Balmoral Hall School - Optima Anni Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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I8 CHURCHILL tClass Essay! Winston Churchill, of English and American parentage, was born prematurely on November 50, 1874, and was thereupon dubbed Young Man in a Hurryf' As a child and through later life, he hated mathematics and Latin, but loved English and French. At the age of seven, he was sent to St. james School. Once in Latin class, his headmaster ordered him to learn to decline mensa. Winnie, in distaste looked at the var- ious cases, until he came to the vocative-mensa- O, table. Not understanding this, he asked the meaning of it. The reply was, that here was the expression that he must use when addressing a table. Young Winston replied that he was not in the habit of addressing tables. The master, wishing to discipline him, caned him. The enraged Winston then snatched the man's hat, and kicked it to pieces. This brought on another caning. A little later, he was expelled from school. Although he could never do mathematics or Latin, he could read a stanza of poetry once or twice, and it was fixed in his memory for ever! For a few years, he was given private lessons. Then he was sent to Harrow, where he just managed to squeeze through the entry exams. At the end of the year, his marks were the lowest in the school. His father, a pacifist, was even more disappointed in him, when he announced his desire to go to Sandhurst, a military college. Win- ston's plans were to become a soldier, and later a politician. His third attempt at the entry exams here brought success, but by only a lucky chance. Once in Sandhurst, he enjoyed himself very much, for he did not need algebra to become a daredevil in a saddle, and he ended up eighth in a class of one hundred and fifty. He then got a commission in the Fourth Hussars, Then his father died. His father had been Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he had died because of the strong opposition he had plus his weak health. From then on, Win- ston Churchill knew his life-work-to 'light against England's enemies within and without. With the Fourth Hussars, he went to India. In one of their battles with the Mamuds, a tribe utterly pestilential in their cruelty, one of his comrades fell as they were retreating down a slope. Churchill leapt down from his horse and tried to carry his friend off. Finding himself surrounded, he took out his revolver. It balked. He snatched an abandoned rifle lying on the ground and fired, twenty, thirty, forty rounds. In the end, Churchill walked down the deserted hill, carrying his friend! He seemed to have a charmed life, as his friends commented, and this charm carried him through several other campaigns in India, in the Soudan, South Africa, and every- where else. Where the thickest fighting was, there was Churchill. During the Boer war, he was captured but later escaped. But, he also knew his worth, for once, as a war correspondent, he wrote a glowing account about- the courage and resolution of Lieutenant Winston Churchill, of the Fourth Hussarsf' When war was over he tried for Parliament. His second attempt got him in, and to raise money, he toured Canada and the United States, giving talks on his adventures. He tried out several of the parties, Liberal, Conservative, Whig, Tory, Labour-he did not care which, as long as he was doing something for England. In 1905, he became Under-Secretary for the Colonies and in this position he won the liking of men of all colour and creeds. In 1908, at the age of 54 he was married and quoting his own words, he mar- ried and lived happily ever after. In 1911 he became first Lord of the Admiralty. He saw the need of making more ships and supplies, for he saw the approaching war. But England's pacifisfts had their way, and though England's navy was pretty well prepared at the outbreak of the war, her army wasn't. In 1915, he was discharged, and so he joined the army again. During the years between the wars, he was rather unpopular. In this time, he wrote and painted and led rather a leisurely life dreaming happily of the day when he would come back. H. G. Wells once wrote of him- Mr, Churchill believes quite naively that he belongs to a peculiar- ly gifted and privileged class of beings -but this was rather unfair, because, although he had his share of egotism, his chief interest was in the welfare of England. Before World 'War II began, as early as 1952, Churchill saw Hi-tler's threat to Europe, and he warned England of it. But, England slept and called him, A fire-eater, doesn't know what he's thinking of, while Hitler went on making his plans to conquer Europe. And, in 1939, England turned panic-stricken to Churchill. With him leading, England followed, and in him, Hitler had met his master. We all know what Churchill accomplished in World War II. But, in the elections after the war, Churchill lost out to Labour. Now he is back there lighting. Mark Twain once called him the perfect man in jest, but this turned out to be a prophecy, for he has come pretty close to being a perfect man. He brought England through the war years, and if anyone is to bring England out of the rut where the Labour Government has put her, it will surely be Winston Churchill! joan Sheppard, Grade XI.

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gg gg ,gg I7 To be flung in among them! Wihy, it was more than anyone should be asked to bear! Nevertheless, Marta was marched off to school the next day, and put into a Grade Five class because during the past five or six years she had had nothing but a rather sketchy type of educa- tion. Also, the principal thought this unhappy- looking child would get along better with younger, more tolerant children. As she entered the bright room full of laugh- ing, talking children, Marta could feel herself blush, right from the top of her severely-pigtailed head to the soles of her thick boots, which had been carefully polished for the occasion. In her right hand she clutched a shiny new red pencil that Mr. Jordan had given her that morning. The fingers of her other hand were closed tightly around a rolled-up exercise book, filled with more clean white paper than Marta had ever seen in one place before. Miss Murphy, the smiling teacher, came towards her, hoping fervently that her face did not betray the feeling of utter pity that she felt for this spotlessly clean but much patched little figure. She took Marta by the hand, and led her to a back seat. Then she held up her hand for silence. Children, this is Marta. She is one of our new Canadians. You must help make her feel that she belongs here with us. Marta thought, again, that she could never belong to this country. She was too different from these other children. However, it was not up to her to say anything, so she sat patiently through that day, and through the days that followed and lengthened into weeks. She understood very little of what was being said, but one word she had known right from the beginning was panto- mime, The class were putting on Aladdin's Lamp in a few weeks, and everyone was busy rehearsing or painting scenery for it. One day Marta stayed late at school to tidy out her desk. The children were painting back- drops for the pantomime, and Marta stood watching them for a while, in silence. Then, without realizing it, she burst out with, That is good, but you have not enough ,red and black. My father painted some scenes like that. If you let me show you . . She stopped herself, aghast at her boldness. They would think her rude, or they would laugh at her. There was silence in the room, because everyone was startled to hear anything from this silent little girl. Miss Murphy came quickly to the rescue. Well, give Marta your brush, Janet. Come, Marta, and show us what you mean. Marta advanced reluctantly, and took the brush, which she dipped into the large jar of red paint. A dab of red here, perhaps outline this in black . . . there, it looked better already. Marta was overcome by her shyness then and she put down the brush and started towards the door. She found her way blocked by a short little dark-haired girl, whom Marta had heard Miss Murphy call Margaret. Don t go now Marta. If you really have to leave, maybe you could come early tomorrow morning and help us?!' Marta nodded, and Margaret went on. You live in Mrs. jordanis house, don't you? I know where it is. I'll call for you at a quarter after eight. O.K.? Again Marta nodded, and backed out of the room, beaming all the way. Once outside the school, she started to skip, and then to run. She ran all the way home. She Hung open the gate, danced up the walk, flew up the steps and raced oreathlessly in through the open door. Mama, she cried. Mama, where are you, Oh, Mama, listen to me. I belong now, to Cana- da, and to the school, just like Miss Murphy and the other childrenf, It had been so long since Mrs. Haun had heard her daughter laugh that she mistook her shouts for crying. She rushed downstairs, but halted as she heard what it was all about and saw the breathless, happy little figure framed in the doorway. Beyond her she saw not just a path and a garden and a gate, but all of the wonderful, free Canada, beckoning to her child, offering her security and happiness and a future. What else could anyone want? Especially a newcomer, who had no right to expect anything at all from Canada, as far as Mrs. Haun could see, except the privilege of living there. Mrs. Haun smiled, and then she spoke slowly. I'm glad you belong, Marta. Canada is as they sing, glorious and free. And it is up to you to make Canada a better place for your having lived in it. Marta listened, then smiled, and turned back to the garden. Her mother heard her a few minutes later, under the kitchen window. Now, fat pussy, I want to tell you some- thing. I belong to Canada, and it is glorious and free. I don't quite know what that means but . . . Pussy! Don't go to sleep! Listen to me. I must make Canada a better place for my having lived in it. D0n't you understand? Don't you care? I belong! ,Ioan Davidson, Grade X. MRS. MCEWEN: Wfhat is the most important thing about the Mississippi River? MYRTLE: Water!

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2 waning: ,hmm ...X - .f.. CRAIG GOWAN-J. Gladstone, Head BACK ROW-A. Rice, C. Young, J. Patton. FIRST ROW-C. Gustafson, B. A. Harris, M. Travers, N. A. Richards, R. Robertson. SECOND ROW-D. Grindley, M. Tuckwell, M. Gossling, L. Masson. THIRD ROW-S. F1 d J. Smith, M. G ' J. B .tl L. C . D. S 'h oo , 3ll', onnycas e, ousens, mit . FOURTH ROW-D. Smith, B. Sidgwick, E. Echols, W. Bracken, C. A. Fields. FRONT ROW-B. Head, P. Neal, A. Palk. ABSENT-J. Sheppard, A. Jennings, H. Bonnycastle. GRAIG GUWAN HOUSE Craig Gowan House has had an interesting and eventful year. The Track and Field Meet in the Fall was the first House Competition. Cathy Young was the Senior Individual Champion and contributed many points to the House. The House volleyball series came later in the year and pro- vided good sport and excitement for all partici- pants. We were lucky enough to win this series. Thanks are due to all the team members who came out so faithfully to practices and games, making our success possible. Another athletic event of the year was the skating races. Here, credit is due to nearly all the House members from Grade III right up to Grade XI. House points were awarded for entering the races and even those who were not too adept at skating made the effort and entered an event to help our House. Individuals who contributed the most House points in this event were Mavis Gossling and Barbara Head. The House Gymnastics Competition was well supported. Separate competitions were held for the juniors and seniors, and enthusiasm was high in both classes. The Ping Pong Tournament was another event open to all House Members. Here too, points were given for entry and of course the semi-finalists and winners received additional points. Our Sport's Captain, Ann Jennings, worked hard all year and deserves much credit for the good showing Craig Gowan made in athletics this year. Academically speaking too, Craig Gowan had a good year. Each girl contributed House points for school work in proportion to her work aver- age. This proved to be an incentive for the girls, as good marks not only give satisfaction to the individual but also they help the House. A Penny Race always seems to receive enthusi- astic support and this was so in the two Races held this year. The results in both cases were very satisfactory. The four Houses contributed 560.20 to the Red Cross in one Race and 361.56 to the Community Chest in the other. Next term our big House effort will be the Lilac-Mission Tea which we hope will be as successful as the one held last year. We are all very proud of Cathy Young, our Head Girl, who has brought great honour to our House. Our thanks goes to her and to joan Shep- pard, our prefect, for their help during the year. Our House officers, Ada Rice, the secretary, and