Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), Saturday 7 June 1919, page 12


ST. PETER'S COLLEGE.

THE NEW IHEADMASTER.

The Council of Governors of' St. Peter's College have appointed the Rev. Kenneth Julian F. Bickersteth, M.A. (Military Cross) to the vacant headmastership of the school. On the retirement of Canon Girdlestone in 1915 every endeavor was made to find a successor in Australia and New Zealand, but none of the applicants was considered suitable. A committee was then formed in England, consisting of Dr. Burge, Bishop of Southwark (late master of Winchester); Dr. William Temple (late headmaster of Repton); the Rev. Lionel Ford (headmaster of Harrow); Sir Cyril Jackson (late Director of Educa-tion in Western Australia): and Professor W. H. Bragg (late of University of Ade-laide), with the Ven Archdeacon Cony-beare as secretary, for the purpose of se-lecting a suitable man. This committee reported that at that time all the likely men were serving at the front, and ad vised delaying selection until the comple-tion of the war. In the meantime, Mr. T. Ainslie Caterer was appointed to carry out the duties of Acting Headmaster. This he has done with marked success and ability. Under his care the school has achieved splendid results, and has risen in numbers from 425 to 536. Except that lack of accommodation has necessarily re-stricted the numbers In the senior school, the total would now be well over 600 boys, When the armistice was signed the gover-nors cabled suggesting that applications for the position should again be invited. By the last mail the committee's report was received, strongly recommending Mr. Bickersteth, who in their opinion, will prove to be an inspiring and efficient head-

master.

The Rev. Julian Bickersteth was edu-cated at Rugby, at Christ Church, Oxford, and Wells Theological College, and was or- dained in 1909. He was chaplain and as-sistant master of the Melbourne Grammar School from 1912 to 1914. On the out-break of the war he volun-teered as a chaplain, but as preference was given in Aus-tralia to clergymen who were Australian born he went to England and served with a London regiment. He won the Mili- tary Cross and the commanding officer of his division says of him:-"The Rev. Mr. Bickersteth has been a great asset to this division since its formation. He has never spared himself in his devotion to the welfare of all ranks, with whom he is exceedingly popular. He leads an active outdoor life, and is always moving about among the troops and sharing both their pleasures and their hardships. He has shown himself to be a capable organiser in everything pertaining to the welfare of the troops, both spiritually and otherwise. He has also displayed courage and endurance of a high order in the performance of his duties. The Rev. Dr. A. A. David, headmaster of Rugby, describes him as "a man of' transparent sincerity, great earnestness, and abundant energy, which he does not spare. He combined atrength of will and character with a singular charm of manner, he has a clear head and plenty of commonsense."' The Rev. Dr. James, a former headmaater of Rugby, under whom Mr. Bickersteth was a pupil for several years, says:-"Mr. Bickersteth was a boy, as he is a man, of considerable ability. He comes of a family wellknown in England, and especially in thereligious religious world. He is emphatically a worthy member of it, manly, high-prin-cipled, earnest, and a Christian in no con-ventional sense. I should add that he

was a good athlete, and that his social qualifications are beyond dispute. I have had no pupil for whom I have a greater respect and regard. The new headmas-ter will arive to take up his duties in January next.