Shawnigan Lake School - Yearbook (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Canada)

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J rib a ted to ( nridtopner l Uindleu cJLonsdale Address given by the Most Rev. H. E. Sexton, D.D., Archbishop of British Columbia, at the funeral service held at St. Anne ' s Church, French Creek. Parksville: We are assembled here today to bid an affectionate and respectful farewell to Christopher Lonsdale, — a valued friend, a man of strong personality and indomitable pur- pose, whose founding and building up of a great school from the most modest beginnings have been a remarkable, — indeed a monumental achievement. He made an outstanding contribution to real Education, realizing that not only should boys receive sound teaching, but that they should be well equipped for the battle of life. He was therefore concerned with the development of moral principle, and the training of character, moulding the lives of hundreds of boys and men, who will always remember him with gratitude and respect. He continually emphasised the need of a controlling sense of duty, the sobering influence of reverence, and the strengthening which comes from habitual self-discipline. He will be missed by a multitude of friends, whose prayer for him today is that he may increase in the knowledge and love of God, and go from strength to strength in the life of perfect service in the great beyond. May God rest his soul. ix tz tz Editorial from the Cowichan Leader, dated Thursday, August 7th, 1952: LONSDALE OF SHAWNIGAN Our earliest pioneers have passed on. They transformed forest into farms. They were the foundation of present day progress. After them came other builders whose group is lessening. Among them is to be counted Christopher Lonsdale. He was an educated Englishman, of the type whose names may be read on our 1914 war memorial. His true bent was towards education, along the lines of what we call private schools and, in England are known as public schools. Many men have visions. Most have ideals. Few are able to put them into construc- tive form . Mr. Lonsdale was among the few. He was a great visionary builder. With practically no funds and facing a host of difficulties, he instituted what thirty-eight years of hard work, careful planning and wise choices, have seen grow into the present Shawn- igan Lake School. School credit might be poor in those early days but its head was known as a man of his word. He kept his promises. He possessed wonderful judgment with boys. He did not suffer fools gladly. At ihe time of the 1926 fire his fine demeanour, organizing ability and thought for his charges were remarked. His wise provision, in 1928, for preventing his school from sharing the fate of so many privately owned schools, by becoming an independent foundation and thus owning itself, ensures that Shawnigan Lake School (Lonsdale ' s) shall continue. To it he gave his life. The years added to his picture gallery of old boys who achieved distinction in war and peace. They carried and are carrying the Shawnigan tradi- tion. In that are the Westminster connections, seen in pancake greaze, Latin grace, red cassocked choir; unseen in character. He gave the school his own family arms, with the motto which Nelson also bore: Palman qui meruit ferat. Freely translated: Let only him who deserves it have the crown of glory. Page Five

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LL WHO have an association with Shawnigan Lake School were saddened by the news of the un- timely death of Christopher Windley Lonsdale on Sunday, August 3rd, 1952, at Penticton, B.C., following so closely upon his retirement at the end of the Lent term. It was known that the health of the Head had given cause for increasing con- cern, but it was the hope of all that retirement would bring the opportunity for relaxation, and with that, the satisfaction of watching the work of a lifetime continue. It has been ordained otherwise, and we who remain have been left not only to mourn, but to praise God for the work which he has done and the heritage which is ours. To few is. given the opportunity, the courage and the vision to found and lead a great school. To many as friends, old boys, pupils and staff, has been given the privilege of sharing in that work. May we all be worthy in our several ways of the trust that has befallen us. The funeral service and burial were held on Thursday, August 7th, at St. Anne ' s Church, French Creek, Parksville, and were attended by a representative gathering of personal friends, old boys, and past and present members of the staff of Shaw- nigan Lake School. The service was taken by the Archbishop of British Columbia, the Most Reverend H. E. Sexton, D.D., assisted by the Rev. E. M. Willis, school chaplain, and by the Rev. H. J. Best, Rector of St. Anne ' s Church, French Creek. A memorial service was held in the School Chapel at Shaw- nigan Lake on Sunday, September 14th, when in addition to the boys of the school, there was again a large attendance of parents, old boys and friends, who paid tribute to the life of the founder of the school in a memorable service.

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Extract from the letter of an Old Boy, Tor Torland (1928-1933): I have just learned of the untimely death of Mr. Lonsdale. I wish to express to those of you who knew and worked with him, as well as to the others who knew of Mr. Lonsdale by reputation, my deep sorrow at the passing of one of the finest and most distinguished gentlemen of my experience. I look back on my five years at Shawnigan from the relatively distant perspective of almost two decades, for it was in 1933 that I took my matriculation. My brothers ante- ceded me by only a few years. But these twenty years, which have had their usual obliter- ative effect on other experience have done little to diminish my memories of Shawnigan and of the Head Master who was the school ' s spirit and originator. The power and clarity of these memories is shared, I am sure, by all the boys whose first glimpse of the School was a long (and perhaps tremulous) vista up the Main Drive — and whose last recollection dies only when they themselves pass. When C. W. founded the School, almost forty years ago, he was motivated — I am sure — by faith in the basic principles upon which I need not here amplify. And one of his favorite biblical texts was that passage in which, on reaching manhood, the relator says that he put away childish things . . . The meaning was clear. But if putting away childish things means to forget Shawnigan and C. W. Lonsdale — then the undersigned is one who means to make exception! God bless the memory of a great man who merited the palm more than any of us. ft -fr Tribute of the present Head Master, Mr. G. P. Kaye, at the memorial service held in the School Chapel on Sunday, September 14th: We are met this morning to pay tribute to the memory of Christopher Windley Lons- dale, the Founder, and for over thirty-eight years, the Head Master of this school, who entered into rest on Sunday, August 3rd, last. We do not gather at this time in a spirit of mourning, but rather in a spirit of praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God for the life of one who dedicated himself to the establish- ment of a great school, and the building of Christian character. There are many here to whom Mr. Lonsdale was a close and intimate friend and adviser: there are others who knew him only slightly or not at all, but all whose lives have been linked with the School or are touched by its existence must share a feeling of loss in his passing. We acknowledge a debt of humble thanks for the great gifts of courage, of vision and of intellect, which were vouchsafed to our Founder in passing on to us the blessings and opportunities that are afforded us at Shawnigan Lake School. The School itself is a memorial to Mr. Lonsdale, but we, by dedicating ourselves to God ' s purpose in these surroundings, can add to that memorial and continue the work which he has begun. Page Six