The Toc H movement was officially founded in November 1915 and the oil lamp became a symbol of the light of fellowship that soldiers visiting Talbot House had experienced in the darkness of war.

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Toc H

Toc H was a non-denominational Christian movement that began in Europe in WWI and spread worldwide in the 1920s and 30s. Reverend Philip “Tubby” Clayton was an Army Chaplain in Poperinge, Flanders, Belgium. To give soldiers in Poperinge a break from the anxiety of war and an alternative to the local night life, Reverend Clayton established a club in a house which was later named Talbot House, in memory of a lieutenant killed in action. The homelike atmosphere, upstairs chapel, and egalitarian principles were elements of the club that drew soldiers from all over the world to Talbot House. Posted on the door of Clayton’s study was the motto: “All rank abandon ye who enter here.” Eventually Talbot House was shortened to Toc H because the British signaller’s code for T was “TOC” and H was “H.”

Clayton returned to England after the War and began to write about Talbot House and communicate with the soldiers he had met there. The movement was officially founded in November 1915 and the oil lamp became a symbol of the light of fellowship that soldiers visiting Talbot House had experienced in the darkness of war. The four main principles of the movement were fair-mindedness, fellowship, witness of the kingdom of God, and service. Additionally, the movement became a “living monument” for those who had lost their lives in the Great War. A 1923 article in the Winnipeg Evening Tribune explained that the Toc H movement “would outlive a monument of stone, and was therefore a much finer memorial to those who had served in the war tha (sic) anything else could possibly be.” Soldiers that had been to Talbot House, many of whom were from Canada and Australia, brought the principles of Toc H back home with them and started local movements. Each new branch was given a Toc H lamp to symbolize the continuing vitality of Toc H. In 1922, Governor General Lord Byng invited Clayton to do a lecture tour in Canada. Shortly after his visit to Winnipeg, the city became the first overseas branch to receive a lamp. The Winnipeg branch, which was designated as the headquarters for the movement in Canada, officially opened on Thanksgiving Day, 1923 at 11 Kennedy St.

By 1928 St. James had its own Toc H branch which met weekly at their hall at the corner of Portage and Marjorie St. In many communities, Toc H cooperated with the Boy Scouts and Cubs because Toc H provided scout leaders, as well as an opportunity for continued community involvement for boys who outgrew the Scout program. The St. James Toc H in particular, specialized in boys’ activities. A hockey league with two divisions was organized for boys that didn’t belong to a church society and an outdoor rink with electric lights and a changing shack was built. Other activities of the St. James Toc H included hosting a dance in support of the Empty Stocking Fund and an annual memorial service to honour fallen soldiers.

Lamp of Maintenance

The Lamp of Maintenance was a symbolic representation of the vitality of the Toc H movement and the light it brought into peoples’ lives, but it was also utilized in the rituals of the organization. Each Toc H meeting began with the lighting of the lamp and a short prayer for those killed in the Great War. Each new Toc H branch received a lamp lit by the Prince of Wales. The first 40 lamps were lit in London in 1922. The lamps are decorated with the double cross which is also appear in the arms of the city of Ypres. The Latin inscription reads “We will see the light in Your light.”

This Lamp of Maintenance was bestowed in memory of George Parkin, a Nova Scotian who was an educator, a strong voice in support of imperial unity in the 1880s, and later the Secretary of the Rhodes Scholarship Trust in England.