A new chapter

DID Queen Elizabeth I wake up one morning at Hampton Court Palace – or perhaps Windsor Castle – and decide that Guernsey was in dire need of a good school? Was there really such anarchy and unrest in the island that the monarch felt she had to do something to tame the natives?

Well, not quite, obviously, but somebody or something must have fired up this giant figure in British history to give her name and a royal charter to Elizabeth College.

So, how exactly did this new school shape up after its foundation in 1563? What did islanders think of it? What were the boys taught? Was it ultimately a success or failure? And, yes, did the monarch actually get involved herself with Elizabeth College?

Within two years of his appointment, the college's first principal is writing back to Whitehall saying islanders are liars and fraudsters.

'(They) have neither faith nor religion: they would utter a thousand perjuries rather than inconvenience a friend. As to religion, there are only three or four people in the island who attend service and if an ecclesiastic goes into the country, he is greeted with jeers and laughter and often has dirt thrown at him. The Jurats all connive at this... they treat the people like sheep, unrestrained by fear.'

After nearly 450 years, the college has become an important part of the island's heritage. Apart, perhaps, from Fort George, the present college in the 1820s was the biggest building project ever undertaken in the island. What happened in island politics that brought about that building, a massive structure for its time and still such an imposing and unforgettable shape on the St Peter Port skyline?

These are just a few of the questions that will occupy me over the next 18 months as I get down to the business of compiling the first comprehensive history of the college.

Events in the life of the school have been chronicled in the past, most notably by Vernon Collenette (college boy, master and vice-principal) and, before him, another master, W. Rolleston. Vernon also compiled a history of the college 'in exile' when the whole school escaped to the mainland as German forces occupied the island in 1940.

There are few schools that can have such a chapter in their histories.

There are Old Elizabethans who went to Derbyshire who are still very much alive and kicking and who, we hope, will be able to give us a further insight into those five years.

There are breathtaking stories of bravery among Old Elizabethans – four VC holders from one island school is remarkable.

Only last week, I discovered the existence of a painting of Surgeon-Major John McCrea, VC, in action, which is held in the medal room of the Royal Army Medical Corps in Camberley. After the death of his parents (his mother was a Carey), McCrea was brought up in Guernsey by his aunt, Charlotte. He was at the college from 1864 until 1872 and won his VC for 'conspicuous bravery' at the 1881 Battle of Tweefontein in South Africa.

About that time, of course, we were well into the age of the photograph. I'm hoping we may come across a host of unpublished photographs of the past – boys, old boys, masters, school scenes, teams, inter-insulars, visits to England – anything, indeed, which might be of interest.

What can we learn of the principals of the college down through the ages? One, Dr George Proctor, was said to be the original of Dr Blimber in the Dickens novel, 'Dombey and Son'. Another, Dr Bromby, fell foul of the college directors in 1847 and the Home Secretary of the day in London had to be called in to sort things out.

A later Old Elizabethan, Hugh Childers, actually became Home Secretary himself in Gladstone's government of 1886.

Pupils from Elizabeth College have excelled in almost every career you care to name. Field Marshals, Air Chief Marshals, Admirals, bishops, judges, professors, scientists, doctors, writers, broadcasters, newspaper editors – the list is endless. In sport, Commonwealth games medallists, Olympic Games contestants, a world motor racing champion, Bisley Queen's Prize winner and many other leading top-class achievers.

Modern printing methods now give us the chance to re-tell the early history and bring it up to date with exciting illustrations from the archives.

I have occupied this column in the Guernsey Press every month for seven years as European politics and France correspondent. Many readers have been kind enough to say how much they've enjoyed the articles. To them, I apologise for a break in transmission while I concentrate on the Elizabeth College history, in the hope that I can resume normal service when time allows.

At the college, we already have a complete set of The Elizabethan magazine dating back to 1895 but we are on the lookout for other college printed memorabilia, particularly old photos and even appropriate letters (but no clothes, please).

Please contact me or Dot Carruthers at Elizabeth College on 728217, or email dot@elizabethcollege.guernsey.net or bruceparker@tiscali.co.uk. Any material will be carefully looked after and returned where necessary.