Mr Hope's period as Rector saw many changes in the school routine. Just as important, it witnessed the retiral of many long serving staff who had for long been an essential part of the Harris tradition. Perhaps the greatest break with the past came with the retiral of Thomas Steele, a stalwart of the Classics Department. In an early school log, an entry in the handwriting of Mr Barry Robb records that "On 17th October, 1912, Mr Thomas Steele began duty as classical assistant." Some forty years later, it fell to Mr Hope to make a final entry that "On 8th January, 1952, Mr Steele retires today after many years in this school." During these many years, he had come to be regarded as one of the pillars of the Harris, respected by staff and pupils alike for his scholarship, courtesy and consideration for others.  

Mr Thomas Steele

Along with many of his contemporaries, Mr Steele's interests were wide and extended well beyond the narrow confines of academic work. A keen sportsman, he was a regular member of the staff cricket side in annual games against the pupils, and many a senior boy had occasion to recall with some regret his skill with both bat and ball. His cosmopolitan interests caused him to travel extensively and what might have been a dry classics lesson was often enlivened by the impressions he had gained from his visits to the Parthenon, the Pyramids and Solomon's Temple, while any mention of the Dead Sea was likely to evoke pleasant memories of the time he tested the theory that it was impossible to sink in its buoyant waters. These travels were not without incident:

He was in Palma, Majorca, when the Spanish Civil War broke out. At the beginning of Mussolini's era, garbed in sports jacket, Oxford bags and straw boater, he was arrested in Italy as a suspected revolutionary. By foreigners he has been mistaken at different times for an Englishman, an Italian, a Belgian, Greek, Welshman, Russian and an American.

Such mistakes were understandable, however, for one of his own pupils has described him as being "vaguely continental with his sallow complexion and sparse dark hair."

Amidst all his other interests - badminton, chess, bridge, bowls, the Dundee Choral Union - his dedication to the life of the school was paramount. In the classroom, he was the learned scholar but he well understood the necessity to show the pupils the less formal side of his personality. For many former pupils, mention of his name would evoke memories, not of the classroom, but of his participation in the school Christmas parties where his skill at the statue dance was legendary. On his retiral, one of the last links with the Harris of Park Place was broken and another part of the "Old Harris" had disappeared forever.

Another link with the days of Park Place was severed with the retiral of Oliver Graham in 1955. He first joined the Harris staff in 1922 and, in his post as head of the commercial department, he soon made a major contribution to broadening the scope of the school curriculum. The commercial department was built up into one of the finest in the country, a fact duly recorded by H.M. Chief Inspector who commented that "the only other commercial department in Scotland that can compare with it is Heriot's". Mr Graham's work was not confined to departmental matters, however, for, in 1934, he took over the demanding job of Second Master and filled this position with great success for over twenty years. During this time, both Mr Peterkin and Mr Hope had good cause to be grateful for his efficiency and organisational skills, while other staff members were equally grateful for the calm, patient and tolerant manner in which he carried out his exacting duties.  

Mr Oliver Graham

Mr Graham's retiral meant that the school had to find a suitable replacement as second master. As so often in the school's history, it was not necessary to look beyond the existing staff in order to find someone able and willing to fill the breach. Mr Frank Esplin had long been connected with the Harris and, as head of the Mathematics department, had established a tradition of academic excellence. This was achieved in far from ideal circumstances:

Under Mr Esplin's leadership, a sound Mathematics department has been built up in Harris Academy in the most difficult and trying conditions. Today it is the unsolved problem of finding adequate and properly trained staff; yesterday it was the nightmare of the war years when the Academy was closed and Mr Esplin set the example of holding classes in his own home, until the school reopened with the recurring interruptions of air­sirens and visits to unhealthy, unsafe shelters. With unruffled calm, Mr Esplin steered his course through these troubled waters, until now the school can claim to have a Sixth Year as successful and efficient as any in Scotland.

In 1955, on Mr Graham's retiral, Mr Esplin's contribution to the life of the school was recognised when he assumed the duties of second master - duties which he performed with his customary efficiency, and unfailing consideration and friendliness, until his own retiral in 1959.

Mr Esplin was succeeded by Adam Maclure, another long serving and much respected member of staff. Mr Maclure had joined the Harris as head of Modern Languages in the days before the second world war and held this position for 29 years before his promotion to second master. To his new post, Mr Maclure brought fresh enthusiasm and boundless energy. If Mr Hope was the unobtrusive power behind the smooth running of the school, Mr Maclure was the public face of authority, constantly seen speeding up and down stairs or along corridors at a pace which was the envy of many of his younger colleagues. To many of the pupils, he seemed to have the magical gift of being everywhere at once, especially if some mischief was contemplated:

The Harris had many entrances and exits, some of them far from official. It seemed the easiest matter in the world to leave the school unobserved and, on a fine summer afternoon, the temptation to "leave a little early" was sometimes overwhelming. The route had to be well planned but an exit by the "Jungle" or through the grounds of Crawford Lodge was bound to be safe - or so we thought! No matter what care we took, or how deviously we planned, our escape was always thwarted by Mr Maclure. He was everywhere!

The consequences of such behaviour could be far from pleasant. Mr Maclure was a firm disciplinarian who "could reduce the most hardened of pupils to a quivering jelly". Despite this, however, few pupils complained for he was unfailingly fair in his treatment of his charges. To everyone, staff and pupils alike, Mr Maclure was recognised as a man worthy of respect.

Certainly, the senior staff of the school were well aware of the loss when Mr Maclure finally decided to retire:

There have been all too numerous changes in the Harris staff and often after some departure we have felt that the gap in our ranks could never be adequately filled. Yet that gap has been filled and in a few short months our loss has been forgotten. It is no mere gap in our ranks that confronts us now, for Mr Maclure is retiring at the end of the current session, and Mr Maclure we have always regarded as a permanent fixture, an integral part of the school. Other teachers might come and go, other teachers might be absent, but year after year, day in and day out, Mr Maclure was there, fixed and unchanging as a planet in its course and constant as the northern star.

Mr Maclure's retiral was only one part of a double blow to the school for his wife also ended her long connections with the Harris. Mrs Maclure had been a member of staff since 1937 and had acted as Lady Superintendent since 1960. With Mr Maclure in firm control of the boys and Mrs Maclure exercising the same tight control over the girls, it is no surprise that many pupils of the time light-heartedly suggested that the school should be renamed "Maclure Academy".

Not all the staff changes of the period were due to retiral for the talents of many staff members saw them leave the school for well-deserved promotion. Perhaps the best example of this is provided by David Latto. Mr Latto joined the Harris in 1937 as a member of the English department which at that time was also responsible for the teaching of history. After many years of sterling service in this department, he was given the honour of becoming the first head of a separate and distinct history department. This new department flourished under his direction and guidance but, perhaps inevitably, his talents soon led to further promotion and, in 1963, he severed his long connection with the school to take up the post of Rector of Webster's Seminary in Kirriemuir.

The loss of any long-serving member of staff was always a cause for regret but, on occasion, this loss was particularly deeply-felt. Nowhere was this more true than in the case of David Carrie. Mr Carrie had been educated at Morgan Academy and, after graduating from St. Andrews University in 1932, immediately joined the staff of the Harris. His contribution to the English department was duly recognised in 1946 when, on the departure of Dr Greig to Dundee Training College, he was appointed as Principal Teacher of English and, for the next thirteen years he exercised an efficient and benevolent control over the largest department in the school.

As was so often the case, his part in the life of the school was not limited to the classroom. His activities in connection with the debating society and cycling club have already been recorded but to this could be added his numerous roles as President of the Literary Society, Editor of the School Magazine, Secretary of the Sports Day Committee and Secretary of the Athletic Union. He freely gave of his time to encourage a whole range of extracurricular activities but, tragically, this time was all too short. His death, at the age of only 48, deprived the Harris of one of its brightest talents.

The death of a long-serving member of staff shocked and saddened staff and pupils alike. Tragically, these sentiments were to be felt again all too soon when the Harris lost, not one of its staff, but one of its most talented pupils. The school career of Charles Scott had been one of unbounded promise. An excellent sportsman, he reached 1st XI and lst XV level at cricket and rugby early in his senior school life. He was a talented public speaker, a member of the school choir and Folk Group, and a hard-working house official. On the academic side, he achieved the distinction of six "Higher" passes while in his fifth year. His achievements received due recognition when he was appointed as School Captain and a successful university career with many honours to come seemed assured. His tragic death, while representing the school on the rugby field, cast a deep shadow over the whole school:

One will not forget easily the mood of the school in the days which followed his loss. It was obvious that everyone, from the most recently enrolled pupil to the longest serving member of staff, was deeply affected. Perhaps the finest tribute we can pay to his memory is to recall the hushed and reverent gathering that waited in the assembly hall to honour his name in a special memorial service. To add to that silent homage would be impossible.

Almost twenty years have gone by but the inscribed plate affixed to the lectern in the assembly hall is still a sobering reminder of this tragic loss.

It is sad to end a chapter of the school history on such a sombre note. It is appropriate, however, to remember that a school could not be divorced entirely from the realities of the outside world. As in society as a whole, there were moments of triumph and moments of tragedy.

This was particularly true of the Harris of the fifties and sixties for, despite many successes, this was not the happiest of times for the school. While most pupils were still conscientious and well-behaved, the occasional serious breach of discipline demonstrated the changing attitudes of pupils of the time. Although this merely reflected the changing attitudes of society as a whole, it was a major cause for concern among those long associated with the school. Despite the presence of many, long-serving staff, the incidence of staff changes was more frequent, depriving the pupils of the stability of staffing which had long been a feature of the school. In particular subjects, such as mathematics and science, the problem of finding suitably qualified replacements was not easy to solve. Above all, the perennial problem of overcrowding caused massive difficulties for the bulk of the period.

The school nevertheless had its successes. Many of the innovations made by Mr Hope had provided positive benefits and are still part of the school system today. In 1969, however, Mr Hope retired after almost twenty years as head of the school. His retiral came at a critical time, for the system he had established was about to face another major challenge. The whole structure of Scottish education was about to be re-shaped with the introduction of comprehensive schools. The challenges of the fifties and sixties had been met "with hope and through work" but now Mr Hope was gone. It was to fall to another Rector to try to maintain the traditions and standards established by his predecessors in an era of radical change.