50 years of VSO: The Philippines in the 60s
In 1964, 18-year-old Bernard Waddingham swapped Mount St Mary’s College near Sheffield for Maryknoll Academy in the Philippines, where he spent almost a year sharing skills in the classroom. He also formed friendships strong enough to survive the forty years that passed until he could return to the Philippines. Here he describes his first day as a teacher and shares some of the treasured momentoes that inspired two members of his family to follow in his footsteps.
‘An adopted son’
October 1965 saw VSO volunteer Bernard Waddingham appearing on the front page of Maryknoll Academy’s newspaper, a young man in Buddy Holly glasses shyly addressing colleagues at his leaving party. The caption underneath promises that ‘Maryknoll never forgets an adopted son and she will welcome Bernard warmly if he ever finds it possible to return.’
In 2005 Bernard did return. Forty years had passed but his friends at Maryknoll remembered their promise and lived up to it. ‘My wife Margaret and I were invited by the graduating class of 1965 to join them for their ruby anniversary weekend,’ says Bernard. ‘It included presentations, parlour games, singing and cabaret – Filipino hospitality is tremendous!’
Among Bernard’s former students were Ramon Talaga, now the mayor of the town Bernard lived in, and Ricardo Pascua, an eminent businessman. Both were stunned when Bernard produced his pristine 1965 yearbook, and both wrote messages next to the photographs of their 16-year-old selves: ‘so good of you to have kept this all these years! Welcome home.’
A new face at Maryknoll Academy
Bernard arrived at Maryknoll in November 1964. He had turned 18 just two months earlier. Apart from a family holiday to Austria the previous summer, he hadn’t been abroad before. ‘But I wasn’t nervous,’ he recalls. ‘VSO was an exciting adventure. I was to teach maths, religion and English, and I remember my first day: I was still jet lagged, but I had to stand up in my school blazer and address the whole school – around 1000 students.’
Despite his lack of teaching experience, Bernard proved to be a valued addition to the school. ‘Mr Waddingham’s manner is extremely pleasant, combined with a no-nonsense approach which gives a very virile tone to the class,’ reads a carefully typed teaching report from January 1965. ‘Mr Waddingham’s return to England will be Maryknoll’s loss!’
Also among Bernard’s mementos is a set of perfectly preserved letters from his students dated September 1965, just before he left. ‘This is a simple epistle to express to you my appreciation for the good service which you gave to me during the last ten months,’ writes Plaribel Manlogon. That ‘good service’ included introducing football to the school. ‘I didn’t teach them all the rules, but we got by,’ says Bernard. ‘It was a great way to get to know the pupils.’
Spreading the word back in the UK
His adventure in the Philippines over, Bernard returned to the UK and took up his place at Sheffield University. Here he and some fellow VSO returned volunteers set up a student union society called The International Service Information Group. ‘We stressed the need for graduates in developing countries, and gave advice about working overseas,’ explains Bernard. ‘I like to think we inspired many students to volunteer.’
Bernard’s enthusiasm for his year in the Philippines ensured that volunteering with VSO would run in the family. He inspired both his daughter Rosemary and his niece Clare to volunteer with VSO, in China and Nepal respectively. ‘Hearing Dad’s stories about the Philippines really captured my imagination when I was growing up,’ says Rosemary. ‘So doing VSO was the obvious next step when I left university – and I’m glad I did, because volunteering in China was a great experience.’