Victoria Institution

VI in KL
I visited my sister's home in Penang earlier this year. I had completed my work on my laptop for the night when I noticed a white plastic box underneath the staircase.  I asked my sister what it contained and she replied "Gambar lama". I asked her if I could see them and she said, "You last sekali belum tengok gambar lama ni. Adik-beradik yang lain semua dah tengok. Yang ni je tinggal dia orang dah tengok tapi tak nak (ambil). You ambik lah bawak balik Kelantan". I told her I didn't want to bring all the old photos home but I would look at them that night. I stayed up til past 3 am to select photos which I wanted. I told my sister not to throw away the old photos.

I was going through some old b/w prints belonging to (most probably) my paternal grandfather when I noticed three photos which (I think) is the Victoria Institution (VI) in Kuala Lumpur (KL). What was striking was there were no trees near the rear of the VI building. The photos were probably taken from a hill, nearby tall building or a tower by (most probably) my paternal grandfather.

 

Rear view of VI in 1950s

My paternal grandfather had sent photos of the VI to my father who was attending the Malayan Teachers' Training College at Kirkby, near Liverpool, Great Britain in 1951-1952.

 

The envelope that contained photos of the VI in 1950s.

This was the envelope that my paternal grandfather used to send photos of the VI to my father. The hand-writing on the envelope was my grandfather's. His name is written in the left bottom corner of the envelope. The envelope is of thick waxy brown paper and the stamps have come off. I have never seen this envelope and its contents before. I have only opened this envelope this year (2010), approximately a year after my father died in March 2009. My father never spoke of the VI nor this envelope. He was probably using the photos for class projects at Kirkby.