Remembering Hutchings 2026

Every year, I tell myself that this will be the last time I attend the annual Robert Sparke Hutchings commemorative service at his grave in the old Protestant Cemetery in George Town. But when the 21st of October comes around again, I somehow find myself dragging myself out of bed at five o’clock in the morning, getting ready for the 45-minute journey from home to the cemetery. There is something about this little service that keeps drawing me back.

I first attended the service in 2012 and, over the past 15 years, I have missed it only twice. The service itself is a fairly brief affair, usually lasting just 10 to 15 minutes, but it brings together representatives from Penang Free School, Hutchings Sixth Form College, The Old Frees’ Association and St George’s Church. An Anglican priest from the church leads the service at Hutchings’ grave, where those present gather to remember a man whose influence is still felt in Penang today.

Each of these four institutions has its own connection with Hutchings. Penang Free School is perhaps the most obvious, as he founded the school which opened to boys of all races, religions and creeds on 21 October 1816. Hutchings Sixth Form College, formerly Hutchings Secondary School, inherited his name after Penang Free School moved from its Farquhar Street premises to Green Lane at the end of 1927. The Old Frees’ Association is the alumni association of those who passed through the Free School, while St George’s Church has its own historical connection with Hutchings, who was the colonial chaplain in Penang and was associated with the church in its early days. The church itself was completed in 1818 and consecrated the following year.

There are usually a few other Old Frees who turn up as well, myself included. Although I attend as a member of The Old Frees’ Association, I suppose each of us has our own reason for making the early-morning trip. For me, it has become one of those annual occasions that I keep telling myself I can do without, only to find that I am back there again when the date comes around.

The Old Frees at the commemorative service