Cherished St. Bon's alumnus Thomas Nangle honoured with plaque

St. Bonaventure's College on Monday unveiled a plaque to honour one of its most cherished alumni: Thomas Nangle.

"Lieutenant-governors, archbishops, bishops, captains of industry, doctors, lawyers, engineers, war heroes they've all gone through these hallowed halls at St. Bonaventure's College, but none of them is more significant than Thomas Nangle," said St. Bon's president Tom McGrath during a ceremony Monday afternoon at the school, attended by Nangle's daughter, Mavourneen Galbraith.

He is someone whom our students can aspire to emulate.- Barbara Mason

Nangle attended St. Bon's from 1896 when he was just seven years old, one of the youngest boarders in the school's 160-year history until he graduated in 1909.

He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1913 and enlisted in the Newfoundland Regiment two years later, becoming the regiment's padre and earning the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

In 1917, he returned home to St. John's to speak of his experiences during the First World War to recruit more troops for the war effort. After the war he established the Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont Hamel and the National War Memorial in St. John's, among other commemorative sites.

From 1923 to 1924, he served as Newfoundland's high commissioner to the United Kingdom. In 1926, he left the priesthood and emigrated to Rhodesia, where he married, became a farmer, and became active in politics. He lived in Rhodesia until his death in 1972.

Last year, Nangle was named a person of national significance.

"He is someone whom our students can aspire to emulate, and St. Bonaventure's College is privileged to be able to call him one of our own," said Barbara Mason, chair of the college's board of directors.