student-run Field Sports Committee organised all sport- ing arrangements and, in 1892, creating a prefect body of 24 positions. These prefects would be made to read Gilkes an essay once a week in the Masters’ Library, again demonstrating his dedication to boys’ individual self- assurance. These efforts bore fruit, with Dulwich students being described as the ‘Yankees of the public schools’ in a 1903 magazine article, conveying their reputation for self-confidence.
boys playing women’s roles. Additionally, he famously announced that he would ‘rather see a Prefect dead than hear him swear’, and detested abbreviations such as ‘exam’. The Master also banned lawn tennis and frowned upon performances of Chopin, as these activities appar- ently focused too much on the individual, which seems odd, given his focus on individual efforts and self-reliance in other fields. Finally, Gilkes deemed contemporary art to be ‘decadent’, withdrawing much of the support Carver had allocated to the Art Department. While some of his views may certainly be judged harshly from a modern perspective, Gilkes’s complete focus on and support of the students of Dulwich is indisputable. He made sure to speak to every pupil individually and would, from time to time, take over classes without warning. The Master helped to shape Dulwich’s ‘soul’, kicking off the College’s tradition of independence and confidence amongst its student body. ◉
Gilkes championed personal discipline and independence
Nevertheless, Gilkes’s muscular Christianity and Victorian attitude comprised some less endearing characteristics. For example, the Master put an end to Carver’s tradition of a school play, citing three main reasons: it was a waste of time, reading reviews made actors puffed up, and (per- haps suggesting an attitude of misogyny) Gilkes disliked
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THE ALLEYNIAN 712
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