St Ninian's Preparatory School was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

preparatory school for boys in

Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

History

St Ninian's Preparatory School for boys was founded in 1879 by Arthur John Caswall Dowding and Reverend William Henry Churchill. Dowding had previously been an Assistant Master for three years at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. E. W. Hornung was one of the nine boys with which the school opened at Easter 1879. In 1887, the Reverend John William Rundall, who was Assistant Master at St Ninian's from 1882-1887, became the new owner and headmaster of the school, until his death in 1903. Following the death of Rundall, aged 44, ownership of the school passed to his widow Constance Ethel Pearse. Her brother, the Reverend Francis Wingate (or Wyngate) ‘Frank’ Pearse (1862-c.1943) became headmaster in 1906, having been headmaster at Harlington Preparatory School, later Penrallt Preparatory School, Llanbedr, Merionethshire, Wales. In 1910, Constance Pearse died, bequeathing the school to another brother, Hugh (an assistant master at the school), who conveyed ownership to his brother Francis. In August 1934 the Reverend Mr Pearse sold the school to Mr D A Gregory and retired.

Hugh Dowding Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, (24 April 1882 – 15 February 1970) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and is generally c ...

, son of the founder, was born at the school in 1882 and educated there. In 1987, to honour the contribution made by Lord Dowding during the Second World War, the

RAF Association The Royal Air Forces Association (also called the RAF Association or RAFA) is the largest single service membership organization and the longest standing registered service charity that provides welfare support to the family of RAF members. Th ...

in conjunction with the

RAF Benevolent Fund The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (RAF Benevolent Fund or RAFBF) is the Royal Air Force's leading welfare charity, providing financial, practical and emotional support to serving and former members of the RAF – regardless of rank – as wel ...

, purchased St Ninian's School, his birthplace. The building was renamed Dowding House and restored to provide sheltered housing for former members of the Royal Air Force or their dependents.RAFA Sheltered Housing
/ref> The driving force behind this project was Irene 'Sandy' Park, a former

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

officer, and native of Moffat. A stained-glass window (by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lich ...

) from the demolished school chapel, commemorating former St Ninian's pupils who died during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

, can be found in the west window of St John's Church (Episcopal) in Moffat. There is a plaque in the church with the names and details of the ten fallen, among them Captain David Younger, VC.

Notable alumni

* Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding (1882-1970),

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

officer; Commander

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Brita ...

during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

. * George Findlay (1889-1967),

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. * William Gairdner (1873-1928), Christian missionary in Egypt. * E. W. Hornung (1866-1921), author and poet. * George Hunt (1916-2011),

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

officer; submarine ace. * Hector MacLean (1913-2007), Royal Air Force officer; Battle of Britain fighter pilot. * Donald Mackintosh (1896-1917), British Army officer, recipient of the Victoria Cross. * David Younger (1871-1900), British Army officer, recipient of the Victoria Cross.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ninian's School, Moffat Educational institutions established in 1879 Defunct independent schools in Scotland Defunct preparatory schools in Scotland Defunct boarding schools in Scotland Defunct schools in Dumfries and Galloway Defunct boys' schools in Scotland 1879 establishments in Scotland Moffat