Archives

MS DEBBIE TURNER archivist

“Of all our School assets, archives are the most precious; they are the gift of one generation to another and the extent of our care of them marks the extent of our History.”

Another school year has nearly passed and, as always, Archives has been a hive of activity. Hosting families of Old Boys, in particular the Turnock family. Harry Turnock was a student at TSS from 1920-1923, Dux of the School in 1923, came back to teach at TSS in 1928, appointed McKinley Housemaster in 1929, retired in 1942 and sadly passed away in 1992. Turnock Day House (established in 1979) is named in honour of Harry, and his two daughters were delighted to tour around the grounds, get a feel for where their father studied and worked and were impressed by the many photographs and memorabilia he had left behind. The best part of archiving is connecting people to their past and strong ties with the OSA enable many Old Boys and TSS families to come here and relive their memories through the wonderful collection in Archives. The Museum is continuing to evolve with more donations of Old Boy memorabilia, blazers and books accepted, recorded and displayed with pride. The Boarding Houses have been a priority again this year with some Archive funds directed at refurbishing old hanging photographs, re-framing and repairing, enhancing different House areas with crests, antique furniture and old antique photo wallpaper. The focus has also been on recording older Old Boys' stories and recollections of their time here at TSS. It is extremely important that we have these stories on record to get a feel of what TSS was like back in the olden days and to ensure their memories and traditions live on.

Some of these anecdotes have been featured in the OSA and Band of Brothers magazines and in a pamphlet series called “My Story”. Thank you must again go to all those that support Archives, in particular older Old Boy Lionel Meerkin (194247) who comes in regularly to help out and his time is very much appreciated.

Please do not hesitate to contact Archives if you require any information, photographs or old publications. It is always a pleasure to share these memories with the TSS community.

You can access our contact details via the TSS website and by visiting the Archive webpage. Archives gratefully accepts donations of anything TSS related, in any condition and be rest assured they will be treasured and well looked after.