Geoff Tomlinson has not lived in Bermuda since 1975 but still reads The Royal Gazette every day and regularly checks out the weather on the Dockyard webcam.

He describes his six years here as magical.

He was teaching in Cambridgeshire, England in the 1960s when he saw an advertisement for a teaching post on a remote island in the Atlantic.

"First I had to find out where Bermuda even was,“ the 86-year-old said.

Looking to do something a little different, he applied for the job.

“I arrived in the summer of 1969 with my wife and two daughters, Sarah and Emma, on a chartered VC10 filled with teachers,” he said. “I was told I’d be working in Hamilton but we were met at the airport by Eileen Elford, the head of Somerset Primary, and informed that was where I would be employed.”

He initially taught Primary Five and later became deputy head.

He and his family settled into a little cottage on Long Bay Lane in Sandys. A child in the neighbourhood asked him if he would be teaching at “the white school”.

“I did not understand what she meant,” he said. “I said yes, the school is painted white.”

He soon understood that Bermuda’s schools were divided along racial lines. During his first year at the school he had one Black student in his class.

“But there was more of a mix in the lower grades,” he said. “At that time many of our students were from the bases.”

In 1973 students and teachers from Boaz Island Primary joined the school, making Somerset Primary more racially diverse.

It fell to Mr Tomlinson to ensure the curriculum for both schools matched. He described the result of the integration as “stimulating”.

“It felt more normal for Bermuda to have Bermudians of both races in the school,” he said. “The Ministry of Education organised courses for me to learn more about Black history and to be sensitive to racial issues.”

Changing immigration rules also impacted the make-up of the student body.

“Government allowed Portuguese workers to bring in their families,” he said. “We had a sudden influx of children from the Azores. At the school, we had a Portuguese caretaker and all of a sudden his family and children joined him. And then we gained quite a few older Portuguese boys.”

The new Azorean students did not speak much English but, Mr Tomlinson joked, their arrival improved the school’s football team.

“Quite a lot of talent arrived,” he said.

Sport was one of his passions. As a child he dreamt of becoming a professional athlete and then realised he was not that good.

“I thought if I can’t be a sportsman I will teach,” he said. “I trained as a physical education and maths teacher.”

One of his joys in Bermuda was learning to sail. He got help from a friend called Peter Hill who taught mathematics at Sandys Secondary School.

“I went along to the Somerset library and bought a book to teach myself sailing,” Mr Tomlinson said. “I bought this dinghy in St George’s. Peter put a little outboard motor on the back. To get the boat to Sandys, we sailed all along the South Shore. We got to Elbow Beach and it was getting rough. We left it on the beach and did the rest of the sail the next day.”

Eager to run his own school he made the decision to leave Bermuda in 1975.

“There was no place for an expatriate doing such a thing at that time in Bermuda and so with a heavy heart I resigned. I still have a letter from Sir Edward Richards [who was then the premier], thanking me for my service and stating if I ever wished to return, I would be welcome.”

Back in England he got a master’s in education at Bristol University and became the head of a school in Wiltshire.

“I dramatically missed Bermuda during that time,” he said. “But you are busy getting on with life and the job that you have.”

Then he wanted to see some of the world again. From 1982 to 1987, Mr Tomlinson was the head of the British School in Jakarta, Indonesia. Then for 15 years, he was head of the International School of Basel, Switzerland.

It was there that he met his second wife, Elaine.

“We have been married for 30 years,” he said. “She is a teacher also.”

In 1994 he returned to Bermuda for a visit.

“Little had changed during the in-between years,” he said. “The island was as magical as ever and friendships were renewed. There was more traffic, but it is still marginal compared to anywhere else. I did visit Somerset Primary but I was there during summer holidays. It was well maintained.”

He has since been back three more times; his last trip was in 2018.

Facebook has made it easier to connect with former students and colleagues.

“On the last two visits reunions were held at the Somerset Country Squire, courtesy of the late Donald Hassell,” Mr Tomlinson said. “I was reminded of passing time by a couple of my students telling me they were already grandparents.”

John and Peter Bromby, Allan and Patricia Bernardo, Jane and Margaret Downing, Victor Ruberry, Julia Darling and Karla Aitken are all former students.

He retired from teaching in 2002. He now lives in Malvern, Worcestershire in the West Midlands.

In 2013 he wrote a novel, Pink Sand Parasites, which was inspired by his years here.

“In the book I remember the dark side of Bermuda and the assassination of the Governor and the theft of the Tucker Cross,” he said.

Mr Tomlinson has also published four other works including a travel book on Indonesia.

“It keeps me out of mischief,” he said. “At 86, and with these Covid times, it is unlikely that I will ever again greet my Bermudian friends or feel that pink sand between my toes. While that is sad, like so many other visitors, I have wonderful memories to hang on to.”

Mr Tomlinson would love to hear from former students on Facebook or by e-mail: gtomlinson@bluewin.ch.

Lifestyle profiles the island’s senior citizens every Wednesday. Contact Jessie Moniz Hardy on 278-0150 or jmhardy@royalgazette.com with the full name and contact details and the reason you are suggesting them