{"id":709,"date":"2022-11-09T19:50:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T19:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.peterhousegroup.co.zw\/petrean\/?post_type=history&p=709"},"modified":"2022-11-09T20:03:32","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T20:03:32","slug":"1954-5-bruce-fieldsend-opening-the-school","status":"publish","type":"history","link":"https:\/\/dev.peterhousegroup.co.zw\/petrean\/history\/1954-5-bruce-fieldsend-opening-the-school\/","title":{"rendered":"1954-5 – Bruce Fieldsend – Opening the School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It had always been my ambition to be part of starting a church school in Rhodesia (as it was then). It was on my honeymoon in December 1952 when I heard that Fred Snell <\/strong>was leaving Michaelhouse and coming up to Rhodesia with the intention of starting such a school.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I immediately wrote to him and visited him at Ruzawi in May 1953. We stayed with him and Liza<\/strong> nearly scuppered any chance of appointment. After dinner Fred<\/strong> took me off to his study to look at building plans and left Liza with Margaret. “Do you play a musical instrument?” “No.” “Do you sing, then?” “Actually no.” “Do you paint?” “I’m afraid not”. “Well what do you do?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 1954 – the first two boys arrive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway I resigned from teaching in government (Guinea Fowl and then Chaplin) in September 1954 and we joined Fred, at Peterhouse living in the Rector’s Lodge until a house was available. Liza was compelled to learn to play bridge to make up a four with Fred Richard Hudson<\/strong> and me. I acted as dogsbody helping with the building stores, the builders’ wages and teaching two early arrivals, Murray Alexander<\/strong> and Anthony Cross<\/strong>, in all subjects except Science (Margaret Snell<\/strong>) and Divinity (Fred himself). They lived with Babs<\/strong> and Bryan Curtis<\/strong> who had been employed as Estate Manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Opening of the School<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school proper opened in February 1955 in a sea of red mud. Ellis house was finished; we taught in the two Ellis prep rooms and the library reading room; the library was used as a chapel; the boys ate in what was to become the staff dining room and there was builders’ rubble everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

School list – February 1955<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first School List in February 1955 on the opening of the school was:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexander<\/strong>, M. Gliemann<\/strong>, B.M.E.O. Penny<\/strong>, R.D Arnot<\/strong>, R.S. Gordon<\/strong>, C.D.G.M. Pyman<\/strong>, D. Arrowsmith<\/strong>, R. Gunning<\/strong>, R.D. Reynolds<\/strong>, L.H. Ashby<\/strong> D.W.M. Herbert<\/strong>, A.S.D. Reynolds<\/strong>, N.E. Black<\/strong>, C.I.W. Herron<\/strong>, D.G.C. Robertson<\/strong>, J.S. Bradbury<\/strong>, C.R. Hewlett<\/strong>, W.P. Russell<\/strong>, J.E.O. Capouya<\/strong>, R. Hill<\/strong>, A.R.C. Sant<\/strong>, M. Craft<\/strong>, R.D. Hill<\/strong>, R.J. Sellers<\/strong>, J.H.G. Colley<\/strong>, M.W. Honey<\/strong>, W.M.M. Sole<\/strong>, C.A. Cross<\/strong>, J.A.M. Johnston<\/strong>, R.A.S. Stambolie<\/strong>, M.D. De Beer<\/strong>, C. Lamb<\/strong>, J.C. Teunon<\/strong>, I.C. Faed<\/strong>, W.G. Millar<\/strong>, R.B. Thelwall<\/strong>, C.deC. Fane<\/strong>, F.M.G. Meikle<\/strong>, S.J.V. Treplin<\/strong>, M.C.W. Fforde<\/strong>, J.P.Mercer<\/strong>, P.G.O. Vandre<\/strong>, R.N. Gadiel<\/strong>, D.L. Moore-Gordon<\/strong>, D. Vorster<\/strong>, M. Gane<\/strong>, B.S.F. Morris<\/strong>, C.G. Wiggins<\/strong>, C.M. Gemmill<\/strong>, A.D. McMillan<\/strong>, J. Wheeler<\/strong>, B.A. Gibbs<\/strong>, C.J.S. Normand<\/strong>, P.M. Owen<\/strong>, P.E.G.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":761,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","group":[9],"class_list":["post-709","history","type-history","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","group-memories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.peterhousegroup.co.zw\/petrean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/history\/709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.peterhousegroup.co.zw\/petrean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/history"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.peterhousegroup.co.zw\/petrean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/history"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.peterhousegroup.co.zw\/petrean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.peterhousegroup.co.zw\/petrean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.peterhousegroup.co.zw\/petrean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/group?post=709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}