Twenty Years and Five Headmasters Later

Peter Kaye, C.W. Lonsdale’s successor, dutifully steered Shawnigan through times of massive change including the passing of the School’s founder and a perilous few years where the School almost shuttered its doors due to financial strain. Mr. Kaye had his own history at Shawnigan both as a Governor and a parent who had sent his two sons to the very school he would go on to lead. It is not an exaggeration to say that he, along with many iconic members of staff, including Cy Craig, Derek Hyde-Lay, and Graham Anderson, saved the School and kept it level through perilous times. Peter Kaye’s dedication to the School showed, and when he resigned from his post in 1958, he left Shawnigan in a state of growth and stability primed for the return of an individual who Lonsdale saw as his heir: Edward “Ned” Larsen.

 

Ned Larsen had been a student at Shawnigan from 1938 to 1943, and embodied all of the qualities Lonsdale coveted. He was a leader, smart, athletic, and an all-around moral young man who earned the role of Head Boy in his final year, along with multiple school colours and the reputation of someone who would one day determine Shawnigan’s future. When Lonsdale first retired, Ned was only 27 years old and deemed far too young to take on the mantle of Shawnigan’s Headmaster. By the time Peter Kaye retired and the School began looking for a new leader, Ned was an accomplished young man of 33 who had studied at the University of British Columbia and Oxford, fought in World War II, worked with the Canadian Minister of Defence in Ottawa, and who had paid his dues at the School as a Housemaster and as Senior Master. When the question of who would take over for Peter Kaye arose, it must have been clear that the time for Lonsdale’s handpicked heir had come.

 

During Larsen’s tenure as Headmaster, which lasted from 1958 to 1967, Shawnigan’s student population rose from 169 to 236, with roughly 370 young men graduating under his leadership. Perhaps it was the draw of him being Lonsdale’s prized student or the fact that he had grown up in the Shawnigan way and embodied all that parents and students alike were searching for that made Shawnigan so popular. In his first informal address to the School, found in the 1958 School Magazine, he wrote of the dangers of conformity and the post-war rush to create a sense of normal at the risk of creating a society that was too conformist and with not enough well rounded, free thinkers. He wrote:

 

“The independent school should teach its boys to cherish the right to think and act for themselves. They must be taught to analyse carefully all situations, and to discriminate between that which is first-rate and anything of less worth; and in the final analysis, they must be taught to base their conclusions and their actions not on the requirements of conformity but on a basis which includes only those things which are ‘true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report.’”

 

Larsen led Shawnigan through what was a veritable golden decade. With his departure from the School, everyone was left wondering who would follow in his footsteps, as there was no enthusiastic successor to take his place. Finding someone to take on the role of Headmaster proved difficult until the 11th hour, when Lachlan Patrick “Pat” MacLachlan, a staff member at the School since 1961 and the Assistant Headmaster to Ned Larsen, stepped forward after the man who had originally been hired to take on the role could no longer fill the position. 

 

MacLachlan’s ascension to the role of Headmaster came at a time that was called one of the “most difficult five years experienced by secondary schools in the history of education,” as attitudes toward learning were rapidly changing, as was the role of teenagers in society. He kept the boat steady and over the four years he helmed the School he expanded the hobbies and outdoors programs, introduced art and music to the teaching curriculum, and instituted student exchanges with Appleby, Ashbury and Trinity College School. MacLachlan served Shawnigan dutifully, but it was no secret that the role of Headmaster was not one he coveted. If anything, he was a reluctant leader who did fantastic things in his short time. When Hugh Wilkinson was found to lead the School, MacLachlan stepped aside.

 

Wilkinson was also an Old Boy of Shawnigan, and he stepped into the role of Headmaster as a financial expert at a time when the School was again facing serious concerns about whether it could feasibly stay open. In his own words, he came to Shawnigan “without any of the qualifications or experience usually demanded of a Headmaster” but with knowledge that would save the School. He worked tirelessly for three years alongside the Chaplain at the time, Rev. Canon Horace McClelland, to create a School that would not just survive but thrive well into the future. It cannot be understated the amount of work Wilkinson put into ensuring that Shawnigan was left on solid ground when he stepped aside in 1975. Wilkinson didn’t leave the School, however, and took on the role of Deputy Chairman as Rev. Canon McClelland, who embodied the day-to-day qualities of a Headmaster ready to shepherd students, took on the role of Headmaster.

 

McClelland had been working with Wilkinson since the latter had arrived, and was credited for taking on the “day-to-day responsibilities of running the School as Assistant Headmaster” while Wilkinson dealt with more of the behind-the-scenes work. Once Wilkinson felt that he could step away from the role of Headmaster, McClelland was the obvious choice to succeed him. McClelland held the combined role of Chaplain and Headmaster for three years and would continue on as Chaplain until the 1980s. He was a steadfast character at Shawnigan and helped facilitate the expansion of School facilities and saw the largest recorded number of students up to that point. 

 

By 1976 the enrolled student population had reached over 300 young men, and Shawnigan’s reputation was on the rise. While five Headmasters in 20 years may seem like a high turnover considering Lonsdale led Shawnigan for over three decades on his own, Peter Kaye, Ned Larsen, Hugh Wilkinson, Pat MacLachlan, and Horace McClelland fought for the legacy our founder left behind. They steered Shawnigan through grief, financial pressure, changing social attitudes, and no doubt countless questions of what Shawnigan would become without Lonsdale. We know now that growing pains would continue to be felt at Shawnigan in the coming years, but these four Headmasters helped to reinforce the foundation that Lonsdale had created in order to build up the school we know today.