By Vibert Cambridge, Professor Emeritus, Ohio University

I start by suggesting that Norman Cameron’s 1951 book, A History of the Queen’s College of British Guiana, which aggregated existing knowledge of the then 107-year-old institution, “launched” what we can call Queen’s College Studies.

Although a minor stream in contemporary Guyanese historiography, QC is an important institution in Guyana’s social and cultural history. Cameron’s work covers the school’s origins, its deep colonial context, and its struggles to survive in a changing polity. He wrote at a time of surging nationalism. A History of Queen’s College of British Guiana was confident and erudite. It is an important publication in Cameron’s corpus of writings on the Guyanese post-emancipation experience.

Since Cameron’s 1951 publication, a collection of materials that can be considered “core readings” in the embryonic field of Queen’s College Studies has slowly developed. These materials include autobiographies, biographies, compendia, articles, and reflections that have been published in special anniversary publications, including those for the 150^th, 170^th, and 175^th anniversaries.

In 2023, Queen’s College Studies was enriched by the publication of Volume 1 of Clarence I. Trotz’s A History of the Queen’s College of Guyana 1940–2010.

I received Volume 1 of Clarence I. Trotz’s A History of the Queen’s College of Guyana 1940–2010 from my brother-in-law (a “Saints man”) as a Christmas 2023 gift. It has been a well-appreciated gift. This first of four volumes explores “[t]he beginning of change and innovation at Queen’s College.” In the 166 pages, Trotz provides updates, fills gaps, and adds substantially to the current historiography of one of Guyana’s oldest institutions. It is an essential document for Queen’s College Studies.

A History of the Queen’s College of Guyana 1940–2010 is a multi-perspective, inter-generational, insider exploration of the now 180-year-old secondary school. We experience it through Trotz’s commentary on life as a student during the Captain Howard A. Nobbs era (1931–1952) and his experiences as an honors-degreed member of the faculty during the Vyvyan Joseph Sanger-Davies (1952–1962) and Doodnauth Hetram era (1963–1969).

A History of the Queen’s College of Guyana 1940–2010 continually highlights the role of the faculty in articulating the policies and direction of the school. Trotz tells the story of a local/homegrown agency. He traces this tradition back to the work of E. O. Pilgrim, who, as acting principal (1928–1931), laid the groundwork for Nobbs, who led the school from 1931 to 1952. Similar attention is paid to the work of Beckles, who, as acting principal (1952–1953), handed the school over to Sanger-Davies in January 1953. He spotlights Cameron, the deputy principal under Sanger-Davies. Cameron, like Trotz, was a QC alumnus who returned to teach at the school.  Trotz joined the QC faculty in 1957. He served as headmaster from 1974 to 1980.

The insider perspective of A History of the Queen’s College of Guyana 1940–2010 enhances our understanding of the social and political forces and contexts that determined the development of the infrastructure, curriculum, and leadership of the school as the nation practiced internal self-government and prepared for independence. In a style that is truly “Trotzian,” he shares the internal tensions surrounding the appointment of “the first Guianese Headmaster of Queen’s College.”

Trotz’s studied manner and tone, along with his physics teacher’s preference for precision, are evident in this erudite publication. His tone and style could be the result of his years as a QC student (1945–1952) at the Brickdam building under Nobbs. My cohort (1955–1961) noticed him when he appeared on the scene.

I read A History of the Queen’s College of Guyana 1940–2010 through several lenses. They include (a) a Raleigh House student who entered in First Form and was a “general stream” student during the Sanger-Davies era and witnessed the arrival of the new masters and (b) as an active alumnus interested in the complex history of post-emancipation Guyana, including QC’s place in that history.

As a student of the multidimensional history of QC, I consider A History of the Queen’s College of Guyana 1940–2010 to be a significant contribution to the literature: a core document in the embryonic Queen’s College Studies field. This publication discusses the elements that factored into the development of the curriculum that shaped my education and that of a crucial post-independence generation during the Sanger-Davies era.

Volume 1 has succeeded in the declared task of exploring “[t]he beginning of change and innovation at Queen’s College.” We anxiously await Volumes 2, 3, and 4.