
Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1961 (Creation)
Level of description
Item
Extent and medium
Foolscap typed and roneoed circular
Context area
Name of creator
Name of creator
Biographical history
Kent was born in Hastings, in the UK in 1891 and emigrated to South Africa with his parents in 1894. He was educated at Kingswood College in Grahamstown (now known as Makhanda). It is likely that it was here that he met fellow Methodists, Wally Mears, Gilbert Tucker, Thomas Hall and Basil Read, all of whom were later involved in the founding and building of St Stithians College.
Kent was an accountant by profession and formed his own company, Palmer, Kent and Co., that was the first to be engaged by the Anglo-Transvaal Consolidated Investment Company.
Kent was an active Methodist who became a St Stithians Trustee on the death of DF Corlett. He became Chairman of council at a difficult time when there were differences in interpretation of the roles of the College governance and that of the Headmaster. Kent was also involved in the selection of Walter Macfarlane as first BP headmaster.
On 30 October 1957, Kent opened the first swimming bath as it was then known. This had been a priority for parents as the College offered few sporting opportunities at its inception and the parents felt that a swimming batch would serve all the boys. However, it was not a priority for Council. As a result, the parents had to raise the funds for the pool themselves, but invited Kent to officially open the pool. He was vice-chair of council at the time. By 1957, the country knew that it would be changing from the imperial to the metric system and St Stithians was thus the first school in Johannesburg to have a pool measured in metres rather than yards.
The BP Library was officially opened by Mrs Eunice Lilian Kent in 1969.
An obituary for Mr. Kent appears in the Stythian of 1967, page 7. It was written by Ray Bradley. Here is a link to the magazine in AtoM: https://atom.stithian.com/index.php/stythian-magazine-1967
Kent House in the BP is named in his honour.
Repository
Archival history
Historical collection
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donated by Bill Moir
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Circular letter advising parents and guardians advising them of the appointment of Steyn Krige as the second Headmaster of the College.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Items grouped in series within the box
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright St Stithians College
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Moir, William Lawton (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Draft
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Record created by MR 20191119