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College Archives Newsletter #3
March 2019
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Archival Work
Cataloguing Crisis :(
With cataloguing efforts steadily advancing, this month our cataloguers came to an abrupt epiphany that our cataloguing arrangement was unsatisfactory for the lack of rationality and consistency. After two weeks of somewhat painful brainstorming and discussion, a new cataloguing arrangement has been finalised and put into practice.
We are now in the process of transferring old catalogue entries to this new system. Adopting the guerrilla cataloguing method from the UK National Archives, we hope to sustain "a focused burst of cataloguing activity, designed to produce the maximum amount of cataloguing information within a short time frame by recruiting as many cataloguers and digital devices as possible". Hopefully, our new cataloguing arrangement will achieve the utmost rationalisation and free us from this "polar night of icy darkness".
Meanwhile, many of you had sneaked a peek at the new archives repository last Saturday when the soft opening of the refurbished Common Room was held. Due to the limitation of space, let's leave its introduction to the next newsletter!
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History Alive
The Billiard Table
Many St. Johnians are well aware that the Billiard Table in the College Bar is a very old artefact; rumour has it (not quite accurately) that it is the oldest existing object in the College. Do you know the story behind it?
Two years after the liberation of Hong Kong in 1945, St. John's Hall reopened at its original site in Bonham Road. With the assistance of the Warden, the Revd Canon George She, the Hall was able to get hold of some books and restart the library which suffered in the war. Yet entertainment facilities remained deficient.
In 1951-52, Revd She acquired the Billiard Table from England as a gift to St. Johnians. That year, the Students' Association reported:
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Considerable excitement and commotion was created when a billiard table was acquired through the financial assistance of our Warden. The billiard table made necessary the rearrangement of the common room which has become a real centre of friendly gatherings. Both "veterans" and "new recruits" are enthusiastic at the game.
— "St. John's Hall Annual Report" in the Union Magazine, 1951-52
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A photograph of the Billiard Table in the common room of St. John's Hall, reproduced in the Hall's 1952 history book. Collection of the College Archives.
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When St. John's College opened in 1955, the Billiard Table was moved to our Pokfulam Road campus and remained in the room on the Marden Wing's mezzanine floor (previously known as the Billiard Room and later, the TV Room) ever since. For the past six decades, the Billiard Table has continued to draw "considerable excitement and commotion" from generations of St. Johnians!
Let's give you a challenge — Till this day, the Billiard Table still bears the inscriptions MADE IN ENGLAND. Do you know where to find them?
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An article on the Billiard Table published in the College's magazine, Our Life, 1958-59. Collection of the College Archives.
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A photograph of the Billiard Table in 1997. Unfortunately, the original pendants that came with the Billiard Table were subsequently disposed of. Collection of the College Archives.
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The Billiard Table as it is today.
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In Loving Memory
Professor Lee Ngok, JP (1939-2019)
On the morning of 23 March, a memorial service was held at the Hong Kong Funeral Home for Professor Lee Ngok, a St. Johnian and an industrious educator, who passed away on 1 March. It was officiated by the Revd Ip Kam Fai, while our former Masters, the Revd Paul Tong and the Revd Canon Ian Lam, respectively gave the eulogy and the sermon.
Educated in St. Paul's College and Wah Yan College, Professor Lee entered HKU to read history in 1960, and became a resident of the College. After his postgraduate studies in HKU and England, he joined HKU as Lecturer in History in 1968. Over the past 50 years, Professor Lee made significant contributions to higher education in Hong Kong. Among his many positions, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts of HKU (1976-86), the Director of HKU's Department of Extra-Mural Studies (1986-92) and later HKU SPACE (1992-95), and the Executive Director of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) (1997-2002). He served intermittently as Fellow of the College for 34 years from 1978 to his passing.
Please read our obituary of Professor Lee Ngok here.
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