In his role as historian for the Royal High School and the RHS Club, your editor responds to an average of around one query or request a week.

These items emanate mainly from the school, but are increasingly coming from other sources including the contact form in this website. While some are dealt with by a couple of emails or telephone calls, many result in projects of varying sizes, and it is thought that you, the readers of the site, might be interested in their lifecycle. Help with their resolution is often sought from and provided by Tom Bacciarelli and Ian R.C. Cowie.

Recent projects and enquiries have included:

• Ian R C Cowie just spotted a 1933 Newspaper Article which could have changed our lives – the RHS Prep School was being considered to be converted to Co-Educational fee-paying. What would our parents have thought, and done? We might have ended up at Watsons or Heriots ! It didn’t happen, but read more here
• Two big anniversaries coming up. One next year – August 20th 2023 being the 50th anniversary of Girls arriving in 1973, and the other in 2028 – the 900th Anniversary of the school’s founding, which will be celebrated as a five year event starting next year. There are already events planned for the former – more news soon…
• Many thanks to Will Dunnett, RHS London club website administrator for his expert fix for this site’s WordPress gremlin which peppered the site with Yellow! Will provides constant expert support for the Editor’s technical failings.
• Two key ladies leave the school Admin. Department on November 4th. Karen Reilly and Diane Aitken, with 22 years service between them will be sorely missed. The Blog however caught up with them, and asked a few pertinent (and some impertinent) questions, the outcome from which you can read here. We wish them both well.
• September to November have been busy months – the recording of a short organ concert following some refurbishment of the school organ, development of the main address at the 2022 Remembrance Service, updating of several of the Honours boards on the Memorial Stage, and substantial new entries soon to be seen on this website including the history of the 12th Portobello Scout Group, active from 1931 to 1978, and the curation of ‘Jock’s Box’, an extensive archive provided from the late Jock Dewar’s estate. More information about and links to these projects soon…
• Summer and Autumn normally comprise quiet months, with School holidays supressing activity, and more recently (2022) national affairs including Prime Ministerial, Regal and Financial. Despite this, there have been a few enquiries, including one from a former pupil, who, despite attending RHS only for his first senior year in the 1963-64 session, said “That year provided such a foundation for my education that it served me through high schools in British Columbia and through my university studies…the acting rector Jock Cunningham told me I would always be a Royal High boy…and he was right. I was there just as Rector Dr Imrie died at the prep school, and the memory has stayed with me all my life.”
• Another enquiry was from Old Saint Paul’s Church in Edinburgh (OSP), where John Franckeiss was a member in the late 1930’s. John, who left school in his fourth year in 1939, sadly died on active service for the RAF in Canada in 1943. The Church is assembling records for the 34 men who died in WW2, and we were pleased to be able send a short detail of his school and war record and his photo which rests in the WW2 RHS Roll of Honour. Brenda White replied: “I’d like to reiterate my thanks to you for your assistance to me in compiling Old Saint Paul’s memoir of our members who died in World War II.     The photographs you supplied were of particular value, as we had considerable difficulty in finding photographs of the men themselves. I’m pleased to tell you that our publication, Old Saint Paul’s remembers World War II, was launched in church on Remembrance Day, and a copy of it is in the post to you now.     I hope that you will enjoy reading it, and will find the contents of interest. Click here to see the entry in the OSP World War II tribute – Many thanks to OSP for permission to use this extract.
• The school organ was in the limelight, or least under discussion recently when Alan Buchan’s entry in the FP Authors page was established. Alan has constructed a short history of the organ, which can be seen here (and heard here).
• A Great Athletics photo emerged recently via Pete Clark and John D Robertson. The Evening News snap of 1962 shows the assembled teams of Heriots and Royal High at Goldenacre. Featured Royal High competitors (mainly on the right) are Messers Ally Black, Bill McCosh, John Craigie, JD Robertson, Eddie Scott, George Turnbull, Andy Forgan, Ronnie Goldie, Richard Hogg, Eric Notarianni, Dougie Flett and Colin Telfer. Pete has just advised that Dougie Bruce has identified many of the Heriots names – click here to see an annotated photograph. If you recognise anyone else, please contact us. John D Robertson provided a gem when he advised that his Mother had personally stitched his fine black shorts from silk, and added the white vertical stripes. He (and Eddie Scott) were also the first to don white track suit tops
• Stefan Sykut, a Northfield Broadway pupil who started in primary one on the same day as the Editor (in September 1950), contacted the website, and subsequently forwarded a fine biography, which can be seen here.
• High School of Edinburgh, Edinburgh High School or Royal High School? This question is undoubtedly the most frequent received by the historian; the answer is that all three are correct, at least at some point in history. Click here for the full story.
• The School prize history (initially the sixty currently awarded) was included in the 2021 Annual Report, and a prize or bursary description from that table was added to each prize envelope
• Creation of the 2021 Remembrance Day service tribute.
• The discovery of two RHS prize medal designs by the archivist at the Abbotsford Trust. The Sir Walter Scott Medal is particularly appropriate this year, given that his 250th birthday is on 15th August. It was first awarded in 1932, but apparently stocks ran dry by 1972, when it became the Scott ‘Prize’. We are indeed fortunate to have located one of the medals, won by Gordon Symon in 1970, and are indebted to him for its loan. It’s a splendid object, and close inspection shows that it was created in the Royal Mint, and that the designer was famed sculptor Pilkington Jackson. The companion plaque which adorns the school wall outside the old main entrance can be seen here. Sadly it has been defaced, and is planned to be restored in due course. The other medal is the Muir memorial medal, created in memory of a very popular Geography teacher (Thomas S Muir) who died suddenly at the age of just 32. It was first awarded in 1929 to the 5th year Dux, and, like the Scott medal, was presented as such until 1971, when it also became simply a ‘Prize’, but is still awarded to this day. Many thanks to Sir John Kay for providing photographs of the medal he won in 1965.
• The initiation of the biography project based on a request from the Rector and correspondence with FP’s
• The 1934 Melrose Sevens winning team. A remarkable coincidence kick-started the production of an extensive article about the remarkable men who won the 1934 melrose sevens. Read the article here
• Bo’ness Rugby Club was originally founded in 1900, with the help of Michael O’Grady of the Royal High School, who captained the side. The side reformed in 2011, and their archivist asked us to help trace O’Grady.
• Communication with an FP now resident in Canada, who wanted a sung version of Vivas Schola Regia which would be played at his funeral. We sent a sung version along with what in our opinion is a better product – a synthesised string orchestra version prepared by June Nelson

Earlier projects included help for the embroidery team making a panel for the Scottish Tapestry, showing the first Scotland versus England Rugby match at Raeburn Place in 1871 when Royal High FP Angus Buchanan was the first man to score an international try.

The WW2 Memorial Windows which so splendidly adorn the windows of the assembly hall, feature sportsmen on each of the three tableaux. Each window shows two sports (at the foot of each window), and Jimmy Dignall some years ago revealed the identity of the six sportsmen portrayed, advising that they were indeed current pupils when the windows were designed and unveiled in 1949. The three windows were explained in the WW2 Roll of Honour. The sports and featured pupils were as follows:

• Cricket – David ‘Nobby’ Valentine
• Golf – Malcolm Matthews – (the one name which has not been corroborated)
• Rugby – Mike Allam – subsequently played and refereed for Kelso
• Swimming – Fraser Bowman
• Gymnastics – Alec Imrie – also famous for his entertaining skills at Scottish Schoolboys Club (SSC) camps
• Athletics – Harry Henrikson – one of three sporting brothers

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The Crichton Cup

Formerly known as ‘The Crichton Trophy’, it was gifted in 1915 by J D Crichton, whose sons were at school, for Scholarship and Athletics.

The contest was at that time called ‘The nations Cup’. It shortly thereafter became the trophy for the Inter-Nation Squadron Swimming race. In 1920, the Cup was transferred to the Nation Championship in Scholarship and Athletics combined, for which, with minor additions, it has since been awarded. One might be amused by the 1951 top Prize-Winners group with Hugh Mackenzie proudly fronting the whole group with his single award – The Crichton Cup.

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High School of Edinburgh, Edinburgh High School, or Royal High School

As the historian (apparently unsuccessfully) keeps telling anyone who asks, our Alma mater did not become the ROYAL High School until around 1859, when the future Edward VII presented the prizes at the PG that year. It is thought that Queen Victoria awarded the accolade after Rector Leonard Schmitz did just enough tutoring the Prince of Wales during their summer holiday in Scotland to enable her errant son’s entry to Oxford. In the gallery below, note the comparison of two Annual Reports, 1849 and 1866, showing the change of title. Prior to that, it was normally described as The High School of Edinburgh (As shown in Steven’s 1849 History), but just occasionally as ‘The Edinburgh High School’. Former pupils of the time were so impressed by Bertie’s attendance record that they endowed a fine statuette, unveiled in 1862. It sat behind the Rector’s chair for over 100 years (shown below at the 1955 prize giving), but sadly disappeared during the 1968 move, and vigorous attempts to establish its whereabouts have failed. Click any of the images below to enable a full screen slideshow.

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The next Anniversary

A very important Anniversary is due on the 20th August 2023. That will be fifty years to the day when girls were first admitted to the School. The Evening News ran an article featuring a photograph of around 40 of the 81 girls who started in 1a1 to 1a6. After many edits from two of the ladies in the photograph, we are fairly close to identifying all the girls (if sadly not the boys). Click here to see the annotated photograph.

A number of events are being planned to commemorate the anniversary. Please contact us if you want to be connected to the organising committee.