Mr Bennett was a great teacher who inspired us to want to learn Latin. For that he surely deserves to be remembered. His infectious enthusiasm for his teaching, his love of distance running and his dedication to charity work established him as a teacher pupils in the school wanted to be taught by.
He was sometimes ferocious, more often gently argumentative and amusing. His classes were full of laughter, bemusement and learning. He was the editor of the School News for what seemed like eternity. The annals of the school’s history are based on his dedication and elegant writing style. He knew the proper meaning of gravitas when it was needed, and when we would react better to comedy.
There are very few teachers I remember in such detail as Billy Bennett, or ‘Duster’. I was taught by him for only three years of my seven at RBAI, but every meeting with him afterwards, by chance in the street, was met with a kindly grace and what even seemed like genuine interest in what I, as one of his boys, was getting up to.
To Mr Bennett – To Duster. I hope your kindness, your incredible ability to make people laugh and your exceptional ability to teach will be long remembered by those whose honour it was to be taught by you.
The monkey can not do it, because the monkey is standing on his nuts.
