The Teachers of ACS
This is the staff of the Anglo-Chinese School (ACS), Ipoh.
Could anyone tell us the year (a rough guess would do too)? And, perhaps if you can remember these teachers – we’d love to hear from you 
I’m sure some of you ACS-alumni out there are already searching your ‘database’!
We thank Joshua Anantham for sending us this photograph.
If I am not mistaken this should be in the 50s or 60s with Rev. Kesselring as principal. The lady in cheongsam is Miss Ng Chooi Ming (sister of Dr. Ng Yuk Hing and Ng Pak Hing (also a teacher in ACS in the 50s and possibly up to the 70s). Miss Ng later headed Klang MGS before Miss Tye Soh Sim took over (Mrs. Eddy Chin by then). Mr. D.R. Deniel is seated on the extreme right. He went on to head various ACSes in Malaya.
The short lady standing on the extreme right in the 2nd row is the school clerk and next to her is Mr. Aw Boon Jin. Mr. Wong Hen Lin (Art Teacher I mentioned before) is sitted on the extreme left. Mr. Quah Guan Teik (striped tie) on the 2nd row was the teacher who took us on Geographical trips all over Malaya.
The other white man at the last row must be Mr. Tom Brown, hostel master at that time. Horley Hall boys would be able to date this picture accurately with this information.
Thanks for putting this up. Some of these teachers were simply great!
It’s a 1954 photograph. Glad it’s up for all to see. Thank you Ipoh World. God bless you all.
Is it Mr P. Subramaniam seated second on the left? I note Mr Chai Ah Chee (clerk)standing on the last row, 2 places before the Indian gentleman. The lady in Cheongsam is also a school clerk, Ms Chong. And if i am not wrong, it does look like Mr Rasathurai right in the centre of the last row (sixth from left).
Next to Ms.Chong (clerk) is Mr. Chin Ah Khoon. Next (right) of Mr. Quah is Mr. Chan Tuck Wah (Industrial Arts teacher), beside Mr. Quah (his left) is Mr. Foong Soon Leong and next to him is Mr. James Appadurai. The 2nd person in the 2nd row is Mr. Balagopal (I wrote about him in another blog here). The man in blaack coat is Mr.Nagara. Could it be Mr. Moriera next to Mr. D.R. Daniel?
you’re welcome, Joshua.
Valiant Knight and Lam Yuen Yi, thanks for putting some names to the faces!
To add on to those identified above, in the extreme left of the 2nd row looks like Mr. Oh Boon Lian. Also in the second row, 4th from the left is the late Mr. Devadason who was my form teacher in Form 5 in 1961. He taught English and taught Latin to me and others when we were in Form 2. He will ask us to conjugate and if we do not know, he would punch us. We discovered he was an amateur boxer in his younger days. Unfortunately, we could not complain like nowadays.
In the 3rd row to the extreme right, was another clerk, I think it was Mr. Maniam. On the same row, 6th from the right is Mr. Lee Hoo Keat. On the extreme left is Mr. Yeoh Eng Soon. 3rd from the right is Mr. Boler, if I am not mistaken.
On the back row next to Mr. Yeoh Eng Soon was Mr. Low Kum Whye He was one of my science teacher. At the other end of the row next to Mr. Chai Ah Chee was I think Mr. Wong Soon Leong. In the same row to the left of Mr. Lee Hoo Keat was Mr. Thomas Brown who was also the school library director. Mr. Brown’s wife passed away recently.
Sitting in the front row between Miss Ng and Mrs. Kesselring was Rev. Paul Athimuthu. He went to Tanjong Malim to be the principal of the Methodist School.
Hi ex-ACS guys, here’s my 2 sen worth:
Front row, L to R:
Wong Hean Lin, P Subramaniam, Ng Chooi Ming, Rev. Paul Athimuthu,
unknown, Gong Nie Kong, principal Ralph Kesselring, unknown, Nagara, unknown, Moreira, D R Daniel.
Second row, L to R:
Oh Boon Lian, K Balagopal, unknown, Percy Devadason, Wong Tuck Wah, Quah Guan Teik, Yeong Ah Soo, James Appadurai, Balraj (?), Chin Ah Koon, Aw Boon Jin, office clerk.
Back row, L to R:
Yeoh Eng Soon, Low Kum Whye, David Boler, unknown, Fong Soon Leong, R Rasathurai, Lee Hoo Keat, unknown, Lee Kwok Koon (?), Wong Cheong Choon, Chief clerk Chai Ah Chee, unknown.
Many have passed on, while a few are now in their 80s eg, P Subramaniam, Lee Hoo Keat and Fong Soon Leong all of whom you might collide into if you find yourself in Canning Garden.
Mrs Lee whom I meet occasionally does not seem to look a day older than when she taught me English in 1955.
Mrs Audrey Fong was for many years principal at Tenby School, Brash Road and passed on January 2010.
I was told this anecdote by a retired teacher of English.
Someone who had never met her before had reason to do so. She became perplexed when she could not see anyone in the office who could possibly be a ‘Mrs Audrey Fong’ until the principal, seeing the visitor’s puzzlement, introduced herself. If you go to this link, you’ll soon know the reason for said visitor’s predicament
http://ipohecho.com.my/v2/2010/01/25/a-tribute-to-audrey-fong/
And if it was ’54, it must have been taken shortly after principal Paul K Snead’s death in one of those Comet crashes, to be succeeded by Ralph Kesselring.
For trivia about the 2 expatriate principals, pls see post #12 at http://www.ipohworld.org/blog/?p=2117
IIRC Gong Nie Kong became HM in Sitiawan.
Most of them had passed on. Their dedication and contributions to education in ACSI were exemplary which you don’t see much now.
Boon Lian and Hooi Keat are still living in Ipoh.
Mr Lee Hoo Keat taught us Maths in ”79. He was a fantastic teacher. I still remember the whole clases got distinction and high distinction except one person.
Mr. Wong Yew Kee, the carpentry teacher is standing at the back 4th. from right; Front row: Mr. S. T. Paul (3rd.) Enche Hamid (4th), Bahasa teacher, Mr. Balraj (9th). Mathematics teacher,The lady sitting in the front (5th. from left) is Miss Josephine Foss, an English teacher.