On February 1, 1886, Christopher Windley Lonsdale was born in the Lake District of England to Henry and Jane Lonsdale. Not much is known about his early life, but we do know that he was the second youngest of five, and like his older brother before him, he eventually went on to attend Westminster School. He was at that school from ages 13 to 16, and not long after he left, he made his first journey to Canada. A census record from 1921 states that his official date of immigration to Canada was in 1904, which means he would have been just 18 years old when he stepped foot on the eastern shores of our country.

 

We are quite fortunate that we are able to track his movements across Canada and his back and forth to England through census records, ship manifests, and genealogical documents like marriage, birth, and death certificates. By 1906, he had made it to Saskatchewan and was working simply as a “hired man.” We know now that this was not the legacy Lonsdale would ultimately leave, and over the years he continued his trek west and towards Vancouver Island. Before he made the final jump across the Strait of Georgia to the Island, he met and married Lucy French on August 17, 1912. In the proceeding four years, the young couple would have their two children, Robert Henry and Elizabeth Helen, and settle on the shores of Shawnigan Lake. The young family would be joined later by Lonsdale’s sister, Mabel, who became the first head matron of the School and founded the music program we all know today.

 

While the conclusion that Lonsdale immediately founded Shawnigan Lake School seems an obvious one to come to, he first spent time working as the manager of Strathcona Lodge. This is the same lodge that would be turned into a girls’ boarding school by Wilhelmina Gildea in 1927, and which one of our own boarding houses is named after today.

 

It wasn’t until the spring of 1916 that Lonsdale founded Shawnigan Lake School and took over the building that previously housed the Dene School for girls which was situated on the Ravenhill family property. Back then, the School was much simpler and only had around 10 students in its first year. From the outset, however, Lonsdale was determined to impart on these boys the importance of respect for oneself and others, good character, and high academic standards. These were the values he took away from his time at Westminster School, and which he wished to emulate for the generations of boys to come in an effort to create what he called the “ideal boy.” Lonsdale was aware, however, that to excel in all three facets was nearly impossible. Instead, he wanted to make sure that those were rather the three ideals the boys lived by and which they could fall back on in times of reflection just as he had. On a more personal level, Lonsdale seemed to value the first two characteristics above academic excellence as he believed real change happened through hard work on the land and in community rather than behind closed doors and with white collar jobs.

 

Lonsdale died in August 1952, shortly after retiring from Shawnigan, where he spent well over three decades of his life. He is buried in Parksville, about 110 km north of Shawnigan Lake.

It is heartening to see that even today, almost 110 years after the founding of Shawnigan Lake School, Lonsdale’s original goal maintains. We still see those core values he upheld reflected in today's students who are often remarked on as being kind, polite, and valuing the opportunities they have as students at Shawnigan. This seems to be C.W. Lonsdale’s true legacy which has persevered through tumultuous times and helped nurture generations of students who we are proud to call ours.