Remembering Robert Sparke Hutchings, 2019

The old historical Protestant cemetery in Northam Road this morning at about 7.34am. Now an heritage site, no longer seeing any burials. Good place for quiet reflection. Peaceful and calm, like all cemeteries and grave yards should be. Once in a long while, seeing some life with heritage bodies organising guided tours of the place. Never a regular thing.

But what's regular about this old cemetery in the midst of George Town is that on the 21st of October every year, at exactly 6.55am, the place is visited by about 20 to 30 people. It's an unbroken tradition that has taken place since 1948.

On this day every year, the Prefects from Penang Free School and Hutchings Secondary School come together to participate in a solemn thanksgiving memorial service at the grave of Robert Sparke Hutchings. They are normally joined by some teachers from the two schools, a few Old Frees and well-wishers from the nearby St George's Church.

Hutchings was the founder of Penang Free School on 21 Oct 1816 and when the Free School relocated to its present premises in Green Lane in 1928, a new school continued in the old school building in Farquhar Street. The Old Frees at that time then decided that the new school should be named as Hutchings School to perpetuate the memory of the founder.

After six continuous years of attending this service, I had to give last year's service a miss as my presence was required in Kuala Lumpur for something else. This year, now freed of my obligations in Kuala Lumpur, I decided to resume my attendance at Hutchings' grave.

So there I was outside the entrance at 6.45a.m. this morning. Nobody else was around but soon, the Prefects and other students from the Free School turned up with their Senior Assistant. Soon later, we were joined by several Old Frees, including the president of The Old Frees' Association, Fathers Ho and Avean who would be conducting the service, some Prefects from Hutchings Secondary School, and one or two church parishioners.

At seven o'clock, the service began with some Bible readings. As the morning grew brighter, a minute's silence was observed, wreaths were laid and then the singing of the Penang Free School and Hutchings School school songs followed. A very simple service which took up not more than 15 minutes but to me, it was very meaningful way of remembering the school's founder.