The story continues, Part 13 below
The roots of our school community run deep. In 1884, the Marist Brothers established Our Lady of Good Hope College in Uitenhage. Over the decades, many past pupils from Marist Uitenhage answered the call to serve, bravely fighting in conflicts including the Anglo-Boer War, World War I, and World War II.
Following the devastation of the First World War, the College unveiled a sacred marble memorial. It listed the names of the brave young men from the school who had made the ultimate sacrifice.
When Marist Brothers Uitenhage closed in the early 1950s, this memorial began its long journey. It was first moved to St Patrick’s Marist Brothers College in Walmer, Port Elizabeth. However, by the end of 1982, St Patrick’s also closed, merging with Holy Rosary Convent and St Dominic’s Priory to form Trinity High School.
With the sale of the Marist Walmer property and the demolition of the school buildings in the mid-1980s, the precious memorial was transported to Johannesburg for safekeeping. It was stored securely—so securely, in fact, that over time, it was safely hidden away and forgotten by the wider world.
During these years, the landscape of local Catholic education continued to evolve. Trinity High School eventually moved to the historic, 100-year-old St Dominic’s Priory campus, consolidating into what we know today as St Dominic’s Priory School. Today, Marist Brothers Uitenhage and Marist Brothers Walmer live on proudly as two of our nine heritage schools.
Yet, for at least one dedicated past pupil, the Marist WWI memorial was never truly forgotten.
After much sleuthing and a decades-long search, the hidden, dusty memorial was finally located. Incredibly, it was found still resting inside the very crating used to ship it from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg 40 years ago.
With its discovery, Operation Lest We Forget was officially launched.
Moving a fragile, century-old marble memorial weighing over 200 kilograms is an incredibly complex task. It required precision, care, and immense expertise.
Enter Pickfords.
(Stay tuned for our next update as we document Pickfords safely transporting this priceless piece of our history back home.)
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Gently removing 40 years of accumulated dust from a now-brittle crate was the delicate task undertaken by the professional team from Pickfords. This crate had encased our memorial on its original journey from St Patrick’s College, Marist Brothers Walmer, and had held the sacred marble stone secure for more than four decades at Sacred Heart College, Marist Brothers Observatory.
Pickfords had the honour of moving the crate into the sunlight, allowing the names of our Marist Uitenhage past pupils to breathe fresh air for the first time in over four decades. On closer inspection, however, the original crate was in a far worse condition than anticipated; the original wood slats were turning to dust as the team moved the memorial. It felt like shades of entering Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Operating in South Africa for over 120 years, with a rich history going back to 1630 in England, Pickfords understands heritage and legacy. They have generously taken our Marist Uitenhage legacy into their professional and dedicated hands.
Acutely sensitive to the memorial’s heritage and the need to securely crate our artefact for its 1,000-plus kilometre journey, the Pickfords specialists changed step without missing a beat. They made the swift decision to keep the original, extremely brittle crating intact and build a truly bespoke crate around it.
Having loaded the now securely double-packed memorial, the team prepared to head to the Pickfords depot, pausing for a final team photograph at the gates of Sacred Heart College, Marist Brothers Observatory.
The first stage of our memorial’s homeward journey on Operation Lest We Forget had begun. Pickfords is doing our boys proud.
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These names are resting at ease in far-flung fields where poppies grow. Their families have not forgotten them, and their legacy school will always honour them.
In normal circumstances, transporting a 200+ kg item is a daily walk in the park for Pickfords—just another routine job. Today, however, is very different. Sensitive to the sanctity of this fragile marble artefact, the Pickfords team loaded our memorial gently and with due reverence.
With the loading complete and entrusted to take their usual excellent care of this deeply special delivery, the team eased themselves into the cab of their blue Pickfords truck and rolled out of the depot. A solemn journey to the Pickfords Port Elizabeth depot now lies ahead.
Heading ‘Home’ to Port Elizabeth and to St Dominic’s Priory School.
Operation Lest We Forget hits the open road.
Vade leniter
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Greatcoats on, greatcoats off; hurry up and wait; marking time - the life of a soldier. That our memorial is currently marking time before reaching St Dominic’s Priory School would be of no surprise to the past pupils named upon it.
Their younger fellow past pupils who served would be intimately familiar with the command “Makeriepas!” - always barked as a single word. And so it is with our Marist Uitenhage fallen, as their memorial “marks time” in the local Pickfords warehouse.
It is an exceptionally busy week at St Dominic’s Priory School. Wednesday brings a wonderful celebration as a number of our pupils receive the sacrament of Confirmation.
This sacred milestone has slightly delayed the final arrival of our memorial, but after twenty years of searching, a few more hours is neither here nor there.
In the interim, the team at Pickfords is taking exemplary care of our priceless cargo.
In exspectatione.
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Secure in the professional hands of the Pickfords stewards the memorial arrived safely back in Port Elizabeth after its 1,100 km journey.
While the journey itself was uneventful, it was poetically sprinkled with symbolic echoes of a century ago. Potholes suggesting shell holes; a sudden burst of hail was reminiscent of a Vickers machine gun. The rolling thunder sounded much like an artillery barrage, and the flashes of lightning encountered on the mission south served as reminders of flares arcing over the Flanders battlefields, creating a harsh but dimming glow through the oncoming storm. The wind whistling past the cab was a phantom echo of what our Royal Flying Corps past pupil heard howling through his WWI biplane struts.
The Pickfords team carried out a recce yesterday to ensure that the final miles up Emerald Hill to St Dominic’s Priory School will go just as smoothly as the rest of Operation Lest We Forget has.
Finis viarum pax
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On this gloomy September afternoon, a biting wind blew and a steady rain soaked the earth—much like the conditions our past pupils would have experienced in the trenches, on guard duty, or in cold, dark frontline listening posts. The weather appropriately lent a Flanders-touch to the solemn mood of those gathering and waiting.
The welcome party—comprising Head of School, Fr Grant James C.O., Head of Ethos, Fr Michael Theron C.O., Priory staff, St Patrick’s College, Marist Brothers Walmer old boys and members of Military Veteran Groups—waited with bated breath. Frequent glances down the hill gave away the building anticipation.
The veterans respectfully wore their Border War medals to honour these Marist Uitenhage past pupils. Having themselves recited the words “At the going down of the sun...” at so many services over the years, their presence united two generations of service nearly a century apart.
As “The Last Post” sounded, the memorial slowly made its way up the hill. The gentle curve slowed the Pickfords truck, as if keeping pace with a planned slow march.
Having eased to a halt, the Pickfords team alighted, opened the doors, and gently carried the crate to the waiting table. A wreath of poppies was softly placed upon it.
Opening with a prayer, Fr Michael Theron C.O. blessed the crate. His words were deeply moving—giving thanks for the lives of these past pupils, remembering their families from a century ago, and expressing gratitude that, after so many years, the opportunity had arisen for this deeply meaningful piece of the school’s history to return.
A Marist Walmer old boy said a few words, mentioning that over the decades, generations from Marist schools had served and died in conflicts. He noted that some of the names carved on the memorial belonged to boys younger than many in the current Matric class, adding that with so many monuments being destroyed today, he was deeply proud that our Marist Uitenhage boys have not been lost to history.
The crate will be carefully opened, and the memorial permanently positioned for present and future generations to pause, look, and reflect.
The two-decades-long search is complete. The Marist Uitenhage memorial, a tangible and sober reminder of our legacy school’s past, is finally home.
Requiescant in Pace. Amen.
In our next update: The delicate process of installing our historic memorial into its final resting place inside the St Dominic’s Priory School Chapel.
Reading the 96 names on the Marist Uitenhage WWI Memorial—our fellow past pupils who did not return home in 1919—was deeply emotional. We never knew them. We have no idea what most of them looked like, and the majority do not rest in personal graves. They were young, as are most who answer the call during times of conflict. We naturally tend to think that their lives were snuffed out too early, leaving so much unfulfilled and so much left to give.
What we can never truly know is how they lived their daily lives—from their school days at Marist Brothers Uitenhage and their Union Defence Force training, to their service across the Union, German South West Africa, German East Africa, Mesopotamia, or Flanders.
Yet, as their fellow past pupils, we know enough to admire them. We admire their courage in volunteering for service—some volunteering twice, returning from the hardships of the German South West Africa campaign only to step forward a second time for the battlefields of Europe. We admire their steadfast companionship with their mates in their regiments, companies, platoons, and sections. We admire how they served their comrades, comforted the wounded, and shared their meagre rations, shelters, and precious parcels from home. In those brutal conditions, they shared the very best of themselves.
They may have died young, but in their youth, they fulfilled a lifetime of honour, duty, and love for their brothers-in-arms. Fideles usque ad mortem.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” — 1 John 3:16
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
For the past fortnight, we have focused our attention on our Marist Brothers Uitenhage WWI Memorial—and rightly so. However, there are many other past pupils from our legacy schools whom we should, and must, honour and remember. We cannot allow their sacrifices to be forgotten.
We are actively searching for information on any past pupil or staff member from our legacy schools who died in service. This includes those lost to training accidents, accidents while on leave, illness while serving, as well as combat casualties.
If a member of your family, someone you know, or someone you have records of should be included on our Rolls of Honour, please contact us at info@priory.co.za with the subject line “Operation Lest We Forget Submission”.
We are seeking service and casualty details tied to all of our legacy schools:
Holy Rosary Convent
St Dominic’s Priory
Marist Brothers, Baakens Valley
Marist Brothers, Uitenhage
Marist Brothers, Bird Street
Marist Brothers, Cala
Marist Brothers, Walmer
St Anne’s Convent, Walmer
Trinity High School
St Dominic’s Priory School
Our research spans individuals who served during any major historical engagements, including:
Anglo-Zulu War
Anglo-Boer War
World War I
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Border War
Rhodesian Bush War
Iraq / Afghanistan campaigns
Any other major conflict
Interestingly, our sister Marist school, St Charles Marist Brothers in Pietermaritzburg (now St Charles College), is believed to be the only South African school with Rolls of Honour spanning the majority of 20th-century conflicts. Their Rolls of Honour span the Anglo-Boer War, WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, as well as the Border and Bush Wars.
Help us piece together our own definitive Roll of Honour. Please reach out with any names, photographs, or school records to help us safeguard their legacy for future generations.
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It has been a whirlwind fortnight. For over forty years, our Roll of Honour sat quietly, enjoying its dust-covered corner in Johannesburg without disturbance.
Then, with little warning, its life was uprooted, much like the lives of the 96 Marist Uitenhage old boys who did not get old, and it was carried to the quiet, calm, prayerful St Dominic’s Priory School Chapel.
Its permanent home. Their permanent home.
They have been at rest for over one hundred years. Now, their names are also finally at rest.
We are just a few episodes away from our journey’s end: the permanent installation and the final blessing.
But not the end - a new beginning.
Behind the scenes, meticulous preparation to house and securely hold our memorial is underway. All involved are ensuring that its physical placement matches the dignity of the lives it represents.
But this is not just about preserving our Marist Uitenhage memorial from the elements.
The true impact of bringing the Roll of Honour into our school chapel lies in its visibility in a place of daily prayer.
Recently, an unexpected comment was overheard
“…when we go into the chapel, we can choose a name and pray for him…”
Hearing this brought an immediate emotional overload. It is the ultimate blessing for this project. It proves that Operation Lest We Forget is not just a rescue of a 100-year old memorial but a living spiritual legacy. Our pupils and visitors will not just look at history; they will engage with it, one name at a time.
This is not the end of a journey, but a wonderful new beginning for our Priory community.
They will not grow old alone.
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Nomina manent
Our old boys who did not get old.
Their names are carved in marble. Behind each name was a young man with a family, a future and a story. Here are three.
Fred Bennett Collins
Fred was working as a clerk when he volunteered and enlisted.
On 24 March 1918, during the opening phase of the German Spring Offensive, Fred and his comrades were involved in the fighting at Marrières Wood.
Cut off and without artillery support, the South African Brigade — about 500 men in all — held positions in old trenches just north of the wood. They resisted repeated German attacks from early morning until late afternoon, when their ammunition was exhausted and the position was overrun.
Fred was reported missing in action. His body was never recovered, and his death was later officially accepted as having occurred on 24 March 1918. He was 24 years old.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Pozières Memorial to the Missing, Somme, France, and on the headstone on his mother’s grave in Holy Trinity Church Cemetery, Bosham, Sussex.
Arthur Stewart Norman Mortimer
Arthur served in German East Africa, initially with the 9th South African Infantry Regiment and later with the 10th Regiment.
In September 1917, he was transferred again, this time to the mounted unit serving in the East Africa theatre, the 10th South African Horse.
Arthur was reported missing, “lost in bush,” on 25 October 1917 at Lungo, in the Kilwa area of German East Africa (now Tanzania). He was 23 years old.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Dar-es-Salaam British and Indian Memorial to the Missing.
Ernest Conry
Ernest was born on a farm in the Uitenhage District and was working as a clerk when he volunteered and enlisted in May 1918.
He embarked from Cape Town for England early in September 1918.
Ernest died of influenza on 21 October 1918 at Richmond Military Hospital, England, three weeks before the end of the war. He was 22 years old.
Non solum die XI Novembris, sed semper.
Semper in memoria.
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After recovering from Delville Wood and being reinforced, the 1st South African Infantry Brigade returned to the Somme in early October 1916. It took part in attacks on the strongly defended German positions at Butte de Warlencourt. Two German trenches, known as the Snag and the Tail, lay in front of the main German line and proved extremely costly to the South Africans.
Six of our Marist Uitenhage chaps were killed during the heavy fighting on 11 and 12 October 1916.
Charles Boyd was born in India and was married with four young daughters when he volunteered and enlisted. He served with the Durban Light Infantry during the German South West Africa campaign. After returning and being demobilised, he volunteered a second time and re-enlisted.
On 12 October 1916, Charles was killed in action at Butte de Warlencourt. He was 38 years old.
He rests at Warlencourt British Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France.
Robert Finlay, born in Scotland, volunteered and enlisted in August 1915. Robert survived Delville Wood but was killed in action at Butte de Warlencourt on 12 October 1916. He was 34 years old.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, Somme, France.
Arthur Green was working as a clerk in East London when he volunteered for service and enlisted on 21 March 1916. He arrived in France on 14 August 1916. Two months later, on 12 October, he was killed in action at Butte de Warlencourt. He was 21 years old.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, Somme, France.
Wreford Meade was born in Grahamstown and was working as a motor mechanic when war broke out. He volunteered and enlisted, and, after training in England, arrived in France on 30 June 1916. Wreford was killed in action at Butte de Warlencourt on 12 October 1916. He was 20 years old.
He rests at Warlencourt British Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France.
Cecil Raab was working as a coachbuilder when he volunteered and enlisted in September 1915. He was killed in action at Butte de Warlencourt on 11 October 1916. He was 24 years old.
He rests at Bazentin-le-Petit Military Cemetery, Somme, France.
Henry Wood was working as a fitter when he volunteered and enlisted in September 1915. He survived the Battle of Delville Wood but was killed in action at Butte de Warlencourt on 12 October 1916. He was 19 years old.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, Somme, France.
Nomina manent
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The 1st South African Infantry Brigade fought in many actions and battles during the First World War, including Delville Wood, Gauche Wood, Marrières Wood, the attack at Butte de Warlencourt, and the actions around Zonnebeke and Bremen Redoubt during the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele).
A number of our Marist Uitenhage old boys did not die on the battlefield, but in hospitals in England from the dreadful influenza epidemic that swept the globe in 1918–1919. Some died mere days before the Armistice.
This week we remember:
Walter Pettit
Embarked at Cape Town for England aboard HMT Willochra on 6 September 1918.
Died of influenza on 23 October 1918 — nineteen days before the Armistice. He was 19.
Robert Henderson
Enlisted on 25 April 1918 and embarked at Cape Town for England on HMT Galway Castle on 17 July 1918.
Died of influenza on 22 October 1918 — twenty days before the Armistice. He was 18.
William Morris
Volunteered a second time after serving in the German South West Africa campaign.
Died of influenza in England on 24 October 1918 — eighteen days before the Armistice. He was 26.
Ernest Conry
Embarked at Cape Town on 6 September 1918.
Died of influenza on 21 October 1918 — twenty-one days before the Armistice. He was 22.
Two of our old boys were killed in action in the same week:
George Skinner
Wounded in 1917 and again in 1918, he was killed in action on 17 October 1918 — just 25 days before the Armistice. He was 23.
Louis Hugo
Killed in action on 19 October 1918 — 23 days before the Armistice. He was 23.
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The decision was taken to delay the installation of the memorial until school has closed for the year so as not to disrupt year-end examinations.
A Marist Walmer Old Boy to Care for the Marist Uitenhage Old Boys
The installation of a fragile, more than 100-year-old marble memorial is a delicate undertaking. It demands precision, specialist expertise and meticulous craftsmanship.
The responsibility for this important project has been entrusted to Barwood Projects.
Kenny Barwood, of Barwood Projects brings more than 50 years of experience to this sensitive task. As an old boy of St Patrick’s Marist Brothers, Bird Street, and St Patrick’s College, Marist Brothers, Walmer, Kenny understands that this is about far more than the careful installation of a historic memorial.
He is acutely aware of the responsibility he carries, both as project manager and as a fellow Marist old boy. The St Dominic’s Priory School community, the Dominican Sisters, fellow Marist old boys and the many veterans and supporters worldwide who have followed the story of the memorial will be watching with keen interest as this precious piece of history is prepared for its new home.
Every stage will require patience, precision and respect for the memorial and what it represents.
For Kenny, this is not simply another project. It is an opportunity to help preserve the memory of the Marist Uitenhage old boys who left to serve in the First World War and never returned.
“As a past pupil of Marist Brothers, I am deeply honoured that Barwood Projects has been entrusted with this responsibility. I have always believed in the importance of tradition and in preserving our heritage for future generations.
“To be in a position, through my experience and my company, to contribute to the care and installation of this memorial is a privilege. These young men left their school to serve in the First World War and never returned. They deserve to be remembered, and I am proud that we can play a part in ensuring that their memorial is preserved for generations to come.”
Kenny
Semper in memoria.
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