Mr. G. F. Bilson
For six years Mr. G. F. Bilson has impressed his presence on us so forcibly that it is difficult still to get him in perspective. Possessed of one of the shrewdest brains in the Common Room, an encyclopaedic memory and a winning smile 'Fred' managed always to astonish. When his energies and enthusiasm were aroused he accomplished any task set before him with almost contemptuous ease, whether it was obtaining a First in english or solving the TIMES Crossword. A latter-day Dr. Johnson, he had an eighteenth-century independence of mind and a dislike for all forms of routine. or six months he gave himself wholeheartedly to his production of the school play and turned out the most profitable production for years as well as giving a great deal of pleasure and filling his entire cast with a devotion little short of idolatry. Although this past tense sounds like an obituary Fred is still with us; as a Lecturer at Borough Road, Training College he will be coming amongst us on supervision.
We can do no better than append a description found in a First former's log book.
He is a well-built sort of fellow. He has a good head of hair of which ninety per cent is grey. He likes wearing sun-glasses indoors and white socks, usually with a blue and red band at the top. He wears black shoes of the elastic-sided variety. His manner is good and he is clean-shaven. He has given me the impression that he detests violence. He has a good sense of humour and enjoys a joke. He also has a good voice. I can sum him up by saying he is not a hard man, but he is a good family man and an easy teacher. His name? Fred Bilson.
from The Gaytonian, 1969
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