Arthur St. George Tucker MBE was the founder and superintendent of the Nonsuch Training School for Boys.

He was born on March 15, 1896 at Sackville, Nova Scotia; the third child of the Reverend (later Canon) Tucker and Elizabeth Christiana (Mathurs) Tucker, one of three sons. Notably all three received MBE – Edmund Richard Harvey Tucker and Leonard Nigel “Dickie” Tucker. The family relocated to Bermuda. At the age of 15 he became an apprentice on a ship plying trade between London and the West Indies. Upon the outbreak of World War I he attempted to join the London-Scottish Regiment, but was turned down due to age. Undaunted he jumped ship in Demerara and after hiding for three weeks in the jungle, worked his way to England and joining the Royal Navy as a gunner. He served first upon H.M.S. Victory and later upon H.M.S. Lurcher where he was seriously wounded at the Battle of Jutland. He was later transferred to the Canadian Navy and invalided out in 1918. In between the Great War and going to Nonsuch he served in the Merchant Marine and was involved in the transportation offshore of the most Bermudian of products made by the Gosling family during the United States of America prohibition era.

Arthur Tucker married Elsie Green of London who had cared for him following the battle. The couple moved to Nonsuch Island where they we put in charge of the quarantine station under the Health Department. Later two boys who were deemed too young to be sent to prison were placed in their care, and Mr Tucker conceived the idea of a training school for young delinquents run along such lines as would turn out good citizens.

Mrs Tucker acted as School Matron, which was a very varied job, cooking for so large a family and at the same time training a different boy each month. Hers was the job of barber as well as nurse, usually after breakfast there was a row of boys on the veranda awaiting treatment for minor injuries.

Mr Arthur St. George Tucker passed away on December 21st, 1961; survived by his son – Arthur Tudor Tucker and daughter Isobel Ann (Tucker) Swan. Arthur Tudor Tucker snr was my father, who sadly passed away on 1st March 1989. For those who knew him, his exploits featured frequently in the Bermudian Press. He was liked by many, but made a number of powerful enemies, particularly when he fought against the injustices experienced by Bermudians by outside influences. Such as personally guarding the Bermuda Cenotaph on Front Street in December 1968 following a series of desecrations and thefts of the memorial flags. The incident resulted in a dramatic move by the Canadian Navy to post a guard (Royal Gazette 09-12-1968 front page – Can I get a copy of this – ours is damaged?). An eviction incident and demonstration about fair rents for Bermuda culminated in a 1969 court case with Stubbs Real Estate Ltd (Bermuda Gazette 02-10-1969). This case was followed by a malicious (unsuccessful) prosecution under the firearms act for the possession of an antique cane gun (Bermuda Gazette 11-09-1969). On both occasions Arthur Tucker snr defended himself in court. More serious was his involvement in a 1970 protest against United States Plans to dump nerve gas of Cape Kennedy (Bermuda Gazette 05-08-1970 front page). But those stories are for another day.