William Douglas Inniss was one of the College’s brilliant sons and a Master whose memory lives in the hearts of hundreds of Old Boys. Winning an lsland Scholarship in 1896, Mr Inniss entered Queen’s College, Oxford, in 1897, where he attained his BA degree with honours in History. On leaving Oxford, Mr Inniss spent ten years teaching at St Leonard’s and Ovingdean Preparatory Schools. In 1911 he was appointed Second Master West Buckland School in North Devon where he remained until 1915, when he returned to Queen’s Royal College at the pressing request of Mr. Burslem. On two previous occasions Mr. Burslem had offered him a post on the staff, once when the Preparatory Class was established, a post which was eventually taken by Mr FC Marriott, OBE, who later became Director of Education. When Mr. Inniss retired in 1934 there was hardly a department in the internal working of the College in which he had not had a lion’s share. Exactly how much he did can never be put in words, but three Principals and their colleagues and generations of boys could testify that his alma mater never had a more loyal and dutiful son.

Not only as an organizer is Mr. Inniss remembered, but also as a successful and conscientious teacher. A record of constant success marked his work in Latin and English with the three highest forms. But Mr. Inniss could teach almost any subject and he even coached in Elementary Mathematics. After his retirement he became Headmaster of the Berkeley Institute, Bermuda. Subsequently he was the first Headmaster of the Bishop’s High School for Boys in Trinidad. From this post he retired in December 1940, but he was then pressed into the service of the Bishop’s High School for Girls.

Perhaps Mr. Inniss’s greatest service to the cause of education, after his departure from Queen’s Royal College, was taking over the thankless post of Secretary for External Examinations. Here his mastery of detail, his scrupulous thoroughness and his tact made him an ideal officer. He mastered not only the Regulations of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but of many other Universities, some of them not British. A man of the finest character whom one could confidently trust, Mr. Inniss was always ready to help those who called upon him and gladly put at their disposal his vast experience and knowledge.

On his death in 1944, many people in Trinidad, both young and old, felt that they had lost a true friend.