The RAF Base at Butterworth had one squadron of RAAF Buffalo fighters at the beginning of WW2. During the War, the Base was badly damaged by the Japanese. After the War, it was re-formed, with RAF aircraft using it for raids against Communist terrorists in Malaya. Work on the present Base was started in 1955 by the RAAF No.2 Airfield Construction Squadron whose few dependent children attended either the RAF School at Butterworth or the British Army Children's (BAC) School at Penang. However, in 1958, Nos.3 and 77 Squadrons of Sabre jet fighters and No.2 Canberra Bomber squadron came from Australia to Butterworth with the various supporting units, thus greatly increasing the number of dependants.
RAF School and BAC School
The RAF School had a Headmaster and two assistants; the BAC School in Northam Road had a Headmaster, a DHM and 8 to 10 assistants. Both schools taught only primary classes. When there were only a few Australian children, they were enrolled at these schools, with most of the Secondary children remaining in Australia or being enrolled in Australian Correspondence Schools. However, the British Service component was being scaled down in Penang; the Australian Army contingent was moving to Malacca - only the RAAF component of the Commonwealth Strategic Reserve was increasing in size. The Headmaster of the BAC School would now accept Australian children only when British children were repatriated. At one stage, it was suggested that two additional rooms and toilets be built at the RAF School with some Australian teachers being provided. Neither remedy was regarded as suitable for the 25 children aged between 5 and 11 in June 1958, with a possible increase to 150 by February 1959. A few children were admitted to private schools on the island - the Education Officer, Flt Lt Tom Kelly, assisted correspondence students in his own home.
Minden Barracks
Minden Barracks was the home of the Australian battalions while in Malaya (from 1955), in the foothills on the eastern side of the island. The barracks were made up of dorms and married quarters. Students of the BAC School were moved to Minden Barracks and it was at that time the first contingent of Australian children to attend the school. The Minden Barracks site is here.
Residency Road
At the Base, the problem of schooling soon received attention. With the agreement of the Department of Air, the former residence of the Mayor of Georgetown in Residency Road, Penang, was leased to provide accommodation for an interim school. A local contractor supplied 200 desks and chairs of various sizes as a rush job. Wing Commander Howard from the Department of Air and Sqn Ldr Davies, the Group Education Officer, managed to select eight ex-teacher wives of RAAF and Army Servicemen. Under the leadership of Mrs Dawson, the wife of the Civilian Financial Adviser, Mrs Donald, Mrs Francis, Mrs McIntosh, Mrs O'Donoghue, Mrs Pointon, Mrs Thomas and Mrs Uhlmann took on the task of opening the Interim RAAF School on 25 October 1958, with an enrolment of 150 - this had increased to 177 by 2 December 1958.
Logistics
All children living on the island joined the school. Primary and Secondary children on the mainland were brought by bus each day but the infant children at Butterworth were able to attend the RAF School. Unlike the British schools where classes were held in the mornings from Monday to Saturday, the Interim School opened only on five days, as in Australia, with two afternoon sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Secondary children taking correspondence courses also came to the school; they worked on their assignments under the supervision of Mrs Dawson.
The regular Hercules carrier brought the new lessons from Australia and returned the completed assignments. A little while before Mrs Dawson and her small band of teachers were trying to cope with the very makeshift conditions, a somewhat belated meeting had taken place at the Victorian Department of Education on 20 October, 1958.
At the meeting were: Mr O.C.Phillips, Chief Inspector of Primary Schools, Victoria, Mr O.Jones, M.A., Director of Primary Education, N.S.W., Mr F.J.Green, Chief Administrative Assistant Air Member for Personnel, W/Cdr G.H.Newman, Principal Education Officer, RAAF, and F/Lt C.H.A. Armstrong,Senior Education Officer Designate RAAF Base, Butterworth.
It was decided to provide a school completely separate from the British Service schools, based on Penang Island, and to staff it with teachers from Victoria and New South Wales, with Victoria providing the Headmaster. Classes would range from Kindergarten to the second year of secondary schooling; while children in the more senior years would attend the school, they would enrol in the Correspondence School of their own state with only incidental assistance being provided by the RAAF School staff.
On 20 October 1958, the Department of Air established a more permanent school at 8 Residency Road, with teaching staff selected from the Departments of Education of New South Wales and Victoria. The first headmaster was Mr Harold Bower who, after 2 years of service, left on 11 December 1960. Classes were catered for to the end of Year 8, with children past Year 8 undertaking correspondence classes. Although accommodation in this area of Penang provided attractive surroundings, it was unsuitable for expansion. There were 219 Primary children here by 1962.
In addition to No. 8, the RAAF had leased 4 Residency Road, which was to become the Infants' Department. Residency Road contained many fine, old buildings. The Residency (built in 1890 for the British Resident and now the home of Penang's Head of State) and the General Hospital were two of the most notable. The houses were large with very spacious grounds - but they were not ideal school buildings. The two-storey building at No. 4 had been converted into five classrooms with an office for the Mistress. However the rooms were small and rather dark and the furniture was not suitable for small children, but at least there was a large playground. By 1962 there were 289 Infants at No. 4 and they were packed into garages and offices as well as larger rooms.
By August 1959, enrolments had grown to 345. To give some relief, 10 Residency Road was leased. This property housed 102 secondary students at the time building of the RAAF School commenced.
With enrolments consistently increasing at the Residency Road schools and with inadequate and crowded conditions, it was apparent that a new school was needed.
At the 1961 Annual General Election meeting of the Parents' Association, Mr Nott, Headmaster, gave details of a new and permanent school to be built on the site of what had been a rubber tree plantation.
Work was completed on the school at Jalan Azyze, Penang on 30 March 1962, at a cost of approximately $90,000 - $15.8 million in todays money.
The RAAF School, Jalan Azyze, Hillside, was officially declared open on 9 May 1962 by Mr Critchley, Australian High Commissioner to Malaya. Mr Critchley arrived by helicopter from Butterworth and before a large crowd, spoke of the part the RAAF was playing in fostering goodwill abroad.
The school was originally built to cater for a population of approximately 550 students, however this proved to be a grossly inadequate estimate as time went by. Numbers arriving at the school consistently increased over the years and the school needed frequent extensions and upgrades.
When the school opened in 1962 there were three main building blocks, the assembly hall and attap hut next to the hall (for infants). In September 1965 a new attap was built (Block F) for primary students consisting of 4 classrooms along the edge of the sports oval. By 1966 student numbers had grown to around 750. Initially, temporary extensions were made to accommodate the extra students but permanent accommodation was approved for 850 students shortly after. Also, in 1969 a nearby house was acquired to accommodate the 5th year correspondence students.
By 1971 student numbers had increased to over 1000 and reached a high of 1100 in 1977. Another attap (Block G) was built in 1973 above Block C as more students were expected and again in 1977, more extensions as attap G was made to accommodate more primary students. In 1967 a separate site at Tanjong Tokong was acquired to cater for infant students.
The final design of the RAAF School logo was agreed upon in late 1962. Flt Lt Fearon was closely involved in the detailed planning of the emblem. It was then passed for approval by Air Commodore Ford.
The kangaroo on the map of Australia emphasises the school's roots. The solid blue represents the sea around Australia and the wavy blue and white lines are taken from the background of the Penang State flag.
The name on the scroll gives the name of the school and its location. The red, white and blue colouring represents the Air Force roundel, while the star at the top signifies all the States of the Commonwealth from which students are drawn.
The Annexe was acquired in 1967. Infant classes were held both at the Annexe school, located on Jln Chengai (off Jalan Gajah) and also the main school attap huts. In 1968 there were thirteen classes (approx. 400 pupils - and increasing), with six at the Annexe and seven at the main school.
In 1970 extensions were completed at the Annexe. The school was officially opened on 2nd July 1970 by Senator Drake-Brockman, Minister for Air. Now all infants were able to be together at the one location.
The Annexe was closed in 1983.
To eliminate the less than ideal situation of transporting young children daily by bus and ferry on the long journey from the mainland to the school on Penang, the decision was made to open a new school at Butterworth.
The Annexe was then closed and infants attended both the main school and the new Butterworth School. Although RAAF School had been split in two sections from 1967 to 1983, with the Infants' Department at a separate site, it was still known as and referred to as "RAAF School Penang".
From 9 February 1984, 251 children, 17 teachers and 6 ancillary staff members became part of RAAF School Butterworth, housed in seven buildings which, only two months before this time, had been Airmen's Residential Block 37 and 39 on the Air Base, Butterworth. Mr Lester Waud was in charge of the school.
The new school was officially opened on 20 March 1984 by His Excellency Mr David Evans, the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia.
Mr Col Jackson was Assistant Principal in Charge for the first part of 1984. However he was returned to Australia due to ill health and sadly passed away of cancer within a couple of months of his return.
With the opening of the school at Butterworth, the name "RAAF School Malaysia" had become necessary. However the Schools will always be remembered as "RAAF School Penang".
Student Numbers
No official data appears to be available on the total number of students who were enrolled at school. Curiously enough, upon enquiries made with the Government, the recommendation was to refer to this website!
-Well, based on the numbers available as outlined above, the increasing population, the turnover of 2.5 years and the 30-year lifespan of the school, it has been estimated that the figure would probably sit at around the 10,000 mark.
This is assuming 8,000 as the lowest, adding the short term rotations that used to occur and taking into account growth and shrinkage. Tricky - because we don't know when the major influxes occurred. If there are any mathematicians out there who can come up with a more accurate result or anyone with official data, please contact us.
School Closure
The last year for our school was 1988, with the high school closing at end of 1987 and the primary school in mid-1988. Video of the School Closing Ceremony is below.
After this time, RAAF students attended one of the approved local schools which were Uplands for secondary students, St Christopher's for pre-school and primary students and Dalat School, which although it would not take many Australian students, could be used if desired.
The school building remains as it was, with some painting and slight remodelling. It was used as an RMAF (Royal Malaysian AirForce) training facility and administration centre and more recently, a recreation centre.
Past students and families were fortunate enough to visit the school and wander around the grounds and buildings in 2005, 2010 and 2015 at the Reunion events.
We don't believe that will be possible again and the staff at RMAF were very accommodating and hospitable to us. To be able to visit the old school was an emotional experience and tugged at heart-strings. The building has been repainted and gardens upgraded, but otherwise the structure is the same. You can see the school from the road (Jalan Azyze) and stand at the gate, but you won't be permitted to go in.
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