Ashbury College - Ashburian Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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TIIIC 1XSIIllI 7llIAN K it AHIIBI TIQX' I 'I DLLICC GIG I l'l l'.X XV A YOIINIE 60 1976 .

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JACK MARLAND While l was in my last year of teaching in an Ottawa high school. a student of mine who had been to Ashbury commented that l would find Mr. Marland a fair tnan who would listen. This statement is high praise from a student! .lack has been a teacher for 35 years. including war service. and has also served in the Merchant Navy for I7 years between l927 and l943. He has taught in English grammar. secondary. primary and infant schools: in Canada. he has taught in Temiskaming High School and. since I958. at Ashbury both as housemaster and as assistant headmaster. .lack is a modest man with a keen sense of rectitude. During two or three interviews with him. he told me so many war stories worth printing that my original article was two or three thousand words long. The need for brevity and balance and Jack's own sense of privacy compelled me to cut the article down to its present length. But l cannot resist a brief sampling. . . Jack's persuading the skipper to put his shoes and socks back on because the ship ii-asn'r sinking tthe skipper was later decorated for bringing the ship back to port even though the engines had been blown off their mountingsj . . . the wreckage from Dunkirk through which the convoy passed. wondering . . . 26 trips to West Africa . . . the women rioting in a Nigerian village after the British Govemment imposed a tax on every wife after the first wife - it took a regiment to quell the riot. . . ln the early months of the war. Jack's freighter had no guns. . . finally. the ship was fitted with one 4.7 cannon - in the rear . . . when Jack burst through heavy squalls into clear sunlight, there. directly ahead. was a Gemtan sub. . . by the time Jack tumed around. the sub was long gone . . . a U-boat attack drove Jack past Greenland towards Labrador. then. a violent stomi drove the ship almost as far as New York . . . the next moming, hundreds of birds lined the railings . . . while the sailors fed them. a golden eagle kept an aloof dignity high in the rigging. until it left two days later followed by the smaller birds. all heading due west . . . Jack arrested for espionage in Buenos Aires because he went sight-seeing every day instead of drinking in the pubs frequented by British sailors . . . they found nothing . . . Jack went on sight-seeing . . . the final terrible explosion that ended the war for Jack . . . the long months of recovery . . . Roz Marland . . . a new career in teaching. A single anecdote will sum up what this character and this breadth of experience has meant to Jack Marland as a teacher. During his second teaching assignment. at Epsom. Jack was sorely tested by a student called Green who was. at home. being continuously brutalized by his father. A tough boy. insolent. lazy. The labels are almost. but not quite. inevitable. One day Green brought a big. black dog into the classroom. Jack looked from boy to dog and asked: ls he a good student? Better than me! shot back the reply. Then he can stay. He did. And so did Green. Years later, in Temiskaming. Jack. to his own astonishment. met the boy's sister who said that her brother was doing well and added: Your decision was the tuming point for him. .lack belongs to a generation of teachers that logically includes all those men and women who served in the second world war. the youngest being approximately fifty now. l think. specifically. of people like Bill Byford and our own headmaster. These are men. as the poet says. 'acquainted with the night.' who lived not only through the depression but also through what was. it appears. the last of the just wars. ln the classroom. they combine a clarity of purpose and a sense of decorum with a personal touch that makes their dealings with students consistent and compassionate. These ideals require an awareness of the generation gap. one that is keenly understood and felt: an awareness that Colin Wilson says is essential if an older generation is to act responsibly towards a younger one. This brief article is my salute to them and especially to Jack. who has served his school so well. lt is somehow fitting that Jack and Roi Marland will bc living a few doors from Bill and Enid Byford. another richly storied couple. and will be close enough. thank goodness. to visit the school frequently. D.D.I.. MRS. J. J. MARLAND I first met Rosalind and Jack Marland nearly eight years ago. on the day of my arrival in Ottawa as a newly-landed immigrant. I learned that l was to dine that evening with the Assistant Headmaster and his wife. Any fear which l may have felt that such an evening might prove to be formidable was quickly dispelled by the warmth of the welcome extended to me. l at once realised that here was a lady of great charm and all-embracing kindness. That evening did much to make me feel at home in Ottawa. For the next few years l and many others were to enjoy the hospitality of 330 Mariposa Avenue and. later. ofthe Assistant Headmaster's residence at Ashbury. Ros has been an outstanding personality on the social scene at Ashbury. both in her official capacity as the wife of the Assistant Headmaster and. in less formal settings. as a delightful hostess. entertaining her guests with. to mention but a few things. her famous meat-pies and sparkling presence. giving. on one memorable occasion. a most convincing impersonation ofa vamp of the 1920s. When learned to personality. Assuming the role of Matron. she became responsible for the cleaning of the whole building. Day after day Ros could be seen moving briskly about the building. carrying out her massive task with unfailing efficiency. tact and good humor. lf an emergency labour squad were needed. the charm of Ros would raise more willing helpers than would the pressgang activities of a master on duty. Ros and Jack moved into Ashbury in 1973 we know and respect a new aspect of Rosalind's l am sure that the w hole Ashbury community will sorely miss this gracious lady with her constant interest in and concern for others. lt is good to know that she. Shareen and Jack will not be living far from the School: we hope to see them often and we wish them every happiness in their new home. J.A.G. 3