On Friday Brian Stocks (OK 1965) presented a Centenary 1st XV rugby jersey to the school on behalf of his son Wayne (OK 1994) who represented the KC 1st XV in Kingswood’s centenary year, 1994.
The Stocks family has a long and proud Kingswood history and soon James and Anna, children of Grant (OK 1998) and Lexi will be enrolled at Kingswood. They will represent the fifth generation of Stocks children to attend our school. If one takes into account the contribution of Richard Restall Stocks as a founder of Kingswood way back in 1892 one could quite rightly claim that James and Anna will in fact be the 6th successive generation of the Stocks family to attend Kingswood.
Richard Restall Stocks was one of the four gentleman who, whilst taking a stroll on the slopes of Hospital Hill in 1892 proposed the idea that Grahamstown needed a Methodist Boys’ School. As a result he served on the “Committee of Gentlemen” who met in his home, which incidentally stood on the site of the current Hobson House, to formalize the proposal.
Richard Restall Stocks was born in Bristol on 14 October 1853 and came to South Africa in 1874 and eventually settled in Grahamstown where he started his own business. He served on the school board of Wesleyan Girls High School, was a member of the Grahamstown City Council as well as the local Chamber of Commerce. He was also a director of the Grahamstown Building Society and one of the original members of the Rhodes University College Council. I wonder of Richard Stocks would ever have imagined that some 130 years later his family would still be walking through the corridors of Kingswood! What an amazing association this family has with our school.
It does not stop here and the legacy continues– during 1966 a report from the Kingswood Headmaster stated “A new swimming bath and diving pool are to be built by Stocks and Stocks (Pty) Ltd from Pretoria…..a dream come true. It would comply with the standards required for competitions, have a mechanized filtration plant, adequate changing rooms and seating for spectators. This would be a GIFT from the Stocks brothers Hugh and Mike, grandchildren of Richard Restall Stocks.”
The KC Junior teaching block was also constructed by Stocks and Stocks (Pty) Ltd.
Brian Stocks (OK 1965), son of Hugh has left an indelible imprint on Kingswood in many forms –
- Served on KC Council 1991 – 2004
- Served on the KC Centenary Trust 1994 – 2008
- Chairman of the Centenary Committee 1993 – 1994
- Recipient of the coveted Muirhead Founders Friend Award 2016.
We look forward to seeing the Stocks family spending many hours back at Kingswood in the coming years!