The year 1943. Up to the above year I used to go to school at he Bombay Scottish Orphanage at Mahim. However as petrol rationing took hold my parents decided to find a school nearer home and so began my schooling career at Campion School. The school was situates at Marine Lines in an old type bungalow. The verandah was painted a sickly light colour. As one went up the stairs there were two cabins which had been put up one for the Principal and the other for the Bursar.

The school consisted of my memory is correct of our classes two were facing the courtyard and two were in the front as one entered. The Principal was Fr. Savall a very stern-looking priest who hardly ever smiled and was a strict disciplinarian. Many a time he would take us to his cabin to whack us with a ruler either flat on the palm of the hand or with the edge on the knuckles depending on the crime committed. If the crime was severe then out would come the bamboo cane for six of the best. Yet despite all this Fr. Savall was a well respected figure who always had a very caring side to his character and was always present to cheer us on whenever we played a match against another school. More often then not we used to get thrashed by all the school as with so few boys it was always difficult to get a team together. I think in total we couldn’t have numbered more than about eighty boys. The Bursar was a young man called Mr. Lobo who many a time tried to keep order without much success. However as time went by Mr. Lobo began to get the hang of things as after that we reached a position when we could no longer pull the wool over his eyes. He was a very fair and charming person.

I remember once when we had played some ridiculous prank on a person outside the school who complained to Fr. Savall, Mr. Lobo covered foe us and we were secured from getting a whacking. Whenever Fr. Savall was away dear Mr. Lobo would stand in as the Principal and once I remember him caning one of the boys. I think it hurt him more than the boy. I often wonder where Mr. Lobo is today. We also had two very good looking teachers Miss Paylin and Miss Mullins. They were both a lot of fun and pretty strict and would administer the ruler quite indiscriminately. Every day our lunch would arrive from home in a tiffin carrier which would be eaten in double quick time in order to be able to go to the maidan at the back of Marine Lines. There we played all sorts of games from gilli danda to cricket or football. We eve had a game of throwing solid stones at each other a lot of scars were left behind in this game. I have one to prove it. This showed how stupid some of us were as this could have resulted I a major injury to a student. Yet we survived. We had a Scouts Cub which was good fun. The Scouts master was of course none other than Mr. Lobo who taught us the various knots. We even went camping to Khandala where we were allowed to use an old bungalow.

We all slept on the verandah terrified of snakes panthers and any other wild animal. We used to cook our food on a wood fire and must say it wasn’t at all bad. Well my career in Campion ended in the year 1944 when I reached the final class my parents decided that I needed more discipline so I was packed off to Dehra Dun to the Prince of Wales Indian Military College.

But that is another story..