BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15768, 8 December 1916, Page 2

BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL.

THE LATE MR T. H. JACKSON. MEMORIAL TABLET UNVEILED. The ceremony of unveiling a memorial tablet to the fate Mi - T. H. Jackson J for many' years a master at the Christchureh Boys' High School, took place yesterday afternoon. There was a good attendance of masters, - old boys, and friends of the School' and of the late Air Jackson. The headmaster (Mr C. E. BcvanBrown), after reading' a number of apologies for absence rrom old boys and frienas of the late Mi- ' Jackson, said that he had had numerous letters from old boys—even- from Egypt and France —expressing regret at vne death of the late master: "He was the lit st man friend I ever had," wrote one old pupil of the School (Major Garcia), who, in his letter, paid a heartfelt and eloquent testimony to the character of the late -Mr Jack-Jon. All the letters, .Mr Bevan-Brown- continued, were iu the same strain, and spoke of the true manliness of "this great-hearted Irishman." For twenty-two years Mr Jackson had been a prominent figure in every branch of tiie School, scholastically and .physically.' It took a long time for new connexions to be made, and the . broken link caused by Mr Jackson's death was one which would take a veiy long time to weld together again. Ahvays a most unostentatious man, lie would probably have declined to have such a memorial erected to him; "but," E aid Mr lievan-Urowu, "one must go beyond such thoughts at times, and I hope he wi|l forgive me." Mr Bevari-Brown proceeded to eulogise the late Mr Jackson's many sterling qualities, and said that his death was the greatest wrench he had had during his long-connexion with the School. .Mr \v. \V. Waiton, an oid master of the school, and a very close friend of the late Air Jackson., spoke in feeling terms of his old collea«ue. Mr J. C. Adams, chairman or the Board of Governors of Canterbury College, spoke cf his relations with the late Mr Jackson, whom he had known for a number cf years, and during that time he said, no was ab'.e to recognise the intrinsic value of the man,' not only inside but outside the school as well. For over 20 years a master at the School, the influence Mr Jackson exerted was one undoubtedly for good. The less to the school and tiie loss to the staff was an almost irreparable one; and hi? inflticnc-c would always bo felt in -the ' schoolj and his memory would always -be green amongst thoso with whom he was associated. Mr Adams then unveiled the tablet, the School Cadet -Bugle Band sounding the "Last Post." The tablet, an oblong brass one, is embossed with shamrocks, an emblem of the late master's nationality, and is ? laced jnst outside his old class-room, ts inscription is as follows: — "In affectionate memory of T. H. Jackson, B.A. (London). Born at Ballymore, Co. Antrim, 19th November, 1864. A master at this school 1894 -1916. Died 30th June, 1916. A cultured gentleman, a loyal colleague, and sympathetic master, and unselfish friend." The. tablet was subscribed for by the masters and the Old Boys' Association, while the school boys themselves contributed in a smaller measure.