IV THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



SIR CLIVE PHILLIPPS-WOLLEY 



It is with regret that, we record the death of Sir CHve Phillipps- 

 Wolley, who had been elected to Fellowship with Section II of The 

 Royal Society of Canada in the year 1913. He was in every way an 

 ornament and source of strength to the Society. He was born on 

 April 3, 1854, at Wimborne, Dorsetshire, England, the son of Mr. R. 

 A. L. Phillipps, M.A., F.R.G.S. He was educated at Rossal School 

 and was for some years Her Majesty's Consul at Kertch. He left 

 the diplomatic service to read law, and was called as a barrister at 

 the Middle Temple (Oxford Circuit) in 1884. In 1876 he inherited 

 the WoUey property, Woodhall, Hamwood, Shropshire, when he 

 assumed the name and arms of Wolley. He came to British Columbia 

 in 1896, and was thereafter occupied in mining activities and journal- 

 ism and general literary work. His Majesty the King honoured him 

 with knighthood in 1915. 



His graphic prose style added interest to his books on travel and 

 big-game hunting, his poetry was instinct with love of nature. The 

 Society in 1914 published examples of Sir Clive's poems. A perusal 

 of these contributions will convince the reader that he was possessed 

 of a delicate fancy, appreciated British Columbia life and scenery, 

 and had the skill to translate and interpret what he saw and felt. 



He took a deep interest in the affairs of Canada and the British 

 Empire and was constant in his efforts to advance his adopted country 

 and to harmonize her interests with a broader and more effective 

 union of all the British Dominions. 



Owing to the great distance of his residence from our place of 

 meeting and the unsatisfactory state of his health, it is to be regretted 

 that he was not present at any of our annual meetings. 



It should be recorded here that his only son, Lieutenant-Com- 

 mander Clive Phillipps-Wolley, was lost on his ship, the "Hogue," 

 when she was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in Septem- 

 ber, 1914. The writer had the privilege of conversing with him shortly 

 after that tragedy, and his tone of brave resignation and absolute 

 confidence was worthy of all our best traditions. This short sketch 

 of a remarkable personality may well close with this admirable char- 

 acterization : "Those who knew Sir Clive never doubted that what 

 he wrote or spoke was the frank and free expression of his thought 

 and the desire of his heart. As a poet and as a citizen he was incap- 

 able of perfunctory loyalties, or mere conventional patriotisms. He 

 was not even able to be reticent on such matters. Those who agreed 

 or disagreed with him knew his clear-grained human worth and brave 

 old wisdom of sincerity." 



