Christ Church Cathedral Vancouver BC

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THE PARK PLACE PARKADE IS CLOSED THIS WEEKEND.

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On what would have been his 150th birthday we remember our first Curate, Henry LeGallais Roy (May 7, 1875 – September 20, 1953). Roy’s father was the Reverend Josias Jesse Roy, later minister of St. George’s Church, Winnipeg, a descendent of the Abraham Martin upon whose land the Battle of the Plains of Abraham was fought. Henry Roy graduated from the University of Manitoba with a silver medal in 1894, then studied at Wycliffe College in Toronto for five years. By the turn of the century Christ Church’s finances had improved to the point that Rector Tucker was authorized to hire an assistant priest. Roy was chosen and duly arrived in January 1901 – one of his first tasks was preaching at the services of commemoration for the recently deceased Queen Victoria. After the departure of Tucker in 1902 Roy acted as interim rector before the arrival of Cecil Owen in 1903. In 1905 Roy returned to Winnipeg to accept the Rectorship of St. George’s Church; his departure was considered a great loss to Christ Church, especially to the Boys’ Brigade in which he had always taken an active role.

Subsequently Roy was Rural Dean of Turtle Mountain (Manitoba, 1908-1913) before serving as Assistant General Missioner for the Diocese of Rupert’s Land. In 1928 Roy was named an Honorary Canon at the Pro-Cathedral of St. Matthew in Brandon, Manitoba. These days Roy is perhaps best know as a chess organizer, a role he did not get involved in until 1936 when he was already sixty-one years old. Describing himself as a ‘run of the mine’ player, Roy noted: “By learning chess, you have a spare-time filler until you're ready for the grave. You might be an athlete, but you're a has-been at thirty – in chess there is no limit… Never aspired to become a chess expert but did try my hand at organizing chess in local, provincial and national fields. Acted as president, for eight years, of the Winnipeg Chess Club, six years of the Manitoba Chess Association, two years secretary of the Winnipeg Jewish C.C. and President, Chess Federation of Canada for five years.” Early in 1947 Roy returned to Vancouver where he became involved with the British Columbia Chess Federation. He passed away after returning from his last Annual General Meeting of the Chess Federation of Canada, having just completed his final term as President.