LEST WE FORGET

Alan Peck wrote:

Hi All,

Yes , on-the-spot corporal punishment seemed to be quite rife in those days. Some of us witnessed Yong Ngim Djin deliver a backhand to the head of one of our young colleagues then, after the latter was overheard mentioning the name of a certain desert.  S.K. Ratnam was also reported to deliver smacks, but the feedback from recipients then was that they were 'light'.  Lim Hee Yang one recalls, had a penchant for pinching.

A few years later, one teacher described to me that the scenario seemed to be changing. A teacher got a bit enthusiastic about using his hands and administered his 'delivery'.  A few days later, the teacher received a lawyer's letter c.c. to the principal and also c.c. to the Education Ministry. Subsequently, a written apology followed from the school. Nowadays punishments are known to be less impromptu and seem to be rather better organised.

On a sombre note , some of us met for Lunch recently and we recounted some of our Class of 57 colleagues who we believe have since passed on. We counted and ventured to do a list:

  1. Ho Sim Chuing (road accident)

  2. Tay Tee Seng (road accident)

  3. Chia Chong Hin 

  4. Lee Han Seng 

  5. Siak Kok Leng (road accident) 

  6. Loong Seow Hiang 

  7. Teoh Jin Seng 

  8. Tay Eng Soon  

  9. Harry Tan Kay Choon  

  10. Tan Eng Guan 

  11. Cheong Karm Lun  

  12. Wee Soon Seng

..........apologies to any if there has been a mis-report .

In recent times, I've bumped into Ong Yoke Fei , Kho Kwang Po and Sng You Thiam whose email addresses I'm taking the liberty of slipping in here. Also Pang Loo Seem, Teo Hong Mong and Khoo Choon Tin but due to the fleeting greetings it wasn't possible to obtain their addresses.

Looking forward to the Reunion.

 

Albert Chan wrote:

Hi Everyone,

It is perhaps fitting at this Christmas time to remember ex-schoolmates who have passed on. I was surprised to learn of so many whom I have had the good fortune to outlive.

Chia Chong Hin was a very talented, if mischievous person. I had the benefit of his friendship and witnessed many of his accomplishments and antics. He feared no-one and nothing. Not even YAC, who made Chong Hin his favourite target in school. Chong Hin met his demise when he took on the motorcycle race in one of Singapore's earlier grand prix. His bike skidded at the Sembawang circuit and Chong Hin was seriously injured. That evening, we visited him in GH where his head was shaven and immobilised in a brace. He was unconscious. And that was the last time I saw Chong Hin.

Siak Kok Leng was one of a kind. Although his elder brother Chong Leng ranked in athletic fame with Chan Onn Leng, Kok Leng and I were in the minor league. We spent many hours practicing the 4x100 relay for sports day. Although Kok Leng was not the fastest on his feet, his stamina was something to behold. It seemed like he could run forever at the same constant speed. He would have been an excellent long-distance runner. I believe he died also in an auto accident (near Changi ?).

Loong Seow Hiang had a voice that could be heard for miles. We were in the same Raleigh Patrol in the Scouts. A raucous guy given to pranks, he once ruined my swing in a golf game at the SICC when he yelled out my name just as I was taking my backswing. I swore at him for that. But one cannot be angry with Seow Hiang for long.  By the time I returned to the club house, we shared a drink of "cheng tng ".

Teoh Jin Seng... I did not know that he had passed on.  I was pretty pally with his 2 elder brothers, Jin Hong and Jin Imm. We used to wade the lonkangs around their house near Braddell Heights catching fighting fish. The last I heard of Jin Seng was that he worked for the then Singapore Harbour Board.

Tan Kay Choon's demise comes as a shock. He was studying in London the same time that I was there for training. I owe Kay Choon a debt of gratitude. His family owned the audio shop in Dhoby Ghaut next to the Cathay cinema, and I got my first hi-fi set at a very special price, courtesy Kay Choon.

Cheong Karn Lum is gone too? He was my partner when I had to do the mandatory overnight hike as part of qualifying for 2nd. Class scout. Yes, we shared many a happy moment in the 11th. Scout Troop.

Tay Eng Soon. Although we met occasionally when he was in politics, it's our school days that I fondly remember. Perhaps Eng Soon should have been dubbed "The Brain".  I believe he was 1st boy from the first year in school to the last. He and his brother, Kheng Soon teamed up with the Teoh brothers and me in our fighting-fish excursions. When we went camping during school holidays, Eng Soon and Kheng Soon were the envy of everyone. They had a tent in which one could STAND UP in. The rest of us had to crawl in and our of ours. One memorable moment came during camp in Pasir Ris. The Tay brothers were arguing over how " khong bak" should be cooked. I think Eng Soon won out because he said to the effect "That's how Mom does it !".

I hope my reminiscing has not bored anyone. But when we reach this age, boyhood memories are precious. I wish you all a successful re-union, and a Merry Christmas.

Norman Wee wrote:

Hi, just a hurried note as will be away for the next 2 weeks. USA.  "Lest We Forget". 2 more to the list.

  1. Tan Gek Khee, used to visit his Palace in E.Coast Rd.(5E)

  2. Goh Teik Guan, Victor (5A), He was a teacher and taught my 2 boys at Barker rd.

Encl. photo.  65yrs now, just taken with my 5 grandchildren (click here for photo). Two sons happened to be on short business trip.

Anyone with more grandchildren????  (click here for more news on grandchildren!)

 

Jimmy Ho Chee Meng wrote:

Dear Alan, Kwang Po and Albert

Your recent e-mails made nostalgic reading as I have not seen many from Class 57 for almost half a century! Although I can recognise faces from the old photos attached to recent e-mails, I do not think that I can readily
recognise many of you if I were to meet you down the road. Many of you are proud grandparents and photos of Alan and Norman with their grandkids indeed bring great pleasure to us schoolmates. Who could say fifty years ago that we would come thus far and share news of this nature. Now we know that the ACSian family can!

Alan and Albert have shared with us news of classmates who have passed on. Albert's tributes and remembrance of them have been touching and Alan's account of the rough treatment meted out by some teachers have been
terrifying if not amusing.

My own recollection of those who left us is one of happy memory of them, albeit with a tinge of sadness.

  • Ho Sim Chuing was in my class the year of his demise. He came from a Chinese school and was fluent in Mandarin. He was good at sports and on the day of either football practice (or was it Standard Test?), he cycled to Barker Road playing field. I was also going to the school field when I saw him lying on the pavement with his bicycle by the side. Someone had already called for an ambulance and I held Sim Chuing's
    hand. Sadly he he did not make it.

  • Tay Tee Seng qualified in London as an accountant. He was a good Chinese scholar and a favourite of Miss Ding, the Chinese teacher. He met in a car accident, I believe on Nichol Highway but he did not survive the crash.

  • Chia Chong Hin was a clever student and as Albert already said, he was not afraid of anyone. He put his good ideas to work in the first ACS Fun Fare. He invented a bazooka for use in one of the Fare stalls and it was a great success.

  • Lee Han Seng's family owned the George Lee Motors and Han Seng knew everything about racing cars. He invited me to his house at Pasir Panjang where he showed me his hydroplane (a fast speed boat). His other hobby was aeromodelling, where he would bring into the class a number of his model plane engines. If I remember rightly, Han Seng and Ivor Thevathasan (who was also an enthusiast in model engines) often discussed about aeromodel engines).

  • Siak Kok Leng was an all-round athlete as Albert had already mentioned. Siak (as he was affectionately known) and a group of his team mates joined the 8th BB Company. During the BB Annual Athletic Meet, Siak and his 8th Company swept almost all the events! I remember this well because I was in the 2nd BB Company, and how could we compete with runners of Siak's calibre. He was a big hit at the Annual BB Battalion Camp where he did a Red Indian dance at one of the campfire nights

  • I did not know Teoh Jin Seng well, but I believe he and his two older brothers, together with Tay Eng Soon and Kheng Soon lent their support to the founding of the present Barker Road Methodist Church. One incident which I remember and I believe you also, was a personal grievance between Jin Seng and another boy in school. Instead of a bare-knuckle fight, a boxing match with gloves was arranged under "Queensbury Rules" and refereed by Mr Andrew Williamson ( an American missionary teacher).This took place at the school playing field on the last day of the school term. After the bout, Mr Williamson got them to shake hands and to bury the past.

  • Tay Eng Soon was without doubt "the Brain" as Albert Chan described him. Whilst at the University of Bristol, Eng Soon would visit London and we often got together. What I found in him was his modesty and sincerity. His strong Christian faith put him in good stead in the years to come and his testimony made a great impact in the Methodist community in Singapore.

  • Harry Tan Kay Choon was one of my oldest and closest friends. He lived with me and my friends when he first came to London to be trained as an accountant. As a young boy he often came to our house to play football. I met his future wife when they were courting in London. The sad thing was, we had arranged to meet for dinner or lunch when I visited Singapore. A month before I arrived Singapore, his wife phoned to
    say that Harry had passed away. It was good that my wife and I kept up the appointment with Harry's wife and his married daughter when we were in Singapore.

  • Tan Eng Guan left ACS at an early phase of his education to move to a school near Bedok. He was a bright student and I believe he would do well if he remained in ACS.

These were students that we can remember with fondness. Their premature departure invokes in us memories of good times with them and we are grateful for their friendship and are richer for knowing them.

ACS Forever!