London South Collegiate Institute - Oracle Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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VE. Day Letter These letters were sent to all parents whose sons had made the supreme sacrifice. Over fifty letters were mailed to the parents whose ad- dresses the committee were able to obtain. Here is a copy of the letter prepared for the occasion by a committee composed of Margaret Macklin, Lorna KN-'ellington and Mr. G. VVonnacott: It is with mingled feelings of pride and sorrow that the staff and students of South Collegiate wish to express our gratitude for those who have given their lives to make this victory possible. VVe are not unmindful of their sacrifice and it is the thought of this, which must and will inspire us in the future. They fought bravely and well: the inheritance of their noble example will be our inspiration in the months to come as we battle for the peace. VVe are deeply grateful to our boys who fought and died: from their sufferings will rise a new and better world. Abraham Lincoln expressed at Gettysburg the thoughts in our minds to-day. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remain- ing before us-that from these honoured dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave their last full measure of de- votion . Presentation of Discs It was the honour and privilege of the War Services Committee to present identification discs on behalf of the school to the students who left the halls of South after September, 1938, and who had been in the school for a stated length of time. From that day on, every student who joined the Armed Forces was presented with a disc as a token of our esteem. The presentation was usually made in a visit to the home by Mr. W. T. Armstrong. About two hundred and seventy of these were sent to South lads who had enlisted in our Army, Navy, or Air Force. Each was accompanied by this letter: Dear South Graduate: The students and staff of the London South Collegiate, your old school, have noted with pride your enlistment in our Army, CNavy, Air Forcej. We wish you to accept this identification disc as a token of our constant interest in your per- sonal welfare, and in the great cause for which you are fighting. May you often be reminded of your many friends at South! Yours sincerely, COn behalf of the W'ar Services Committeej Presentation of Billfolds On every front in the war, Canadian boys, boys from South, fought to preserve your way of life. Many of these won distinction and were awarded decorations for gallantry. Leather bill- folds with engraved initials were sent by the school to twenty-one boys who had won recog- 20 K nition for their bravery and devotion to duty. It was a great honour for the VVar Services Committee on behalf of the school to send these wallets as a token of our regard. Salvage The South Collegiate can be duly proud of the record it has made in salvage collection. In 1941, under the capable supervision of Mr. C. J. Burns, the following material was collected for salvage, in the school: M ton of paper 150 lbs. of lead and tin foil 300 lbs. of metal 650 lbs. of rubber Numerous old keys For the Oracles previously printed, there were metal plates of the pictures taken. In 1942 these plates were sold as salvage and the pro- ceeds turned over to the War Services Commit- tee. During 1943 and 1944, the Hi-Y Club sponsored the collection of magazines from each classroom. From 1941 to this year there was a weekly collection of paper from school on Friday afternoon. A cardboard carton was placed in each room to hold the scrap paper. Then this was gathered together in the lower hall. The boys who handled this job deserve ap- preciation. However, the ones deserving the greatest recognition are those on the janitor staff. They co-operated to the fullest extent and aided considerably in the salvage collections. Donations of Money The War Services Committee gave the follow- ing donations in money for the war effort from September 1941 to December 1945: Red Cross , ,,., . , 1941-45 - 3528.65 junior Red Cross. .. .1941-43 4 100.00 Queen's Fund... . . H -1941 4 50.00 Navy League ,.,... . ,.....,,........,... . ,. .... 1942-45 - 220.00 Girls' Donation for wool to Red Cross., , 100.00 Money Raised Penny Collections-South Co1legiate's War Services Committee employed various methods of raising money for each year's activities. One system was the penny collection. This was usually carried on in October and November from four to six weeks with each student con- tributing five cents a week. Then in january and February for the same period the pupils were asked to donate two cents a week. Once for four weeks in May five Cents a week was collected. Girls were appointed to collect the money from the bottles which were put in each room. Their collection of the money every night was greatly appreciated by those on the committee. In this way the VV ar Services Committee realized the following amounts: 3216.08 in 1941 3294.96 in 1943 3289.43 in 1942 3221.66 in 1944 383.27 in 1945

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Prisoner of War Parcels Immediately on obtaining the addresses of prisoners of war, parcels containing books, games, pencils, pads of paper, and cigarettes were sent. We do not know how many of these were re- ceived overseas, but we hope that most of them were enjoyed by some allied prisoner. One parcel sent on February 15, 1945, was returned to the school in january of this year. Part of this parcel has since been forwarded to the graduate student upon his return to Canada. Parcels were sent to the following: Geoffrey Ellwood, Wfilfred Mitchell, Edgar Hoe, Barton Auld, john Gordon and Fred Le Reverend. By the time we learned that jack R. Xiieekes was a prisoner, the Government had requested that no more parcels be sent. We are glad to report that all of the afore- mentioned have returned safely to Canada. News Letter There were six News Letters sent from South Collegiate from 1940-45. They had names such as News from the Old School or South's Cheerful Chatter . Every ex-student in the services, overseas and at home, received a News Letter. These letters performed a valuable ser- vice in bridging the gap between the distant theatres of war and South Collegiate. No record was retained of the numbers of the first two letters that were sent out in December, 1940, and May, 1941. The following four years the letter was sent at Easter, in these numbers: 350 in 1942 600 in 1944 515 in 1943 650 in 1945 This shows that well over 2,000 letters were sent throughout the war years. The cost for the letters ranged from 8537.78 in 1940 to 31576.19 in 1945. The first issue of the News Letter was in typi- cal letter form. Other issues were printed and sent in lealiet form, which proved more satis- factory. Each letter contained articles on athletics, musical matinees, air cadets, social life, clubs and committees, and many trivial events en- deared to the hearts of South graduates. On the last page of each copy mailed to a stu- dent there was a personal message from a mem- ber of the teaching staff. The committees which arranged the letters were very capably advised by Miss B. M. Mc- Camus. Committees: 1942-joan Govan, Barbara Gilmore, Bob Hutchinson, Dick McElheran, Ray Reid. 1943-Kathryn Fallis, Mary Markham, Peter Rechnitzer, jack Reynolds, Dave Mason. 1944-Ruth Boyce, Margaret Macklin, Albert jones, Tom Willsie. 1945-Margaret Macklin, Jean Rollo, Tom Spettigue, Ron Mitchell, Keith Smillie. It is regretted that the names of the students who served on the News Letter Committee in 1940 and 1941 are not available. The committee members were very grateful for help offered by contributors of articles for the letters. Christmas Cards To all those of the school on service in Canada, school cards were sent annually from 1941e44 at Christmas. Each card was accompanied by a personal greeting from a member of the staff. The following number of cards were Sent: 259 in 1941 320 in 1943 247 in 1942 335 in 1944 The total was over 1,160 cards. The school did appreciate very much the many greetings received from members of the forces and also the notes in acknowledgment of these cards. Letters From Services It was always a very great pleasure to the staff and students to receive the many letters of appreciation from the boys and girls in the forces. Many of the letters were read in the auditorium to the great delight of the student body. just to prove the point here are a few extracts from some of the letters picked at ran- dom from the large numbers received over the years: 1. IQEN FARQUIIAR, R.C.A.F. It was a great pleasure to read your cheery note and Season's Greeting card. I always enjoy receiving letters from the staff at South . 2. K. S. hlCARTl1UR, Canadian Army. I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for the delightful Christmas box which arrived yesterday. It was a very pleasant surprise . 3. REID WARING, R.C.N. I certainly was pleased when I received the lovely identification disc from the school. South has worked hard to care for the ex-students in the service, and I can assure you that no school has ever equalled it and never will. 4. Nursing Sister EDNA WAUGH. A lovely parcel arrived for me in yesterday's mail from my old 'Alma lXIater'. It was cer- tainly a treat to be remembered by you. Every- thing in this parcel is useful and greatly needed, I can assure you . 5. DoN BALDNVIN, Canadian Army. I am writing a note to let you know that I received the Christmas parcel from the school yesterday and thanks a million to every one of the students. My surprise at receiving it was outdone only by the pleasure it gave me to think that South still remembered me, even after all these years away from the school and London. I think it was most thoughtful and it will cer- tainly go a long way to make my Christmas over here a lot more like Christmas day rather than just December 25 . 6. WILF. LAVOIE, R.C.A.S.C. ' Many thanks for the fine Christmas parcel. You can rest assured that we boys, former stu- dents of South, appreciate and will not forget your thoughtfulnessn. 19

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This makes a total of 31,105.40 during the five years the VVar Services collected pennies at South. Teas As a means of raising money for XYar Services work the committee sponsored several teas. The first, a Blossom Tea , was held in May of 1940. Spring invaded the sober precincts of our audi- torium that day when tulips and daffodils graced the stage and tea tables, and made a bower of the stall where home-cooking was for sale. Friendly chatter to the tinkle of tea-cups was hushed only to listen to the rich strains of the 'cello, as it sang under the touch of Rowland Pack, or to fall under the spell of the lyric so- prano of Shirley Pack in The Clouds 1Yill Be Sunshine To-morrow . Possibly our memory of this first gay and colourful tea party has been sharpened by the contrast it has presented to all that followed. For once the grim hand of VVar was laid upon such commodities as butter, sugar, tea and coffee, our tea parties were considerably restricted. A second tea was held in October, 1942. The mothers contributed baking for sale, and the accompanying musicale did not seem to he ham- pered by war time shortages. By October of 1943 the war was making itself felt. The tea that year consisted of consomme and crackers. The sale of baking was limited, due to the sugar shortage. In October of 1944, the VVar Services tea was cut to cake, cookies and tea. Many of the girls of South assisted the follow- ing members of the staff in these undertakings: Mrs. M. Carr-Harris. Miss J. I. Gorwill, Miss M. K. Macpherson, Miss B. McCamus, Miss bl. L. NlcRobert, Bliss lf. li. Nichols, Mrs. E. NI. Pickett. The XVar Services Committee is grateful to the mothers of the students for their generous as- sistance and support which made the teas the success they were. Matinees Various programmes were planned and per- formed in which talent both of students and outsiders was enlisted. Musical programmes were held during 1941 by South's Orchestra, under the direction of Mr. R. Byles, and the Glee Club under the leader- ship of Mr. R. H. Allin. Donations by the stu- dents to these matinees totalled 3lli39.65. In 1942, with an even greater expansion of musical shows, the Orchestra and Glee Club chalked up 8555.00 for the committee. At this time we were fortunate in having a visit from an artist, a whistling one, who entertained us with many bird calls. He went as far as testing our own whistles, but did not seem overly enthusi- astic about them. However, he was responsible for raising 329.00 for South's Xllar Services Committee. The following year the Glee Club and Orches- tra again put on programmes for our benefit and handed the XVar Service 353.25 Dr. jordan's movies of the Arctic Patrol which netted 3144.28 helped greatly in the war effort. During 1945, our old faithful musicians in the school brought in 3554.20 for the committee treasury, by their excellent singing and playing. From 1941 to 1945 these matinees by the stu- dents and patriotic outsiders made a total of 337693. WAR SERVICES COMMITTEE Back Row tleft to rightbz Owen Spettigue Gerald Robson, Marion MacVicar, Mrs. E. Pickett Cstaffb, Mr. W. T. Armstrong tstaffb, Helen Forbes, Mr. C. J. Burns tstaffl, Jack Noble. Front Row: Jim Hodgson, Beverley Corlett, Miss.M. K. Macpherson Cstaffb, Lorna Wellington, Brock Rachar. Absent: Yvonne Richmond. 21