Originally published in The Gateway Issue No. 15 (June 2009)
When we look at a photograph of a youthful Brother Felix, we may note how tall he is, as well as his shock of beautiful, curly hair. In some photos we may also detect a twinkle in his eye, and that would be telling.
He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and given the baptismal name Denis. During his childhood the family moved to Bruff, County Limerick, and it was here he went to school and grew up. The school was run by the De La Salle Brothers. He was the only boy in a family of six and he remained very attached to his family. From an early age he displayed that lovely mix of good humour and seriousness that stayed with him all his life. Oh yes, he could be serious, but he never took himself too seriously. And that trait carried him far.
The Brothers who taught him at school had a great influence on him and he preferred their way of life to that of the priesthood. Shortly after Christmas 1930 he decided to head for the Brothers’ Novitiate in Castletown. The Novitiate at the time was a year of tough spiritual formation. He “survived”, took the Brothers’ Habit on the 1st February 1931, and received the name Brother Felix Lawrence.
A sense of youthful adventure must have been in his bones because soon after the Novitiate, at the age of twenty, he volunteered for the missions in the Far East. His first teaching missionary experience was in Malaysia, first in Taiping and then in Penang, from 1932 to 1936. Teaching all day in the tropical heat was no joke but Felix made the best of it. During school holidays the Brothers would assemble on Penang Hill and Brother Felix was in his element. For recreation he introduced sing-song sessions. He had a good singing voice and a wide repertoire of attractive Irish songs.
Just as he was acclimatizing to the Malaysian setting he was transferred to Hong Kong which was to be the scene of most of his labours for the rest of his life. He arrived at St Joseph’s College on the 8th December 1936 and taught at Matriculation level until war broke out. One of the students at the time was Henry Pang who later became a Brother. He recalls:
“Young Brothers were in the majority and there was enough of them to make two noisy football or basketball teams.” He remembered “their hearty laughter and cheerful way of life” and says this is what first attracted him to the Brothers. Although Brother Felix was not regarded as a sporty type, he was in fact teacher in charge of the College football team at the time, and a good team it was too.
But happy days were soon to end as the dark clouds of war were gathering. The bombs rained down on the 8th December 1941 and by Christmas the Japanese military was in control. They commandeered many schools, including St Joseph’s and La Salle. St Joseph’s, among other things, was used as a military store. Brother Felix and some other Brothers were kindly given refuge for a time by the Jesuit Fathers in Robinson Road.
The Brothers came to the decision that while a few would remain in Hong Kong, the remainder would move to neutral territory where they might also be able to exercise their teaching skills. One migrating group was led by Brother Aimar while Brother Felix and Brother Michael Curtin went together. In January 1942 they decided to head for China via Macau and set sail for Kwong Chao Wan on an extremely crowded ship. Kwong Chao Wan (a French colony from 1898-1943) was often used as a stopover on an escape route for civilians fleeing Hong Kong and trying to make their way to Free China. There the Brothers soon ran out of money and gladly accepted the offer by a friendly Norwegian ship’s captain of free passage to Haiphong, a port on the Gulf of Tonkin in North Vietnam, where they were warmly received by the Vietnamese and French Brothers.
We think Brother Felix might not have been too homesick in Vietnam because he soon met some of his old Hong Kong confreres such as Brothers Honorius, Basilian and Wilfrid. They were working in the large Lasallian school in Taberd, Saigon. Without delay Felix got down to the study of French and reached the enviable standard of being allowed to read the Lives of the Saints in the dining room. But the main work assigned to Felix and his English-speaking companions was to teach the English language to the young Vietnamese Brothers and to the students. There was one potentially dark spot on the horizon for Brother Felix. He was admitted to Saigon hospital for a stomach operation and his stomach never forgot it. It was later discovered that he already had an operation for appendix in the 30’s in Penang.
The end of war in 1945 brought blessings to many. Brother Felix had not been home to see his family for fourteen years. In 1946 he managed to get on a ship for England and thence to Ireland. He was malaria-ridden, undernourished and pestered with that niggling stomach ailment. His superiors allowed him a good rest at home followed by a degree course at University College Dublin, where he graduated majoring with a B.A. in History.
1949 saw him returning East, doing a short stint in Kuching, East Malaysia, before returning to Hong Kong where he felt most at home. He taught first in St Joseph’s College from 1950 to 1955. One of the students at the time remembers how he always whistled when he walked and had a spring in his step. He brooked no nonsense in class, however. After his term in St Joseph’s he was asked to go to Rome for the second Novitiate. This does not mean that there was a problem with his making of the “first” Novitiate! Rather, it was a sign that the Superiors were preparing him for greater responsibility. Sure enough, soon after his return in 1956, he was assigned as Director of La Salle College, Kowloon, in succession to Brother Patrick Toner.
As the new Director, Brother Felix moved fast. The school at this time was “in exile” in “temporary” wooden huts erected by the British Army. Brother Felix did not let this deter him. He was an energetic headmaster and kept teachers and students on their toes with frequent class visits and checking of exercise books. He introduced a number of changes during his tenure including the wearing of a mandatory student uniform, the establishment of a new prefect system and student council and the giving of spiritual talks during assemblies. Nevertheless, it was his battle with the British Army to secure the release of the original La Salle College building that marked him out. It took years of negotiations, delicate and not so delicate at times, with the matter being brought up regularly in the House of Commons, before Brother Felix could at last take possession of the old school. For this achievement, some people salute the courage, stamina and fighting spirit of the Irishman in him. When he got the bit between his teeth he would not let go too easily.
On the 1st August 1959, the Army finally derequisitioned the building after a ten-year occupation. The official handover took place on the 21st August. What a sight met the eyes of the Brothers! After ten years of military occupation the grand buildings and grounds were in a shambles. Undeterred, Brother Felix set about the rehabilitation work. For a whole year a firm called Hsin Hang did some restoration and a great deal of patchwork. It was all they could do. It was somewhat akin to cosmetic surgery and the building never fully recaptured its pristine beauty and grandeur. The school playfield gave the most trouble. Solidly built concrete Nissen huts had to be pulled down and cement foundations removed. But school morale was high under Brother Felix and spiritual, academic, sporting, musical and scouting activities kept ticking over nicely. Staff and students were simply glad to be “home”.
Brother Felix himself had an interesting “take” on the growth of extra-curricular activities, especially since some thought they hindered academic progress. In his Speech Day address of 1963 he had this to say:
“No wonder a despairing teacher intent on getting his class through the syllabus of studies, opined that the device on our school crest, ‘Fides et Opera’, should be translated ‘fiddles and operas’. Yet all this hubbub not only prevents Jack from becoming a dull boy but gives scope to that initiative, sociability and qualities of leadership that distinguish the La Salle boy”.
Mention of Speech Day calls to mind an interesting episode. Students have an uncanny knack of being able to “read” their headmasters and teachers. It was the custom on Speech Days for the Head Boy or Prefect to request the Guest of Honour for a school holiday. The Guest would invariably look to the Principal for a nod of approval. On one memorable occasion, the Head Boy had the extraordinarily creative idea of asking for two holidays! The Guest looked at Brother Felix who, though flabbergasted, had the graciousness to consent. That Head Boy had certainly “read” his headmaster.
One outstanding trait of Brother Felix was his sympathy for the poor, the needy, the handicapped and all those in straitened circumstances. And so it was that he granted no-cost school quarters to the janitors and no-interest loans to needy teachers. Brother Paul Sun, Superior General of the Disciples of the Sacred Heart, also benefited from Felix’s determination to encourage others. He helped and supported Brother Sun in the setting up of St Joseph’s Anglo-Chinese Primary School in 1958 and later, in 1968, of the St Joseph’s Secondary School. Brother Felix sent Brother Anthony Knoll there to teach and to act as adviser and supervisor for three years until the school was on a firm footing.
Another big venture of Brother Felix in his efforts to help the disadvantaged was the successful opening of a new school in the New Territories, close to the China border. This was De La Salle Secondary School, Fanling, which opened its doors in 1965 for boys who would otherwise have little chance of receiving a quality education. The pioneer Community consisted of Brothers Felix, Paul O’Connell, Hubert Pilz and Pius Kelly. Now Brother Felix was by no means a linguist. However, he was determined to learn Chinese or at least enough to give a speech at the opening of the new school. Brother Henry Pang coached him to perfection. The great day came. Brother Felix started the speech all right, and then, amidst rising expectations, stalled. There was a long silence. Felix then had the presence of mind to bow graciously and sit down to loud applause. When asked later what had happened, he said he had had a total black out!
Brother Felix ran a good, happy school in Fanling. One old boy often recalls how Brother Felix “saved” him as he had been quite naughty. One day Felix had approached him and told him in no uncertain terms how he would end up if he did not mend his ways. That was the turning point for the boy. After completing two terms as Director of De La Salle Secondary, Felix returned to La Salle College and humbly taught as directed until his retirement in 1981. But he was not yet content to hang up his boots and, at the request of an old boy, offered his services at the Hang Seng College of Commerce. He enjoyed teaching there and helping out with the Debating Society until December 1984.
During all this time and despite indifferent health, Brother Felix never lost that twinkle in his eye or the joy of playing a good practical joke. Brother Patrick Tierney recalls visiting La Salle from St Joseph’s College. Suddenly he heard someone singing a beautiful Irish song. On turning, there was Brother Felix approaching, apparently in good voice, a bit too good he felt. Sure enough, Brother Felix was found to be carrying a small cassette player behind his back!
The old stomach complaint was surfacing more and more. However, Brother Felix was not finished yet. In December 1984 he volunteered to go to help the Vietnamese refugees at the Brothers’ Centre in Oxford. He was surely remembering the war years when he too was a refugee and had been welcomed and given shelter and work in Vietnam. But his health now deteriorated rapidly. Early in the Summer of 1985 he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He received the news with resignation. The Brothers in England gave him unstinted care until he decided to return to the Brothers’ nursing home in Ireland, called Miguel House. This was in December 1986.
For the last six months of his life he suffered much pain. Pain-killers brought temporary relief. His morale was boosted by the number of visitors, letters, cards, telegrams and flowers he received from all over the world, but especially from Hong Kong. Two of his sisters kept vigil at his bedside. One of them, Sister Joseph Marie, writes:
“I will never forget the care and kindness shown to Felix in Castletown. The constant attention of the nursing sisters to his every need and the devoted care of Brother Pius McCarthy is something we will never forget.
As we said the Rosary, we could see Felix saying the Hail Mary’s with us. He looked around at everyone, as if to thank us, then quietly went to God”.
Brother Henry Pang writes a lovely epitaph for Brother Felix. He recalled the words of Father James Lea, one time Chaplain of La Salle College, who used to occupy a room at the main entrance of the old College. Father Lea said that “very often, people looking for Brother Felix would come up to knock and when he came to the door they would ask him if he were Brother Felix. He would answer simply, ‘I am not. I live down here. But Brother Felix is upstairs’. Brother Henry Pang adds: “If I had to write the epitaph of Brother Felix today, I would simply say, ‘BRO FELIX IS NOT HERE. HE IS UPSTAIRS’.
