SIR HENRY LAWRENCE: AN APPRECIATION

 SIR HENRY LAWRENCE: AN APPRECIATION 

I was in Lovedale from 1959 to 1967. During my years in the Prep and Junior Schools, I can't recall hearing anything about Sir Henry Lawrence, in whose memory our School was founded in 1858. It was only when I entered the Senior School that one came across Sir Henry, through his portrait in the Large Hall and through a sculpture on the front lawns made of him by our Sculpture Master, the highly talented Mr P E "Pet" Thomas. 

Photo courtesy: Farrokh Chothia, ARA 1982. 

It was in this time that we read in our History class about the "Indian Mutiny" of 1857. We had a text book the name of which I still remember, more than 50 years after I last read it: " The Advanced History of India" by R C Majumdar, H C Raychaudhary, and K Datta. It described the mutiny in units of the East India Company's Bengal Army, which had far reaching consequences. In modern day India, the uprising of 1857 is referred to as The First War of Independence or The Indian Rebellion. 

Sir Henry Lawrence was then the Chief Commissioner for Oudh, stationed at Lucknow. He died defending the Residency in July 1857 where he exhorted his men to " Never Give In". This became- and continues to be- the motto of The Lawrence Schools. 

 In 1858, the British Government formally took over the governing of the provinces managed by the The East India Company . Two decades later, Queen Victoria was proclaimed the Empress of India in 1877.  Clearly, the British had come a long way since they first made their appearance by starting a trading station at Surat in Gujarat in 1608. Thereafter they continued to rule India till we got Independence in August 1947.  

In Book 1 of " Glimpses of a Glorious Past: An Informal History of The Lawrence School, Lovedale" we have covered Sir Henry and his life in considerable detail. His love for Honoria Marshall who became his wife and their life together featured in the Valentine's Day Special of the OL Assembly in February, 2021. 

Amongst the Old Lawrencian community of today, Wing Commander Joseph Thomas, VM, Indian Air Force (Retd) , Aravalli House, 1957, was, to the best of our knowledge,  the first to show serious interest in Sir Henry.

He wrote two detailed articles about Sir Henry Lawrence and The Lawrence Schools, in the popular website Guftagu in 2014 which you can read using the links given: 

• "Sir Henry Lawrence" by Joseph Thomas
• "The Lawrence Schools" by Joseph Thomas 

Recently, I had the pleasure of conversing with him about Sir Henry in a podcast titled:

• Sir Henry Lawrence, An Appreciation: Conversation with Wg Cdr Joseph Thomas, VM, IAF (Retd). 

As I write this, I recognize that Sir Henry lived, worked and died in a world very different from ours today. His life -and the events that took place in 1857 -have been extensively written about in innumerable books. Needless to say, there  are different points of view while looking at historical events. 

 For those interested in more detailed reading :- 

• "Lawrence of Lucknow, 1808-1857: Being The Life of Sir Henry Lawrence Retold From His Private and Public Papers" by J L Morrison,. G Bell & Sons, London, 1934
• " The Life of Sir Henry Lawrence" by Major General Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes & Herman Merivale ( In 2 Volumes), Smith, Elder & Co, London, 1872.
• "History of The Indian Mutiny, 1857-59" John Kaye & G B Malleson, first published 1897

Prem Rao

NIL 1967