To mark the centenary of Herman Charles Bosman’s [Eland 1922] born in 1905, a Jeppe contingent joined the celebrations of the Herman Charles Bosman Literary Society in the Groot Marico where a replica of the schoolhouse in which Bosman taught at Huimweeberg near Abjater’s Kop in the Dwarsberge has been erected.

The portrait of Herman Charles Bosman which now hangs in the Payne Hall.

In his evocative piece entitled Jeppe High Revisited, Bosman bemoaned the fact that his picture did not appear among those of the sporting gods of the school in what is now called the Payne Hall. Some years ago, Art master Willie Vos, in an attempt to remedy the omission, painted a portrait of Bosman in oils. This excellent work is now displayed in pride of place in the Payne Hall. Were Bosman’s ghost to prowl around the school, his search would no longer prove fruitless as recognition of him as a mere writer has now been accorded!

A superb framed photograph of the bay window in the Payne Hall depicting the Bosman portrait was presented to the HCB Literary Society in recognition of their contribution in promoting Bosman’s work, and of his link with Jeppe where he first started publishing his short stories for a guinea a piece under several noms-de-plume in the Sunday Times.

Several weeks later, the Governors, Staff and invited guests were treated to the privilege of David Butler’s performance of Jeppe High Revisited in the Payne Hall, the authentic site of Bosman’s masterpiece on the School. Butler also read several hilarious Jeppe-based extracts of Bernard Sachs’s biographical work entitled Herman Charles Bosman as I Knew Him.

Then the inimitable Patrick Mynhardt treated the audience to his rendition of Street Processions and In the Withaak’s Shade.

In his concluding address, Kevin Tait speculated on whether at Jeppe Bosman’s names were pronounced with the Afrikaans inflections undoubtedly used in his home [his mother was a member of the well-known Cape Malan family]. As nearly all the early school masters at Jeppe were from England, it seems most likely that Bosman’s name would have been pronounced with an English accent. He drew evidence for his view from the way the School Houses Eland and Duiker are still pronounced and the unusual English spelling of Koodoo.

He also chided the Bosman literary fraternity [including Butler and Mynhardt] for always referring to the school incorrectly as Jeppe Boys’ High School. Bosman himself of course always used the correct appellation of Jeppe High School. Indeed the girls had moved out by his time here. The Jeppe schools all still shared the same Governing Body until 1990, and the official name was then, as now, Jeppe High School for Boys.

Mr Tait has also visited the Bosman archives at the University of Texas in Austin, USA where he searched in vain for the original manuscript of Jeppe High Revisited. Presumably that means that it is still in South Africa somewhere – when it is located it would make a wonderful addition to the Bosman Collection of memorabilia, early work and publications currently being established in the School Musuem.