CELEBRATING 125 YEARS OF HISTORY 1896-2021
Morning chapel continued . Afternoon chapel was discontinued but house prayers every evening before bed were introduced . New gardens were planted in the front of the School with palms and lawn . A lych gate was constructed at the entrance to the School , replacing an old turnstile .
Hinckley gained Council support for insisting the boys stayed for at least two years at the School . His predecessors , Corr and Henn had criticised parents for sending their sons for just one year .
The Council supported Hinckley by providing money for improved playing fields and he enjoyed the new gymnasium , officially opened at the end of 1925 . New tennis courts were constructed , and Roberts Field ( named after groundsman Jim Roberts ) was opened at the Preparatory School for football and cricket .
Guildford won the Interschool Athletics in 1926 and the Interschool Shooting Challenge Cup Competition .
One Old Boy considered it was Hinckley who got the House system to run properly . It had been going for three years when Hinckley arrived . Interhouse sport had commenced but was unbalanced because of the dominance of School House . Hinckley reorganised the Dining Hall which had become a free-for-all with each house now taking its turn . School House was split in two in 1927 with the new house named after Percy Henn .
In June 1927 , due to various grievances , the whole teaching staff presented Hinckley with an ultimatum that he should resign as Headmaster . The letter stressed a complete breakdown of confidence . At this point Hinckley ’ s health collapsed . He was suffering from a nervous condition and was confined to bed and given two months leave to recover .
Only days later , the School was shocked to hear of Hinckley ’ s death on 18 July 1927 by suicide . It was assumed his breakdown was caused by the long-term effects of his serious head wound during the war . The funeral for Philip Hinckley was held in the Chapel of St Mary and St George on Thursday , 21 July .
Although Philip Hinckley was Headmaster for just two and a half years , he made some significant changes to the School .
Robert Evelyn Freeth – 1928 to 1949
Rev ’ d Robert Evelyn Freeth was appointed in 1928 as the sixth Headmaster of Guildford Grammar School . He was born in Dublin in 1886 and was the seventh of eight children .
Freeth had made an unsuccessful application for the position as Headmaster of Guildford Grammar School in 1924 . When it came time to appoint a successor to Philip Hinckley , the Council for Church of England Schools was strongly urged to appoint Rev ’ d Robert
Freeth . The Council advertised the position throughout Australia in July 1927 and Robert Evelyn Freeth was appointed .
Freeth arrived at the School to take up the new position in 1928 with his wife , Gladys and three children Gordon , Ernest and daughter Elizabeth . Both boys were members of School House .
The most pressing matter facing Freeth on his arrival in 1928 was to settle the staff unrest .
Freeth had plans for a new boarding house . Todd Brothers won the tender for the new house at a price of 18,163 pounds . Archbishop Riley proposed that Oliverson ’ s name be given to the new house , but it was argued that the Henn ’ s House boys who were occupying part of St George ’ s House would want to carry on the name when they moved across the road to the new house in 1929 .
In Freeth ’ s first two years , the Council was able to afford a substantial maintenance and repair program across the School . It was fortunate that this happened , as once the Depression arrived , there was no further building for Guildford Grammar School .
Freeth wanted to improve facilities and in June 1928 , launched an appeal for athletics
The first Interhouse Music Competition was held in 1928 and Drama continued as an important part of the School ’ s culture . Freeth abandoned Saturday night study in favour of general recreation .
Rev ’ d Robert Evelyn Freeth with the 1936 Prefects .
12