A Boys’ Legacy at QMS
Story appeared in the 2018 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.
BY CAREY PALLISTER, QMS ARCHIVIST
In the 1920s, Duncan and the Cowichan Valley was the home to many upper class British families —retired military men and landed gentry—and Queen Margaret’s School was established by Miss Denny and Miss Geogheghan to serve the educational needs of these families.
After attending QMS (1922-1926) Charles Hoey went to England in 1933 to attend the Royal Military College Sandhurst. He was killed in action in Burma on February 17, 1944. Charles was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military honour, for “gallant and distinguished service” and a park in downtown Duncan is named in his honour.
Hector Stone (1923-1925) and his family have been deeply connected to QMS since the school’s inception.
Consequently, the School was steeped in British customs which were promoted through curriculum, sports, dress, religion, and cultural activities.
Much has been made about the women who have left the School and gone on to make their mark. However, what is not as well known is that several Queen Margaret’s School Old Boys were involved in noteworthy events that shaped Canadian history. Many fought and died in WWII and one was an adviser to the Prime Minister and helped to establish the National Flag and the Order of Canada. Many went on to prominent schools and universities and distinguished careers. Their stories have been understandably overshadowed by the girls, but are nevertheless part of the historical fabric of the school.
Brothers Charles and Trevor Hoey both attended Queen Margaret’s School between 1922 and 1926. Charles went to England in 1933 to attend the Royal Military College Sandhurst and was commissioned in 1937. Lt. Charles Hoey was killed in action in Burma on February 17, 1944. He received the Victoria Cross, the highest military honour, for “gallant and distinguished service”, and a park in downtown Duncan is named for him. His brother, Trevor, enlisted for military service in June 1940. He was wounded several times during WWII but remained on active duty. He ultimately died of wounds sustained during the Normandy Invasion on July 21, 1944. He was only 28.
Harold, son of Arthur Bischlager, the school chaplain and former Army Chaplain, also attended Queen Margaret’s School and fought in the war. He enlisted in the RCAF in June 1940. He was described by his commanding officer as “A very fine type...fair shot and above average as pilot.” He was killed landing his aircraft in December of 1941 at 20 years old. The St. Michael’s stained glass windows in the QMS chapel are dedicated to all QMS students who died in the war.
The Stone family is well known in Duncan. Carlton Stone was born in England and immigrated to Canada in 1908. His business started with a small steam powered mill near Fairbridge Farm and within ten years he operated one of the largest logging companies on Vancouver Island. Carlton and Ellen Stone had six children, five boys and one girl all of whom attended Queen Margaret’s School. The family was very generous to the School, and Carlton Stone, who contributed to the construction of several churches in the Cowichan Valley, was instrumental in the construction of the QMS chapel.
The one pupil who may have made the foundresses the most proud is Conrad Swan. His father, Dr. Peter Swan, was descended from a Polish noble family with the original surname Święcicki. After leaving school, Conrad made a career in the Indian Army and after he retired, he came back to Canada to complete his BA and Masters at the University of Western Ontario. During this time, he developed an interest in Commonwealth affairs. Soon after, he returned to England where he acquired his doctorate from Cambridge University in 1955.
Between 1964 and 1967, Swan was an adviser to Lester B. Pearson on the establishment of the National Flag and the Order of Canada. Conrad was the first Canadian ever to be appointed to the College of Arms and was knighted by Her Majesty in 1994. His fascinating life is chronicled in his autobiography A King from Canada, in which he fondly remembers the foundresses and his brief time at QMS, “The tuition was excellent and the atmosphere civilized.” He and his brother Peter donated a beautiful maple and yellow cedar chair for the chapel sanctuary in 1934.
Peter Swan also had a distinguished career, joining the Roman Catholic Congregation of St. Basil and was later ordained in 1943. He earned his PhD in Theology at the University of Toronto and went on to serve as Principal of St. Thomas More College in Saskatchewan and as the first Academic Dean of St. Joseph’s College at the University of Alberta, a position he held for 35 years. Throughout his career, he gained an outstanding reputation as an educational administrator.
The foundresses of Queen Margaret’s School laid the foundation of tradition and service and instilled in their early male students a strong sense of patriotism and loyalty.
