Originally published in The Gateway Issue No. 44 (January 2013)
Alexander Casimir L’Angellier was born in Singapore on May 5th 1900. He belonged to a highly-respected, long-standing Catholic family. After receiving his early education in St Joseph’s Institution, Singapore, he was among the first aspirants to join the De La Salle Brothers at the newly opened Juniorate and Novitiate in Kuala Lumpur, in 1916. He took the Brother’s habit in 1918 taking the name Casimir and then continued with his religious formation and studies in Penang.
After his religious and pedagogical training, he taught with success in Singapore and Malaysia. In due course he was made school Principal, a post he held for more than 20 years.
He was Principal of St George’s School, Taiping, Malaysia, from 1947 to 1952 and of St Paul’s, Seremban, Malaysia, from 1954 to 1959. In St Paul’s he presided over the celebrations for the school’s Golden Jubilee in 1949. The school had reached its full capacity and was bursting at the seams. The Brothers decided that it was time to split the school into two campuses. This involved the building of a new secondary school on a site called Mont La Salle. Brother Casimir was the man for the job and he had the joy of witnessing the opening of the new school on the 27th June 1959. It was also during this period that he was awarded with the Pingat Jasa Kebangsaan (PJK), in recognition of his contribution to education. In both St George’s and St Paul’s, Brother Casimir was admired and well-liked by all the school community.
Brother Casimir was a sound religious and a kind-hearted and understanding Principal. He was also a scholarly man. He could teach almost every subject with remarkable success. He wrote extensively. He wrote plays and operettas for the younger students as well as articles and features for religious magazines. He also wrote a series of textbooks on Scripture which were widely used in schools and are still in circulation today.
In the twilight of his career, he was posted to Hong Kong, arriving at La Salle College on the 14th December 1969. Initially he was sent to help Brother Paul Sun in the recently opened St Joseph’s Anglo-Chinese School. His health was not robust and he gradually moved to helping Brother Henry Pang at La Salle Primary School.
On the occasion of the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Brother Casimir, his friend Brother Anthony McNamara had this to say:
“A teacher's life is not always an inspiring one. A teacher, and especially an old teacher, is often referred to as Mr. Chips, and for those of us who have read the book, or seen the film, we know that James Hilton's hero was endearing as a character, but a failure as schoolmaster. The teacher spends his life goading others to a success that he himself does not attain, and to which perhaps he does not aspire. He seldom exhibits the infallibility he is supposed to possess. The smarter pupils for whom he prophesies a brilliant future often disappoint him, and the lazier and more backward ones for whom he foretells a future of misery sometimes end up as millionaires. When a boy is successful in the exam he claims all the glory, but if he fails it is the teacher who reaps the blame. Teachers never get decorated. Headmasters do, and if a teacher does get signaled out for commendation it is not for teaching. With age he is expected to suffer from pedago¬gical rust and academic dry-rot. A colleague who was celebrating his 40th anniversary in the profession was asked what he considered was his greatest achievement in those forty years. He replied that without a doubt it was the fact that he had survived.
This is a very depressing picture, but it changes, and changes completely the minute a teacher survives fifty years. Then he becomes a hero, he is feted, toasted, wined and dined, is congratulated by colleagues, pupils and friends, and on this occasion he gets honourable mention in the press. That is what has happened to Bro. Casimir, and that is why we are gathered here to-day. Not only has he survived fifty years in a teaching Institute, he is still going strong.
I first met Brother Casimir in 1925, in Taiping, Malaysia, then a very peaceful town as it had the largest jail, and with all the law-breakers inside, the rest of us lived in peace outside. Since then I have been associated with him. Sometimes we were teaching in the same school, and if we were not, we had many opportunities of meeting, and even outside of Malaya we cannot keep out of each other's way. This good man is ubiquitous. At the opening of a teachers' training college at Manchester, the clerical looking gentleman that helped me to get a cup of tea turned out to be Brother Casimir. I also met him cycling along a snowy road in England coming from the remote village of Coton, and on another occasion we met in Rome. I once went to Kai Tak airport (Hong Kong) to see the landing of the much advertised Lufthansa aircraft, and although 1 was impressed by the aircraft I was still more surprised to see Brother Casimir disembarking with the other passengers. If ever I take the polar route to Europe and crash-land on the North Pole, I am certain that the first Eskimo to come to my assistance will be Brother Casimir.
As I said, I first met Brother Casimir in Taiping. That was in the days of heavy rickshaw traffic and no electricity, when school uniforms did not exist, and boys could come to school in sarongs, and barefooted if that were more convenient. Age limits had not been imposed, and with a wide age range in each class it was possible to have in class pupils as old as the teacher, and even married pupils, although no student ever admitted that he had a spouse. In his long years of service as a teacher Brother Casimir has witnessed an evolution in our education system.
He was a teacher of no ordinary calibre. He was not just good and com¬petent, he was a master of method and dedicated. He comes from an intellectually brilliant family. His brother and a nephew were both holders of the highly com¬petitive and much coveted Queen's scholarship.
His pupils realised that they were taught by a teacher sound in knowledge, and with the ability to impart whatever he taught. From the time he began teaching he has always been in the Cambridge classes.
His surname is L'Angellier which he claims means 'Angel-maker', a name he has lived up to, to make his boys good, morally and intellectually. He was able to get the best from his students and the academic achievements in his class were always of a high standard. The many boys that he has taught all over the country from Singapore to Penang know him to be an adept in teaching many branches and not limited to specialisation in one branch of knowledge.
His students are to be found in all walks of life, in the ranks of the clergy, in the various professions, and serving their country as law-abiding citizens.
In the various offices where he has business to contract, his former students see to it that in the case of their former teacher the rule is 'last come first served', and from his former students who make inquiries about him we know that he was a good and kind teacher.
While celebrating the Golden Jubilee of his being a Brother it is also 25 years since he became the head of a school, and in the capacity of Principal he has been responsible for the direction of St. George's, Taiping, St. Paul’s, Seremban, St.Andrew's, Muar, La Salle, Brickfields and is at present Principal of St. George's, Balik Pulau.
No school has been second rate with him as head. He sees to it that there is an harmonious balance between what is academic and what is extra-mural, sacrificing neither one to the other and insisting on success at the highest level in studies and in achievement on the playing field.
He has the title of P.J.K., the Medal of Merit, conferred for his excellent contribution to education in the state of Negri Sembilan.
Most heads of schools like to show off their show-pieces, such as playing fields, laboratories, school hall and lecture theatre, and other amenities. Brother Casimir has all that at Balek Pulau, and at present is the only Brother Principal who can boast of having a domestic science unit in his school. If any of you are invited to a function in his school I advise that you accept it. His domestic science unit will make it worthwhile.
He was responsible for raising the funds, and making the plans for the primary school at Taiping, for acquiring the land and building the industrial arts centre at Muar, and the well-selected site and beautiful setting of St. Paul's, Seremban, will always stand as a tribute to one who always gave the boys the best he could. It does not matter where he taught, or where he was Principal; he made certain that his school could compare with the best, and results obtained were always gratifying.
At present he is Principal of St. George's Balik Pulau, an area which may be considered the "ulu", out in the wilds, but last year 82% of his pupils were successful in the Cambridge School Certificate examination, and from that school there has been a steady flow of students to the sixth forms, and pupils of St. George's have had their share of Colombo Plan, and Federal Scholarships.
Before the war he organised a very good museum in St Xavier’s Institution which would be an asset at the present time if it had not been destroyed by enemy action.
As headmaster he believes that a united, and contented staff, is essential for good results, and judging by the number, and quality of his staff dinners, and get-togethers, he has been a great success in keeping everybody happy in his work.” Indeed, Brother Casimir believed that we could get far more response from people with a spoonful of honey than with a barrel of vinegar.
As the years and ill health took their toll, Brother Casimir suffered a serious stroke in 1971 and was confined to St Teresa’s Hospital where he was an example of serenity, patience and resignation to God’s will and where the Sisters and nursing staff took great care of him until his death on December 18th at the age of 75. He was buried in St Michael’s Cemetery, Happy Valley, Hong Kong.
