SJLowcock – Thak Chaloemtiarana
Mr. Lowcock (I always called him Har Gow) was a superb teacher, motivator, and excellent coach. He tried most of the time to be tough (gruff even) but we all knew that he was kind and generous to all of us. Although he never taught me in class, he did offer to tutor physics to me just before the School Cert exams. I forgot why he did this–perhaps he saw my grades in the sciences and wanted to make sure that I would pass at least one science course require for the School Cert. He was so good at explaining physics to this humanities/arts student that much to my surprise I actually passed the physics exam with a high credit.
As a motivator of young minds and budding scholars, he knew when to challenge us and when to push us. At one point (again, I cannot understand what prompted the occasion), he told me that I would either ‘fall flat on my face and would amount to nothing, or that I will achieve great things!’ That remark gave me pause. I took it to mean that staying average was not an option that I should try my best at everything even if I would fail. You will recall that most of us were ambivalent about being picked as school prefects because we would have to change and to act more mature and to distance ourselves from our friends. I was sure that I was not ready for the appointment as a fifth former but Mr. Lowcock made me a prefect, perhaps to show his trust and support for someone who was young and had insufficient self-confidence. I think that I and fellow prefects matured overnight. I was a boarder prefect with (those names I still recall)–my brother Thip (senior prefect), Leslie Fang, Kenneth Wan, Joseph Chow (deceased), Patrick Choy Kwok Hung, Wong Zee Wah, and one or two others.
Mr. Lowcock also used athletics to give us pride in achievement and to boost our self-confidence. I was never sure if he was ever an athlete but he was a good coach and motivator. He taught me to high jump, gave pointers on how to throw the javelin and discus, and how to run strategic races. I remember that out of the blue he entered me in the HK Open Pentathalon event one year just to see how a high schooler can compete with fully grown atheletes. The competition was gruelling–five events in both track and field in one day. I did not win but was not last either. I still thank Mr. Lowcock for pushing me to compete. At one point, he also sent a few of us rookies to compete in an interschool meet to run the invitational 4×100 relay (myself, Au kin chung, Chaikiri (Dicky) Srifeungfung, and another more seasoned sprinter whose name I could not recall). We did win that race to our utter surprise.
I also appreciated his ecumenical view about religious beliefs. You may recall that back then, there was a large contingent of Thai boys at the school. We were mostly Buddhists but we all attended Assembly, read biblical passages, studied the Bible, attended Chapel and Church on Sundays. I do not think that any of my Thai classmates converted to Christianity. It was Mr. Lowcock who reassured us that all was well when he remarked that the ‘Buddhist Thai boys’ had beliefs and morals that was close to Christians.
Lastly, Mr. Lowcock tried to make us well-rounded boys (a prize that I surprising won in Form 3) by exposing us to his love for Broadway musicals. He would invite us to his house to listen to ‘West Side Story’ on his phonograph (I do not think that he had a stereophonic set up). It’s too bad that we were too young to drink back then. I would have loved to sit on his sofa with a glass of cognac and a good cigar and to engage him in a deep discussion of West Side Story and its social and political implications.
All in all, Mr. Lowcock made us live the life of what makes us a DBS boy. He was our exemplar and for that we owe him our successes and achievements.