TORNOS - India > Winston Churchill and a school in Lucknow which inspired him

ALSO READ FROM OUR PAST ISSUES OF LUCKNOWLEDGE > >

Lucknowledge

Newsletter


Winston Churchill and a school in Lucknow which inspired him

Volume: 18, No: 12 ; December-2024

Background of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill as War Correspondent – better known to us as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and in his second term from 1951 to 1955.

Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill’s early life, spans the years between his birth on November 30, 1874, and his official crossing of the House of Commons floor on May 31, 1904, when he officially left the Conservative Party to join the Liberal Party.

He saw action in British India, the Anglo-Sudan War, and the Second Boer War after enlisting in the British Army in 1895. He became well-known as a war correspondent and for his books detailing his campaigns.

 In October 1896, Churchill traveled to Bombay, British India, with the Hussars. Soon after, they were moved to Bangalore, where he and Barnes shared a bungalow. Churchill spent 19 months in India, calling it a “godless land of snobs and bores.” During that time, he made two trips back to Britain, three trips to Calcutta, and expeditions to Hyderabad and the North West Frontier.

Churchill made the decision to fight alongside Bindon Blood’s Malakand Field Force in the Swat Valley of Northwest India against the Mohmand rebels. Churchill’s assignment as a journalist was a condition of Blood’s agreement; he obtained credentials from The Pioneer and The Daily Telegraph, for which he provided regular reports. He wrote to his family about how both sides of the war massacred one other’s wounded, but he made no mention of British troops doing the same in his published reports. After spending six weeks with the British Army, he left for Bangalore in October 1897. His first book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force, was written there and published by Longman to generally favorable reviews. Savrola, a political adventure narrative set in a fictional Balkan nation, is his sole piece of fiction. Before it was published as a book, it was serialized in Macmillan’s Magazine from May to December 1899.

Churchill considered joining Herbert Kitchener’s military expedition in the Sudan during his time in Bangalore in the first half of 1898. At first, Kitchener was hesitant, saying that Churchill was only interested in medals and attention. In June, Churchill sailed back to England from Bombay, having visited Calcutta, Meerut, and Peshawar.

Winston Churchill and a school in Lucknow which inspired him

by Ajit Chak

I wonder why they say a penny for your thoughts and not a shilling for your thoughts? It seems this would be too close to the name of George Schilling. Who was he and what did he do is told in this story which I got from someone who was sitting too close to a bottle of whiskey in a school get-together. I do not know how he got the story but there are certain aspects of it which can be confirmed. I am telling it to you the way he explained it to me. It may or may not be true but some of the facts associated with it are true. Hence the saying … A shilling for your thoughts.

La Martiniere College has two branches in India — in Lucknow and in Kolkata. A third branch exists in Lyon in France and it all began with a French Military man Claude Martin who was also a fortune builder and an architect who made the palace that later became a school in Lucknow.

Our story actually begins from Kolkata. Well, it also begins from Lucknow with a newspaper called The Pioneer. At that time The Pioneer was the leading paper in the United Provinces or what would later become the state of Uttar Pradesh. The paper was run by an extremely erudite Bengali Gentleman called Dr.S.N.Ghosh in the 1960s and he remained in harness till the last day of his life. Dr.S.N.Ghosh was a Padamshree and a D.Litt. but our story is of a time before India attained Independence.

Two extremely well-known British gentlemen were associated with The Pioneer. They were better known as the author of The Man who would be King the one and only Rudyard Kipling and the other a war correspondent posted near Kolkata called Winston Churchill.

With his obsession for war Churchill, according to my source at the bar, was well aware that there was a school called La Martiniere and the school boys had participated in the defence of the British Residency and saved several women and children from the local army attacking them in 1857. The school had been awarded military honours as a result of this exceptional bravery.

Less than three dozen boys were living in La Martiniere College with their principal George Schilling on the fateful day in June in the year 1857 when they were evacuated to the British Residency. The local army units meant for protection and even the local servants deserted after the British were defeated at Chinhat. Then the Residency too came under attack but the La Martiniere Boys did not give up. Under the guidance of their principal, they fought back and did not allow the enemy to enter the premises till they were relieved by the English forces. This ordeal lasted for several months. It was in November that the boys left the residency.

This story of grit and resilience against all odds is said to have inspired Churchill considerably. But even then, when the Germans were ready to invade England after the British had virtually lost their army at Dunkirk Churchill who had been placed at the helm of affairs in England was considering the possibility of surrendering.

This is when he remembered the story he had heard about George Schilling and the school in Lucknow and Kolkata that had been given military honours. He decided to go out and talk to children and the common people in England to get a feel of what they wanted and then take a decision. When the mentioned the word surrender, he saw the way they rejected the idea. They were willing to fight. They reminded him that an endless supply of troops from India and the many colonies of England awaited his orders. The New World would have to rush to the protection of the old they said and so he did what Schilling did. A fledgling RAF spread itself thin across the skies to face off against the Luftwaffe. He rationed the food, he promised his people blood, sweat, toil and tears, but no surrender. Then came the American. This enemy of the Nazis had an edge in technology. US planes bombed out German columns even before they could reach their positions. The skies rained canon fire. Even Hodson’s Horse would not have looked so amazing.

It was all they say due to a school in Lucknow, but we shall never know. It could have been too much whiskey. However, the Martiniere Post was real, Churchill was a war correspondent and The Pioneer was a newspaper. Churchill and Schilling were both heroes. And this article is written in English and not German. A penny for your doubts.

Credits : Ajit Chak

LUCKNOWLEDGE is an initiative by Tornos. We do not intend to intrude your privacy and thus have an automated UNSUBSCRIBE system. At any point you may unsubscribe to our e-column or subscribe to it again through a link on our website. The above article is shared and in no way intends to violate any copy right or intellectual rights that always remains with the writer/publisher. This e-column is a platform to share an article/event/update with the netizens and educate them about Destination Lucknow.

Winston Churchill and a school in Lucknow which inspired him

Background of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill as War Correspondent – better known to us as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and in his second term from 1951 to 1955.

Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill’s early life, spans the years between his birth on November 30, 1874, and his official crossing of the House of Commons floor on May 31, 1904, when he officially left the Conservative Party to join the Liberal Party.

He saw action in British India, the Anglo-Sudan War, and the Second Boer War after enlisting in the British Army in 1895. He became well-known as a war correspondent and for his books detailing his campaigns.

 In October 1896, Churchill traveled to Bombay, British India, with the Hussars. Soon after, they were moved to Bangalore, where he and Barnes shared a bungalow. Churchill spent 19 months in India, calling it a “godless land of snobs and bores.” During that time, he made two trips back to Britain, three trips to Calcutta, and expeditions to Hyderabad and the North West Frontier.

Churchill made the decision to fight alongside Bindon Blood’s Malakand Field Force in the Swat Valley of Northwest India against the Mohmand rebels. Churchill’s assignment as a journalist was a condition of Blood’s agreement; he obtained credentials from The Pioneer and The Daily Telegraph, for which he provided regular reports. He wrote to his family about how both sides of the war massacred one other’s wounded, but he made no mention of British troops doing the same in his published reports. After spending six weeks with the British Army, he left for Bangalore in October 1897. His first book, The Story of the Malakand Field Force, was written there and published by Longman to generally favorable reviews. Savrola, a political adventure narrative set in a fictional Balkan nation, is his sole piece of fiction. Before it was published as a book, it was serialized in Macmillan’s Magazine from May to December 1899.

Churchill considered joining Herbert Kitchener’s military expedition in the Sudan during his time in Bangalore in the first half of 1898. At first, Kitchener was hesitant, saying that Churchill was only interested in medals and attention. In June, Churchill sailed back to England from Bombay, having visited Calcutta, Meerut, and Peshawar.

Winston Churchill and a school in Lucknow which inspired him

by Ajit Chak

I wonder why they say a penny for your thoughts and not a shilling for your thoughts? It seems this would be too close to the name of George Schilling. Who was he and what did he do is told in this story which I got from someone who was sitting too close to a bottle of whiskey in a school get-together. I do not know how he got the story but there are certain aspects of it which can be confirmed. I am telling it to you the way he explained it to me. It may or may not be true but some of the facts associated with it are true. Hence the saying … A shilling for your thoughts.

La Martiniere College has two branches in India — in Lucknow and in Kolkata. A third branch exists in Lyon in France and it all began with a French Military man Claude Martin who was also a fortune builder and an architect who made the palace that later became a school in Lucknow.

Our story actually begins from Kolkata. Well, it also begins from Lucknow with a newspaper called The Pioneer. At that time The Pioneer was the leading paper in the United Provinces or what would later become the state of Uttar Pradesh. The paper was run by an extremely erudite Bengali Gentleman called Dr.S.N.Ghosh in the 1960s and he remained in harness till the last day of his life. Dr.S.N.Ghosh was a Padamshree and a D.Litt. but our story is of a time before India attained Independence.

Two extremely well-known British gentlemen were associated with The Pioneer. They were better known as the author of The Man who would be King the one and only Rudyard Kipling and the other a war correspondent posted near Kolkata called Winston Churchill.

With his obsession for war Churchill, according to my source at the bar, was well aware that there was a school called La Martiniere and the school boys had participated in the defence of the British Residency and saved several women and children from the local army attacking them in 1857. The school had been awarded military honours as a result of this exceptional bravery.

Less than three dozen boys were living in La Martiniere College with their principal George Schilling on the fateful day in June in the year 1857 when they were evacuated to the British Residency. The local army units meant for protection and even the local servants deserted after the British were defeated at Chinhat. Then the Residency too came under attack but the La Martiniere Boys did not give up. Under the guidance of their principal, they fought back and did not allow the enemy to enter the premises till they were relieved by the English forces. This ordeal lasted for several months. It was in November that the boys left the residency.

This story of grit and resilience against all odds is said to have inspired Churchill considerably. But even then, when the Germans were ready to invade England after the British had virtually lost their army at Dunkirk Churchill who had been placed at the helm of affairs in England was considering the possibility of surrendering.

This is when he remembered the story he had heard about George Schilling and the school in Lucknow and Kolkata that had been given military honours. He decided to go out and talk to children and the common people in England to get a feel of what they wanted and then take a decision. When the mentioned the word surrender, he saw the way they rejected the idea. They were willing to fight. They reminded him that an endless supply of troops from India and the many colonies of England awaited his orders. The New World would have to rush to the protection of the old they said and so he did what Schilling did. A fledgling RAF spread itself thin across the skies to face off against the Luftwaffe. He rationed the food, he promised his people blood, sweat, toil and tears, but no surrender. Then came the American. This enemy of the Nazis had an edge in technology. US planes bombed out German columns even before they could reach their positions. The skies rained canon fire. Even Hodson’s Horse would not have looked so amazing.

It was all they say due to a school in Lucknow, but we shall never know. It could have been too much whiskey. However, the Martiniere Post was real, Churchill was a war correspondent and The Pioneer was a newspaper. Churchill and Schilling were both heroes. And this article is written in English and not German. A penny for your doubts.