MR. W. J. JORDAN

Grey River Argus, 12 August 1937, Page 11

MR. W. J. JORDAN

t .Visits His Old School > (A Special Correspondent). > LONDON, July 15. t On July 14th the New Zealand I , High Commissioner (Mr. W. J. Jor- - dan) presented the annual prizes at St. Luke’s parochial school, Old St., t London, E.C. Mrs. Jordan accompan- / ied the High Commissioner, t This is an ordinary announcement, i Probably it was 'cabled to New Zea--1 land, as an ordinary item of news. / There is often romance behind an or- ? dinary announcement. Certainly there i was in this instance. 1 Fifty years ago a small boy, Wil--1 liam James Jordan, was a pupil at I St. Luke’s School, Old Street, London, t E.C. His parents had come to London f from Ramsgatg, and the family for- - tunes were far from flourishing, z Many of our prominent New Zealand - citizens trace a similar state of af- > fairs in their family history, though f instead of going to London their prof genitors had come to New Zealand. ■ Young Jordan was sent to St. Luke’s f School for the benefit of free educa- - tion. He wore a uniform with a white > top button. > Yesterday, fifty years later, the • same boy, grown to mature manhood, > drove up to the school in an official 1 car as High Commissioner for New ' Zealand! “Let’s ring the old bell,” he • said to Mrs. Jordan—the same old - pull-bell that his mother had rung 5 when she took him there. School ; trustees, the Headmaster, the Rector r of St. Luke’s Church, and other high officials, received him and Mrs. Jor- ; dan. i St. Luke’s School was “instituted” i (to use the programme word) in 1698. ; According to history it was a Grey- ■ coat School. Afterwards it came to , be called The St. Luke’s Church ; School—St. Luke’s Church is about a , quarter-of-a-mile away, in the same - street. The present school building > was erected in the year 1870. The building has a number of i storeys. The prize-giving function , was held in a large room in the top- • storey, and here, when Mr. and Mrs. Jordan were conducted thither, ine i pupils were assembled. A raised stage . accommodated the High Commission- - er and Mrs. Jordan, the chairman of ; the School Managers (Mr. Enos . Howes, J.P.), the headmaster, head- ■ mistress, and others. Mr. Howes pre- • sided at the gathering. ■ A “red letter day” in the history • of the school was the term the chair- [ man applied to Mr. Jordan’s visit, and i the headmaster, speaking of Mr. Jori dan, said he was the school’s “most , famous old boy.” Addressing the children, Mr. Jordan ; spoke of his pride in the school which ; he referred to as “Your school, my ; school, and our school.” He said they ; had all met or heard of the boys and girls who talked with pride of the - big schools of this country that they r had attended —schools such as Eton, i Harrow and Winchester, to have at- - tended which was so often taken as a - sign of respectability. “Well, I have 1 reached a certain position and when - I have been asked which school I--1 went to I have always answered with - pride that I was educated at St. i Luke’s Parochial School in Old Street, - London,” he continued. “Men are - proud of Eton, Plarrow and' Winches1 ter, but they are no more proud of 2 those schools than I am of being as--1 sociated with our school. (Applause). > “I used to wear the old uniform > with the blue coat and white button. f and after I left I went to work in it. t As I look round my mind flashes back - to many things. To the boys with whom I came to school, all of them i now grown men. To the infants’ de- I - partment where I learned to knit— j t and I can still knit to-day. I have - shown Mrs. Jordan how well I can do f tnat. (Laughter.) I “On Sundays we used to march to . St. Luke’s Church for the service, and - I remember that I used to play the I drum in. the school band. I learnt . many things in that church, and one i of them was something you sang I - about in the 23rd Psalm, and that is . - “The Lord's my Shepherd, I’ll not ) want”. It is not a bad idea to ■> remember as. you go through life that whatever happens, and all sorts 1 of changes happen to you, He has a big hand in it all. ' We can pray 1 for many things, but if we can also - say “Thy will be done” it will all 2 work out right in the end. 5 “I would say to the chairman, Mr. 1 Howes, and those associated with the a school when I was here, thank you t for all the benefits my sisters and myc self received.” s Advising the children on how best , to face the battle of life, he told them s to be self-reliant and to have noth- - ing in their lives of which they would - be ashamed. “Have a clear con- - science”, he added, and, in conclusion t said, “It is often said that children t to-day are not as good as they used - to be. Don’t believe it. All grown-up - people say that, and, as my son pointf ed out to me, if it is true that every j generation is inferior to the one be- - fore it, then what.a great race the ancient Britons must have been. t (Laughter). Ignore this talk of degeneracy'. You will be better than I we were.” / Mr. Jordan then distributed the . prizes, including the three he himself s had presented. e He was accorded a very hearty vote . of thanks on the proposition of the . Church Rector. t Briefly responding, Mr. Jordan n spoke of the pleasure it had given t him to be present, and said that if at any time any of the children went . to New Zealand he would be only too .. delighted to do anything he could for n them. Three cheers were given for Mr.

j nree uiiucio wviv Jordan and for Mrs. Jordan, who herself briefly returned her thanks and the pleasure it gave her to be present.