PBHSOB ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
REUNION NEWS
In last month’s newsletter we touched on the 70 Year On Reunion (Class of 1952) which is taking place on Friday 6 May 2022. With just over a week to go, we are in the final preparation stage and excited to greet about 25 Old Boys from the years 1950-1955 and some of their spouses. We will give feedback on the day’s events in our next edition.
Exactly a week later, on Friday 13 March 2022, the 60 Year On Reunion (Class of 1962) will be taking place at Pretoria Boys High School starting with tea on the lawn of Solomon House.
The convenor of the reunion group is Donald Allen Jones and he will be welcoming a group of approximately 38 Old Boys and guests to a special assembly during which Old Boy Graham Hearn will give a bible reading and Tom Brown will give a short speech from the stage. Former Headmaster Mr Bill Schroder will also attend the special assembly as well as the Old Boys Lunch after the formalities. The current Headmaster, Mr Greg Hassenkamp will also be in attendance and will lead the group on a tour of the school during which a lot of memories of their carefree school days will undoubtedly enrich the group. The Old Boys Association fortunately has access to decades of back copies of The Pretorian and had a look at the 1962 edition.
On page 9 of that year’s edition, we found a short article penned by S R Koller, Form 5A, entitled “The Character of PBHS” which reads as follows:
“Grandeur impresses. I was therefore both awestruck and very proud during my first days at Pretoria Boys’ High, but this conception of my school was soon revised. I came to realize that this school’s greatest attribute is not its imposing buildings nor its beautiful grounds, but its character.
The character of the school is impossible to define. It is not wholly the spirit prevailing, the attitudes, standards or tone, for the character of our school embraces all of these.
One of the most noticeable aspects is its informality. Nowhere are boys to be seen silently and grimly marching in lines as they change class-rooms. We stroll and chat and behave like human beings and thus we are not mere cogs in a formidable machine. There is warmth in our relationships with each other and with masters. The staff are as much part of the school as the boys are. In the boarding-houses they are parents, and on the sports-fields, coaches and organizers. Newcomers to the school are often surprised at this spirit, but it has a power which very soon affects the newest new-boy to the good.
On a par with this spirit is the school’s dignity. Dignity is the factor determining what is informality and what is familiarity. It sets the code of behaviour and dress in all walks of school life; it tempers all our acts. During breaks boys sit in groups on the terraces and under the trees. They laugh and joke but very seldom are they rowdy. When the school appears in public their impeccable behaviour is often commented on.
It is difficult to conceive that this attitude could ever have been imposed, for it appears to have developed as part of our tradition. A great deal is most likely due to the influence of the headmasters. They have been men who commanded respect. They have believed in effective guidance rather than harsh discipline, and thus have fostered the development of this dignity that constitutes so much of the spirit of the school.
Possibly the best place to see this spirit in all its facets is on the sports-field – particularly in the rugby teams does one observe informality in the friendly attitude of the players, the dignity of their scrupulously clean and sporting play. On the cricket field it is the dignity of the batsman that makes him walk unhesitatingly from the crease after a bad l.b.w. decision.
It has been said that there is something distinctive about a boy from this school. Perhaps there is, for he has not merely been to school, but he has been educated and has absorbed some of the rich character of Pretoria Boys’ High. – S.R. KOLLER”.
These words still ring true today, 60 years on.
103rd ANNUAL OLD BOYS DINNER : SATURDAY 4 JUNE 2022 : PBHS
The event we have all been waiting for! The 103rd Annual Old Boys Dinner is taking place on Saturday 4 June 2022, 18:30 for 19:00 at the Central Dining Hall, Pretoria Boys High School. MR BILL SCHRODER is the guest speaker. First batch of tickets limited to 200 @ R480.00 per person. Book via AlumNet by clicking on copying and pasting this link: https://pbhsoba.alumnet.co.za/Event/Annual2520Old2520Boys2520Dinner25202022
OLD BOYS CONTRIBUTING TO LITERARY CULTURE
Old Boy Mike Proctor-Sims published another book at the beginning of this year and continued with the practice of contributing a signed copy to the school’s library. The title of the book is Plundering Paradise and the plot revolves around “a bloody war being waged over South Africa’s iconic Wild Coast”. Available to purchase from book stores for your reading pleasure.
PRETORIA BOYS HIGH SCHOOL : THE PERFECT SETTING FOR A SUNSET PARADE – SAS PRESIDENT KRUGER – 40TH ANNIVERSARY – 18 FEBRUARY 2022
On the 18th of February 2022 , a Sunset Parade was held at the school to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the sinking of the SA Navy Frigate, the SAS President Kruger. On the morning of the 18th of February 1982 at 03:50 whilst engaged in Submarine Officers Qualifying (SMOC) exercises, the SAS Tafelberg collided with the SAS President Kruger. 177 crew members were rescued whilst 16 sailors perished. Of those lost at sea only one body was recovered, that of Chief Petty Officer Donald Webb, the rest remain in a watery grave 3km beneath the surface.
The event organised by the Field Marshal Shellhole of the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (MOTH), approached the school for permission to hold a Sunset parade at 17:30 in order for attendees to pay their respects to the fallen during the sounding of the last post, which has become a tradition at the school.
With the School’s proud tradition of honouring those boys who made the ultimate sacrifice, it was felt that there was no better venue for this event than Pretoria Boys High School. Present during the parade were a number of military veterans, service personnel and civilians. 4 survivors from that fateful day in 1982 were also present at the event: Admiral (Rtd) Dennis Forrest, Captain (Rtd) Graham Davies, Commander (Rtd) Adeel Carelse, Chief Petty Officer (Rtd) Derrick Williams. Article submitted by J.Demetroudes (NB no PBHS old boys were involved in the accident, the school was deemed to be the perfect setting for the Sunset Parade).
From Left to Right; Commander (Rtd) A. Carelse (Survivor), Mr. B. Forrest, Admiral (Rtd) D. Forrest (Survivor), Mr. G. Forrest, Captain (Rtd) G. Davies (Survivor), Chief Petty Officer (Rtd) D. Williams (Survivor)
PRETORIA BOYS HIGH SCHOOL’S ANNUAL PRODUCTION
IN MEMORIAM
We sadly had news of the passing of Mr Geoffrey Freeman (Class of 1967) and Mr Roger Petty (Class of 1954). We send our most sincere condolences to their families and loved ones, they remain in our thoughts and prayers. Their obituaries can be viewed via the following links: https://pbhsob.com/geoffrey-freeman-1967/ https://pbhsob.com/roger-ashley-petty-1954/
THE OLD BOYS CLUB
Living in or visiting Pretoria (Tshwane)? Remember to pop into the Old Boys Club for great deals and warm hospitality!
Please remember to send any snippet of interesting information to info@pbhsob.com for the attention of Sally