Reverend Alfred H Hildesley came to Sanawar on April 1st 1884 from the Bishop Cotton School for Boys in Bangalore where he had been Warden since 1882. He was accompanied by his young wife Alice and three daughters Audrey, Avis and Dorothy. It was not till 1912, some twenty eight years later that he finally laid down his new and onerous charge as Principal and Chaplain of the Asylum . When he came, educational standards were low, discipline was rough and the school grossly under-staffed; there were indeed, only eight teaching staff to five hundred children and some of these quite unqualified. The task before him might well have deterred a more timid man, but Mr. Hildesley threw himself wholeheartedly into his work and, ultimately, was able to overcome these difficulties which had first appeared insuperable. But it was no easy matter. Radical changes in outlook and education could not be effected without opposition. The boys did not take kindly to his ideas, and on one noteworthy occasion went on strike and marched down to Kalka. Mr. Hildesley met the situation with great tact and skill and never again was there a recrudescence of indiscipline.

Academically, Mr. Hildesley was a man of many interests, chief among them being Music and English Literature. His interests were reflected in the School, and the Glee Club, which he founded in I885, flourished under his encouragement.

It was during his long tenure that many of the original School buildings were repaired, completely rebuilt or refurbished and their ageing shingle roofs replaced with more durable corrugated iron. Several new buildings, including the Boy's School, (now Gaskell Hall), the new Band Room and two new water reservoirs were constructed. He oversaw the move of the old School Cemetery to its present site beyond Moti's Corner on the old bridle path to Dharampur in 1886. It was he, too, who first conceived the boys' playing field and in about 1904, "Big Plain", (now Barne's) was born. He was also responsible for the planting of many "hundreds of trees and thousands of cuttings" (sic) all over the hillside, and the myriads of naturalized Dahlias and carpets of Cosmos that one sees every Spring and Summer today, are believed to be part of his legacy.

He reigned in Sanawar for over a quarter of a century and served under three sovereigns. His children grew up on the hilltop. Sadly, one died there and was buried in the School Cemetery. Another was born there and two were married in the Chapel. On his retirement, he was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal for his labours for the welfare of Sanawar. He was, however, too indefatigable to remain idle and, on return to England, accepted the incumbency of Wyton in Huntingdonshire where he spent most of his remaining days. He was of great service to John Drinkwater when the latter was preparing a biography of parliamentarian Charles James Fox and the author acknowledged his debt.

He retired as Rector of All Saint's Parish Church, Wyton in about 1925 and died at his home in Buckley, St. Neots, Huntingdonshire on 19th April 1939 at the age of 81. Evidently, he had been ailing for some time and his end was not unexpected. His was a life given to Service and we pay our humble tribute in these pages.

D.V. Boddington
(LRMS Sanawar 1942-1947)
23 April 2002

Adapted from an article in the midsummer edition of the Sanawarian Magazine, November 1939.