Imagine a young French boy from Lyons in the mid-1700s setting off to India to rise to the position of Major General in the British East India Company. That’s the Story of Major General Claude Martin who founded my school which started essentially for the wards of the British Garrison stationed in India/Lucknow.
The great part of visiting historical places is that you get insights and allow you to admire the ingenuity of the ancestors, how they struggled and yet left a legacy. Amongst the many illustrious aluminas, that comes to mind is Sir Cliff Richard. the only school in the world to have been awarded royal battle honours for its role in the defence of Lucknow during the mutiny of 1857.
La Martinière Boys’ College was founded by an endowment from the wealthy eighteenth-century Frenchman, Major-General Claude Martin(1735–1800), who was an officer in the French and later the British East India Company. Martin acquired his fortune while serving Asaf-ud-Daula, the nawab wazir of Awadh, and was reputedly the richest Frenchman in India. Constantia, the palatial building which now houses the Boys’ College, was built in 1785 as Martin’s country residence but was not completed until 1802,[3] two years after Martin’s death on 13 September 1800. Historians believe that the house takes its name from the school motto Labore et Constantia (Work and Constancy) which represents Martin’s personal philosophy. Martin never married, and he had no heirs. In his will, dated 1 January 1800, he left the bulk of his estate to provide for the establishment of three schools to be named La Martinière in his memory. The schools were to be located in Lucknow, Calcutta and at Lyon, his birthplace in France. The residue of his estate after bequests had been made was to be used for the maintenance of these schools. He directed that the school in Lucknow should be established at Constantia and that the house should be kept as a "school or College for learning young men the English language.
For a school to survive close to nearly 175 and thrive in an ever-changing world makes me marvel at the history and what we can learn from it as well as avoid what not to do.
Would be glad to provide more information if anybody is interested