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".
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 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.
Scan of Cortes Marketer 2011 containing Advisory Planning Commissions (APC) for local land use management; agenda from SRD Electoral Area Services Committee (EASC) meeting; and local advertisements on back
Scan of Cortes Marketer 2011 containing Advisory Planning Commissions (APC) for local land use management; agenda from SRD Electoral Area Services Committee (EASC) meeting; and local advertisements on back
Photo of Bob Langdon's amphibious Seabee, 1948. Receipts from Island Airlines, Elmer Ellingsen, 1969. Clippings with info on the history of seaplane use and Campbell River's seaplane industry. Transcript of Susan Ellingsen, Dianne Hentschel, and Doreen Thompson, 2005. Harbors magazine featuring Kenmore Air 2011. Additional keywords: Bob Langdon; Campbell River, the Spit; mercy flights; bush pilots; injured loggers
Photo of Bob Langdon's amphibious Seabee, 1948. Receipts from Island Airlines, Elmer Ellingsen, 1969. Clippings with info on the history of seaplane use and Campbell River's seaplane industry. Transcript of Susan Ellingsen, Dianne Hentschel, and Doreen Thompson, 2005. Harbors magazine featuring Kenmore Air 2011. Additional keywords: Bob Langdon; Campbell River, the Spit; mercy flights; bush pilots; injured loggers
Educational pamphlets, catalogues, and posters on bats, 1994-2004; copies of Bat House Project instructions for building a small economy bat house, 2004; articles, emails and newspaper clippings about bats, 2006-2016; public service announcement from Linda Solomon and Bhaskar Krag re: bats and rabies, undated; drawings of bats by school-aged children, undated. Keywords: pest control, wildlife at risk, Keen's Long-eared Myotis, Bat House Project, Bat Conservation International, California Myotis, White Nose Syndrome, rabies
Educational pamphlets, catalogues, and posters on bats, 1994-2004; copies of Bat House Project instructions for building a small economy bat house, 2004; articles, emails and newspaper clippings about bats, 2006-2016; public service announcement from Linda Solomon and Bhaskar Krag re: bats and rabies, undated; drawings of bats by school-aged children, undated. Keywords: pest control, wildlife at risk, Keen's Long-eared Myotis, Bat House Project, Bat Conservation International, California Myotis, White Nose Syndrome, rabies
CIMAS Spring Birding Count checklists 2004-2016; emails and articles about bird sightings/bird count on Cortes, 2005-2007 and 2016; article in Birdwatch Canada, 107th Christmas Bird Count Cross-Canada report, 2007; print out about CIMAS's Spring Migration Birding Event, 2011; Christmas bird count info for CIMAS, 2016; Caring for Wildlife Habitat at home, info on constructing bird houses, undated
CIMAS Spring Birding Count checklists 2004-2016; emails and articles about bird sightings/bird count on Cortes, 2005-2007 and 2016; article in Birdwatch Canada, 107th Christmas Bird Count Cross-Canada report, 2007; print out about CIMAS's Spring Migration Birding Event, 2011; Christmas bird count info for CIMAS, 2016; Caring for Wildlife Habitat at home, info on constructing bird houses, undated
Photocopied photographs of five orcas who were shot in the lagoon near Squirrel Cove, 1949; Excerpt from Evergreen Islands by Doris Andersen with info on Indigenous whaling practices, 1979. Info on cetaceans from the Journal of the Vancouver Aquarium, 1986. Articles, emails, and brochures on cetaceans, 2012-2017 (some undated). BC Cetacean Sightings Network Newsletters, 2014-2017
Photocopied photographs of five orcas who were shot in the lagoon near Squirrel Cove, 1949; Excerpt from Evergreen Islands by Doris Andersen with info on Indigenous whaling practices, 1979. Info on cetaceans from the Journal of the Vancouver Aquarium, 1986. Articles, emails, and brochures on cetaceans, 2012-2017 (some undated). BC Cetacean Sightings Network Newsletters, 2014-2017
GENERAL: Articles and clippings with info on aquaculture from 1984-2016. Posts in WNE about Cortes Island Seafood Association, 1991; Poster for Aquaculture Walk About, Regional Board for Aquaculture Zoning, undated.
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS: Gov of Canada Fisheries and Oceans Brochure, undated; Navigable Waters Protection Act Application Guide, 1980s; Aquaculture Information, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1986; Crown Land for Finfish Aquaculture, BC Lands, 1987; Permit and license structure for Marine Finfish Culture, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1987; Ministry of Forests and Lands Personal Crown Land Application File, 1987-1988; Commercial Aquaculture in Canada Fisheries and Oceans report, 1988; BC Farmers Association brochure and licensing documents entitled Farm Fresh Salmon from BC, Canada, A Breed Apart, 1988; News release, Fisheries and Oceans, 1988; Seafood and Marine Products Sector Campaign, Environmental Research and Development Framework Review, 1991; Aquaculture Industry Assessment, 1992; Notice of Public Hearing, Comox-Strathcona RD, 2002; Draft Cortes Island Aquaculture Zones, Comox-Strathcona RD, 2004
GENERAL: Articles and clippings with info on aquaculture from 1984-2016. Posts in WNE about Cortes Island Seafood Association, 1991; Poster for Aquaculture Walk About, Regional Board for Aquaculture Zoning, undated.
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS: Gov of Canada Fisheries and Oceans Brochure, undated; Navigable Waters Protection Act Application Guide, 1980s; Aquaculture Information, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1986; Crown Land for Finfish Aquaculture, BC Lands, 1987; Permit and license structure for Marine Finfish Culture, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1987; Ministry of Forests and Lands Personal Crown Land Application File, 1987-1988; Commercial Aquaculture in Canada Fisheries and Oceans report, 1988; BC Farmers Association brochure and licensing documents entitled Farm Fresh Salmon from BC, Canada, A Breed Apart, 1988; News release, Fisheries and Oceans, 1988; Seafood and Marine Products Sector Campaign, Environmental Research and Development Framework Review, 1991; Aquaculture Industry Assessment, 1992; Notice of Public Hearing, Comox-Strathcona RD, 2002; Draft Cortes Island Aquaculture Zones, Comox-Strathcona RD, 2004
Articles, newspaper clippings, and brochures relating to fish farming and wild fish stocks from 1978-2018. Full issue of Salmonid containing bundle of newspaper clippings on fish farming, 1984-1985; Full issue of Fish Farming International Magazine, 1988; Fish Farms in Area B Regional Directors Report, 2009; Poster entitled The Get Out Migration by Salmon Are Sacred, undated. Some notable keywords: Wilderness Committee; David Suzuki Foundation; Farmed and Dangerous; Salmon Are Sacred organization; sea lice; Sea Shepherd Society
Articles, newspaper clippings, and brochures relating to fish farming and wild fish stocks from 1978-2018. Full issue of Salmonid containing bundle of newspaper clippings on fish farming, 1984-1985; Full issue of Fish Farming International Magazine, 1988; Fish Farms in Area B Regional Directors Report, 2009; Poster entitled The Get Out Migration by Salmon Are Sacred, undated. Some notable keywords: Wilderness Committee; David Suzuki Foundation; Farmed and Dangerous; Salmon Are Sacred organization; sea lice; Sea Shepherd Society
