École John Stubbs Memorial School is a K-8 school located in Belmont Park neighbourhood of
Colwood, British Columbia
Colwood is a city located on Vancouver Island to the southwest of Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, capital of British Columbia, Canada. Colwood was incorporated in 1985 and has a population of approximately 17,000 people. Colwood lies within ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, part of the
Western Communities
The Western Communities, also called the West Shore (e.g.West Shore RCMP or Westshore (e.gWestshore Town Centre, is the suburban municipalities of Colwood, British Columbia, Colwood, Langford, British Columbia, Langford, Metchosin, British Columbi ...
suburbs of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
. The school is part of
School District 62 Sooke
Sooke School District 62 is a school district in British Columbia, Canada. It includes the suburbs of Victoria known as the Western Communities (or WestShore) as well as the mostly rural areas around the sea-side villages of Sooke and Port Renfr ...
. The school's population currently stands at approximately 790 students, but is currently experiencing growth year-to-year.
History of the school's name
John Hamilton Stubbs was the lieutenant commander of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
navy
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
HMCS ''Athabaskan''. (This is not the
Canadian academic of the same name.) Ever since he was a boy, he wanted to join the navy. When he was 10 years old, he joined the sea cadets, not knowing that in a few years he would be a Second World War hero.
On April 28, 1944, two enemy German boats attacked ''Athabaskan'' and her sister ship . Approximately 10 minutes after the first hit, ''Athabaskan'' was ripped under the water by another torpedo.
The weight of the water pouring into ''Athabaskan''s compartments had now dragged her down to the point where she was almost perpendicular. The last men to leave were sliding down her bow into the chilling water.
When the sailors were in the water, John Stubbs moved about from float to float offering words of encouragement and telling them to move their arms and legs.
Lieutenant-commander Stubbs also told them to sing this navy song: "Roll along, Wavy Navy, roll along Roll along, Wavy Navy, roll along If you must know who we are We're the
RCNVR Roll along, Wavy Navy, roll along. Oh we joined for the money and the fun Yes, we joined for the money and the fun But of money there is none And the fun has just begun Roll along, Wavy Navy, roll along."
At one point, John Stubbs drifted to within several feet of the ''Haida''s side and shouted his final command, "Get out of here, Haida! E-boats!" At that point, he might have been rescued quite handily, but he elected to stay with the remainder of his company. Ordering the ''Haida'' to safety, Lieutenant-commander John Hamilton Stubbs never thought that they would be defeated so he and his men never gave up.
[Source: http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org/resource_pages/heroes/stubbs.html]
References
External links
École John Stubbs Memorial School
Elementary schools in British Columbia
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