Again and again this term, COVID-19 has forced us to to reimagine our Shawnigan traditions and routines and has proven to be a gateway to new ideas, initiatives and opportunities.

For example, I was hugely proud of how the Shawnigan community delivered Shawnigan Remembrance Day 2020 Reimagined on the 11^th November.

With COVID-19 restrictions observed, we managed to re-design and deliver a deeply moving event on campus with students taking the lead and initiative in their respective boarding houses and then gathering in the Quad, as cohorts, to observe a newly imagined ceremony of remembrance. The students and staff stood in respectful silence as the Colour Party processed from Marion Hall to the flagpole where the Canadian flag stood at half mast. As the Chapel bell rang out 45 times for the fallen Shawnigan alumni and staff, Grade 8 students placed poppies on 45 named crosses on the grass. Honouring the past yet embracing change, so many students and staff have asked me if we can continue with this new tradition next year!

 

With this in mind, I would like to honour the initiative of the Shawnigan War Memorial Society, first struck by William (Bill) G. H. Roaf ’25, former Chair of the Board, in 1953 and set about creating a memorial / cenotaph in the garden at the base of the flagpole, around which we can lay wreaths in future Remembrance Day ceremonies.

 

We have a Roll of Honour (updated a year ago), an educational section in the School Museum which tells the individual stories of the fallen, and the highly informative ‘Shawnigan and the War’ by Ramsay Milne ’39 (Lake’s). However, we believe that our annual Remembrance Day would be deeply enriched if we had a small memorial / cenotaph outside as well. This would enable us to invite many more guests from our local community to attend on 11^th November (post pandemic) and would also serve as an educational beacon for generations of Shawnigan students as they walk past the flag pole.

 

If you are interested in supporting this initiative, please do get in touch with Hilary Abbott, Advancement Associate. We have set up a staff team of Lynne Grass (Shawnigan staff since 1989), Rosemary Dolman (1995), Hilary Abbott (1992-1997, 2017) and Rhod Samuel (1993) who are passionate about developing this project. They are in the process of drawing up a cenotaph design with an inscription.

 

With best wishes

Richard D A Lamont

Headmaster