West Coast Trail: Phil Daykin Lightkeeper

It took a hardy individual to settle along the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Communication to the nearest urban centre, Victoria, was limited to occasional visits from supply vessels and a telegraph system which would experience interrupted periods due to downed lines.

W.P. (Phil) Daykin, his wife and two sons, were the first keepers assigned to the newly built lighthouse at Carmanah Point. It was 1891. The lighthouse is situated along the present day West Coast Trail, and served as an important beacon to vessels with archaic navigational aids. Fog and coastal storms took their toll, as over 200 ships wrecked along this coast, resulting in it being called the "Graveyard of the Pacific".

Phil kept a daily diary during his tempestuous stay at Carmanah from 1891 to 1912. A man of few words, his diary offered little insight other than the occasional rant. If a supply ship was late, did not deliver what he ordered , or food spoiled, he freely complained to his superiors in Victoria. His gruff ways often irritated and alienated them. And he used expletives freely. His liberal verbal assaults may have been fueled by his frustrations, and/or his enjoyment of spirits, as a bottle of scotch each day was his rule.

The stay at Carmanah took its toll on Phil and his family. His wife Anna developed pneumonia and died in 1906. His youngest son William, 17, was killed when the line holding the supply trolley he was riding from the beach up to the lighthouse snapped and he was flung to his death. The other son Ted went hunting with a friend and failed to return to the lighthouse. A search party found their boat drifting on a nearby lake with all equipment including guns, but no boys. Their disappearance is still a mystery.

Age, depression, deteriorating health, and harsh conditions caused Phil to ask for reassignment to a less demanding location. His request was constantly denied, as superiors offered a litany of reasons why reassignment was not possible. More likely, his earlier complaints and undiplomatic relationship with superiors, influenced any hope of any new posting.

Finally, Phil was assigned to an easier responsibility, the lighthouse in Victoria. Irony of ironies, as he developed pneumonia and died within the year. It was 1912.