Ashbury College - Ashburian Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

Page 15 text:

THE ASHEURIAN 13 CHAPEL NOTES HIS year services were again con- ducted in the chapel under the supervision of the Reverend A. J. Poole, now in his second year as School Chaplain. There were twelve celebra- tions of Holy Communion throughout the year, and the regular Sunday morning services were held with Mr. Archdale, Mr. Poole, the Reverend L. Nesbitt and Mr. Brain giving the addresses. The Elmwood boarders at- tended many of the services. On the tenth of November, 1944, the wedding of Hugh Basil Heath, who left Ashbury in 1942, and of Ann Elizabeth Bowman took place. The ceremony, which was conducted by Mr. Poole, was most impressive. Hugh MacDonald, another Old Ashburian, was best man. A special service was held on the ninth of May to offer thanks for the victory of the Allies in Europe. The greater part of Elmwood and Ashbury, including day-boys and day-girls, at- tended on this solemn occasion, and the lessons were read by Janet Caldwell and Edwin Pilgrim. The names of those Old Boys who had laid down their lives were read by the Headmaster. A short and moving address was given by the Brigadier Reverend Canon Hepburn, M.C. Following the service of Thanksgiving in the Chapel a brief ceremony was held at the flagpole in front of the school, at the foot ol' which Janet Caldwell and Edwin Pilgrim, on behalf of Elmwood and Ashbury, laid wreaths in memory of those who had died in the war. Mrs. Buck read a portion of For the Fallen The Annual Confirmation Service took place, according to custom, on the evening of Ascension Day. The Bishop of Ottawa, Right Reverend Robert Jefferson, B.D., D.D., was assisted in the service by the Reverend Dr. G. P. Woollcombe and the Rev- erend A. J. Poole. The Bishop told the nine boys about to be confirmed, who had been prepared and instructed by Mr. Poole, of the duties and respon- sibilities of life, and the principles by which they should guide themselves. Great credit is due to W. Eliot, D. Matthews and S. Pegram, for the time and effort they expended in play- ing the organ at many of the services during the school year. M. Shenstone and J. Smith acted as Chapel Clerks. The lessons during the week were once more read by the Prefects and Monitors, the former read- ing the Old Testament and the latter the New Testament. We were greatly helped by Mr. Powell and Miss Crocombe who came on Sundays and played the organ at Matins for us on many occasions. r

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THE ASHBURIAN Mr. CYRIL WALSH It is with the deepest sorrow that we record the passing of Mr. Walsh, a master at Ashbury for more than two years. His health had been declining for a long time, and for several months he had been very ill, but in spite of his suffering he had insisted upon carrying on with his full duties. It was only by the most urgent pleas that he could finally be induced, in January, to go to hospital. He returned to school, however, in a few weeks, and in spite of entreaties took up his work again, but the strain he was imposing upon himself was too great, and on the fourteenth of May he was again taken to hospital, where he lived for a week, suffering the most intense pain. He died at half-past five on the morning of the twenty-second of May. Cyril Walsh was born in Staffordshire, England, in 1880. He held positions in St. Michael's College, Toronto, and later headed his own private school in that city. During the war, he was with the Department of Munitions and Supply for two years. He came to Ashbury in January, 1943, and taught various subjects, mostly in the Middle School. The most outstanding qualities of Mr. Walsh were his kindness, his charity, and his selfless devotion to duty. His kindness will long be remembered by all of us, but especially by the boys of Abinger, for he went out of his way to be con- siderate to them and did all he could to make their life pleasant. He laboured constantly to obtain funds and necessities for the poor of London under the blitz. But above all he was loyal and devoted to Ashbury, and his insistence upon remaining at his post in the face of his painful illness must largely have been the cause of his death. And surely there can be no finer tribute to his unselfish character than his apology, a few days before his death, for the troubie he thought he was causing. Ashbury has lost-we have all of us lostea very great and faithful friend.

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14 THE ASHBURIAN SCHOOL NOTES IRST of all we would like to thank Mr. Malcolm MacDonald very much indeed for coming to speak and pre- sent the prizes at the Closing. It was a great honour for us to have him on our platform, especially in view of the fine speech he gave. September brought us several changes in staff. To replace Mr. Harrison and Dir. Renny, who left at the end of last year, came Mr. J. N. B. Shaw and Mr. R. A. Smith for Mathematics and Science, and Mr. J. S. Newton for general subjects. Mr. Smith departed at Christmas, and in his place Mr. R. R. Cranston came at the beginning of the following term. Defence and Corps work was crippled by the departure of Mr. Henry a few weeks later, but the boys, under Price, took over the Corps, and produced very good results at the Inspection, an account of which will be found on page 28. During this year several boys who came out in 1940 have returned to England. We will ail miss them, and we wish them the best of luck wherever they may be. Three House Dances were held this year, in the Senior Library. They were very successful and well attended, and we would like to thank Pilgrim and Richardson for the work they did in organizing the dances and providing the excellent refreshments. On October 3 the Senior School was invited to Elmwood to hear a talk by the Rev. Brian Green, vicar of Holy Trinity Church, London, and Chaplain of the Anti- Aircraft Defence H. Q. Mr. Green gave us a most interesting talk on the robot bomb attacks and how they were dealt with by the British. Although there was a good deal of snow this year, by getting at the snow in the rinks before it had time to pile up excessively, we were able to keep them open almost constantly. New boards were this year provided for both rinks, and the Junior rink was increased in size. At the beginning of the second term a new seating plan was instituted in the Dining Hall. Under this system, each table had Seniors, Intermediates and Juniors, and was in charge of a master and a prefect or monitor. The function of this plan was to foster good manners and to cut down the noise at meals. We would like to thank the organi- zers of the exhibition of Polish movies at the Capitol Theatre for the kind invitation they extended to Ashbury. Some people say that everybody loses weight during the term. The Head- master has given us the following figures: from October to November, out of 78 boys weighed, 239 lbs. were gained, and 26 lost. A fine entertainment was held by the late Mr. Walsh for the whole school on the 20th of February. He said he wished to make a small return for the kindness shown by the boys towards him while he was in hospital. It was a demonstration of Mr. Wa1sh's gene rosity and kindness, and we are most grateful to him. We would like to congratulate Mrs. Fraser on her marriage on the 14th of April to Flying Officer Beverley Stevens. We were sorry to see her go, and we wish her the best of happiness. Mrs. Fraser's place was taken by Mrs. Macdonald, who we hope will stay with Ashbury for a long time.