Lawrence Military Asylum

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There were four Lawrence Military Asylums. These schools underwent several name changes, later being known variously as the Lawrence School, Lawrence Memorial School or Lawrence College.

The first Military Asylum at Sanawar was founded by Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence to provide education for the orphan and other children of soldiers serving or having served in India. Children of "pure European parentage" took preference over those of mixed race parentage.

Lawrence School, Mount Abu

Also known as Abu Lawrence School it was located at Mount Abu, a hill station in Rajasthan. Established in 1856, it no longer exists.

The Catalogue shows the following India Office Records at the British Library:

  • File 21/54 Abu Lawrence School: reports IOR/R/20/A/1837 1904-1910
  • Report of the Abu Lawrence School for children of soldiers for the year 1933-34. Poona: Committee of Management, 1934. IOR/L/MIL/17/5/2296 1934

External links:

Lawrence College, Ghora Gali

Near Murree.

The BACSA Archive at the British Library, shelfmark MSS Eur F370/1434, contains the following catalogue entry

  • Charlesworth, Michael, ‘Lawrence College, Ghora Galli, Pakistan’ (typescript, nd)


Lt. Col. Rev. William Thomas Wright CIE, VD was Principal of Laurence Royal Military School, Ghora Gali He was Honorary Canon of Lahore; and a Commandant of the Punjab Rifles. In 1925 he was made a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire [1]

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Lawrence School, Lovedale

This school is in Ootacamund in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu. In 1925 the name was changed from the Lawrence Memorial School, Lovedale, Ootacamund to the Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School.[2]

History

For the situation in 1856, before establishment, see Allen’s Indian Mail (1856) p552 [Google Books]. The Asylum was opened in 1858, with control passing to the Government in 1860.[3] First however, the Government insisted that the religious principles adopted at the Lawrence Military Asylum, Sanawar, must be adopted at Lovedale.[4]

Amalgamation of the Madras Military Male Orphan Asylum with the Lawrence Asylum was considered from 1860. In April 1864 the land at Lovedale was selected for the combined institutions and new buildings were constructed. 220 boys from the MMMOA moved in September 1871.[4] The girls from the Madras Military Female Orphan School, about 100, were transferred to the Lawrence Asylum, Lovedale in October 1904 as the Government required their premises in Madras.[5]

Conditions in the early 1930's are described in The Way We Are: An Anglo-Indian Mosaic page 3, chapter "Never Give In" by Moira Breen (2008).

After the formation of the Nilgiri Volunteer Rifles in 1878, a Cadet Corps was established at the Lawrence Asylum,, increasing to two companies by 1905.

Records

The British Library has the following IOR entry: The Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School, Lovedale, Nilgiris, 73rd Report, 1st April 1932-31st March 1933 [and 74th-77th, 79th-80th & 85th Reports, 1933/4-1936/7, 1938/9-1939/40 & 1944/5]. Bangalore: Board of Governors, 1933-45. 8 issues. IOR/L/MIL/17/5/2299 1933-1945

The British Library has the following two books in its catalogue:

  • Never give in : a history of the one hundred and twentyfive years of The Lawrence School, Lovedale by Hugh and Colleen Gantzer c 1984
  • Lovedale : the Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School, South India : a Personal Account by Max Cocker. C 1988

A researcher was able to obtain 1889 admission records from the School which indicated both parents of the boy admitted, the mother being Indian.

A researcher has advised she has a copy of " Never Give In : Old Lawrencians' Directory 1988-89. Inside this book from pages 21-93 is a copy of "Historical Register of Admissions from 1858 to 1954” As the children were admitted into the school their names and date of admission were recorded chronologically in handwriting in a big Ledger which I understand is in the Archives located in the clock tower in the school. In 1988, these names were copied and typed into the above book, My brother visited the school in the 1990's and through his efforts I was able to obtain a copy of this Admission Directory.

If one is not familiar with English surnames, it may be difficult to decipher the Palmer script. Consequently, there are many inaccuracies in these recorded names, but if one knows the time frame. that the child was in school, and the first names it is possible to locate the name. For example the surname Lillywhite has been copied as Lilly, White or Dillywhite etc the surname Quinn is written as Ouinn, Luinn, Duinn etc; the name Hampstead has been copied as Ham, PStead

The size of the book is 5 inches by 8 inches and each page has 2 columns of names - each column has 50 names, which means that each 5 x 8 page has 100 names - so in total there are more than seven thousand names." [6]

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Also refer Orphans.

Lawrence School, Sanawar

Near Simla, but closest to Kasauli, this school was the first of the four Lawrence schools, established in 1847.

Maureen Evers has written about the school in "Four Orphan Schools in Calcutta and the Lawrence Military Asylum Sanawar, Part 1: History," FIBIS Journal No 22 (Autumn 2009), pages 1-14. "Part II: parents, conditions, prospects" FIBIS Journal No 23 (Spring 2010), pages 5-14. For details of how to access these articles, see FIBIS Journals.

External links:

References

  1. ↑ Bruce and Dorothy Brown Collection, University of Victoria Library, British Columbia, Canada
  2. ↑ British Library IOR/L/MIL/7/12528 1925
  3. ↑ Francis, W. Gazetteer of South India, Volume 2 p314 (1988). Probably a reprint of an earlier book, perhaps 1905.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Francis, W. Madras District Gazetteers: The Nilgiris, page 262 1908 Archive.org.
  5. ↑ Francis, Nilgiris p263
  6. ↑ By email to User:Maureene, 29 March 2010
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