The Diamond Jubilee of the Class of 1956
The Class of 1956 celebrated their Diamond Jubilee by holding a Gala Dinner on The 17th November and publishing a special Journal with over 50 articles with photos dated back almost 70 years.
In 1951, 120 war babies were admitted into Form1 of St Louis. 72 of them completed their studies and left the School as the Class of 1956 which was the Year of the Golden Money, hence the Class could be aptly called the Class of Golden Moneys. In preparing the celebrations, the Organising Committee which was set up in August last year, were able to contact 55 classmates, inclusive of 16 who left the School prior to 1956.
Gala Dinner 17th November
34 local and overseas classmates signed up, out of which 25 with 14 family members turned up, some having not seen one another over half a century. There were also 9 guests, totalling 48 participants at the tables. The Rector of the School, Fr. Matthew Chan blessed the party and delivered two rousing speeches. All guests stayed till the end of the party concluded at 10.30pm, well beyond the bed times of two very special guests, Fr. Bogadek(87) and 羅淦基書記(92), the later had not attended any social functions in the past ten years but said he would be looking forward to our next one. It was a memorable gathering on a very special milestone that touched the hearts of many, felt likely to be the last of its kind. A few selected photos captured the scenes and spirits of the evening.
Special Journal
The Organising Committee solicited articles, photos from the 55 classmates more than a year ago, and in July asked for financial contributions for the production of the Journal. 31 classmates submitted over 50 articles and hundreds of photos to produce a 136 page Journal free of any advertisement. The words and images paid attributes to the teaching staff, dominantly Fathers and Brothers, a phenomena that was unmatched and admired by the boys of later years; recalled the happy schooldays and excitements of going through life filled with the Spirits of St Louis; and remembered the priests, teachers, and schoolmates who have left. There was also the Personal War Diary by The Very Rev. Father Bernard Tohill who was the Form 5 A Form Master in 1956, which has been regarded as a valuable account of the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong by an author out to help the sufferers without condemning the wrong doers. The Journal has been well received. SLOBA and the School Authorities had respectively requested to use some of the information and images for wider circulation and for the School’s 90th Anniversary’s Celebrations next year.
26 Classmates donated HK$42,600 for the production of the Journal against our target of raising HK$20,000. Any surplus will be donated to the School when the final accounts are settled.
We are very pleased that our Class’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations had been satisfactorily concluded, and shall be happy to pass on some of our experiences to the later classes for staging your own celebrations. But hurry as we can't wait forever.