man of that time was Rudy Mosbergen , because he was able to take on practically every school sport : one of the best all-rounders . And there were others like Urn Eng Siang , Ronald da Silva , who was good at Hockey , Track and Field . Then we had people like Alex DeWkan , a very outstanding cricketer . Reggie da Silva was also a very good cricketer . Of course Tan Eng Yoon was outstanding at Track and Field .
' Principals in those days were very insistent that the game should be played for the sake of the game and nothing else .' Many Old Boys speak warmly of Frank James but none with greater appreciation than those who knew him as the Sports Master .
Peter Martens remembers how generous Mr James was with his money , especially with successful sportsmen . He would give the Captain of a winning team his purse , and tell him to take the boys to celebrate at Baker ' s ( the Red House ), in Victoria Street . To an individual who was a promising cricketer he would hand a blank cheque , telling him to take it to King ' s , the best sports shop in town , to buy himself the kit he wanted .
Brother Patrick Loh remembers him , above all , as a disciplinarian . As his pupil in the 1950s , Seet Pak Hui recalls how scared he was of him : On first meeting the class Mr James began : ' You know Iesse James ? Heard of him ? Well , I ' m his younger brother , Frank .' Then he would work the class at their English and Literature well into the recess and after hours .
CCTan recalls that Frank James was the son of a tutor to the Thai Royal Family . When he was very young he went to the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus and was brought up there until he came to SJ1 . From the students ' classroom he jumped straight into a Normal Class ( that is a class for future teachers ) and became a teacher when he was only seventeen . He became a very popular Sports Master . He also took a lot of interest in the education of those children who wished to continue in Higher Education in England , and he used to be a great help in getting information on what they should do .
Frank James also became well-known in public life . In the post-war years he was invited by the Progressive Party to take part in an election . He became a City Councillor .
Brother Ignatius said of him that even if he had never done any teaching he would have wanted him on his staff for the good influence that he shed around him . Mr Seet recalls that he was a devout Catholic who used to encourage his pupils to go to Communion . He was for some time in charge of the Knights of the Blessed Sacrament . He was Discipline Master for the Lower Secondary boys and also Prefect Master .
Fortunately for him , Frank James was not interned by the Japanese , but his poor showing at learning Nippon-go led to his being removed from the Headship of one school and placed in a subordinate position in another .
He was President of the Singapore Teachers ' Association for five years when Devan Nairwas the Secretary . As well as being a City Councillor he was an assessor in a Juvenile Court , and on the Committee of the Boy Scouts . He believed very much in the Scout Movement : a Scout ' generally turned out to be a good citizen .'
It is , perhaps , as the moving spirit behind the Old Boys ' Association that Frank James did some of his best work . In days before Singapore had a tenth of the recreational facilities that it has now , his presence in the Old Boys ' Club in Waterloo Street was a real focus for young men starting out in life .
After his retirement in 1966 Mr James told the Straits Times :
' My satisfaction comes from the knowledge that many of my former students have become successful in their own fields , and good citizens , and particularly from their kindness in remembering me .' Another outstanding Sports Master was CR .
Eber . He came to SJIin 1956after twenty-six years at St
Anthony ' s Boys ' School , where he was also Sports Master . He possessed a very remarkable voice , deep in tone and clear enough to be heard from one end of the Field to the other . He taught Music and History as well as being a Sports Master . However , it was in coaching the Juniors at Cricket that his heart particularly lay , and , for years , he could be seen , everySaturday morning , on the school field , sharp at nine o ' clock in the nets . He started the SJIJunior Cricket Team :
' We started from scratch . In the first year of the English Schools Junior Competition we were third : in the second year we were runners-up to St Pat ' s , and in the third year we became Cham pions .
1had very good material , especially the son of Mr Reggie da Silva : He used to play for the SRC . He ' s still in Singapore , I think . Laurence Young was another good cricketer . We were always competing with St Pat ' s for they had a keen Cricket Master in Mr Subaramanian . He ' s at present the Secretary of the Singapore Cricket Association .' In his youth Mr Eber was a Sergeant in the Singapore Volunteer Corps ( 1930-1952 ). Known irreverently by his pupils as ' Sporting Sam ', he is remembered for his History lessons , with gratitude , and hismusic , with joy .
The Field was not just a setting for school sport . It was also a Parade Ground for the Cadets . The cadets are first mentioned as forming a Guard of Honour at the opening of the Anderson Building in 1907 . Captain Caldbeck was the first CO . The Corps faded out after that and was started again in 1920but was again disbanded , owing to a poor response from recruits . It was revived in 1925 . At the same time a band was started and C . R . Eber was one of the cadet Bandsmen . The CO was Captain Henry Pennefather , an Old Boy of the school and a veteran of the Gallipoli campaign . Later he gave up this post to take command of ' G ' Company , 2nd Battalion , Singapore Volunteer Force . He was succeeded by Captain C . V . J . Reutens , a wellknown teacher at SJ1 .
62 MemoriesofSJI