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Shawnigan Remembers
Prefects rang the Chapel bell 46 times as students and guests filed into the Chapel on Wednesday – once for each of the Shawnigan alumni and staff who died in the Second World War, as well as for Pte. Horace Leslie Ravenhill, whose family sold the School site to C.W. Lonsdale after he died in the First World War.
As November Break coincides with Remembrance Day on November 11, Shawnigan marked the solemn occasion on Wednesday, honouring our alumni who served and died, and all those who have fought and died in international conflicts.
“They sat where you now sit,” Head of School Mr. Larry Lamont reminded the current students, speaking of the hundreds of alumni who fought for Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and other nations in the Second World War, in military theatres all over the globe.
Mr. Lamont reflected on Shawnigan’s connection to Operation Pied Piper, which evacuated hundreds of British children to schools in Canada, including Shawnigan. Among those who came to Shawnigan through that program was David Trafford-Roberts, now 99, who attended Shawnigan’s 110th anniversary event at Canada House in London earlier this year. In the years after he attended Shawnigan, he too became an officer in the British Army, rising to the rank of colonel. Mr. Lamont also spoke about Honorary Canadian Air Force Colonel Gerald Haddon ’60, a grandson of John A.D. McCurdy, an aviation pioneer who was the first Canadian issued a pilot’s licence and later served as Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1947 to 1952. Col. Trafford-Roberts and HCol. Haddon were unable to attend the service themselves, but were invited to watch the livestream.
Grade 10 student Liv C. spoke about both the recent tragedy at CFB Wainwright, in which four Canadian soldiers were killed, and her own family’s long history in the armed forces – her great-grandfathers served in the Sikh Regiments of the British Army in both world wars, and her father spent 20 years in the British Army – as she announced the creation of the Lt. William S. Ferguson Scholarship that will provide financial aid to a military family. William Stewart Ferguson ’28 (Old School) joined the RCMP after graduating from Shawnigan, then enlisted in the Canadian Army after the Second World War broke out, following in the footsteps of his father, Thomas, who fought in the First World War and was killed in the Battle of the Somme. Lt. Ferguson took part in the D-Day Normandy Landings as a member of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. He was killed two days later, one of more than 150 Canadian prisoners of war who were murdered by the Hitler Youth in the two weeks after D-Day.
Lt. Ferguson is buried in the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, a short distance from Juno Beach, where the Canadian Forces landed on D-Day. Shawnigan’s motto, Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat, is etched on his gravestone.
The Canadian war poem “In Flanders Fields” was read by esteemed guest Capt.(N) Douglas Layton, Commander of CFB Esquimalt.
Shawnigan was invited this year to participate in Operation Remembrance, in which students from schools across the country produce films that are released over the first 11 days of November. Mingyo K. led the Shawnigan group that created a film about John Lander ’24 (Old School), the only Olympic gold medallist from Great Britain to die during the Second World War. Shawnigan’s film was released by Operation Remembrance on Thursday, but students and guests, including John’s granddaughter, Susan Kitchel, were able to view it during Wednesday’s Chapel service. Six students and three staff members will be travelling to Ottawa next week for the national Remembrance Day service.
Prayers of peace were presented by six students in English as well as their own native languages, Grade 9 student Liam M. read a portion of the First World War-era poem “For the Fallen," and Mr. Lamont recited the message from the School’s cenotaph, then the service moved to the Quad for the outside portion.
After a prayer from School Chaplain Rev. Ruth Dantzer, the flag was lowered to half-mast, and the colour party proceeded through the Quad. The Roll of Honour was read as Grade 8 students placed a poppy on a cross for each fallen alum and staff member. “The Last Post” was played by Grade 12 student Leo H., followed by two minutes of silence, and the playing of “Reveille.”
Wreaths were laid at the cenotaph on behalf of Shawnigan students, the RCMP, Shawnigan Lake Montessori, the Lt. William Ferguson Scholarship, families of the fallen, Indigenous veterans, Thunder Rugby, alumni in the Armed Forces, Model UN and international students, South African Armed Forces, RCAF and US Air Force, British Armed Forces, Malahat Legion, Shawnigan Parents Association, Shawnigan staff, and Canadian Armed Forces veterans.
The service ended with the singing of “O Canada,” led by Grade 11 student Maddex King, and the reading of the Kohima Epitaph by Grade 12 student Liam C.
This year’s Remembrance Day service drew a record number of more than 60 guests, including John Pearkes ’49 (Lake’s), the 95-year-old son of Major General George Pearkes, Victoria Cross recipient from the Battle of Passchendaele and Lieutenant Governor of B.C. from 1960 to 1968, and family members of Major Kenneth S. Osler ’26 (Old School), who died in France in 1944, less than a week after the D-Day landings.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 12 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
