THE OLDEST OLD BOY
Road towards Constantia and you get Higgs Road, leading to what was then known as Higgs Dorp. You had a building on the western corner of Aliwal and Higgs Roads and this is where McNaughton lived. Nixon's School was the ancestor of Boys' High School. When Nixon's School became over-crowded, then Boys' High School was built and all the boys went over Higgs Road to this new school under E.T. LittIewood. Living within 150 yards of Nixon's School, it is easy to understand why my parents sent me to this school and when the shift took place I went with the majority. This makes me the oldest living boy who attended Littlewood's School. At Nixon's the chief games were Cricket and Ball Slaan (A sort of rounders). The property did not lend itself to rugby. In the cricket team was Nicholas de Kock, the fast bowler who afterwards got a reputation for his pace, breaking a wicket in half during a bowling over. Mr. Nixon, headmaster, was a married man who lived in Constantia Road. He was so devoted to his little daughter that he brought her to school with him. Then there was great
Mr. H. M. Shaw, who l.ives in Indian Road, Wynberg, and is now 91 years of age, is the oldest living member of the Wynberg Boys' School. W.B.H.S. developed out of Nixon's School named after its headmaster - which had as its premises the small cottage which still stands at the corner of Aliwal and Riverstone Roads. The Frontispiece photograph was taken in 1895 on the day that Nixon's School closed down and the boys were assembled ready to march across to their new school. Only the hall and the library and the prefects' common room remain of that school. Mr. Shaw is the fourth seated boy from the right, i.e. between the two cricket stumps. Mr. Nixon is in the middle of the back row, bowler-hatted and moustached. Many of our present boys have seen Mr. Shaw without recognising him. He is often to be seen driving to Kenilworth station in his old Ford V8, greenish in colour, giving a warning hoot at the corners. And if your mothers play golf at the Royal Cape and enter for the Cecile Shaw Trophy, they wiLl be competing for a trophy presented by Mr. Shaw's wife. We wish him every happiness and continued good health. Below are some of Mr. Shaw's reminiscences: I was born on 18th March 1879, and from this you can know my age at the present time. I am considered as having a good memory and I shall have to draw upon it to give you some facts of the early days of your school. At an early date my father, who was the chief engineer in the Punjunb in India, was appointed in London as an advisor to the Cape Government. He bought the old property known as Longwood at the corner of Riverstone Road and what was then known as Dead Man's Lane, now Brodie Road, at Wynberg. Now in view of the cemeteries, don't you think that Dead Man's Lane was more appropriate? Now let us get back to Boys' High School. About 100 yards from Longwood along to the north at the junction of Riverstone Road, Tennant Road and Aliwal Road and on the north west corner of these roads still stands a residence which was the old Nixon's School. Go further along Aliwal
competition amongst the students for the job of taking her back to her mother. Littlewood's School was quite a different matter. Here we had splendid grounds and great encouragement for athletic performances. I have a medal which I won for Cycle Race. The boys on the bars were wonderful performers. Max Honnet was a perfectly formed individual and splendidly muscular. He afterwards led Springbok Football men to England. I have never seen such a fine physical body of boys. They revelled in their strength and perfectly ideal build. There was a teacher named Etheridge who was as keen on games as the boys and he used to let boys off their punishment to get them out to bowl to him at the nets. I could give you a list of men such as Bertie Graham, Faulkner, Alec Solomon and others, all outstanding men in sport. The outcome of all this strength was visible when a master set a mathematics problem to his class and when several boys had solved this correctly he found his best mathematician had not got the right answer. He was ordered to stand up and try again. He again failed to produce a correct answer and then the master 31