The Grey Boarding House has been a home for thousands of Grey boarders who have entered this facility since it opened in 1915. It was the year the new school was completed, and the then Grey Institute moved from the Donkin Reserve to its present campus in Mill Park (which was on the outskirts of the City!).
In that time the Hostel was considered luxurious but in present times it would be considered Spartan and over the last 100 years much has changed. Extensions took place in 1970 which added much-needed accommodation for both boys and staff and an extensive refurbishment took place. That has never ceased and there is a commitment from both the Hostel Committee and the Governing Body that the Hostel must indeed be a ‘home from home’ for all the 140 boys who are accommodated. Despite the changes, much of the structure remains in place with the magnificent wooden wall-panelled Dining Hall the epicentre of togetherness and where once Grace was recited in Latin ahead of the meal.
Images from John Ernest Kirkup’s Grey photo album, 1928
In the modern day, professional caterers are employed to cater for the culinary needs of the boys. Balanced diets are in place and menus for each meal and day are produced a month in advance. Parents at a distance may then easily view on the website that their son is having a good meal and is not going hungry!
The Boarder’s Breakfast held over the Annual Reunion is a highlight which brings together the camaraderie and fellowship that has united old friends over the decades. Since the inception of this Breakfast in 2009 the Boarder who has travelled the furthest to attend is warmly acknowledged be he from British Columbia or Siberia to join old mates who hail from the major cities but also from outlandish outposts like Hanover, Kleinpoort, Murraysburg, Thornhill, Adelaide, Colesberg, Alice and even Avontuur! It is a gathering of the clans no matter the vintages.
The Hostel since its inception has attracted boys from nearly every corner of the country and even from Zimbabwe and Zambia. Obviously a good majority hail from the Eastern Cape and traditionally from the Cape Midlands and the nearby Hinterland but in recent years that too has changed. The Garden Route towns and the areas of the Gamtoos Valley and adjoining Jeffrey’s Bay have sent their sons in ever-increasing numbers to Grey and into the Hostel. Grey as a Government institution, is one of the last few in South Africa that has a full boarding house establishment. It is an independent facility and is entirely supported by both the School and fee-paying Hostel parents. What is very special is that the same old Hostel family names continue to recur and the third and fourth generations of those original boarders are to be found in the facility.
The Hostel is managed by The Senior House Master assisted by other Teaching Staff and there is a fully equipped staffed sanatorium. House Matrons have become legends and none more so than Sister Joy Wilmot who ruled for close to 40 years after arriving at Grey during WW2 as a young nurse. Ever loving and fair she also had the unfailing ability to root out those seeking a free pass into the sickbay under false pretences to avoid a Maths test!
The emphasis at Grey, and as it should be, is academic achievement. At another time the boarder’s objective in this regard was looking forward to either a game of touch rugby; doing only the most rudimentary homework; reading “Westerns” slyly; debating the First Rugby side selections and considering it an honour to sit at “Dom Table!” This table was situated strategically in front of the Duty Master during prep hours where sat the worst performers who spent much of their time smiling and looking up at the clock! That has certainly changed and continuous improved academic performance is not only encouraged but demanded. The Hostel lads are now not only considered good sporting achievers!
The House system was introduced at Grey by Rector James Lang in the 1930s. The Hostel devolved then into what became known as Way and Meredith Houses named after two previous Rectors. Mr. Meredith in 1903 paved the way to acquire the ground for the new campus and the latter, Mr.William Archer Way, oversaw the relocation of Grey and to this day is looked upon as the most remarkable of men. Old Greys of his years held him in high esteem and “Pope” as he was known 100 years later remains a legend.
It was only in the last generation that Meredith and Way Houses amalgamated to become Meriway House. School enrolment rose from the traditional number of about 625 boys as demand grew and it now stands at the maximum accommodated number of 900 boys. Amalgamation was called for as the Hostel Houses only had 60 each in number to compete against their “Day Pot House” adversaries. It has been a happy marriage and the old Red and Black colours of Way and Meredith predominate uniting all in colour. To this end, the Hostel lads do partake in the Annual Swimming Gala but have never won the Trophy. They are only really used to swimming of a sort in farm dams!
Bodas 1sts, 1966
A fairly recent innovation is the Farmer’s Market which has grown into a huge business and has a turnover running into the hundreds of thousands on a Derby Day Weekend which is usually held in August. It is meticulously planned and is brought together by the Hostel Parents under a Committee knowing that the profits all go towards improving the Hostel facilities and providing for not only their sons but for those who are yet to follow.
This Market had its beginnings in 2008 when two Boarder parents, the late Andrew De Wet of Somerset East (Class of 1980) and Reinholdt Du Randt of Pearston sold boerewors rolls in the Rectory garden ahead of the Friday evening hockey on the Reunion Weekend. It was from then surely destined for spectacular future success and under the initial leadership of the indefatigable Niekerk Ferreira of Patensie, a father of three Hostel sons. It took off. Big business and sponsorship support rolled in, parents were galvanised and it has become more than a farm produce market. The rest is history.
Older Old Greys will recall marching off to church on a Sunday morning wearing the familiar dark blue suits and bashers – straw hats known also as bashers. Freedom was limited. You were allowed out on a Sunday afternoon and only enjoyed one full Saturday out a term. The Leave Out weekend was eagerly awaited. More so if it included a public holiday! Boys were also allowed out on a Wednesday afternoon to go to Town but you had to wear a suit! The “Sugar Bush” in Grace Street served the best ever double thick shakes and was a great spot to meet up with the fairer sex. The rules are now far more relaxed and as we so profess, the Hostel is a ‘Home away from Home’.
There is a special relationship that has existed for generations between the Grey boarders and their counterparts at Collegiate. Be it a girlfriend or simply just being part of the crowd there is much in common. Meeting up with each other was fairly restricted back in the day. The most was made of attending mutual rugby and hockey matches, chatting after church, bazaars, hostel socials, drama plays, fetes and one hour of visiting time at the Collegiate Hostel that was allocated by Miss. Waterfield on a Sunday afternoon. The school dances and socials were the real occasions including the one-time ‘Grey – Collegiate’ which alternated venue between the two schools and of course the Collegiate Carols. Much of this tradition continues today and the resulting friendships!
Rail was the means of transport between school and home for both schools. Air travel was unheard of and some were collected from Hostel if they were from the nearby Hinterland. Passenger trains ran to Graaff Reinet, East London via Cookhouse, Cape Town and all the stops in between. The Johannesburg Express departing at 15h00 carried a horde of boarders. Its first stop was Alicedale to meet the Grahamstown (Makanda) contingent going up the line and that is when the fun really started! That is now all gone following the demise of the railways and both air and road travel is now common.
To spend five years in a Hostel environment and not make lifelong friends is nearly impossible. And to top it probably to be in the same dormitory, classroom, sporting team and seated at the same dining room table! It is thus not unusual that there is then often a reunion of likeminded souls and this is not limited to the Grey Reunions. The unbeaten First XV of 1976, the last one we had, has met annually for years for a weekend of hunting and reminiscing in Graaff Reinet and recalling their memorable victory over Grey College on the now Kolisi Field. It has a very strong Hostel component and unity is to be expected.
Close friends attend all major events. It is a logical outcome of years of friendship.
These range from birthday parties, weddings acting as best men, being a God Father at a Christening and even seeing a mate through a divorce! The ultimate farewell is nearly obligatory and the distance travelled to a funeral is of no consideration. It is all about the Boarder Spirit that has been engrained over a lifetime.
This resume of a few recollections, thoughts and memories is not only on life more than 50 odd years ago in the Grey Hostel but is simply put out there to say that Grey, in my opinion, is the best boys’ school in RSA and together with its special boarding house facility of Meriway is, has and always will be the only option for your son.
As quoted from a verse of the School Song, “My father was here is a bygone year and loves the tale to tell” so I tell the tale to you.