henry who?

UPDATE: MARCH 15, 2010

I've given this post its own category and will use it to fill in more details of Sir Henry Lawrence and Lovedale's history as I come across them. 

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This post is not quite about Lovedale…and yet, it is.

How well do you know Henry?

I'll be the first to admit it - my initial impression of Henry Lawrence was that he was a  bit of a bloodsucker.

And if you were an eight-year old that first Halloween at school, scared by your seniors into believing he was waiting to give you a blood-bath in the cubicles as part of your initiation into Lovedale, you'd quake in your clodhoppers too. Let’s face it, his picture, however inadvertently, certainly looked menacing enough.

I was intrigued by a recent avalanche of emails about him and the Lawrence Baronets of Lucknow and I had to think back to what I knew, and what we really learned about the Founder of our school.  Which would be…Zip.

Wikipedia is not much of a help either: Henry Montgomery Lawrence's life seems to be constrained neatly within four paragraphs. Amazon has a couple of books, one of which is The Life of Sir Henry Lawrence, Volume II. Volume I seems to have vanished into the ether. 

Briefly, Lawrence was born in 1806 - in Matara, Ceylon, and grew to become an able soldier and  administrator - one who in later years, was often unpopular with his superiors for insisting they pay more attention to the welfare of the Indian population. (Ed note: Way to go, Henry! Irreverent aside: did anyone ever call him...Monty?) 

His father, Alexander Lawrence, fought in the Mysore Wars of the 18th century - first against Hyder Ali and later, his son, Tipu Sultan. Two interesting factoids about these Wars: In the siege of Seringapatam, a Col. Wellesley was badly injured and Alexander Lawrence carried him on his shoulders to safety. Wellesley would go on to fight later in the Battle of Waterloo; as the Duke of Wellington. The second factoid is for students of American history. Congreve rockets developed during the Mysore Wars would go on to be used in the War of 1812 at Fort McHenry; this is the battle that inspired The Star Spangled Banner. The part about 'the rockets' red glare...' referred to these rockets.

Henry Lawrence's service took him to Calcutta (where he met Henry Havelock who, coincidentally, also died at the Residency in Lucknow in 1857),  Chittagong, Gorakhpur, Ferozepore, Peshawar, Lahore (where he served as Resident and Agent to the Governor-General for the North West Frontier) and finally Awadh, and its capital, Lucknow, in 1856.

There is an interesting anecdote from his time at Lahore: Sir Henry was tasked with accepting the famed Koh-I-Noor diamond as it made its way from India to London. The process was not without its hiccups...when the time came to hand over the diamond to those taking it overseas, it was nowhere to be found. His bearer, when asked, responded: "You mean that bit of glass in a matchbox? I found with your tunic and nearly sent it to the Dhobi (launderer)!"

Saved by a careful attendant, the diamond was duly delivered to London by a party that included Sir Henry's brother, John Lawrence, and handed to Queen Victoria by the young Prince Dalip Singh. Remember that bit of trivia the next time you visit the Crown Jewels in London, my fellow travelers. The diamond, apparently, was very nearly - dust. 

Henry Lawrence died of his injuries from an 8-inch shell at The Residency in Lucknow – one of the first to die during its siege. I’ve seen it and it is a sprawling complex with hauntingly beautiful ruins...you cannot stand in front of the pock-marked buildings and fail to think of those dark days of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.



For a bit of background information on the mutiny, here's a previous post of mine. And a military take on the siege.

His is a simple tombstone: Here Lies Henry Lawrence, who tried to do his duty.

I remember seeing it as a young Lawrencian and wondering at the impact we leave on others once we die. That I was nine and philosophical beyond my years is another matter.

His legacy lives on through four schools founded in his honor, three of which remain today: Lawrence School, Lovedale; Lawrence School, Sanawar; and Lawrence School Ghora Gali.

Created after the Sepoy Mutiny, the Lawrence Baronets of Lucknow continue through today with the 7th Baronet: Sir Henry Peter Lawrence.

I have to thank a few OL's for the information in this post. It is woven from a combination of Wikipedia information, Google Earth maps and photos, and a recent email exchange between these OL's and Roger Foord Evans. I invite them to correct my inaccuracies, if any. Kevin Phillips, Nick Horsburgh and Noel Phillips.

Comments

[Peter Gantzer]

Really enjoyed this post.

[piper]

Thanks, Peter! I'd also welcome more info on him if you come across any...

[Vipul Purohit]

Very well written. It's a treat to read it.