TRIBUTES TO MR. F. L. COMBS

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 125, 20 February 1941, Page 9

TRIBUTES TO MR. F. L. COMBS

Forty-two Years’ Teaching Service The Wellington Education Board, at Its monthly meeting yesterday, said farewell to Mr. F. L. Combs, vice-prin-cipal of the Wellington Training College, who has resigned after 42 years’ service to take up a position with the Education Department. The acting-chairman, Mr. J. J. Clark, said that Mr. Combs entered the Wellington Education Board’s service on May 1, 1890, and had taught at Mauriceville West, Fernridge, Featherston, Mount Cook, Miramar South, and at the Training College. He had now taken up a position with the Education Department, and among his new duties would be editing the School Journal. He expressed the thanks of the members of the board to Mr. Combs for his long and valuable services, congratulated him upon his new appointment, and wished him every success in the future. Mr. Combs said his whole service had been spent under the Wellington Education Board. He definitely thought that in his career he had met with more success than he deserved. As he looked back he could not but feel mortified at the extremely foolish things he did in the teaching of children as a young man. A teacher’s action was as cramped as the rooms he taught in. He paid a high tribute to a past senior inspector, Mr. Bakewell, who had great sympathy, and power of mind to lift and broaden the service. Mr. D. McCaskill was another senior inspector who had helped the teachers. He had found the chairmen of the board he had worked under, the late Mr. T. Forsyth and Mr. W. V. Dyer, always most just and fair.

Tributes to Mr. Combs as an educationist And a citizen were also paid by Messrs. A. Donald, T. K. Moody, L. J. McDonald, D. McCaskill, G. M. Henderson and W. R. Nicol.