HRH The Prince of Wales Visit, 6th April 1925

An eye-witness account of Foundation Day, 6th April 1925:

“On the 5th of April 1925, the HRH Prince of Wales arrived in Freetown on the H.M.S. Hood, with many other battleships in the convoy. On the 6th April 1925, His Royal Highness arrived at the school for the grand reopening ceremony. The pupils were all lined up in front of the main building in two flanks, facing each other. The Principal and Vice Principal received H.R.H. HRH The Prince of Wales after he alighted from his car and they escorted him to the entrance of the building. The First Head Prefect Mohammed Sanusi Mustapha presented to his Royal Highness the Gold Key with which the door was officially opened. M S Mustapha, also read the welcome address, after which, His Royal Highness responded and named the School, THE PRINCE OF WALES SCHOOL. At that ceremony, His Royal Highness stated that the Foundation Day of the School will be April 6th and the School’s Birthday will be June 23rd (his birthday).

His Royal Highness then proceeded to shake hands with each pupil in the line-up. After this he was introduced to the Headmaster and Staff, who were all dressed up in their full academicals. He shook hands with each of them. His greatest moment was his reunion with the Revd. Osora with whom he had been at Oxford University; they really had a memorable greeting with a little chat. The ceremony ended with loud cheers from the pupils.

On the following day – April 7th – the whole school congregated at the Government Model School premises, from where we marched to the Parade Grounds at Tower Hill where all the schools in the city converged to welcome the PRINCE OF WALES SCHOOL. When the Prince of Wales marched into the Parade Grounds there was a thunderous ovation of jubilation from the crowd. YES! The Prince of Wales had created a remarkable impact on the people of Freetown.

Now for a description of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. He was medium built, height about 5ft 3ins., dressed in Shantung suit, with a smart shaped Kaikai helmet (which afterwards became known in Freetown as the ‘Prince of Wales helmet’) with brown suede shoes and curved handle cane walking stick, and oh boy, you should have seen how he marched along, he was a real poser! He also had on a gold watch and gold bracelet with the inscription ‘Edward P’. I really had and took a good mental photograph of him as he stood very near to me.”

[Excerpts from “Hoc Mihi Puero Accidit” (‘This happened when I was a boy’), Reminiscences by Foundation pupil Syl Juxon-Smith; first published in “The Princewalean” Journal, Issue 2, London, Sept. 1994]