It was on Friday 19th April, 2013, a little over a week ago that I was reading the KC Times, the Kingston College Old Boy’s Newsletter and I was reading about Mrs. Lynn Fatt where I saw it mentioned that her Father was Winston Golden a 1940's KC Old Boy. This immediately caught my attention as I knew and remembered that Winston was my immediate neighbor at 96 Maxfield Avenue in 1947. It seemed like only yesterday although it was 66 years that Winston sat on my veranda at 73 Maxfield Avenue and chatted with me for almost two hours about Kingston College.

He gave a complete history of the School and the talk centered on the most important single person, Rev. Percival Gibson, the Suffragan Bishop of Kingston. I learned all the good and even the little idiosyncrasies of that Great Man. One thing you must never do is call him, “Priest" to his hearing as that would unfurl his awesome wrath. We also talked about some of the legendary persons who had passed through those hallowed Halls.

All in all I was very impressed and so in December, 1947 I took the entrance exam and entered KC on the 3rd January, 1948 and have not left it since then. Yes, I worked at North Street Lab from 1956 to 1958 and then went on UCWI as it was then a College of London University, England . I was to have gone to St Georges but I am glad I went to KC instead (going to St. George’s is another story).

Many Fortisans were up until midnight on Saturday the 20th of April, 2013 helping me make the reconnection to Winston. When I did speak to him the next day it was a tearful moment for me as I had not spoken to him for over 50 years. I was able to thank him first for pointing me in the right direction at KC. I knew that his mother and his eldest brother had passed away and it is so nice to know that he is alive and well. I am sure I am going to visit him when I go back to Jamaica in the next 6 to 8 weeks.

If I had my life to live over, KC would be the only school I would want to go to. It is still the greatest College in the world. However I would not give the Bishop so much trouble and bring him almost to tears (that's another story).

The Lord Bishop did remember me by name when we met for the last time at Kingston Public Hospital in 1967. He said to me, "You are one of my Boys," then he shouted my name, "McIntosh” and shook my hand very vigorously. The reason for that exchange is the basis for also another story).

Thanks to Noel Spencer, Glen Laman, Errol Lecky and all the other Old Boys who made this happy reconnection possible

Fortis always and forever.

Top of Page