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| The Old School |
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| Dr. William Walker Blackall-Headmaster 1891-1908 |
In 1885 the school was known as The Church of England Academy, the Rev. Adam Currie being the headmaster. He was succeeded in the early 1890's by Dr. William Walker Blackall. I was present in school when Dr. Blackall announced that the name of the institution would be in future The Church of England College. Some time later he made the further announcement that the boy's school had received the name of Bishop Feild College, while the girl's school had received the name of Bishop Spencer College.
The original school consisted of a brick building, part of which was the headmaster's residence, with whom about a dozen borders lived. There was only one classroom in the brick building, in which Mr. Rowe, familiarly known as Bogey Rowe, taught the second class. The first class was taught in a long wooden building which ran to the north-east of the brick building and was parallel to Military Road, but of course some distance north thereof. In the wooden building two classes were held, one taught by the headmaster and the other by Mr. William O'Connor, whom we, of course, called "Paddy". Mr. Curie had no nickname, except that sometimes the boys accented the second syllable of his Christian name, Adam. There were other teachers later in my time. Mr. Atkins, a third master, was called Tommy. A second master named Houghton was called Dickie because one of his initials was a "D". The boy who nicknamed the masters was Jack Satterly. One second master on his first day appealed to the boys of his class "to stop that unceasing din". Satterly gave him the name of "Dinny", which stuck to him even after he became Prime Minister of Newfoundland and was knighted. Dr. Blackall was always called Billy. In the time of my uncles there was a headmaster who was known as Boney Harris, as he had a big nose just like Napoleon Bonaparte.
In the days of the Rev. Mr. Harris, as in my time, it was customary to initiate new boys by burying them as soon as there was sufficient snow with which to do so. On of my uncles had just been buried when the school bell rang. Discipline was so strict that everyone left in a hurry in order to take his seat in school. They left my uncle buried. After prayers some of the boys told the head who promptly sent some of them to dig up my uncle who was none the worse for his interment.
The headmaster's residence \was entered from the south-west, now Colonial Street. By going up a narrow lane from south-west Street one could enter by the big wooden gate. Most of the boys who lived in the west end of the city entered through a wicket gate set in the fence along King's Road, and found themselves in a large playground. On the north of this playground was the fence separating it from the Carew Street Methodist school for boys and girls. On the south was a fence separating then grounds from the backyards of private property owners.
The head boy when I first went to Feild was Gus Bayly, afterwards the Rev, Canon Agustus Bayly. Nest to him was Art Anderson afterwards medical doctor in succession to his father at Heart's Content. His brothers, Tom, now doctor in St. John's, and Fred, who died this year, came several years later.
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| Mr. Ralph Robinson Wood-Headmaster1908-1936 |
It was Gus Bayly who invented the game of he Mulligan Guards and the Rebels. All of the boarders and some eastenders, including Ralph Wood, were Mulligan Guards. Whilst I was a day boy, living in Monkstown with an uncle of mine, I was a Rebel and was elected their Commander in Chief. It was my duty to back around the corner of the Carew Street fence and receive on my person the snowballs of the Guards. When they had expended all of their ammunition on my person our side obeyed the command "Forward the Rebels" and we then went on to victory. Cutting out the enemy's ammunition is still good tactics in modern warfare.
Between the whacks on my back of the icy snowballs thrown so forcibly by such fellows as Jack McRae and Josiah Archibald Young and those I received on my hands from the oft-wielded cane of Mr. Currie, you can imagine that since pains were taken to improve me, pains certainly taught me how to behave while they lasted. After that--well, I am still a Rebel and still shouting "Forward my Boys". That was not only the motto of the Rebels at school; it is also that of every man who does anything to forward the interests of any cause.That was Bishop Feild's motto when he founded the school of which today we are celebrating he first centenary. Long may she prosper. We used to sing at school several songs now not often heard. We liked especially"The Hardy Norseman's House of Yore was on the Foaming Wave". We also enjoyed singing "Row, Brothers, Row the Stream Runs Fast". So both in our games and in our school work the motto was always"Forward my Boys". Never did I think fifty-five years ago that I would now stand before you and shout the old battle cry "Forward!"
