A commemorative postage stamp on the 150^th Anniversary of the Lawrence School, Sanawar, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, oldest mixed-sex boarding school of World :

Issued by India

Issued on Oct 4, 1997

Issued for : The Department of Posts is happy to issue a commemorative stamp to mark the sesquicentennial celebrations of the founding of the Lawrence School.

Design : Inlaid within the stamp is the School Crest. The design of a hand holding a dagger, ivy, swords and lionheads was adapted from the family Coat of Arms of Sir Henry Lawrence. The crest bears the School’s Motto – “NEVER GIVE IN”, which embodies the spirit of the School, a spirit to which Rudyard Kipling bore testimony in his greatest classic work, “KIM“ – “Send him to Sanawar & make a man of him.“

The Cannons on the First Day Cover were captured in Turkey by the British and presented to Sanawar by the Ferozepur Arsenal Garrison in 1934.

Credits :
Stamp : Col. (Retd) K. S. Dhami.
First Day Cover Artist : The Lawrence School, Illoosh Ahluwalia H’79.

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Single Colour

Denomination : 200 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.55 x 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported un w/m Adhesive Gravure Coated Stamp Paper in sheets 50.8 x 53.5 cms.

Stamps Printed : 0.7 Million

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printer : India Security Press, Nasik

About : 

• The Lawrence School, Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh, was founded in 1847 by sir Henry Montogomery Lawrence, a distinguished British Army Officer of that time. The original name ‘Lawrence Military Sylum‘, was changed to Lawrence Royal Military School and then to the institution’s present name : “The Lawrence School“. It was among the first schools in the British Empire to receive the King’s Colours. The school went on to get the King’s Colours three times in all. The students and the alumni of the school served during the First and Second World War in the highest tradition of Bravery. After independence, the School was handed over to the Ministry of Defence and subsequently to the Ministry of Education.
• The Old Sanawarians continued to serve the country during all major wars from 1947 onwards. Lt Arun Khetarpal, PVC, was an ex-student of the School. The alumni holds prestigious ranks in all three Departments of Defence and in the Police Force. There is a large number of the alumni in Civil and Foreign Services, occupying highly important posts.
• Old Sanawarians hold key corporate positions worldwide, be it media, industry or services. Sports, specially adventure sports, such as mountaineering has been a Sanawarian forte.
• The centre of Sanawarian life revolves around the Birdwood School, as represented by the picture of the stamp, a building built of grey granite in a simple and austere Gothic style. The foundation stone of this building was laid on August 25, 1927, and was named after Field Marshal Sir William Birdwood.
• Since its inception till date, it is being used as the main schools buildings and teaching section.

Related posts:

Himachal Pradesh Bishop Cotton School, Shimla Lawrence School, Lovedale The Doon School, Dehradun Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay Cathedral & John Connon School, Mumbai