Ralph Peterson played the part of Rupert Bottomly. He was the cheekiest of the students, and was therefore struck with the cane the most. His whole aim in life was to come up with a prank to prevent the lesson going ahead.
   Some episodes featured Bottomly's girlfriend, Daphne, played by Alice Creed.
In some later promotions for their sponsors, his name was sometimes wrongly spelt with an "e", ie "Bottomley". However, in Rex Dawe's original scripts, it is spelt "Bottomly".

   Ralph was 11 years old when he started his career in radio in the radio 5AD Children's Hour. His first big radio job was as the bad boy in series, "Following in Father's Footsteps". It was because of his part in that, that he was cast as Bottomly, the bad boy of St Percy's.
   Ralph was 16 years old when the series started in 1936. In his youth, he also enjoyed camping, shooting and general outdoor activities. He was also fond of photography. After the war, he became a well known script writer in radio and television before retiring in Queensland.
   He died in 1996, the last remaining member of the Yes What cast.