SJ Lowcock

SYDNEY JAMES LOWCOCK – in remembrance – Fred Lui and Martin Tam (Class of ’63)

Sharing for Mr. Lowcock – Eric Chan (’92)

Twenty years after I left DBS, if there was any superior during my days that I still pause and think about every so often with great fondness, it would definitely be Mr. S.J. Lowcock.

During my years, I only knew him as the ex-headmaster. But he was still very attached to the school, its activities and its people – most famously his attachment to the Athletics team, of which I was glad to be a part of.

While most teachers impressed me with any combination of their shrewdness, stern demeanor, or humorous nature, Mr. Lowcock seemed everything of that and more. He would drop by at track meets or practices, and would strike up conversations with us in a manner that is uniquely “him”.  Exactly what he would talk about I don’t recall, but I definitely remember the feeling – it was down-to-earth, humorous, warm, and showed a sense of fatherly care.

During the early years, he would invite the Athletics team to his place (I went to one such gathering) to just hang out, eat and chit-chat.  Again, all this was very vague in my memory, but I remember it was a kind gesture for him to host us.

What left my indelible respect for him is during my last year in Form 6. I was fortunate to be named one of the co-captains of the Athletics Team (with Barry Tsui). While I was elated, I had always thought of myself as a really shy, skinny kid who wasn’t especially accomplished and wouldn’t stand out (I never even won a medal in any inter-school individual event). Even so, Mr. Lowcock would, in a few occasions, deliver me personal, hand-written notes, offering advice, observations of the team, and usually generously giving his encouragement or compliments. I can’t tell you how much it boosted my confidence and self-worth.

Somehow, he also found out that I was the chief editor of Steps that year. That year, it got published so late that it literally went to press after I left HK for school abroad. While most everyone was focussed on how slow it was, a few weeks later, I was absolutely taken by surprise to receive a two-page, hand-written letter from Mr. Lowcock, telling me his thoughts on it, making very detailed observations about its content, and generally, being very complimentary and encouraging of the editors’ efforts. I still keep that letter to this day.

I don’t presume to know Mr. Lowcock very well, but yet, I feel I do. I don’t even know if he remembers such a person as me.  Now that I’m all grown up, I understand that for someone of his stature to connect to his students in such a private and commanding way speaks volumes to his character. He is willing to spend significant time connecting with his students, knowing he had very little to gain, but simply to build them up.

Mr. Lowcock: Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. The life lessons I learnt from you is so much more than anyone had taught me. You taught me that words and actions
make a difference, and to see the good in everyone.  At times these are difficult lessons, but I know they are the one of life’s best lessons. Rest in peace, Mr. Lowcock.  You deserve the best and I always keep you in my heart.

Eric Chan

(class of 1992)

My Impression of Mr. S.J. Lowcock – Steven Chow ’64

It was probably within two weeks after the 1960/61 school year had began that Mr. Lowcock first spotted me playing football on the field. I was a new boy and a boarder, attending Form 2D. As I was walking up the concrete stairs facing the field, Mr. Lowcock asked for my name and where I had come from. I told him that I had transferred from Wah Yan HK and when he asked me why I left there, I did not reveal to him that I had been invited by Wah Yan to leave. Instead I had made up some excuses. It was only in recent years when I read Mr. William Smyly’s transcript of his interview with Mr. Lowcock that I learned that Mr. Lowcock had  very close association with Kowloon Wah Yan and the Jesuits ( S.J . for Society of Jesuits and these were also Mr. Lowcock’s initials  ). He had even spent a year at Kowloon Wah Yan helping to set up their laboratories. I am certain that Mr. Lowcock had checked me out but he never brought up this subject again.

When Mr. Lowcock became headmaster in 1961/62, I was in his From 3C physics class. To this day, I am still in posession of the Black DBS Lab book containing his comments in the margins. That year, while I had never been exposed to field events,.  Mr. Lowcock had encouraged me to toy with the discus and the javelin and in due course, I became a member of the B grade School Athletics team. A year later, when I was in Form 4B, I was the treasurer of the Intermediate choir under Mr. Kiang and one day, an envelop bearing my name was delivered to me. It was a note from Mr. Lowcock saying that while I may have many good reasons, he asked me not to miss anymore choir practices. ( I still have the note )

When boarders had to stay in school on some weekends, it was Mr. Lowcock who had invited me to go over to his house and asked me to do oil painting with him. He was most generous with his time, patience, boards, equipment and paints. I admire this man for he had introduced the arts, music, competitive sports and that learning is not confined to the classroom, laboratories or textbooks.

After I finished Form 5 and went back to DBS for the School Leaving Certificate results, at the time I had already been accepted by a Canadian University for a B.Sc. Course. Mr. Lowcock had invited me to return for From 6. When I told him that I shall embark on a science degree in Canada, he bluntly told me that I should not go for science. Instead, he suggested that I should consider selling Japanese dolls as a future career. Mr. Lowcock sure had a talent in spotting  the personalities of his students.

Thank you Jimmy, for introducing the Charleston dance, the Peter Gunn music and jazz, the peanut characters, the mustache, the oil painting lessons, and that it is alright to be a non-conformist.

Steven Chow ’64
Boarder Prefect – 1963-64
DSOBA General Committee Member – 1981-96
DBS Fund Raising Committee Member

P.s. After completing my B.Sc. ( Biology ), I switched course for an MBA and a PhD ( economics )

Headmaster _ Mr.Lowcock – Simon Ho ‘73

Very sad to hear his passing;

No words but RESPECT.

Thank you, Mr. Lowcock, for guiding my grow up years.

Simon Ho ‘73

Tribute messages from Albert Chow (62) and Yvonne Chow

Memories of our Headmaster – Frank Lo (Class of 82)

I visited an uncle who likes to collect. At his home, he has large custom built display cases showing off his various collections of stamps, coins, shells, libraries of music records, movies, books, etc. It is always his pride and joy to take visitors around his house, explaining to them in details about his collections. Of course there is always a story behind every single piece of his” prize” within each show case.

After talking for hours, we came to the dining room for some snacks. In his china cabinet, there are 3 rice bowls. One is of solid gold color, the other looks like it is made of stainless steel, and the third is made of bone china, like the ones you and I use everyday at home around the dinner table. So I asked my uncle what’s the story behind these 3 bowls.

He told me, the first bowl which is made of 24 carat gold is given to him for his 30 years of continual service. He remembers his boss and a group of his colleagues hosted a dinner and presented that golden bowl to him. He was very proud of it as there are very few people who have made that achievement at his place of work.

The second bowl, which is made of stainless steel, is also related to his work. He worked as a prison officer at Stanley for 35 years, and this is one of the bowls that the inmates used for their meals. He said, the prison started using these metal bowls to prevent the inmates breaking the china bowls and using them for weapons. These bowls have lasted for years and it saved the prison a bundle not having to replace them over time. So on his retirement, he took a set home, knowing that would be the last set of rice bowl he will ever have to buy. On the contrary, he stopped using them, as the rice never tasted good with the metal bowls because it cannot retain the heat. So it remains in the display.

The third bowl with some decorative floral design on it, is made out of bone china, looks like it has been used for quite a long time as there are crack lines visible inside the bowl. This was the rice bowl that my aunt used at the dinner table; she passed away 2 years ago. My uncle said although this is just an ordinary looking rice bowl to me, to him it is very special. It holds a lot of fond memories of their lives together. He said the rice still taste very delicious at the dinner table when he eats by himself at home.

Dear Mr Lowcock, it is my honor to be a DBS student under your time. We had the opportunity that very few students from other schools had, to be exposed to the things outside of the curriculum that are important in life. To be successful in the academic world is important, but to be ignorant to the world around us is dangerous. My parents were so glad to have sent me to your school, so I can sing, play the viola, take photos, throw the javelin, play tennis, badminton and ping pong, enjoy music and reading a novel in my spare time when I am not working as a dentist. As our 30^th class reunion approaches this year, we all look forward to this special gathering of friends, teachers to share in your school spirit, reminisce in our fond memories of each other. (I am so glad I did get the feel of your cane at least once before I left!)

As you shared in your stories of the seven grains of rice, each of us has our individual journey and purposes in life. Trying our best and doing our best is what is important.

May we be your favorite rice bowl that contains your grains of wisdom and good memories of the love we experienced.

Frank Lo (Class of 82)

Cheuk Ho Yeung/Michael Tung, on behalf of the Class of 79′

Mr. Jimmy Lowcock, the Legacy of a Patriarch – Patrick Choy Kwok-Hung Class ‘62

Mr. Jimmy Lowcock, the Legacy of a Patriarch

Where does one begin to retrace the footsteps of a true giant? For me, it all started on a fateful day in 1960. Headmaster Lowcock, vigilant as always in tending to his flock, took me into his confidence when one day I caught his attention during my participation in the “street running” group. In his gentle but authoritative tone, I was easily persuaded to join the School Cross Country Team as an active sporting member of the newly formed Goodban House. 1961 began an adventurous year for me. I failed to manage a passing grade in English mandatory for the School Certificate Examination and my only hope was to seek the approval of the Headmaster to repeat Form Five. Even now, I still believe in second chances and apparently Mr. Lowcock did so too when he took me under his wings and welcomed me back as a fledging member of the boarding school so that I could consolidate my time for studies and athletic training. I was truly overwhelmed yet the shock came later. Just before the start of the 1961/62 school year, Mr. Lowcock told me he was appointing me as the Athletics Captain and a School Perfect. I was totally flabbergasted. All I could remember mumbling at that moment was “Can I make it?” His words, which have forever remained with me, were simply “You can do it and I’ll be there with you.”

1961/62 was a challenging year for DBS athletics. With the graduation of practically the entire A grade team, we were left with a group of rookies (including me) who were charged with the seemingly insurmountable task to carry on DBS’ ownership to the much coveted title of Inter School Athletics Champion. Training and more training were all we did throughout the seven months prior to the 1962 Championship and true to his promise Mr. Jimmy Lowcock was always there. The DBS team only scored two relay gold medals but thankfully lots of silvers and bronzes in the individual events, just enough to edge out strong opponents such as KG5 and La Salle to retain our title as the 1962 Champion. 1962/63 was another story. The rookies had fine tuned themselves and many became the acknowledged superstars in sports. The 1963 Inter School Athletics Championship saw the DBS team scored a landslide victory in all A, B and C grades, achieving one of the few enviable grand slams in DBS history.

I left my beloved DBS in the summer of 1963. The great man whose words have so long ago guided me throughout my youth and adulthood is no more yet I know his spirit will always linger in the hallowed hallways of DBS, constantly keeping guard over his flock. For all of us who were so blessed and fortunate to be touched by him, his memory will live on as the cherished cries of “DBS, DBS” will always echo in the fields of champions.

The many memories, thoughts and feelings written and shared by the old boys made me reflect on the privilege granted to me through Mr. Lowcock, to treasure the importance of motivation and uniting people on a common objective; to focus on doing the right thing so to maximize ones potentials. Borrowing my favourite line from my classmate Kenneth Wan—“It is really Mr. Jimmy Lowcock who inspired me to become who and what I am today.” Like many of us, we are forever indebted to you, Mr. Jimmy Lowcock. May you rest in peace in Paradise.

Patrick Choy Kwok-Hung Class ‘62

School Athletics Captain 1961-63,

School Perfect 1961-63

Member of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference

From Kenneth Kwok-Yuen Wong

From William King