Mark of Respect to One Who Left Nearly All His Possessions for the Advancement of Knowledge G6QUCCESS in any chosen career depends upon many factors, but it is probably true that of these factors education and personal character are the most important said Mr, Bertram, Lillie, principal of the Lester School and Henry Lester Institution of Technical Education, on Thursday morning at a ceremony held in the school at 505 East Seward Road to celebrate, for the first time, Founder's Day, for it was on May 14, 1926, that the late Mr, Lester died. The ceremony at the school was preceded by the laying of wreaths on the late Mr. Lester's grave in the Bubbling Well Cemetery.
'Students of the school were gatkerbuilding of the college, and on Octo-_ ed' inthe Main Hall at about. 1130] ber 8 that same year full time students am, when, under the chairmanship of attended classes for the first time. By Mr, R. F.C. Master, the following the summer of 1995, the college was too ie their seats on. the raised. plat fully equipped to deal with civil form before them:—Mr, L. C. Healey, engineering and building, and the Supt. of Education, Drs. J. Usang Ly, subsidiary subjects of mechanics, F, L, Hawks-Pott, and H.C, Liu, pre: physics, and chemistry. 'The school sidents of the Chiao Tung and' St olm's universities, and of the Univer-was mainly concerned with the training of boys in the manual work conily of Shanghai respectively, Dr.
H. nected with mechanical engineering.
G. Earle, Rev. E, J. Oltewell, Messrs Hi. Porter, A. D, Bell, and W. Nation, trustees, "and Mr. B.S, Wilkinson, secretary, "The school staff was presented by Mr, Lille, Dr. C. W. Shacklock, and Messrs, F. J. Sanger and. A.B. Thornton, This was the frst occasion on which fany_such ceremony had. been "hel commenced the chairman, and he hoped It would become' an annual affair. Mr. Lester" first' came Shanghai in 1867, at the age of 2, after taving had 'a good deal of experience in England as a civil en. Eincer and an architect." He. joined the Shenghai Municipal Council, and Femalned with them for three years, uring which Ume he assisted in Use first survey of the Settlement and rendered Invaluable assistance in the frst. plan of the French Concession, He tien went Into business for him elt 'A Man of Vision Mr. Lester had vision and believed thet Shanghai would develop rapidly: he accordingly acquired ag'much land fas he could, He retired to England it the age of 60, but scon came back to Shanghai and resumed practice, Joining Messrs. G. A. Johnson and Gordon Morriss to form the firm of Lester, Johnson & Morriss.
Mr, Lester was not an easy man to know, but those who did get to know him saw that under a somewhat forbidding exterior there lay w very exceptional character. By application to business, scrupulous honesty, and prudent Investment, he amassed 0 fortune, and his career should be a stimulus to all students. Although hho never. spent much money on himself, he wag always generous in a worthy caus 'One minute's silence in his memory, was then held, all turning and facing a gold-framed' picture of Mr. Lester at the back of the platform, and on the bottom of which Mr.
wreath.
Mr. Lester died the whole of his possessions for the advancement of solentine knowledge, commenced Mr. Lillie, specifying, among other things, the establishment of a school and technical institute. and building, enabling them to enter workshops after a period of three! years, but at the same time it continued with the general education of the student, and was to be taken as preparatory course leading to the more advanced work undertaken in the Institute, In a school of this type, it was Righly necessary that the fullest use be made of all equipment, and consequently the building was opened on November 8, 1934, for the admission of evening students, The need of these evening classes was evidently considerable; 50) students each were received in the day school and the Institute, and over 600 were enrolled in evening classes. In September, 1935, an additional 100 students entered the school and Inalitute, while the enrolment of even: ing students exceeded 1,000.
Towards the end of 1935, work was started on an extension at the rear, of the building to house an electrical engineering laboratory and a prime-movers laboratory. The latter would, without doubt, be the finest in China, and would compare very favourably, will: the newest laboratories in the large technical colleges in England: both were expected to be ready for use at the beginning of the 1936-1937 session.
'A vole of thanks was proposed by Lam On Pong, a school prefect, who said that the students had, metaptorlcally speaking, drunk deeply from the fountain of the ale Mr. Lester's benevolence.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.