Sedley Bell-Irving Sweeny (November 29, 1917 - December 19, 2013) was born in England. He graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada with a commission in the Royal Engineers and went on to serve in World War II with the 8th Army from El Alamein onwards, then in Sicily, Italy and Greece; he was awarded Military Cross for valour at the Garigliano River crossing in Jan.'44.
He married Diana Game in 1941 and they had three daughters: Nicola, Terry and Robin. He retired from the army in 1957, bought a farm in Wales, and for the next thirty years devoted his energies to sustainable land management, self sufficiency and, increasingly, the welfare of marginalized people. With Diana, he managed an orphanage for Tibetan refugee children in Simla, India, on behalf of Save the Children Fund, subsequently founding The Society for Training in Rural Industries and Village Enterprises, through which he provided instruction and practical experience for Tibetan family groups on his farm.
Sedley returned to BC in 1985, divorced and single again. At age 71 he rowed to Cortes from Vancouver, where he met and married his second wife, Trude Albright, in 1989. Sedley was a Self Sufficiency advocate promoting a Cortes wide vision of cooperation and skill sharing. He and Trude were involved in many Cortes community initiatives including an emergency first aid and ambulance service; the Friends of Cortes Association; the Cortes Ecoforestry Society; the Cortes Earmark Book of islander skills; and The Cooperation For Cortes Self Sufficiency. Many of the associated activities happened at Trude's Café. A skilled boat-builder, he converted a fishing boat into a junk-rigged yacht, and he also instructed Cortes youth in boatbuilding and sailing.
Sedley died at home at the age of 96 and is buried in the Whaletown cemetery.
Custodial History
There is no accession record; fonds has been given an arbitrary FIC (Found In Collection) number based on the date of processing.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of writings by Sedley Sweeny, including a book, "The Challenge of Smallholding", and two photographs of his sailboat, "Wild Rose".
File consists of a two booklets, "An Intuitive View of the Whole" and "Children of Tibet", a Cortes Island Self-Sufficiency pamphlet, poetry by Sweeny and the Dalai Lama, and a letter about ecoforestry trainng for Tibetan refugees in India.
File consists of a two booklets, "An Intuitive View of the Whole" and "Children of Tibet", a Cortes Island Self-Sufficiency pamphlet, poetry by Sweeny and the Dalai Lama, and a letter about ecoforestry trainng for Tibetan refugees in India.
Sedley Bell-Irving Sweeny (November 29, 1917 - December 19, 2013) lived a long and interesting life. At age 71 he rowed to Cortes from Vancouver, where he met and married his second wife, Trude Albright, in 1989.Sedley was a Self Sufficiency advocate promoting a Cortes wide vision of cooperation and skill sharing. A skilled boat-builder, he converted a fishing boat into a junk-rigged yacht. Sedley never owned a car on Cortes, rather walking and hitchhiking where ever he had to go.
Sweeny was an army officer, a farmer, an engineer and a sailor. He ran an orphanage for Tibetan Refugees and helped with Tibetan ecoforestry. He knew the Dalai Lama personally and brought Trude to meet him. He wrote many articles and books; including The Intuitive View of the Whole (attached), The Challenge of Smallholding and Working up a Smallholding. Sedley was an incredible boat builder and spent a lot of time on the water.
Scope and Content
File consists of a book by Sweeny, "The Challenge of Smallholding", published by Oxford University Press, 1987.
File contains George Sirk's report on birds, photocopied clippings about the logging and a protest on Cortes Island, correspondence and Issue #156 of The Discovery Islander (Feb 1998).
File contains George Sirk's report on birds, photocopied clippings about the logging and a protest on Cortes Island, correspondence and Issue #156 of The Discovery Islander (Feb 1998).
Photographs depict the pupils at the second Whaletown school standing beside the school. The photograph was taken by Evelyn Dow, who taught there from February 1928 to June 1929. This school was built in 1918 near the corner of Coulter Bay Road and Carrington Bay Road, and was used (with improvements) until 1950. The front, side and surroundings of the school are clearly shown.
Front row third from left is Marion Borden; Vernon Borden next to her fourth from left.
Top row, far right: Lorna Borden
(IDs by Terrill Marlow, Marion’s daughter, and Rob Borden, Vernon’s son).
Photographs are from an album created by Evelyn Dow and were donated to CIMAS by her niece, Sharon Thomas.
Scope and Content
Photographs depict the pupils at the second Whaletown school standing beside the school. The photograph was taken by Evelyn Dow, who taught there from February 1928 to June 1929. This school was built in 1918 near the corner of Coulter Bay Road and Carrington Bay Road, and was used (with improvements) until 1950. The front, side and surroundings of the school are clearly shown.
Front row third from left is Marion Borden; Vernon Borden next to her fourth from left.
Top row, far right: Lorna Borden
(IDs by Terrill Marlow, Marion’s daughter, and Rob Borden, Vernon’s son).
