GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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S E G R E GAT I O N (as seen by a young schoolboy) I was born in Mongu, the capital of Barotseland, which is a province in what was Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia. Zambia has an area of 291,000 square miles and is about one and a half times the size of the British lsles. There were at that time, only about sixty Europeans, consisting of civil servants, missionaries and traders. There were few amenities of any kind, no electricity, tracks for roads, and all the supplies that could be obtained came from two small stores or shops. Provisions and purchases were brought from the nearest railway line 400 miles away, in the dry season, and in the rainy season they came up by paddle barge from Livingstone, on the Zambesi river, to Lealui, the nearest river stop to Mongu, taking six weeks to make the journey. Travellers only came in by air in a Rapide, a small plane, which also brought the mail regularly. The hospital consited of two sections, a house for the Europeans and huts and buildings spread about outside, for the Africans. Mission schools of various denominations provided an education for the African children and the government provided a carpentry school for youths. There were however, no schools for the European children and they either went to boarding school or were taught by a correspondence course, which was sponsored by the Northern Rhodesian Government. I later went to Broken Hill, a mining town, and then to Lusaka, the capital of Northern Rhodesia. From there I went to boarding school in South Africa, at Kimberley, the famous diamond town, in the Cape Province. This was a distance of about one thousand two hundred and eighty miles and necessitated a journey of three days by train. Although there was no policy of colour segregation by law in Northern Rhodesia, it was an accepted fact in every day life. In government buildings, such as the post office, two separate queues were formed and the Europeans were nearly always served first. The same also applied to the shops. In the various government departments, the Africans were usually dealt with by an African clerk initially and a senior European took over after the preliminary procedings were over. The Africans had to catry a "Situpa" which was an ldentity card, which contained all their personal particulars, as to tribe etc., and this had to be stamped annually after paying their tax, which was at that time, ten shilling a year for an adult male. The schools were also kept segregated, the same applied to the prisons, hospitals and housing areas. There was also a certain amount of segregation in the churches, as the Africans always formed a separate group away from the Europeans. The Rhodesian Railways had four classes for travelling and although it was not a law, it was taken for granted that the Africans always travelled in the third and fourth class carriages and the Europeans in the first and second class carriages. Due to the long distances to be travelled, the compartments were also sleepers. The First and Second class carriages were similar to the First and Second class of British Railways. Third class consisted of compartments with wooden bunks, and fourth class was one large compartment, with a series of wooden seats. which was used by the poorer Africans. The Africans also never used the dining car. As the railways only had one track between two towns the trains had to wait at several small stations to take on water and allow other trains to pass. At these small stations the Africans sold their better works of art to the Europeans. and to the Africans on the train they sold food and cheap beer. After leaving Mafeking, on the border between Bechuanaland and South Africa, where the passengers changed from Rhodesian to South African Railways, the colour bar became very obvious. The stations were now clearly divided into two sections, "whites" and "non-whites". All facilities, platforms, entrances and exits became completely segregated. In the larger towns, like Johannesburg, there are separate stations for the 28
"non-whites" usually at the rear ol the elaborate main stations, which are only for the "whites". However, there was no segregation in the streets or in the shops, and this was the only place where people of all races came together in large crowds. The shops imposed their own bar, a financial one, which is common to many shops throughout the world. The colour bar again became apparent in connection with transport as there were buses for "whites" and "non-whites" and each group had a separate "stop" to keep the two "colours" apart. The better restaurants, cafes and places ol entertainment, enforced a very rigid colour bar; allowing only "whites" to enter. Although this is how I saw the segregation of the African from the European, it meant little to me, and I spent most of my time in boarding school and it is only now, looking back, that I fully understand the situation as it was then. It is now over three years since I left Zambia and althougn I should imagine the conditions as described still apply in South Africa, they are, of course, completely changed, since Independence, in Zambia. lt is in fact, true to say that since the late nineteen fifties, the colour bar has largely disappeared in Zambia. M. DOHERTY (5b). CYCLING IN DR. JOHNSON'S FOOTSTEPS 1967 I had always longed to go to Scotland, and as I had been studying Johnson's "Tour of the Hebridies" at "A" level, I developed a further interest in the country. My basic plan was to follow his route, staying at Youth Hostels. In fact, it was impracticable to go to the islands, so I decided to carry on down the Great Glen from Fort Augustus to Fort William and Oban, where I could rejoin his route. As I cycled to the station on July 18th, I was surprised to find how light my machine felt, although it was well laden with two panniers and a saddlebag, a satchel on the crossbar containing maps and papers, and my walking boots attached to the back At Leicester, I changed trains and arrived at Edinburgh on the "Waverley", via Leeds and Carlisle. I had a meal at the hostel, four miles from the railway station, and visited, St. Giles', Holyrood House, and Princess Street in the evening. Belore leaving Edinburgh the next day, I climbed Arthur's Seat which affords a fine view of the lowlands. I crossed the new Forth road bridge, the longest suspension bridge in Europe, and followed the coast road to Kirkcaldy, from where I headed inland for Kirkcaldy Youth Hostel, passing through Glenrothes new town. At St. Andrew's I explored the cathedral and castle ruins before continuing to Lenchars, noteworthy on two accounts; first, as a Norman Ghurch which Johnson visited, and second, an R.A.F. fighter base. Having crossed the rather plain Tay bridge, I found myself in Dundee, a dreary place built on a steep hill with cobbled streets. I was glad to leave, and although the ruins of Arbroath abbey did not live up to my expectations, they were still impressive. Johnson was awed by them: "l should scarcely have regretted my journey, had it afforded nothing more than the sight of Aberbrothick." I proceeded in the heat to Montrose. Just outside Stonehaven is Dunnottar castle, on a cliff surrounded on three sides by the sea, and separated from the mainland by a deep chasm. The ruins are extensive, covering three acres, and are mostly well-preserved. This was my "Aberbrothick"; but Johnson somehow missed it. Abercleen has surprisingly little to offer for such a large town, except the Cathedral and university, (the Rubislaw granite guarry was iust up the road from the hostel), and the next highlight was near Cruden Bay, where I visited Slair Castle and the amazing Buller of Buchan. This is a 29
Page 1: :il GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Page 5 and 6: The Grammar School Wellingborough S
Page 7 and 8: P. M. I.AYTON J. R. PARKINSON A. J.
Page 9 and 10: GRYPHONS House Masters: Messrs. A.
Page 11 and 12: C. M. Abbott S. J. Adams F. A. B. A
Page 13 and 14: N. B. Wheatley B. J. White S. Wilmo
Page 15 and 16: Although we lost Huddart and Kiziac
Page 17 and 18: 1967 Sept.30 v. Northampton T.H.S.
Page 19 and 20: In similar vein. were the s_o.ngs w
Page 21 and 22: In addition to work for the Christm
Page 23 and 24: decided how best to pass it off. Br
Page 25 and 26: together. The manager did not like
Page 27 and 28: BADMINTON CLUB A partial amalgamati
Page 29 and 30: "Fruit Fly Mutatlons" by A. J. Port
Page 31 and 32: the best of the younger dancers, wh
Page 33: SKYLINE I gazed upwards into the sk
Page 37 and 38: And the name of the game was-footba
Page 39 and 40: The Annual Dinner was held on 6th O
Page 41 and 42: team and have been ioined on occasi
Page 43 and 44: LVt C. D. Allen R. M. Allen D. Ange
Page 45 and 46: 5A B. A. Blades R. Brown D. J. Clar

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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