CENTENARY – Celebrating the One Hundredth Anniversary of The Old Frees’ Association
Author: Quah Seng Sun
Design and layout by Adrian Cheah
Cover painting by Khoo Cheang Jin
In 1923, a group of high-profile individuals which included personalities such as Yeoh Guan Seok, Khoo Sian Ewe, Quah Beng Kee and Harold Cheeseman established The Old Frees’ Association, an organisation for former students and teachers of Penang Free School. The Association reaching its 100th anniversary in 2023 is indeed a milestone. The journey has been marked by resilience in the face of adversity: from surviving the ravages of the Second World War to enduring fires on its premises. Yet, amidst the trials, there have been moments of triumph as well. Notably, the Association played a pivotal role in giving Hutchings School its name, as well as supporting Penang Free School during its Sesquicentenary celebration in 1966 and Bicentenary in 2016. As The Old Frees’ Association reaches its own landmark Centenary in 2023, the occasion is commemorated with a book that reflects upon the Association’s legacy of the past century of years.
Preface
Centenary is the culmination of a 12-year journey for me. I still remember that moment in 2011 when, seated around with my fellow members at the annual dinner, David Hwang Hong Shi and Molly Ooi Siew Choo asked whether I would be interested to co-write a coffeetable book for The Old Frees’ Association.
The original book project had stalled, they said, and the Association was looking for people to restart it. If I was keen, they continued, we could do this book together. It took me only a second to say yes and that was how the book, Fidelis, came about.
Right from the onset, we faced the daunting task of creating a decent publication due to the scarcity of information. The Old Frees’ Association’s history was rather patchy, but at least there were decent summaries of Penang Free School’s history in the school magazines. Nothing much in the way of detail, but still better than nothing.
We knew it would be a tedious task to research the facts, and time was not on our side because Fidelis had to be ready before the launch of the PFS Bicentenary celebrations on 12th March 2012. Notwithstanding these obstacles, Molly Ooi and I managed to get the coffeetable book published on time, with help from William Tan Poh Eng who did the design and layout.
When the PFS Bicentenary came along in 2016, it was my opportunity to write Let the Aisles Proclaim, the story of Penang Free School’s 200-year history. People have asked me how I managed to get all those details on the School’s distant past. I admit that it needed a lot of research, but I had access to the online resources of the National Library of Singapore to start with.
There were also the Penang Free School Archives, the Penang State Library and indeed, The Old Frees’ Association itself, which still held precious copies of the old school magazines. I also had the help of a Penang-based historian, Marcus Langdon, who showed me a draft manuscript even before his own book was published! For that, I’m still very grateful.
Centenary still required much of those same resources to complete. For Chapters One and Two, the online National Library of Singapore proved most helpful again, and the old school magazines from the School Archives and the Penang State Library remained mainstays for Chapter Three.
Finally, The Old Frees’ Association’s own Annual Reports and the minutes of the annual general meetings provided valuable insights for Chapters Four and Five. With the book’s completion, the last piece of the puzzle is in place.
Centenary joins Fidelis and Let the Aisles Proclaim as the third volume of The Old Frees’ Association and Penang Free School trilogy. Do enjoy this story of the Association’s history.
Fortis atque Fidelis.
Quah Seng Sun
Class of 1970 (Form Five)/1972 (Upper Six)
Penang, Malaysia
21st October 2023
Contents
List of illustrations, vi
Foreword (I), vii
Foreword (II), viii
Preface, ix
Chapter 1: BEGINNINGS
World War One, 1
PFS Centenary, 2
Cheeseman Speaks Up, 5
Chapter 2: PRE-WAR YEARS
Establishment, 9
The Roaring Twenties, 11
The Enjoyable Thirties, 20
Chapter 3: THE WAR AND AFTER
The Dark Forties, 25
The Recovering Fifties, 30
Chapter 4: NORTHAM ROAD
The Celebratory Sixties, 35
PFS Sesquicentenary, 41
The Ruby Seventies, 43
The Fiery Eighties, 44
The Developing Nineties, 48
Chapter 5: NEW MILLENNIUM
The Millennium Aughts, 51
The Millennium Tens, 55
PFS Bicentenary, 58
The Millennium Twenties, 66
OFA Centenary, 68
The Future, 72
Appendix
Patrons, 74
Trustees, 74
Presidents, 75
Management Committees, 77
Centenary Celebrations Committee, 98
Life Members (OFA Building Fund), 99
Life Members, 100
Penang Free School Song, 106
References, 107
Index of Persons, 108
Author’s Biography, 110
About the Author
Quah Seng Sun began his career at the National Echo (formerly known as Straits Echo), a now-defunct newspaper in Penang. He transitioned to the banking industry in 1977, joining Ban Hin Lee Bank. Subsequently, he was Content Manager for the recruitment company, JobStreet.com, until his retirement. After retiring, he rekindled his lifelong passion for writing.
In 2010, he contributed short essays to George Town World Heritage Incorporated, focusing on the heritage sites along Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, also known as The Street of Harmony. He authored several books throughout his career, including Catur in 1991 and Taking Up Chess in 1995, both beginner’s guides to chess. In 2012, he co-authored Fidelis, a commemorative book published by The Old Frees’ Association. In 2016, he released Let the Aisles Proclaim, a book that delved into the 200-year history of Penang Free School. His most recent work in 2021, Ten Thousand Prosperities, explored the history of Ban Hin Lee Bank.
He actively engaged in community endeavours such as the annual Penang Free School Student Leadership Workshop since 2017. Moreover, he is a founding member of the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society and is registered as an international chess arbiter with the World Chess Federation.
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CENTENARY – Celebrating the One Hundredth Anniversary of The Old Frees’ Association
Quah Seng Sun
September 2023, ACEK Creative Solutions
Hardcover. 19 cm x 26 cm, 120 pages
Language: English
Illustrated throughout
Genre: Non-fiction, history
ISBN 978-967-18765-2-7