The Archives of St Bede’s are full of hidden treasures. For some objects their connection and significance to the school is obvious but for some objects, their origins are more mysterious requiring a bit of research to determine how they ended up in the College Archives. For this month’s reflections piece, we take a look at three seemingly random treasures found in the archives and discuss what makes these items so mysterious.

Antarctic Service Medal

Finding an Antarctic Service Medal tucked away in the archives was an unexpected surprise. Initially, the medal was a complete mystery with nothing known about who had been awarded the medal and what its connection to St Bede’s might be. Our best guess was that the medal likely belonged to an Old Boy or former staff member who had served on the ice. After asking around I was put in touch with Father John Jolliffe who was able to solve at least some of the mystery surrounding the origins of the medal.

As it turns out priests from the Christchurch Diocese would travel down to Antarctica in October and November to give mass and serve the spiritual needs of the crews working on the ice. But these priests needed to be back in their parishes for Christmas. It was here that the priests at St Bede’s were able to step in, with the school year finishing in December the St Bede’s priests were available at this time of year and would go down over the Christmas period usually for 2-3 weeks. Priests who spent a month or more on the continent would receive a service medal for their work.

It is still unknown exactly who this particular medal belonged to but we now know the connection that St Bede’s and its priests have to the Antarctic.

Silver Kings Trophy Competition Medal

This medal was found in the archives and after a little bit of research, it was discovered that this medal was designed by Percy Metcalfe for the National Rifle Association's Kings Trophy Competition between 1925-30. The obverse depicts a kneeling semi-clad male archer looking left to right with a fully drawn longbow. The figure is recognisable as the Greek hero Herakles (more commonly known by his Latin name Hercules), by the lionskin worn over his head. The words "For Special Distinction NRA." are stamped around the edge and the initials "PM" for artist Percy Metcalfe can be seen by the archer's back foot. The reverse has an elaborate cartouche with the Royal Coat of Arms at the top and the words:

"Presented by the King to encourage youth in the hope that friendly competition and efficient training may help it to forge new links of Empire."

Who this medal was awarded to remains a mystery. We can only guess that it was awarded to a St Bede’s student sometime during the competition’s tenure of 1925-1930 but as yet no records have been found to identify the winner.

F. Campbell Bible and Family Photographs

This bible made its way to the archives through a fellow staff member who found it in their office, but no one knows how or why it came to be at St Bede’s. The Bible has a leather-bound cover with intricate detailing of a large cross with an image of a heart at the centre. Helpfully the bible is named with an embossed logo for F. Campbell Importer and Merchant stamped on one of the early pages. Amongst the pages of the bible a number of family photographs dating to the 1880s, which pre-dates the opening of St Bede’s by 30 years. We know the photos and bible belonged to F. Campbell who was a businessman in Greymouth but what we don’t know is how he and his family are connected to St Bede’s.

Objects such as these provide an interesting challenge to discover their history and connections with St Bede’s. As the Archives Project continues we will likely discover more hidden treasures from St Bede’s past which will add to the rich history held in the Archive.

If you have any information on the objects mentioned in the article please get in touch with our Archivist Emily Rosevear (ERosevear@stbedes.school.nz).