26/01/2025
Gordon Fonstad asked me to post on his behalf:
I stumbled upon this Facebook site for St. Probus, read through all of the available postings and recognized a raft of names.
I am a Canadian who attended St. Probus from January 1966 to December 1968. I was at St. Probus for only three years because my father was an Officer in the R.C.A.F. who did a three-year “exchange posting” at R.A.F. Station Boscombe Down. We lived in the Village of Porton, just to the south of Boscombe Down.
There were three other Canadians at St. Probus at the time … the two Sutherland brothers (Robert and Stephen), whose father was also an R.C.A.F. Officer on an “exchange posting”; and Larry (Davis or Taylor … he’s mentioned as both in the postings I read).
There were also the three American “Byrne” brothers (John, ???? and ????) whose father was an American Army Officer on an “exchange posting”.
Those three years in England were probably the best three of anywhere we lived while my father was posted “hither and yon” (I attended 7 schools, in 3 countries, between the ages of 5 and 18) … not only the School, and the friends made there, but the friends I made in and around Porton. Also, the “History” in the area … Salisbury itself (with the Cathedral, et al.), “Old Sarum” (where the Cathedral originally was), Roman roads, Iron-Age hill-forts (Figsbury Rings), “Stonehenge” … and the list goes on.
About 12 to 15 years ago I wrote a letter to a Salisbury newspaper trying to find out what had become of St. Probus. The school had gone through the fiasco of merging with (bought by?) Cholderton College, and student numbers at the school were rapidly declining when I left. A classmate … Peter Cox … replied to the newspaper and it put Peter and I in contact. Peter brought me up to speed on what had become of the school, and sent me a School Photograph from (I think) 1966. The only person in the photo that I recognized was Mr. F.E. Wright (“Fishy”) … I couldn’t even find myself in it. Peter told me that Mr. Wright was the last Headmaster at St. Probus after the school moved from Manor Road to someplace close to the Salisbury Bus Depot.
A humorous anecdote about Mr. Wright. In Canada, we didn’t give nick-names to our teachers, as was done at St. Probus (and elsewhere in England?), so in my first week at St. Probus (in the Form “Remove” … whatever that was) I had a question, so raised my hand and when acknowledged, I said “Excuse me Mr. Fish, but … “. That caused some giggling and guffaws from my classmates, probably some discomfort to Mr. Wright … but definitely some embarrassment to me!
I still have my “Prefect’s” lapel shield and tie, but not my regular “School Tie”. I also have the school photograph that Peter Cox sent to me. I’ve attached them.
https://www.facebook.com/gordon.fonstad.5
