Page 45 - November 2020 Voices

BURIED TREASURE

Frank Paulding and First Canadian Toastmasters

Club #38 (Part One)

Henry Schowe, DTM - District 7 Historian

On October 24, 2020, members of the First he enlisted in the YMCA service as a secretary.
Canadian Toastmasters Club #38, District 21, Great Britain and Canada were involved in

Victoria, British Columbia, celebrated their 85th World War I. The YMCA needed staff to serve
anniversary. The club chartered October 3, 1934. It Canadian soldiers fighting in France. YMCA
was the first Toastmasters club chartered outside officials arranged travel for him and two YMCA
the United States. Club founder Frank Paulding secretaries; Henry G. Pope of St. Catharines,
was responsible for making Toastmasters an Ontario and George Foster of Montreal. They

international organization. He helped organize met in New York city where they boarded the
and charter the first Toastmistress Club in Cunard ocean liner Laconia for the voyage to
Victoria, Canada in 1945. Paulding was an Britain. The British government had recently

outstanding public speaking instructor for the returned the Laconia to Cunard line after being
YMCA for many years. used for transporting troops. Launched in 1912
Frank Paulding was born to Thomas Paulding the 18,099-ton Laconia measured 600-feet long,
and Annie Maria Paulding on September 24, 1881 71 feet wide, and 40-feet deep. It was the first liner
in Bolton, Lancashire, England. After attending equipped with antiroll tanks. Officers serving on

school, Frank was employed as a Letter Press the vessel were Captain W. I. R. D. Irvine, A. W.
Machine printer in 1901. He married Francis Roberts, chief engineer, G. S. Kennedy, surgeon,
Flockart in 1906 at the Park Street Wesleyan W. P. Gerson, assistant purser and W. Ballyn, chief

Church Bolton, England. He studied advertising steward. During this time, Germany military
through a correspondence course. He left the officials announced unrestricted submarine
printing job in 1910 and took a Bolton drapery warfare. A Catholic priest, a passenger on the
company advertising manager position. In 1912 liner, told the YMCA delegation there was only a
he accepted a Revelstoke Mail-Herald newspaper one in a thousand chance that the RMS Laconia

manager position. He and his family boarded the would be torpedoed.
SS Virginian and departed Liverpool, England {Editor] The Laconia incident was a series of
November 8, 1912 for a voyage to Montreal, events surrounding the sinking of a British troopship

Quebec, Canada. in the Atlantic Ocean on 12 September 1942, during
Paulding and his family traveled to Revelstoke, World War II, and a subsequent aerial attack on
British Columbia. He worked for the newspaper German and Italian submarines involved in rescue
from 1912 through early 1917. During early 1917, attempts. RMS Laconia. [More]

VOICES! | NOVEMBER 2020 45