Because his father was a serving soldier with 170 (Imjin) Battery, 45 Regiment RA (Royal Artillery), Jeff Harrison went to ten schools in ten years before joining the army at fifteen years of age. Of those, the school that was the most memorable, and that had the most impact on his life, was Bourne School, where he was a boarder between 1963 and 1965 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (now Malaysia). After its closure, he then boarded for one term in Singapore, at St John's School, while attending Bourne School, Singapore. Jeff has not only kindly leafed through the family album for images that illustrate that time – and how his former home and schools appear today – but has also scanned some pages from Bourne School publications to share with others.
Left: A map of Malaysia (previously Malaya) and Singapore, where Jeff lived and went to school between 1963 and 1966.
Below left: Jeff in his new school uniform outside 318 Off Rasah Road, Seremban, in 1963. He was about to start his journey to Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur. Below right: A grown-up Jeff standing outside his old home in Off Rasah Road in 1997, with Mrs Tang. She was the owner of the bungalow, which was a hiring in 1963. Jeff visited again in 2005, and remains in contact with her.
Below left: Jeff is one of those pictured at Rasah Camp, Seremban, catching the bus to Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, in 1964 under armed guard (due to a threatened Indonesian invasion). Below right: Jeff and his brother, Graham, at Rasah Camp, on the way to school in 1964.
Below left: Open day at Arakan House, Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, in 1964. Below right: Friends of the Harrison family at Arakan House’s open day in 1964.
Below left: Jeff snapped taking part in a treasure hunt that was organised for Arakan House’s open day in 1964. Below right: Jeff’s brother Graham in 1964, at Arakan House’s open day.
Below left and below right: Prince Philip pictured during his visit to Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, in 1963 or 1964.
PERSONAL PICTURES AND PAGES FROM PUBLICATIONS: MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE, THEN AND NOW, PART II
Jeff Harrison, a boarder at Bourne School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (now Malaysia), between 1963 and 1965, has preserved a copy of the 1964 issue of the school's magazine.
Right: The cover of Bourne School Magazine, 1964.
Below: 'This year's athletics champions’ (left). The presentation of the house championship cup to Kennedy House’s top boy and girl athletes (Bryan Jones and Juanita Matthews) on sports day. The school buildings are behind them (right).
Below: 'Kennedy House – the school sports winners. Athletes, staff and committee members pose for the camera.'
Below: 'Kennedy House – transformation scene' (left). 'Slim House – a moment of respite' (right).
Below: 'Churchill House – moment of contemplation' (left). An uncaptioned photograph that appeared in the 1964 issue of Bourne School Magazine (right).
Below: A dormitory at Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur.
Below: The boys of Arakan House set out to visit the Montfort Boys’ Home (left). Arakan boys during their visit to the Montfort Boys' Home (right).
Below: The boys of Istana House visiting Seaport Rubber Estate (left). Diver Gabrielson photographed flying high (right).
Below: Scenes from the school play, Tom Sawyer.
Below: An arresting image from the school magazine (left). A classroom scene (right).
PERSONAL PICTURES AND PAGES FROM PUBLICATIONS: MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE, THEN AND NOW, PART III
From 1963 to 1965, army-child Jeff Harrison boarded at Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (Malaysia), where he was a member of Arakan House. One of the photographs reproduced below dates from that time; the others were taken around four decades later on return visits, Bourne School's former premises in Kuala Lumpur subsequently having become home to the Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College, or Maktab Pertahanan Angkatan Tentera (MPAT). (See above for Part I of Jeff's photo-story, which presents pictures of Seremban and Kuala Lumpur, and also for Part II, a selection of images taken from the 1964 issue of Bourne School Magazine; see below for parts IV and V.)
Left: The former badminton court, which was floodlit in the evenings.
Below: This was Arakan House’s dining room (left), where Jeff recalls Mr Tapper announcing the names of pupils who were to receive the cane from him after dinner, and where films (on reels) were shown on Saturday nights. The high-tea area is pictured in 2004 (right).
Below left: Steps leading down to the boys' dormitories at Arakan House (2004). Below right: Boys pictured outside Arakan House's boys' dorms in 1963. Note the jungle setting – snakes were often seen amid the vegetation.
Below left: The boys' dorms were all in a line at Arakan House (2004). Below right: Photographed in 2005, this view is of what used to be the end of Arakan House's boys' dorms, where the boys used to line up to walk down the hill to school.
PERSONAL PICTURES AND PAGES FROM PUBLICATIONS: MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE, THEN AND NOW, PART IV
For Part I of his photo-story, Jeff Harrison shared a few photographs of Seremban, Malaya (now Malaysia), from his family album, as well as some taken at Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, where he was boarder between 1963 and 1965. Part II featured photographs from Bourne School Magazine's 1964 issue, while those in Part III show how the former premises of Bourne School's Arakan House look today.
Left: The title page of the pamphlet marking the closure of Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, in 1965.
Below: A page outlining the history of Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur.
Below: A list of the names of the staff members who worked at Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur.
Below: The former church at Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur – note the cross in the wall – pictured in 1997 (Jeff observes that the canvas in front of it forms part of a Malay canteen). The modern Malaysian Ministry of Defence building can be seen in the background.
Below: Jeff with his daughter and grandchildren photographed in 2003, standing outside the erstwhile premises of Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur, which are now home to the Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College, or Maktab Pertahanan Angkatan Tentera (MPAT).
PERSONAL PICTURES AND PAGES FROM PUBLICATIONS: MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE, THEN AND NOW, PART V
Having been a boarder at Bourne School, Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaya (now Malaysia), from 1963 until the school's closure in KL a few years later, Jeff Harrison then boarded at St John's School, Singapore, for one term, while attending Bourne School, Singapore.
Left: A map showing Malaya (now Malaysia) and Singapore.
Below: A map of Singapore.
Below: An architect's drawing, dating from 1965, showing the Alexandra section of Bourne School, Singapore.
Below: A plan showing the Gillman buildings of Bourne School, Singapore, in 1965.
Below: Bourne School is today a private school, and Jeff is pictured outside it a few years ago (left). Jeff stands outside the former entrance to St John’s School, Singapore; the premises are now those of a private college (right).
Below, left and right: St John's School, Singapore: boarding accommodation in 1965, when it was brand new. Jeff recalls that when he arrived there, the bells were not working, and that one of the boys sounded a bugle until bells were installed.
Below, left and right: Jeff with Gurkha boys in 1965 at St John's, Singapore. The beds were situated above the seniors' games room, and Jeff remembers falling asleep to the sound of Help, the Beatles’ new LP [album], in 1965.
Above, left and right, and below, left and right: Further shots of the former premises of St John's School, Singapore, photographed in 2004, including of the dining room. Jeff remembers regularly being hungry and surviving on tomato sandwiches, and, because one teacher was keen on golf, pupils being forced to watch a film on golf matches.
