THE RYNO GREENWALL READING ROOM

Wynberg Boys' High School is exceptionally privileged to be the recipient of a large portion of the collection of Anglo Boer War memorabilia lovingly gathered over many years by an Old Boy, the late Ryno Greenwall. Ryno attributed his fascination for the Boer War to his teacher of the time, Eric Tasker, who instilled a life-long love of history in his pupils. Although destined to become a dentist, Ryno never lost this love of history. It is fitting that his old school can now play host to this valuable and fascinating collection.

Generations of Wynberg boys can now absorb themselves in genuine artifacts – real life primary sources. In this collection, we can soon identify with the soldiers – many who were the same age as boys at Wynberg – as they left their homes and families to fight for an ideal.

Together with them, we can experience the grim realities of war; we can fight the fear; we can suffer the hardships; we can share the triumphs. It will not take the modern student long to realize that wars solve nothing and that the futility and wasted lives makes a mockery of the highest ideals. Above all, the modern student can realize that human beings throughout the ages are susceptible to the same propaganda, the same rhetoric and the same tub-thumping which politicians round the world are so adept at today.

This Ryno Greenwall Reading Room will achieve far more than ever dreamt of by Eric Tasker in his history classes, or Ryno Greenwall in his assiduous world-wide collection of memorabilia. May this collection, in turn, spark off further passionate interest in the young historians of today.