own Hard Tennis Courts (3) and large Playground adjacent to both Houses.

Fees, D59 per annum.

House Master Under House Master

Mr. JAMES W. COULTHARD Mr. DUNCAN M. ANNAND, M.B.E.

Matrons Miss HELEN OGILVIE

MIS. MARGARET D. ANNAND

For Application Forms and further particulars apply to the Secretary of the Company, Mr. JAMES C. DUFFUS, Advocate, 7 Golden Square, Aberdeen.

You

can

service,

always rely on selection

SPORTS

and

the

best

quality

in

EQUIPMENT at

impsons' SPORTS EMPORIUM 18 BRIDGE ST

ABERDEEN

(Corner of Bath Street)

Expert and quick service is assured for Badminton and Tennis repairs and re-stringing.

Satisfaction guaranteed

Phone 2 1 094

JOHN SIMPSON & SON (S. & T. LTD.

.Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

91

F.P. Rugby Section The rugby season to date has proved to be a comparatively disappointing one.

Preparatory training started early in August and enthusiasm and keenness were at a high peak. The results, however, have not been good and players have for some reason or other not shown the form in matches which was expected of them.

Injuries again have also been very numerous and have mainly affected players in positions for which reserves are fewest, namely stand-off half and centre threequarter. The vice-captain was injured so badly in the first game that he has only recently returned, and at one time six players in the 1st and znd XV back divisions were injured. This has, of course, meant continual changes in teams and the improvement which normally comes with team play could scarcely have been expected. The 1st XV pack, however, is now settling down as a formidable unit and our report at the end of the season may be more cheerful. As a matter of interest, the same 1st XV has not played on even two successive Saturdays since January 1948.

The 1st XV record has been disappointing. After a bright display against Heriot's, when the difference between the teams was nowhere as large as the score, there was a gradual decline, but the collapse against Edinburgh Academicals at Raebum Place was quite unexplainable. Since then there has been some improvement and, now that calls on players for trial matches are largely over, a competent side may be got together. Good victories were obtained over Gordonians and St. Andrews University.

The and XV has had to date, despite continual changes, quite a satisfactory season, with some big scores and a victory over R.N.A.S., Lossiemouth, 1st XV to its credit. The side at Greenock was so weakened that the defeat had no significance.

Players are plentiful and a full 3rd XV has been turning out regularly. On occasion it has been difficult to give games to all our members, and by next season the club may well field four teams.

The following players were chosen for the various trials:— North v. Midlands at Linkilield, Aberdeen, on 4 November 1950.—W. D. Allardice, J. W. Cradock, E. H. Cruickshank, D. W. C. Smith, A. H. Tawse, and J. H. Warrack.

North v. South at Dunfermline, on xi November 195o.—W. D. Allardice, A. H. Tawse and J. H. Warrack. D. W. C. Smith was chosen but was unable to play.

First International Trial at Gala:bid:, on 9 December 195o.—D. W. C. Smith (now playing for London Scottish). rat XV Results Lost. . 3-14 F.P.s at Rubislaw .

School Heriot's George v.

Sept. 16.

Won. „ 23. v. Dundee High School F.P.s at Rubislaw . 19-6 3-3 Drawn. .

30. V. Allan Glen's School F.P.s at Bishopbriggs .

Won. . 20-0 .

Oct. 7. v. R.N.A.S., Arbroath, at Rubislaw . . 9 85 .

Place i, 14. v. Edinburgh Academicals at Raebum . . 113-14 .

• . .

Gordonians at Rubislaw ,, -.3 Won. . . „ 28. v. St. Andrews University at St. Andrews Lost. . 8-2 z . .

Nov. 4. " A " XV v. Panmure at Rubislaw .

6-6 Drawn. . . . „ 1 T. v. Aberdeen Wanderers at Rubislaw Lost.

• o-i t . .

18. v. Greenock Wanderers at Greenock and XV Results

Sept. t6. „ 23.

Oct. 7. „ 14. at.

28.

Nov. II. „ 18.

Lost.

8-14 v. George Heriot's School F.P.s and XV at Rubislaw Won. v. Dundee High School F.P.s znd XV at Rubislaw . 36-3 Won. . 37-5 . . v. R.N.A.S., Arbroath, at Rubislaw . . . . 28-3 Won. • .

V. Moray at Rubislaw .

Lost.

6-9 . . v. Gordonians znd XV at Sestfield .

9-6 Won. . .

• . . v. Centralians at Rubislaw Won. . . 15-3 v. R.N.A.S., Lossiemouth, at Lossiemouth Lost. " B " XV v. Greenock Wanderers znd XV at Greenock 0-11 N. I. W. MELDRUM, Hon. Secretary.

92

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

F.P. Club Boarding House List of Boarders The following is a list of the forty-nine boys who are resident in the Boarding I louse this session:—

Entered in Session 1943-44 John Alexander McKenzie Holloway, s. of Mrs. Holloway, Betchworth Avenue, Reading.

Neil Roderick Johnston, s. of Mrs. Johnston, 164 Cromwell Road, London, S.W.5.

I

Entered in Session i944-45 John Douglas Benzie, s. of John William Benzie (1912-19), C.A., D'Abemon Close, Esher, Surrey.

John Stevenson Milligan and Anthony Wallace Milligan, ss. of Mrs. Milligan, Stracathro Hospital, by Brechin.

Ian Slessor Smith, s. of Geo. F. Smith, 14 Auldcastle Road, Inverness.

Entered in Session 1945-46 Donald Stewart Cook, s. of William Ferguson Cook (1911-13), Woodend, Dchiowita, Ceylon.

William Jack, s. of F. W. Jack, St. John's Wood, Inverugie.

Entered in Session 1946-47 David Michael Fraser Bright, s. of Wing Commander Edgar Bulmer Bright (1921-32), A.F.C., M.B., Ch.B., c/o National Provincial Bank, Ruthin, Wales.

Anthony Alan Chalmers and John Colin Chalmers, ss. of Alan Chalmers (191519), c/o Hongkong and Shanghai Bank.

William Gordon Glennie, s. of William Robert Daniel Glennie (1911-17), S.E.C. Office, H.M. Dockyard, Hongkong.

Lessel John Charles Rennie, s. of John C. Rennie, Wester Fintray, Kintore.

Michael Brian Tosh, s. of Alfred McLaren Tosh (1929-3 Inchture, Perthshire.

Euan Alexander Laing Wilson, s. of Dr. George Alexander Wilson (1920-23), Medical Specialist, Labour Department, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika Territory.

Entered in Session 1947-48 Maitland Mackie, s. of Maitland Mackie (1926-28), Westertown, Rothienorman.

Alistair Ronald Parlane Paton, s. of Mrs. I. M. Paton, 29 Beechgrove Avenue, Aberdeen.

William McCulloch Rae, s. of William Brewster Rae (1920-24), Lepetkatta T.E., Barharuah P.O., Dubrugarh, Assam.

Entered in Session 2948-49 Kenneth Ernest Grant Coates, s. of Squadron Leader G. F. L. Coates, D.S.C., Block 35, H.Q. A.C.F.E., R.A.F., Changi, Singapore.

Thomas Nicholas Ducat, s. of Thomas Ducat (1919-22), Samdang Tea Estate, Doom Dooma, Assam.

Brian William Finnie, s. of Dr. Williamson Jackson Finnie (1928-31), \Voodbank, Station Road, Esholt, Yorkshire.

James Daniel MacAllister Nicolson, s. of Alexander Nicolson, National Bank of India, Nairobi, Kenya.

Ronald Leslie Pyle and William Dryden Pyle, ss. of Dr. T. D. Pyle, Geramount, Stronsay, Orkney.

James Bruce Roberts, s. of J. H. E. Roberts, P.O. Box No. 8, Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia.

William Lee Sleigh, s. of John Lee Sleigh (1913-16), Newseat of Tolquhon, Tarves.

John Godsman Watt, s. of Alan M. Watt, Weetingshill, Maud.

I

Aberdeen Grammar Schaal Magazine

93

Entered in Session x949-5o Duncan Matheson Armand, s. of Duncan Matheson Annand, M.B.E., M.A., 8 Queen's Road, Aberdeen.

William Grant Archibald, s. of Alexander Nichol Archibald (1919-23), Chandpur Bogan, East Pakistan.

John David Simpson Birkbeck, s. of Rev. John E. II. B. Birkbeck, Abadan South Iran.

Christopher John Humphrey Ducat, s. of John Ledingham Ducat (1916-27), Usine Ste. Madeleine, Trinidad.

Ronald W. Duncan, s. of Capt. John Duncan, D.S.C., Los Piedras, Estada Falcon, Venezuela.

John Craib Hollifield, s. of John Hollifield, 2 Netaji Subhas Road, Calcutta.

Hector Alistair Macaulay MacDonald, s. of Mrs. MacDonald, Commercial Hotel, Forres.

Alexander Macfarlane, s. of Duncan John Macfarlane, Mains of Tillymorgan, Culsalmond.

Ian MacMillan, s. of William George MacMillan (1916-22), B.Sc., Ph.D., a Raja Santosh Road, Alipore, Calcutta.

Wilson Sinclair Mitchell and Alexander Hunter Mitchell, ss. of N. Hunter Mitchell, Hillend of Lownie, Forfar.

James Stalker Ross, s. of James Stalker Ross, Budla Beta Tea Estate, Doom Dooma P.O., Upper Assam, India.

Denis Frank Smedley, s. of Mrs. Janet Smedley, Schoolhouse, Kininvie, Dufftown.

David Mitchell Wilding, s. of Harry Reuben Wilding (1923-37), 72 Forest Avenue, Aberdeen.

Entered this Session Donald Sinclair Black, s. of Frank Charles Briscoe Black (1914-17), Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, Hongkong.

Kenneth Noble Fraser, s. of William Alexander Fraser, Commercial Bank House, Strichen.

Patrick Goodall, s. of Mrs. Veronica Goodall, Blairfindy Lodge, Glenlivet, Banffshire.

Ronald Stewart Mackay, s. of Hugh S. Mackay, Hongkong Electric Company, Hongkong.

Allan Stewart MacLean, s. of James MacLean, Chembong Estate, Rembau, Negri Sembilan, Malaya.

Kenneth James Macleod, s. of Kenneth Macleod, Balnabeen, Conon Bridge, Ross-shire.

Hamish Gordon Mitchell, s. of Peter Mitchell, Mark Haven, Strand Road, Bombay, India.

John Robert Garnet Rust, s. of John Bruce Rust (1919-29), 36 Springfield Avenue, Aberdeen. (Re-entered.)

New Members of the Club x June-15 November 1950 LIFE MEMBERS Anderson, Thomas Edge (1912-21), M.D., 12 Albyn Terrace, Aberdeen.

Ballantyne, Thomas (1942-47), 32 Ferryhill Road, Aberdeen.

Brooker, Ian Mackintosh (1934-45). M.B., Ch.B., 49 Anderson Drive, Aberdeen.

Campbell, Robert Hogg (1919-29), coo National Bank of India Ltd., 26 Bishopsgatc, London, E.C. a.

Christie, Harry Donald (1908-21), M.B., Ch.B., 20 Richmond Avenue, Barnsbury, London, N. 1.

Craig, David Main (1937-50), 5 Albyn Terrace, Aberdeen.

Davidson, Alexander John (1928-40), C.A., 86 Lexham Gardens, London, W. 8.

Duguid, John Simmers (1934-41), 57 Saxondale Avenue, South Yardley, Birmingham, 2.6. (Joined January 194-) Fiddes, Alastair Dudley Rae (1936-43), Rubislaw, Hutton, Fssex.

94

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine

Hall, Alan Stirling (1937-40 and 1943-50), 43 Salisbury Terrace, Aberdeen.

Henderson, Alexander Davidson (1937-46), 19 Forbesfield Road, Aberdeen.

Knight, Hugh Marshall (1939-42), 37 Gray Street, Aberdeen.

Margach, Alistair James (1915-22), B.Sc. (Agri.), Masindi, Uganda.

Miller, William Maitland (1918-28), 18 Raeden Avenue, Aberdeen.

Milne, Lawrence Walker (1939-43), M.A., LL.B., 2f4 Broomhill Road, Aberdeen.

Ritchie, George Ferguson (1957-24), Lago Oil and Transport Co., Ltd., Marine Dept., P.O. Box 643, Aruba, N.W.I. Robertson, William Alexander Clifford (1936-42), 493 Great Western Road, Aberdeen.

Ross, Alfred Knights (1926-40), 41 Louisville Avenue, Aberdeen.

Smith, George Bodie Thomson (1943-45), 103 Hilton Road, Aberdeen.

Thom, James Norman (1915-28), P.O. Box 396, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Wood, Ronald Sutherland (1938-50), 86 Hammerfield Avenue, Aberdeen.

LIFE MEMBERS (Under Paragraphs of Constitution) Buchan, James (1948-50), 17 Dee Place, Aberdeen.

Cordiner, Alfred George (1919-2z), Airlie, Bieldside, Aberdeenshire.

Coutts, Kenneth (1944-50), it i Hilton Street, Aberdeen.

Craig, William Alexander (1942-48), 238 Mid Stocket Road, Aberdeen.

Esslemont, Iain (1939-50), 16 Westfield Terrace, Aberdeen.

Forbes, Patrick Beaumont (1937-42 and 1949-50, Kilmeny, Galashiels, Selkirkshire.

Fox, Edgar Alexander (1925-37), M.B., Ch.B., S9 Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen.

Gray, Douglas (1928-41), 7o Rubislaw Den South, Aberdeen.

Howison, William (1937-50), 16 Carnegie Crescent, Aberdeen.

Kilgour, David Gray (1938-40 and 1945-50, 49 Forest Road, Aberdeen.

Laird, John Alexander Grant (1928-40), B.Sc. (Eng.), c/o Mrs. Ballard, 37 Lynton Avenue, St. Mary Crag, Orpington, Kent.

Lees, John Drennan (1914-26), M.B., Ch.B., Forman House, St. Norbert Road, London, S.E. 4.

McGregor, Archibald McKenzie (1933-40), M.B., Ch.B., 35 Gray Street, Aberdeen.

McLeod, Eric (1936-49), to King's Cross Road, Aberdeen.

Main, Arthur William Alexander (1939-45), M.A., 29 Newlands Crescent, Aberdeen.

Milne, Alistair Macdonell (1924-32), 13 Carlton Place, Aberdeen.

Milne, Harold James (1904-07), M.C., Belmont, Strichen Road, Fraserburgh.

North, Alastair Macarthur (1 937-41 and 1942-50), Cardonald, West Cults.

Philip, Gordon Macdonald (1938-49), 4 Primrosehill Gardens, Aberdeen.

Robertson, Alexander Kay (1942-44), M.A., to Hamilton Place, Aberdeen.

Roe, Maurice Robert Andre (1934-45), M.A., 55 Don Street, Old Aberdeen.

Shand, Harry Edward Ross (1925-34), C.A., Horden, 28 Larbert Road, Bonnybridge, nr. Falkirk.

Watt, Eric Douglas (1937-50), 27 Seafield Crescent, Aberdeen.

ORDINARY MEMBERS Arnott, Thomas Meldrum (1937-50), King, John Buchan Montgomery (1947;6 Belgrave Terrace, Aberdeen.

5O), 12 Albury Road, Aberdeen.

Barnett, Adam John Guilbert (1915-20), Law, Harry Raffan (1948-50), Berryden Ph.D., Marischal College, Aberdeen.

Gardens, Berrydcn Road, Aberdeen.

Brooker, William Dixon (1938-5o), Littlejohn, James Henry (1 936-49), 49 Anderson Drive, Aberdeen. i5 Northburn Avenue, Aberdeen.

Cale, Albert (1944-48), 34 Inchbrae McClellan, John Forrest (1944-5o), Drive, Aberdeen.

25 Caledonian Place, Aberdeen.

Cromar, Alexander (1944-50), 8 BroomMcDonald, Ronald William (1947-50), hill Road, Aberdeen. zo Fowler Avenue, Aberdeen.

Duthie, Alexander Henderson (1945-5o), Maelntyre, Alexander Nicolson Ogilvie 83 Willowbank Road, Aberdeen.

(1 943-48), Cruachan, Tomintoul.

Grant, James (1938-50), 37 Union McLeod, John (1946-50), 6o Rose Grove, Aberdeen.

Street, Aberdeen.

Hamilton, Ronald Thomas (1936-50), McPherson, Stephen (1944-5o), 6 33 Hazledcne Road, Aberdeen.

Sunnyside Terrace, Aberdeen.

Henderson, Denys Hartley (1938-50), Meatus, James Andrew Graeme (193893 Desswood Place, Aberdeen.

5O), 79 Devonshire Road, Aberdeen.

Aberdeen Grammar School Magcqine Milne, John Andrew (1959-50), 22 Rosehill Avenue, Aberdeen.

Mowat, Charles Donald (1944-5 0), 31 Caimcry Avenue, Aberdeen.

Paterson, Hamish Barron (1941-5o), 28 Albyn Place, Aberdeen.

Rae, John James (1944-50), 79 Fonthill Road, Aberdeen.

Reid, .Alistair (1945-50), 67 Broomhill Avenue, Aberdeen.

Reith, James Duncan (1947-50), 35 Dee Street, Aberdeen.

Robertson, Gordon (1944-50), 18 Montrose Drive, Aberdeen.

91

Roe, Charles Francis (1937-49), 55 Don Street, Old Aberdeen.

Sampson, Roger (1943-50), West Rise, Southfield, Hessle, E. Yorks.

Steven, Andrew Marshall Macdonald (1936-50), 107 High Street, Aberdeen.

Tonnochy, Alec Bain (1897-1902), M.A., British Museum, London, W.C. 1.

Tyson, Richard Frederick (1944-49), -Rubislaw Playing Field, Aberdeen.

Watt, Alexander Gordon (1937-50), 19 Northburn Avenue, Aberdeen.

Wilkinson, David (1945-50), 17 Devanha Gardens East, Aberdeen.

F.P. Club Office-Bearers, 195o-51 Honorary President : JAMES J. ROBERTSON, O.B.E., M.A., B.D., F.R.S.E., F.E.I.S.

(Rector since 1942) Honorary Vice-Presidents : The Right Honble. Lord ALNESS (1884- The Honble. Lord MACKAY (ALEXANDER MORRICE MACKAY) (1882-91), K.C., 85), P.C., G.B.E., LL.D. M.A., LL.D. President, 1928-29.

President, 1931-32.

Sif ANDREW GOTIRLAY CLOW (1896-98), The Right Honble. Lord MEsYoN K.C.S.I., C.I.E. (I90I-01).

Sir PATRICK ASHLEY COOPER (1896DOUGLAS GORDON MILLER, M.A. 1900, B.A., LL.B. Rector, 1921-24.

President, 1937-38.

Sir WILLIAM PETERS (1900-06), C.M.G., CHARLES DAVIDSON (1882-86), M.A. M.A. President, 1947-48.

GEORGE NICOL SMITH Colonel ARCHER IRVINE-FORTESCUE ALEXANDER D.S.O. (x880-88), (1892-97), D.S.O., M.B., Ch.B. President, 1926-27.

President, 1939-46.

WILLIAM CLARK SOUTER (1893-98), Sir ROBERT LYALL GRANT (2884-91), M.D., D.O. T.D., M.A., LL.B. President, 1949-5o.

Sir HUBERT DOUGLAS HENDERSON Sir WILLIAM ROBERT TENNANT (1904(x9ox-04), M.B.E., M.A., LL.D., to), C.I.E., M.A. F.B.A. Sir JOHN MACKAY THOMSON, C.B., Sir (WILLIAM) WILSON JAMESON (1892M.A., F.R.S.E. 19o2), G.B.E., K.C.B., M.D., LLD., Rector, 1920-21.

D.Sc., F.R,C.P., K.H.P. GEORGE WATSON (1873-77).

Sir ARTHUR LOTHIAN (1892-94 and President, 1934-35.

1898-1904), K.C.I.E., C.S.I., LL.D. EDWARD WILLIAM WATT (1883-94), President, 1948-49.

T.D., M.A., LL.D, D.L. President, 1936-37.

President : JAMES GRAY KYD (1891-98), C.B.E., F.F.A., F.R.S.E. Vice-President of Club and Chairman of Executive : ALEXANDER GRAY (1910-22), M.A., LL.B. Secretary and Treasurer : JOHN SCOTT MACLACHLAN (1922-32), M.A., LL.B., 220 Union Street, Aberdeen.

96

Aberdeen Grammar School Magazine Editor of Magazine : ALAN CROMBIE ROBERTSON WATT (1925-37), M.A., LL.B., 12 Bon-Accord Crescent, Aberdeen.

Secretaries of Centres : Bengal and Assam—H. B. Scorr (1905-08), C.B.E., M.C., The Royal Insurance Company Limited, 5-7 Netaji Subhas Road, Calcutta.

Edinburgh—A. C. FR.AZER (1925-30), M.A., W.S., lo Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh, 3.

Glasgow—J. A. N. WArr (1927-39), C.A., 4o Stamp.:rland Hill, Clarkston, Renfrewshire.

London—A. H. K. SLATER (1922-35), M.A., a Newton Grove, London, W. 4.

Malaya—W. F. MAvos. (1923-3o), M.A., c/o Customs House, Maxwell Road, Singapore.

Yorkshire—W. F. DUNNE= (1919-22), B.A., C.A., 212 Oakwood Lane, Roundhay, Leeds, 8.

Secretaries of Sections : Cricket—T. M. ALLAN (193o-36), M.13., Ch.B., 52 Craigic Park, Aberdeen.

Golf—H. G. STEPHEN (1920-30), 252 Union Street, Aberdeen.

Hockey—R. P. WISHART (1919-31), zr John Street, Aberdeen.

Rugby—N. I. W. MELDRUM (1925-37), M.A., LL.B., 15 Golden Square, Aberdeen.

Tennis—A. H. INNEs (1933-45), 74 Burns Road, Aberdeen.

Executive Committee :

The Vice-President of the Club, Chairman.

IAN G. MCPHERSON (I9 I 0- I 7), Vice-Chairman.

The Secretary and Treasurer, and Editor of Magazine, ex ()Ails.

WILLIAM L. COMMON (193o-4o), B.L. J. LENNOX RIDDELL (1907-16).

MAURICE CR t‘IB (1916-29), M.A., LL.B. MITCHELL C. Ross (1914-21), B.Sc..

CHARLES R. CRUICKSHANK (1925-39).

M.P.S., Ph.C. ALFRED J. M. EDWARDS (I 908-2 I), IAN L. SMITH (19t8-3o), B.Sc., M.A., B.Com. A.M.I.C.E. MAXWELL G. GIBB (1913-22), M.B., JOHN S. SUTHERLAND (1935-48).

Ch.B. ROBERT J. NI MILANO (19i2-18), O.B.E. WILLIAM G. THOW (1911-22), L.D.S. NEIL I. W. MELDRUM (1925-37), M.A., GEORGE A. C. WALKER (1917-23).

LL.B. One representative from each of the ALAN J. PETERS (1920-30), C.A. Sections.

Hon. Auditors : MCSSIS. BOWER and SMITH, C.A.

Club Subscription Rates 10S. per annum (5s. for those under 2 I years of age on I January).

Any Former Pupil under zr years of age has the option of paying the sum of LI rs. to cover membership for five years, provided he joins the Club not later than 3i December immediately after leaving School.

LIFE MEMBERSHIP. LS, or eight consecutive annual payments of LI IS. ORDINARY MEMBERSHIP.

BRANCHES THROUGHOUT

CITY

B AKERS OF QUALITY • ABERDEEN

• EVEPYTHIWG FOP THE

ARTISTS ARTSTUDENT

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2702 Celestzfcare Sfadakee Orcix Places a World-Wide Insurance Organisation AT YOUR SERVICE

EQUIPPED TO UNDERTAKE ALL KINDS OF INSURANCE BUSINESS General Manager :

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ABERDEEN BRANCH - 5, UNION TERRACE Branch Manager: -MARK W.C0NNELL

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Enquiries courteously solicited

Works: 23, 25, 29 Summer Street ALL CLASSES OF

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IMPROVED SUPPLIES are available of Typewriters, Desks (wood or steel), Chairs, Filing Cabinets, Cupboards

Come and see me

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C. H. WEBSTER 489 Union Street, Aberdeen

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Agents for Ordnance Survey Maps

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The Perfect Rendezvous for Lunch in Aberdeen .:.c:.V."'''''':<.,.,X ;iii&i:,'- i:ii:i%:!i,,,,..W. „ . ....

Watt & Grant's

RESTAURANT You will find

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Watt & Grant Ltd., Union St., Aberdeen

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irreproachable cuisine and connoisseurs' cellar—and the same personal attention.

Reservations to the resident manager TELEPHONE

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ILGIN

CORPORATION

OF

ABERDEEN -

ABERDEEN

EDUCATION

GRAMMAR

COMMITTEE

SCHOOL

(FOUNDED BEFORE 1256)

RECTOR .

JAMES J. ROBERTSON, O.B.E., M.A., S.D., F.R.S.E.

HE GRAMMAR SCHOOL provides a complete course of Primary Tand Secondary Education for Boys.

The School is organised as follows :—Nursery Class (4-5), Kindergarten (3-7), Lower School (7-52), Middle School (12-13), Upper School ( t3-18).

The School, which occupies an extensive site in the West End of the City, has, in addition to ample classroom accommodation, an Assembly Flail with Stage, a spacious Library and Reading Room, five well-equipped Laboratories, three Art Rooms, two Music Rooms, three Workshops, two Gymnasia, a Dining Hall, a Museum, and a Botanical Garden.

While the School has a Classical tradition, it offers considerable variety of courses, the subjects of the Secondary Department being (in addition to Religous Education, Music, Physical Exercises and Games), English, History, Geography, Latin, Greek, French, German, Spanish, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Art and Crafts, Technical Subjects, and Commercial Subjects.

Boys are prepared for the Universities, the Civil Service, the Professions, Commerce and Industry. The Examinations normally taken are the Leaving Certificate of the Scottish Education Department and the Bursaries Competitions of the Scottish Universities. he School has spacious Playing Fields at Rub:slaw, the games played being Rugby Football, Cricket, Hockey, and Tennis.

There are two Boarding Houses run in conjunction with the Grammar School.

ABERDEEN HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS (ALBYN PLACE)

HEAD MISTRESS . MISS B. M. ROSE, M.A. (OXON.) HIGH SCHOOL provides a complete course of education for T HE girls between the ages of 3 and r8 years. It is organised in three Departments—infants, Primary and Secondary. There is, in addition, a Nursery Class. The girls in the Secondary Department arc prepared for the Leaving Certificate of the Scottish Education Department and the Bursary Competition and the Preliminary Examination of the University: and those pupils who take Music, for the Examinations of the Associated Board. J he subjects studied comprise Scripture, Physical Training, Class Singing, English, History, Geography, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Latin, Greek, German, French, Music, Art and Craft, Needlework, Cookery and Laundry. There is considerable variety possible in the choice of subjects and courses.

At least one afternoon a week and Saturday mornings are set aside for organised games at the School Playing Field of eleven acres situated at Hazlehead.

Information as to Scholarships, Courses of Study, etc., at the Grammar School and the High School for Girls is given in the School Prospectuses, which may be had free on application to the Director of Education, Education Offices, Municipal Buildings, Castle Street, or to the Rector or Head Ivlistress respectively.

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Full savings facilities are provided for present and former pupils of all ages by the

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