THE PADFIELD YEARS - PART II
In the last blog post we saw how the Rev William Herbert Greenland Padfield, MA (Cantab) became the Principal of The Lawrence Asylum in Lovedale in 1908. He served in this capacity till 1932, his record of 24 years at the helm of affairs remains unbroken to this day.
In this post, we record more of his achievements. While much of the credit for the success of an institution has to go to the leader, in this case the Rev Padfield, we are sure he would have acknowledged the sterling role played by the Head Master, Mr. W R Ramshaw. He held that important post, from 1908 to 1930, almost totally overlapping Rev Padfield’s tenure.
That year, borrowing from the English Public School system, three Houses were formed in the Upper School. The Houses were called Lawrence, ( after Sir Henry), Hope Grant, ( after General Sir James Hope Grant, who played a leading role in choosing Lovedale as the location for the expanded Asylum at Ootacamund, when he was the Commander in Chief of the Madras Army) and Murray Hammick, ( after Sir Murray Love Hammick KCSI, CIE a Madras Civil servant and a great friend of the School, who was the Acting Governor of the Madras Presidency in 1912).
Lovedale was far removed from the pitched battles fought in mainland Europe during World War I .The School Honour Board recorded some of the Old Lawrencians who distinguished themselves. Lt H R Vaughan IARO ( Indian Army Reserve Officer) attached to the 41st Dogras, part of the Indian Corps commanded by General Sir James Willcocks was wounded in the battle of Festubert in May 1915. #
We also now know that Capt. William Noel Atkinson, 2nd/10th
Gurkha Rifles, Indian Army was killed by a sniper when leading his men to repel a fierce counter attack by the Turks at Gallipoli on June 29, 1915. He was the eldest son of The School’s former Principal, the Rev. A.W. Atkinson. He was a graduate of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, gazetted as 2 nd Lieutenant in 1903 when his father held office at Lovedale.
An article by Annamalai Palaniappan in The Lawrencian in June/July 1983, contains this interesting information, “ The School played its part during the Great War of 1914 – 1918 , when the boys and staff garrisoned Wellington. It is interesting to note that for the service rendered, over 40 General Service Medals were awarded. The Principal heard from 220 boys serving on different fronts, among whom 18 subsequently sacrificed their lives on various battlefields, and 17 gained honours and distinctions. At that time over 2,500 students of the school were scattered in the four corners of the Empire.”
Some of you may have seen a panel in the School Church that honours the memory of those who laid down their lives for King and Country during the First World War. Contributions for this came from the Old Lawrencians Club which Rev Padfield was instrumental in setting up. This was the forerunner of our current Old Lawrencians Association.
In those days of Empire one of the most coveted trophies was the Lord Milner Trophy awarded at the close of the annual Imperial Challenge Rifle Shooting competition, open to boys and girls across the British Empire. It was a matter, therefore of immense pride for the Rev Padfield when the School won this prestigious trophy in 1919.
In January, 1921, the School was presented The King's Colors in an impressive ceremony at Madras by HRH The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, uncle of the reigning Monarch, King George V.
The cadets, 40 rank and file, 2 N.C.Os. (and 5 N.C.Os. for the colour party) under Sergt. Major Light, and the Band, (37 in number,) under Band Instructor Muddle, with Sergt. Munford, travelled to Madras. They stayed at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Fort St. George, where everything had been very kindly arranged for them by Q.M.S. Jeffery.
An article in The Lawrencian notes, " We should like to thank Q.M.S. Jeffery most warmly for all his help, and for the very excellent catering arrangements which he made for us, giving the cadets absolutely the time of their lives. Drill starts at once, under the supervision of Captain Mc Enroy, M.C., who most kindly devoted himself to this task morning and evening, and to whom our thanks are largely due for the precision and accuracy which the cadets showed on “ the day.”
Punctually, on Saturday at 8 a.m., H.R.H arrived at the entrance to the pandal and was met by Their Excellencies, The Governor and Lady Willingdon. His Excellency then presented Sir. William Marshall, Mr.Knapp and Mr.Berridge as representing the School Committee and the Principal to His Royal Highness. H.R.H then proceeded to the dais, where he was met by the Bishop of Madras. The School Band played“ God Save the King” and the cadets presented arms.
The Bishop then consecrated the colours- which rested on an altar of drums kindly lent by the Leicester Regiment (The Royal Canadians).
H.R.H. then spoke as follows:“ It is a great pleasure to me to present these colours to the Lawrence Memorial School for I well know how close and honorable is the connection that binds you to the British Army.
I congratulate your Principal and your Officers on the distinguished record your school has achieved and on the very smart appearance of the cadets whom I see before me now. I trust you will look upon these colours as the emblem of your duty to your school and country and I hope that many of those who are henceforth to serve under these colours will live to serve, The King Emperor with honour and distinction in the larger spheres of life.”
The colours unfurled and turned towards the centre of the line were given a general salute – the colour party marched in slow time to its place in line, the band playing “God Save the King”. The platoon headed by the band, then marched passed in line.
After the presentation, H.R.H. expressed to the Principal the pleasure which it had given him to present the colours to a school with such a splendid history and complimented him on their smartness and efficiency. His Excellency then sent for Mrs. Padfield and presented her to H.R.H. The large and distinguished gathering present were loud in their commendations. A letter received by the Principal in his Excellency’s own handwriting will no doubt help to inspire succeeding generations to keep up to the standard set by the present boys.
Encouraged by the favorable reports he received about the School, HRH kindly consented to become the Royal Patron of the School in 1923.
In 1925, came what perhaps was the crowning point in Rev Padfield's tenure. The School was accorded the status of a Royal Military School by His Majesty King George V- it was only the fourth School in the British Empire to be bestowed with this honour.
The first school to be so honored was the Duke of York’s Royal Military School at Dover, founded by Royal Warrant in 1803 as The Royal Military Asylum . It became the Duke of York’s Royal Military School in 1892. Next, the privilege was accorded to the Royal Hibernian Military School in Dublin , established in 1769 and accorded this honour in 1806. It merged with its sister school The Duke Of York's Royal Military School in 1924.
The third in the British Empire to be bestowed this honour was our very own Sister School at Sanawar, established in 1847 which was given the title of The Lawrence Memorial
Royal Military School in 1920.
This good news was reflected in The Rev Padfield’s report to the Chairman and Members of the Board of Governors of the School when he wrote with justifiable pride that His Imperial Majesty the King Emperor George V had “been graciously pleased to approve of the Lawrence Memorial School, Lovedale, being designated ‘The Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School (Lovedale).”
After serving as the Principal for 24 years, the Rev Padfield retired and went back to England in 1932 leaving behind a lasting legacy.
As mentioned in the last blog post, under Rev Padfield the School had grown considerable in stature. An Asylum for the children of British soldiers serving in India, especially the orphans, had grown to become a Royal Military School.
We would encourage you to see the two episodes about Rev Padefield aired in the segment on "Glimpses of a Glorious Part " in the OLA's OL Assembly of June 2021 and July 2021.
1 comment:
Among those who laid down their lives in World War I was my class mate Neville McLeod's grandfather. His name is included in the commemmorative tablet in the church.
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