and the headmaster's speech, culminating with the Rhetoric Ball and Rhetoric Mass the following morning. Stonyhurst Association After less formal arrangements had been made for many years, the Association was formed in 1879. Its primary objective is to foster a strong spirit of union amongst past pupils and friends of Stonyhurst, which has been achieved in a variety of ways reflecting the spirit of succeeding generations. Recently, there has been a strong charitable emphasis, embedded with similar developments at the college. This was formalised in 1985, when the Association was granted charitable status by the Charity Commission. It also supports charities connected to the school including Eagle Aid. Alumni Stonyhurst has educated prominent individuals in every area, from statesmen to sportsmen, and actors to archbishops. Seven alumni have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry; paintings of them adorn the walls of the Top Refectory in the school. Notable alumni include: Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signatory of the U.S. Declaration of Independence Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes St Thomas Garnet SJ, canonised saint and protomartyr of St Omers, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales John Harbison, first State Pathologist of Ireland Joseph Mary Plunkett, Irish signatory of the Irish Proclamation of Independence leading activist in the Easter Rising, for which he was executed John Francis Moriarty, Attorney General for Ireland Richard More O'Ferrall, Governor of Malta and Irish landownder. Sir Frederick Weld, New Zealand prime minister Eduardo Lopez de Romaña, president of Peru Lieutenant Maurice James Dease, was the first posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross during WWI, fought and died at the Battle of Mons Thomas Meagher, Irish poet, leader of the Young Ireland movement, American Civil War Brigadier General, and Acting Governor of the Montana Territory. Daniel Carroll, brother of John and cousin of Charles, one of only five men to sign both the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. John Carroll, brother of Daniel and cousin of Charles, served as first bishop and archbishop in the United States, founder of Georgetown University. Contemporaries Joe Ansbro, Scottish rugby international Crispian Hollis, Bishop of Portsmouth Michael D. Hurley, Cambridge don engaged in literature, philosophy and theology Paul Johnson, writer, artist and popular historian Professor Gabriel Leung, GBS, JP, Dean of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong Mark Thompson, former Director General of the BBC