Structure of the Site

The menu will show that I have divided this Site into 5 Sections;

  1. Lawrence Schools and other comparable Institutions
  2. Pre-Independence Lawrence School, East India Company and related subjects
  3. Teachers and Ancillary Staff
  4. Anglo-Indians
  5. Lawrence Family

Lawrence Schools and other comparable Institutions

This section consists of the following pages:

  1. Brief History of Lawrence Schools
  2. Lawrence School, Lovedale: A Colonial Legacy’s Unseen Ironies
  3. Alleged Glorious Past V Reality
  4. Arundhati Roy and other unsavoury characters
  5. Bogus Military Traditions
  6. Culture Shock
  7. Environment – Disaster in the making
  8. Baby Krishna to Buchadkhana
  9. Headmaster Lahiri and Parades
  10. Heavy Christian Influence
  11. Independence Day 2024
  12. Infrastructure
  13. Lawrence School Sanawar
  14. Offensive Terminology
  15. Child Officers and Delusions of Importance
  16. Prospectus of 1965, Lawrence Magazine 1969, Admissions 1858-1954
  17. Other Prestigious Indian Boarding Schools
  18. Alternative Schools in Kenya
  19. The Kleptomanian Brothers
  20. Transition-British-Anglo-Indian-Secular
  21. From Rugby to Ruin.

Teachers and ancillary Staff

Under this section, readers will see the following Pages

  1. Mac – Wilfred Joseph McMahon – Introduction
  2. Mac – Wilfred Joseph McMahon – Origin and Early Years
  3. Mac – Wilfred Joseph McMahon – The Stalwart Who Never Was
  4. Mac – Wilfred Joseph McMahon – The Post Lovedale Years
  5. Mac – Wilfred Joseph McMahon – From Rugby to Ruin
  6. Mac – Wilfred Joseph McMahon – Then and Now
  7. Dr Shaw and I
  8. E. John
  9. Kavoor Ipe Thomas
  10. Miss Dudley and I
  11. Miss Stokoe and I
  12. Mrs. Fowles and I
  13. The Enos Phenomenon
  14. The Prince Phenomenon

MAC

There are six Pages within this Blog about Wilfred Joseph McMahon. Please read them in the order in which they appear above. They are not a dedication, they are an autopsy of McMahon’s fraudulent career.

Imagine for one moment you are about to send your son to a boarding school where he is placed in a House whose Housemaster abandons that son into the custody of older boys 7 days a week while the Housemaster is away gambling. Would that be acceptable? Yet that was the fait accompli my father was surreptitiously presented!

A housemaster in a boarding school holds one of the most pivotal roles in the pastoral life of students, acting not only as a supervisor but as a steady adult presence in their daily lives. His duties span a wide range of responsibilities that blend discipline with care, structure with empathy. He is charged with overseeing the welfare of every student in his house—ensuring their emotional, academic, and physical needs are met in a safe and supportive environment. This includes managing daily routines, fostering a strong sense of community, mentoring individuals through personal or academic difficulties, and working closely with parents and teaching staff to track student development. One of his most crucial responsibilities is the prevention of bullying. A good housemaster cultivates an ethos of respect and inclusivity, making it clear that bullying—in any form—is not tolerated. He remains vigilant for signs of intimidation or exclusion, offers confidential support to victims, and takes swift, firm action when boundaries are crossed. Whether through setting clear expectations, building trust with students, or intervening decisively when necessary, the housemaster’s presence is fundamental in creating a boarding house culture where all pupils feel safe, valued, and able to flourish.

McMahon spent 19 years at Lawrence School, Lovedale—not moulding minds, but abandoning them. While boys trembled under the fists of their so-called “guardians,” their housemaster was across town, gambling, instead of lifting a finger.

The many pages in this blog will expose Wilfred Joseph McMahon, who I would describe as a complete fraud! Many more Pages referring to him will set out how he hid his humble, downmarket Anglo-Indian (Indian-Irish-Portuguese mix) Railway Colony origins in Mhow and passed himself off as a sophisticated upmarket highbred individual. At the time of India’s Independence, the Anglo-Indian community was on the verge of collapse, as outside of such institutions as the Railway Colonies and Lawrence School Lovedale, members of that community which collaborated with, rather than opposed British rule, were regarded as Imperial lackeys and resented.

Somehow, this fraud wormed his way into Lawrence School Lovedale, a thousand miles from his native Mhow. Having joined at the beginning of 1956 aged 31, he remained for 19 years, enjoying a hedonistic lifestyle out of all proportion to his position as a humble school master. He taught English and English Literature, two of the easiest subjects to teach as will be demonstrated in my posts and at best, he could be described as a good teacher of those subjects. More important though, was his appointment as a Housemaster of Nilgiri House. In this position, for which he was paid, his spell was disastrous; for he abrogated his responsibilities and left young children in the custody and care of other children some of whom can best be described as thugs. There was not a single day, including weekends and holidays that Mac remained in situ in Nilgiri House, as the moment he could, he was off to nearby Ooty gambling what little money he had while his wards were subjected to torture by children Mac put in charge.

In my various Pages relating to Mac – Wilfred Joseph McMahon- I have set out how prevalent bullying was but particular attention should be paid to Mac – Wilfred Joseph McMahon – The Stalwart Who Never Was Part 5 B – The Enforcers – The Kerala Villagers – EVIL EVIL EVIL.

His departure from the school wasn’t a moment too soon and it is not surprising that his career path from then was on a steep downward slope. He died aged 66, in Madurai, over a thousand miles away from his native Mhow, an alcoholic in penury and had it not been for a kind former master of Lawrence School and a kind Old Lawrencian, he would have been either cremated or buried as a pauper. Even though it is 57 years since I last saw him and 34 years since his death, I still resent him, as effectively he was deceiving my own parents who were under the impression that Mac was performing his duty of being in charge of and providing pastoral care to his wards. The damage this Railway Colony bum caused to those pupils who had the misfortune to come under his care is unfathomable. Whilst the damage cannot be undone the lesson to be learnt is, to use a the legal phrase caveat emptor meaning ‘buyer beware’ or, do not believe everything put to you! Make your own enquiries! If only my parents were aware that they were putting their sons (my brother was also under Mac) into the care of a complete fraud, life would have been a lot different! Responsibility must also be accorded to K.I. Thomas, the legendary Headmaster who should have got rid of this fraud for there was not a man woman or child in Lovedale who did not know about Mac’s frequent absences. It was only following the appointment of L.A. Vyas as Headmaster that Mac’s world of fraud came crashing down.

Kavoor Ipe Thomas

This legendary Headmaster is still worshipped but those doing the worshipping know no better. Bullying and torture became a way of life, infrastructure collapsed, staffing was abysmal and really, Thomas’ tenure lasted far too long. All these matters are expanded in a Page titled Kavoor Ipe Thomas.

Anglo-Indians

This part of the menu is divided into 6 pages:

  1. Anglo-Indian Influence
  2. Headboy Duckworth
  3. Anglo-Indians Documentaries and Research Papers
  4. Poor Relations by C.J. Hawes
  5. Anglo-Indians, Naipaul and Jitu Savani
  6. My friends the Horsburgh Brothers – the true Indians

Readers will get a detailed idea of the influence this community had on life in Lawrence School Lovedale. The power accorded to the community would not have been tolerated anywhere else in Independent India. Sadly, pupils were unaware that this close knit community was collapsing all over India and rightly so as it remained in a world aptly described by Nobel Laurate Naipaul thus: This is a mimicry not of England, a real country, but of the fairy-tale land of Anglo-India, of clubs and sahibs and syces and bearers. It is as if an entire society had fallen for the casual confidence of a trickster. Casual because the trickster had gone away, losing interest in his joke, but leaving the Anglo-Indians flocking to the churches of Calcutta on a Sunday morning to assert an alien faith more or less abandoned in its country of origin…..

Our British Colonial rulers had recognised this bogus community for what it was long before they left India as will be evidenced from reports submitted to the British Army in the United Kingdom not only by Lawrence School Lovedale but also Lawrence School Sanawar. Please see the Page School Reports sent to British Army. A Page, Anglo-Indians Documentaries and Research Papers’ will show how rapidly this artificial community collapsed in the decades following Independence but not before it exercised a very negative influence on life in Lovedale.

READERS ARE URGED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE ANGLO-INDIANS WHO NEVER ACCEPTED THEY WERE INDIANS AND THOSE WHO ACCEPTED THEY WERE INDIANS AND FULLY INTEGRATED. THOSE OF THE FORMER SCRAMBLED WHENEVER THEY COULD TO AUSTRALIA, CANADA AND UK FOR LOW SKILLED LOW WAGE JOBS AND A LIFESTYLE FAR REMOVED FROM THE LUXURIES PREVIOUSLY ENJOYED IN INDIA. THOSE THAT COULDN’T EMMIGRATE WALLOWED IN CESSPITS OF THEIR OWN MAKING. THOSE WHO CHOSE TO BE FULLY INTEGRATED HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED WITHOUT ANY RANCOUR AND INDEED ARE VALUABLE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.

Throughout my Blog I have quoted Nobel Laurate Naipaul’s analysis of the Anglo-Indian community. This fits in exactly with my analysis of the community and hence my Page Anglo-Indians, Naipaul and Jitu Savani.

Pre-Independence Lawrence School, East India Company and related subjects

  1. Principal Padfield and the Gated Community
  2. Year Book 1923
  3. School Reports sent to British Army
  4. Britain’s use of sex slaves
  5. East India Company – Bad Economics
  6. Hodson
  7. Colonialism killed 100 million Indians in 40 years
  8. Treatment – Indian Army v British Army
  9. India’s Heritage
  10. Indians and Scouting Movement
  11. Indians who fought for the British Empire
  12. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
  13. Jeremy Paxman – Empire – BBC Series
  14. Nilgiri Guide and Directory
  15. Ooty 1976
  16. Quotes
  17. Rule of East India Company and Take-over by the crown
  18. The Case for India

The Lawrence Family

  1. Lawrence Schools a questionable foundation
  2. Lawrence’s Hidden History
  3. Lawrence and Kashmir Issue
  4. Lawrence Military Incompetence
  5. Articles of War
  6. The farce of the Coat of Arms
  7. Victorian Workhouses V Lawrence Asylum
  8. Lady Honoria Lawrence
  9. First War of Independence and aftermath
  10. The modern day Lawrence Family
  11. Sir John Lawrence The Tax Extorter