Pupils
|
In
almost half a century, thousands of pupils passed through the gates of
the Park Place Harris. For many of them, their education was cut short
by financial pressures but many others remained at school to study
advanced subjects, receiving a training which equipped them for a
successful career in later life. It is impossible to catalogue the
achievements of more than a tiny fraction but it is hoped that even a
small sample may give some indication of the considerable talents of the
pupils of the time. At
Park Place great stress was placed on the importance of academic
excellence and it is therefore far from surprising that many pupils
spent their adult lives in the field of education. For some, this meant
a career in the teaching profession. As we have seen, many pupils
returned to the school as members of staff while many others held senior
posts elsewhere. Douglas McIntosh, for example, was dux medallist in
1927 and returned to the Harris as a teacher. From there, he moved to
Fife, eventually being appointed Director of Education, and later to
Edinburgh where he became Principal of Moray House College of Education.
An earlier dux medallist, John Dawson, followed a similar path. After a
distinguished career at St. Andrews University, he was appointed Rector
of Bell Baxter School before moving to fill the post of Director of
Education for the county of Perth. Teaching was also a common vocation
for girls and two pupils of Park Place, Barbara Sutherland and Annie
Watson, returned to the Harris as Lady Superintendent. Many
former pupils entered higher education and the Park Place Harris can
boast an impressive number of university professors. Herbert Smith was
dux of the school in 1895 but returned the following session to become a
pupil-teacher. He then progressed to St. Andrews University where he
graduated with first class honours in Classics. This was followed by
four years at Marburg University studying modern languages, culminating
in the award of a Doctorate. He then returned to Scotland to take up a
post in the German Department of Glasgow University before being
appointed as the first Professor of Germanic Languages. Professor Smith
was also an enthusiastic and talented musician and, among his
compositions, is a tribute to his old school entitled "The Harris
March". While
Professor Smith was following his academic interests, his brother-in-law
was following an equally distinguished career. Sinclair Laird was a
pupil and pupil-teacher at the Harris in the 1890s and was first bursar
at St. Andrews University. In 1905, he graduated with first class
honours in Classics before undertaking post-graduate work at Grenoble
and Lyons. After teaching for a short time, he was appointed lecturer in
education at Dundee Training College. In 1910, he moved to Canada as
Professor of Yet another product of the Harris and St. Andrews was Professor Frederick Green. A pupil at Park Place in the early years of this century, he graduated with first class honours in modern languages in 1913. Like Sinclair Laird, he moved to Canada where he became Professor of Modern Languages at Toronto University but, in 1935, returned to Britain to fill the prestigious post of Professor of French at Cambridge. Two
other former pupils also achieved academic distinction many miles from
their homeland. George Craig was a first-day pupil at Park Place and,
after university, embarked upon a career in teaching. After serving in
several Scottish schools, he emigrated to the United States where he was
appointed as Professor of English Literature at the University of
California at Berkeley. Norman McLeish was dux medallist in 1915 and,
after a distinguished career at St. Andrews, he entered the church.
After many years of devoted service in Scotland, he emigrated to
Australia where he was honoured with the position of Professor of
Theology and Church History at Ormond College, Melbourne. Henry Thomson was a pupil during the 1890s and is remembered by his contemporaries as "a quiet, fair-haired lad from Lochee". His natural diffidence for a time disguised his academic prowess but his talents were recognised by the award of the dux medal in 1896. A distinguished career at St. Andrews and Oxford followed, leading to his appointment as Professor of Latin at the University of Wales. The same university claimed two other former pupils - John Pryde, Professor of Physiological Chemistry, and Robert Dunbar, Professor of Natural Philosophy. Closer to home, George Pryde became Professor of Scottish History at the University of Glasgow while Sir James Watson spent much of his distinguished career in Edinburgh. After leaving the Harris at the age of fifteen, he studied at the Agricultural College in Edinburgh before undertaking post-graduate work in Berlin and the United States. He returned to Edinburgh in 1911 and this was soon followed by his appointment to the chair of Agriculture. His achievements there soon received further recognition when he moved south to fill the post of Professor of Rural Economy at Oxford University, one of the most important chairs of its kind in the country. Two
others also found their careers in England - Ernest Murray, Professor of
Gynaecology at Durham University, and Harold Plenderleith. Dr
Plenderleith was the son of a former art master in the school, a
background which prepared him for an eminent career in the field of fine
arts. In his dual role as Keeper of the Research Laboratory at the
British Museum and Professor of Chemistry at Many
other pupils achieved academic distinction but the dozen examples cited
demonstrate an interesting fact. Pupils from Park Place were awarded
chairs in English, Classics, French, German, History, Theology,
Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, Education, Rural Economy and Fine Arts.
Twelve professors in twelve different subjects - surely a tribute to the
all-round nature of the education they had received at the Harris. While
many pupils chose to remain in academic life, for others a university
training was followed by a career in the Civil Service. William Dick
entered the sixth standard class at Park Place on the opening day and
left the ninth and highest class in 1889 as dux medallist. A
distinguished university career earned him the degrees of M.A., LL.B and
his expertise in legal matters subsequently saw him appointed as a K.C.
He then entered the Civil Service through its Irish branch and rose to
be Land Purchase Trustee for Northern Ireland. The career of John Calder
followed a similar course. Leaving the Harris in 1906, he studied at
Edinburgh where he achieved the distinction of a double first in history
and philosophy. This was followed by a Civil Service career where he
rose to a senior position in the Colonial Office. The Civil Service was
also the choice of Archibald Goldie. He left Park Place as dux medallist
in 1905 to continue his studies at Cambridge. This led to an appointment
with the Meteorological Office and a successful career which culminated
in his appointment as head of the Meteorological Department in Scotland. The best examples of eminent Civil Servants are provided, however, by two men whose careers followed remarkably similar paths. Sir William Murrie and Sir Charles Cunningham both had outstanding school records, being dux medallists in 1922 and 1924 respectively. This was followed by university - St. Andrews in the case of Charles Cunningham and Edinburgh and Oxford for William Murrie. From university, both entered the Scottish Office and began to rise through the ranks. First, William Murrie was appointed Private Secretary to the Under-Secretary for Scotland and, on his promotion, he was replaced by Charles Cunningham. Cunningham was then promoted to Secretary of the Scottish Home Department, while Murrie acted as Secretary of the Scottish Education Department. When Cunningham was again promoted to the rank of Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office, he was succeeded as Secretary of the Scottish Home Department by William Murrie. In both cases, their long and distinguished careers were recognised by the honour of a knighthood. The
Harris also made a large contribution to the medical profession with
some seventy doctors receiving their early education at Park Place. It
is interesting to note that a significant number of girls entered the
medical profession, following in the footsteps of Elizabeth McDonald who
was the first woman to graduate in medicine at St. Andrews and was also
the first woman of that school to receive the degree of M.D. For the
boys, another popular vocation was the church, with large numbers of
talented pupils entering the ministry, particularly in the pre-war days. While the traditional professions attracted large numbers of pupils, representatives from the Harris were prominent in many different spheres. William Lamond, a member of a Newtyle family, rose to be Managing Director of the Imperial Bank in India and was knighted for his services, the first Harris F.P. to receive this honour. Maurice Bloch, a pupil in the 1890s, set up a highly successful business in Glasgow and also achieved the award of a knighthood. Not
surprisingly for a Dundee school, journalism was also popular with
William Robertson becoming News Editor of "The Scotsman".
Politics also had its attraction and George Craddock was elected M.P.
for a Middlesex constituency while, more locally, William Buist was the
first Harris F.P. to become Lord Provost of Dundee. He was soon followed
by another pupil from Park Place. Sir John Phin received his early
education at the Harris and, after a successful business career, took a
close interest in civic affairs. He served as Convener of several
committees of the Corporation of Dundee and, while Works Convener, was
involved in the construction of the City Square. He was Magistrate and
City Treasurer and served as Lord Provost from 1935 to 1940. In 1938, he
was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws and received further
honours in 1941 when he was knighted and appointed Deputy Lieutenant of
the County and City of Dundee. Interest in civic affairs was not
confined to the city of Dundee, however, for D.L. Urquhart became
Provost of Forfar while, further afield, Betty Adam was the first woman
to become mayor of Berwick-on-Tweed. Harris
pupils also made a contribution to the world of the Arts. D. Hay Petrie
became an eminent Shakespearian actor and, in his latter years, was much
in demand to play character parts in cinema productions. Douglas Cameron
left school in 1918 and began his career in the Queen's Hall Orchestra
under Sir Henry Wood and was for some time principal cello with the
British National Opera Company. He then concentrated his attention on
the Kutcher String Quartet, one of the most famous combinations of its
kind in the world. His talent received formal recognition in 1934 when
he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 31,
becoming one of the youngest holders of that distinction. By contrast,
Fred The
staff and pupils of the Park Place Harris could feel justifiably proud
of their achievements. A new and experimental school had more than
fulfilled the hopes of its founder and had attained a place as one of
the leading schools in the country. A school, however, is a living
entity which must grow and progress if it is to maintain its vigour and
sense of purpose. So it was with the Harris. On April 10, 1931 the
school log formally closed the first chapter in the life of the school: School
closed at noon for the Easter holidays. Today also we ceased our
occupation of the original Harris building as we enter the new buildings
after the holidays. A
new chapter in the story of the Harris was about to begin.
|