When the “Park School Centenary” Committee first met, composed as it
was mainly of old pupils, it had the unmistaken flavour of a family re-union: “We
few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” There was the nostalgic affection for
the old school; the pride of fellowship; the memory of other days when “heaven
lay about them in their infancy.” If the old school tie was missing, there were
present stronger ties not made with hands.
It was felt that the hundredth birthday of Park Schools was an event that deserved
general recognition; public tribute should be paid to the glory that was the first Aberdare
British School, the grandeur that was Ysgol y Comin; the early pioneers, the “mighty
minds of old” must be remembered. The occasion demanded something much more permanent
than a public meeting and a school holiday; the history of the Park Schools deserved
to be recorded in book form. By means of this little booklet, dedicated to all who have
been in any way associated with the School, the Committee extend an invitation to all
readers in the words of an old Dickens character, “I am always remembering; come
and remember with me.”
It is hoped that thousands of old pupils, scattered all over the world, may find
therein happy “remembrances of things past” which may help them to recapture
for a little while some of the careless raptures of their early days.
A record such as this, may induce younger pupils to foster a closer kinship with
the past, and a pride in their association with the School.
In all others, whose misfortune it was to be educated elsewhere, there must arise
a deep appreciation of the vital part played by the school and its pupils in the life
of our nation.
Most of our famous schools produce their own historians. Mr. W. W. Price, the author
of this interesting brochure, is a part product of Park Schools, not as an old scholar,
but as an old teacher, whose interests must have been fashioned to a large extent by
the School. It is certain that no one in Wales has devoted more time to research than
Mr. Price: it is equally certain that there could be no other person better fitted to
piece together the events of a hundred years, and present in the small compass of fifty
pages a composite picture of the life history of a famous school. Let not this prophet
go without honour in his own country.
