Scotch College

Scotch welcomes back Bill

Bill and Gladdie Edwards with Alan Watkinson

Recently back in touch with the School after a break of sixty years, W. Edwards (Bill) is as alert and engaging as he was back in 1934, when he was Dux of Scotch College. Bill is a natural raconteur and with his razor-sharp memory can recall dates and names with a precision befitting his career as an academic scientist. He moved temporarily to Geelong after completing his degree in Chemistry at the University of Melbourne, taking up a position at the Gordon Institute. The temporary position became permanent, and Bill rose to head the Chemistry departments at the Gordon Institute, where a laboratory is now named after him. He accumulated a number of international honours during his career, but in typical fashion, has chosen not to flaunt them!

Having re-made contact with Scotch after all these years, Bill generously donated his School Blazer and Cap and various badges to the museum, and has indicated his wish to pass on his School prizes in due course. Because of this indicated bequest, we are delighted to welcome Bill as the newest member of the Alexander Morrison Circle – the School Bequest Society. He has found the recent developments at the School to be ‘most impressive’ and, subject to his health improving, hopes to visit Scotch with Gladdie, his wife of over forty years, in the near future.

As an avid bushwalker for most of his life, and lover of fine music, Bill is a delightful and amusing anecdotalist. While no longer able to tend their beautiful garden themselves, he and Gladdie still oversee its maintenance and still derive great pleasure from the work they started around their home 36 years ago.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Bill and Gladdie back to Scotch after so many years, and we look forward to hearing more of Bill’s remarkable reminiscences.