Robert Dyer

Robert Dyer (6 March 1808 – 4 February 1887) left the village of Heytesbury, in the county of Wiltshire, England, to voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to serve as a Newfoundland School Society teacher in the fishing community of Greenspond, Newfoundland. The Newfoundland School Society was established by the English merchant, Samuel Codner, who realised the need for educating the poor population of Newfoundland, and other poor colonies in British North America as well. Dyer first arrived in Newfoundland in 1839 and began his career as a teacher. He stayed in Greenspond for twenty years, earning the respect and admiration of the inhabitants and those who met or worked with him. Dyer was also ordained a Church of England Deacon in 1849; therefore, his work in Greenspond consisted of both teaching and ministerial duties. Dyer and his family later moved to Alberton, Prince Edward Island, where he was a minister in a Church of England Parish.

Robert Dyer was born on 6 March 1808 to Thomas and Sarah (Smith) Dyer, who lived in the county of Wiltshire, England. Records show that in 1837, Dyer was listed as a shoemaker in the village of Heytesbury, just a few miles from Chitterne, also in the county of Wiltshire. Robert Dyer's great grandfather, Simon Dyer Senior, had also been a shoemaker in Heytesbury. On 3 August 1837, Dyer sent a letter of recommendation from the Vicarage in Chitterne, signed by a Reverend J. Leach Povey to the Newfoundland School Society, as he wished to serve as a teacher in Newfoundland.

Dyer's application was accepted by the Newfoundland School Society (NSS) and he entered into Westminster Central School for training in 1838. The school was set up to train teachers for England and Wales, but eventually contributed greatly to the training of teachers for other countries and colonies of Britain. The school was created for the elementary education of the 'humble poor'. The training was for masters and mistresses who wished to teach in schools that were created for children of the 'labouring classes'. Dyer encountered some difficulties during his training to become a teacher for educating the poor; however, by March 1839, after about four months, he had successfully completed his training as an NSS teacher.

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