“Ireland is my homeland. It’s so green and beautiful that it’s called the Emerald Isle. It’s a land of fertile plains, rolling mountains, many lakes, beautiful beaches and craggy headlands. I was born into a big family of 12 members.
My job is to carry out the work of the De La Salle Brothers who were founded for the education of youth. I joined the Brothers for that purpose and the joy and the satisfaction I have received from this work is deep and rewarding.”
This, in Br Lawrences’ own words, is a good summary of what made him tick. There is his love for his country, for his family and for his educational mission in life.
His was a large family, not unusual for the times. It was also a devoted Catholic family, and it came as no great surprise when two of the boys and three of the girls joined the religious life, the two boys joining the De La Salle Brothers and the girls joining different Orders of Sisters. It was not too surprising either, that Br Lawrence and his blood brother, Br Mark, loved their home visits, where they were accommodated in their ancestral home. Their home was high on a hill, surrounded by farmland on which were cattle and horses. Air pollution was unheard of.
Br Lawrence raised his hand when a De La Salle Brother came recruiting to his village school. He was soon to find himself in the formation house of the Order, in another village called Castletown, just about ten miles from his home. He must have influenced his younger brother, Patrick, who joined up a year later.
The first separation from his home country came in 1949, when he was nineteen years old. He had raised his hand again, this time to volunteer for the missions, and so had to go to England to attend a two-year course at the St Mary’s Teacher Training College, Strawberry Hill, London. It was there that he developed his lifelong interest in rugby, taking advantage of the fact that the College was close to Twickenham. He had nothing but fond memories of his time at Strawberry Hill and of the Vincentian priests who ran it.
After a holiday home, it was straight to the mission fields which, in his case took him first to Penang, Malaysia. St Xavier’s Institution was often the first stopping-off point for missionaries and the school had a great reputation. Br Lawrence settled in well, but it was a time of political tension brought about by Communist insurgency and by roving bandits. Br Lawrence had a close shave with the latter.
It was the custom of the Brothers to spend weekends at their country house on Penang Hill. One Friday evening, Br Lawrence decided to have a look at the newspapers in the common room. He heard a noise at one of the windows. A face appeared and so did a gun. Br Lawrence raised his hands as warned. Unfortunately, a French Brother had also heard the noise and came out of his room to investigate. When he saw the gunman, he tried to turn and run back to his room, but the gunman shot him before disappearing. The Brother died shortly afterwards.
The next assignment for Br Lawrence was to St Patrick’s Secondary School, Singapore where he taught from 1954 to 1958. It was probably here that he first developed an interest in playing tennis because the school had tennis courts and some of the Brothers played, and played very well.
After that, Br Lawrence had his first taste of Hong Kong when he was posted to La Salle College in 1958. The school year 1958/59 was a momentous one for the College. After 10 years ‘in exile’ the school moved back to its grand old building on La Salle Road. In 1949 the British army had occupied the building, turning it into a hospital. Much work needed to be done to get the building back in shape for school life.
A personal note from a former pupil summarises his encounter with Br Lawrence at the time.
“I first came under your supervision in 1959/60, at La Salle College. I was in Form 3A. My wife, Julia, has repeatedly heard from me how good a teacher you were. She also heard of the many picnics you organized for us. In particular, she shared my admiration at your ability to sketch the outline of North America on the blackboard, freehand. Commitment and outstanding personal attributes apart, you were genuinely interested in our welfare and development. We were lucky to have been taught by you.”
By this time his prowess at playing tennis was observed. An old boy of 1963 recalls: “I learnt tennis from Bro. Lawrence, who was then my Form 3A Form Master. In the tennis court we were like David and Goliath, both in terms of body-size and skills. Unfortunately, David was never able to beat the Goliath! I still remember that I was very happy at my first success in serving the ball and being able to strike the ball when it came back. Then I was immediately devastated when I found that my racquet flew away with the ball! Did I hate Bro. Lawrence? No! He had given me a good lesson for life. Strive for success and smile at success but never get too contented. There is always room for improvement.”
Indeed, the old boys of that time remained extraordinarily attached to their teacher and regularly visited him, especially when hospitalized. They brought pictures of their time in school and Br Lawrence amazed them with the sharpness of his memory. They also managed to get him out of hospital for breaks, especially on his birthdays.
In 1963 it was time to take a home break followed by a B.A. degree course in University College, Dublin. Although Economics was one of his subjects, he never lost his love for Geography. Whenever geographical direction was a conversational topic, he would be caught up in it. Latitude and longitude were a breeze and he seemed to have a photographic memory for the outlines of any country. And could draw them freehand too. Sometimes he used to speak about the Rift Valley in Kenya, and it was all new to us.
Degree in hand, he returned for a short term of two years to La Salle Hong Kong. One notable achievement at the time was obtained outside the classroom. He had taken up the tennis coach duties and the school magazine of the time had this to say: “The College will always remember him as an outstanding conscientious teacher and an expert tennis coach who brought tennis in the school to a high standard of skill and was the architect of our overwhelming victory in the Inter-Schools tennis Championship this year.”
In 1968 Sabah came calling. Br Lawrence was to spend the next seven years there, teaching in La Salle School, Kota Kinabalu. It was a much quieter place compared with Hong Kong and he grew to love it, to love the people and his students. Some of his former pupils came back years afterwards to visit him in Hong Kong. And on the news of his death, they were immediately in contact, ensuring that a suitable flower wreath was sent.
Back to Hong Kong, then, in 1975 and he was to remain there for the rest of his life. He must have set a record in Hong Kong because of the five Lasallian secondary schools there, he taught or was Principal and/or Supervisor in four. He began by teaching at St Joseph’s College, a four-year term from 1975 to 1979. Thereafter, it was to be Principalship and/or Supervisorship, first of Chong Gene Hang College and then of Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College.
As Principal of Chong Gene Hang College from 1979 to 1987, he was probably at his prime. He liked everything about this assignment. First, since he was living in St Joseph’s College, he had to commute to school each day. And since he loved driving, this suited him greatly. Mind you, he was inclined to drive pretty fast. It was not a good idea to talk to him while driving. He could get distracted and take a wrong turn. This happened on a famous occasion when he was driving his brother to the airport and ended up in Tuen Mun, many miles away!
Br Lawrence was not stinting in his praise of the teachers at Chong Gene Hang College. He wrote: “I have not come across anywhere more devoted, tolerant and hardworking teachers. I am greatly edified by the amount of time, energy and patience they give to their students. Many sacrifice their lunch break to help the students as well as helping them before and after school.” The staff and students knew what he thought and responded in kind. The result was a happy and harmonious school.
The final stage of his active educational career was approaching when he was assigned as Principal to Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College in 1991, following the retirement of Brother Eugene Sharkey. Here he continued to spread his never-changing beliefs in the traditional virtues of punctuality, preparation of lessons and homework. He always insisted on good discipline but was fair in its application. It was plain to see that the school and classroom were of supreme importance. They were holy ground. Even after retiring as Principal in 1995, he remained on as Supervisor of the school until 2010.
One outstanding aspect of his life as a teacher and principal was his fine memory. Somehow or other he could remember the faces and names of countless students and staff, even those way back in the 50s and 60s. He would pore over old pictures of former staff and students and could often remember not only their names but also their work careers. He had the good habit of listing the names at the back of photos, making it much easier for identification. In this regard, school magazines were precious to him. He saved them all and studied them all.
When it came to his spiritual life, he kept to the true and trusted. He never wanted to miss Mass and even when wheelchair bound, he would head off for the local parish church, accompanied by two Legion of Mary members. Those two ladies had to be quick on their feet! He also wanted regular Confession, or the Sacrament of Reconciliation and had a special love for the Mother of God. His favourite spiritual booklet is called ‘The Magnificat.’ While traditional in the practice of his religion, he was liberal with compassion and understanding of other religions and of their adherents.
Before ill-health began to creep up on him, Br Lawrence spent many happy years of retirement in La Salle College. Gradually a weakening of the heart and high blood pressure came to the fore and he succumbed to a stroke which paralysed him in the left leg. From then on, he was wheelchair bound and required nursing care. The care was provided by Alice Leung who had previously looked after Brother Herman. Alice took her work seriously and made sure Br Lawrence took the prescribed medicine and also helped him to exercise slowly along the corridor.
The time came, however, when he could not stand or get out of bed, and he had to go to St Teresa’s Hospital. Others might have faded away quickly but not Br Lawrence and he was to spend a good three years laid up in the hospital. As one doctor put it: “You are a top fighter.” Alice continued to take care of him while at weekends a lady called Ah Bo came to help. In hospital he received visits from the Brothers and from former pupils and continued to amaze with mental alertness and almost photographic memory. Besides former staff and students, he could remember the names, positions and abilities of the Irish football and rugby teams, and those of other countries too.
The call from the hospital came on the 5th November 2021. Br Lawrence was fading fast. In the company of some Brothers, Legion of Mary members, his carer Alice and a former student, he slipped away quietly and peacefully. The funeral Mass was held in St Teresa’s Church on 12th November, celebrated by Fr Dominic Lui and Marciano Baptista, former pupils, followed by burial in the Brothers plot in St Michael’s Cemetery, Happy Valley. La Salle College was able to provide an online broadcast of the Mass which was especially appreciated by his family, by former pupils and by those living overseas.
The school motto of La Salle College is ‘Fides et Opera’. Br Lawrence leaves behind a legacy of faith and good works.
