Mr Albert Edward Harrison
1907-[37]
7th headmaster
My
father, A. E. Harrison was a third generation Jamaican.
He went to school at
Munro and subsequently taught there
for 44
years. For 30 of those years he was
the Headmaster.
He was Custos of St. Elizabeth from 1920 to 1937.
As
headmaster he bestrode the Munro community
like a
collossus. He had a very strong
personality, great energy,
a quick temper
and a very loud voice. When
he shouted at
a lazy or sullen boy in one classroom, the boys in even
distant
classrooms heard and we shivered in our
shoes. He
used the stick hardly
at all, there was almost no need.
Discipline was automatic and we worked
like the devil to
avoid being shouted at. He was a born teacher of
Mathematics
and, provided you used your head, he
was
patient, long-suffering and kind.
Beneath
that formidable exterior there beat a heart
of gold.
My father was a most
lovable man and had a marvellous
sense
of humour. To him and to dedicated
teachers like
Mr. Morton York, and the
well-loved Mr. Wiehen, and to
outstanding
sports masters like Mr. Roberts, Major
Nicholson and Mr. Dunleavy
goes the credit for the
tremendous morale
at Munro in these days. Munro boys
strove to excel, not just for ourselves
but for our "house"
and for the school.
The
Gleaner of March 18, 1937, the day
after my father's
sudden death said in part
and in effect: "Hon. A. E.
Harrison
is dead. This was the news that shocked
the
island community yesterday. Revered and
honoured he has
gone to his rest. When
the historians come to record the
good
work of those who have striven for the
advancement
and progress of Jamaica, his biography will fill a bright
page.
Throughout Jamaica his name is a household
word,
respected by all. He was a
devoted friend to a host of
individuals,
particularly to the many hundreds of old
Munronians who have passed through the
famous centre
of learning since 1895."
GEOFFREY HARRISON.
Toronto, Canada.
April 21, 1981.
Daily Gleaner, June 21, 1893