PRIMARY SCHOOL PACKED OUT FOR TRIBUTE TO PAST PRINCIPAL

On Monday , 11th May, Comber Historical Society marked the end of a week of celebrations with a hugely successful lecture in the Primary School, writes Laura Spence. Almost 200 people crammed into the assembly hall to hear a lecture on the life and work of the late Norman Nevin MBE who would have been 100 years old on 3rd May this year.

The event was opened by Kathleen Coulter, Chair of the Historical Society, who told the audience a little about the work of CHS which was established in the Year 2000. She paid tribute to the organisers of the Norman Nevin celebrations – Erskine Willis, Len Ball, Desi Rainey and Laura Spence – and encouraged everyone to come along to future meetings of the Society which take place on the second Monday of each month (September – April) in the Open Learning Centre in Park Way.

The talk was given by local historian and co-author of ‘A Taste of Old Comber’, Mr Desmond Rainey - and was presented in two sections, the first looking at Norman’s life and the second considering his historical research. Many of those in the audience were past pupils of Mr Nevin who was, for many years, teacher and then Principal in the Primary School. A very popular figure with staff, parents and pupils alike, one of his famous threats was ‘Wouldst like to be a blood-stain ’gainst thonder wall, would’st?’ There was a lot of laughter when Desi recalled these words. Likewise, when mention was made of the Newbolt poem about Major General Sir Robert Rollo Gillespie, which Norman would teach all his pupils to recite, quite a few of the audience were able to join in the opening verses, word perfect even after all these years.

Riding at dawn, riding alone, Gillespie left the town behind;
Before he turned by the Westward road, a horseman crossed him, staggering blind.
“The Devil’s abroad in false Vellore, the Devil that stabs by night,” he said,
“Women and children, rank and file, dying and dead, dying and dead.”

Desi paid tribute to Norman’s work with the local Army Cadet Force, illustrating this section of his talk with some rare photographs of Norman from his military days. Following Norman’s retirement both from the school – where pupils made him a beautiful ‘Clock Book’ as a leaving present – and from his work with the Cadets, Norman began to devote more time to his interests of photography and history.

Desi outlined some of the areas researched by Norman – and pointed out that Norman’s photographs and his book “The Story of Comber” are available to view in Comber Library at any time. He particularly advised everyone to go to the library during this month whilst the Historical Society’s Exhibition is still available to view. The exhibition remains in situ until the end of May.

Desi’s talk was very well received - and Roy Spence thanked him warmly on behalf of the audience, paying tribute to Desi’s knowledge and talent. Roy pointed out that Comber Historical Society has taken up the reins where Norman Nevin left off and continues to provide a valuable community service, recording our shared history for posterity. Everyone present at the talk received a commemorative historical postcard of Comber as a souvenir.

All in all, the Norman Nevin Centenary events have been a huge success not only in paying tribute to a great man but also in galvanising the local community, bringing them together to learn more about our local heritage and history.