When the first thirteen arrived on that opening day, they looked resplendent in their new uniform which consisted of a green cap, a long green jersey with large collar and yellow bands, and a yellow and green striped woollen tie.

One of our first lessons I recall was Latin, an entirely new and unknown subject as far as I was concerned, and when Tony Carter, very sure of himself, declined "Mensa," I was immediately bewildered - he might have been reciting a Chinese limerick so far as I was concerned.

The original boys soon banded tightly together, and with such a small number we had what must have been one of the first real 'closed shops.' We were so united that we would draw lots for the honour of dropping a stink bomb at a given signal.

Our first Headmaster was Rev. Fr. Cuthbert, who was known among the boys as 'Cuthie,' and he soon dictated to us the course he wished us to take; and our first lay master was the late Mr. E. C. Rose, who was more affectionately nicknamed 'Pop Rose.'

One morning each week we would all crowd into the Sacristy of the old corrugated iron church that then was, and with 'Pop Rose' playing the organ we would sing the Mass. We soon learned that he was a musician of no mean ability. Sometimes during the mid-day break he would play his grand piano to accompany Paul Keyte (now Rev. Fr. P. Keyte) who would sing; oddly enough the majority of the boys would leave their rough and tumble games to sit quietly and listen.

Wednesday afternoon was always sport afternoon, and in those days the whole school would go to the football match - eleven to play and two reserves. The big match of the season was when we travelled to play 'Finchley,' whom I believe are now known as Finchley Grammar School - a needle match if ever there was one. Owing to the fact that we played sport on Wednesday afternoons we had to attend school on Saturday mornings - what would the boys of to-day think of that?

Brother Trudo was another lovable character of those first days, and how agile we had to be to dodge his attacks when he caught us relieving him of his apples from the garden, which is now part of the site of the new building.

We all had a soft spot also for Brother Gabrielli, whose domain was the kitchen. I well remember, as a special treat, being shown a very beautiful oil painting of Our Lady, which he had just completed. I often wondered what happened to it, and whether he ever painted any more pictures.

Never being particularly bright in my school work I used to find the business of homework very irksome, but the Headmaster had a system, a diabolical one, I thought, of 'rejections,' and that meant that whatever homework you got wrong you had to stay after school the following evening and get it right - I started to do an hour's overtime (without pay!) every evening at a very early age.

In those first weeks, all our interests were not directed to studies and the School, sometimes they would be directed across the road to the Sacred Heart Girls' School, where a certain 'Bundy' and 'Nancy' used to be the attraction of those days. I cannot write with much authority on this point because I was always staying in to do those diabolical rejections, and by the time I was 'released' they were gone.

Those first term boys whom I can still remember were Russell Carter, Dick Kersey, Harold Hughes, Tom Brown, Victor Slark, John Esser, Eric Wharton, and Tony and Joe Carter; and little did any of them realise at that time that they were forming the very root that would spread and flower into the wonderful new modern school which we are formally opening this June. We should have realised it because our School motto from the very beginning has always been 'Deo Duce.'

The oldest Old Boy.

Honorary Secretary of the Old Boys Association--
Mr. Kevin Doyle,
(Address published in the original magazine but witheld here.)