It was a series of fortunate episodes that brought together academic visionaries in the sylvan town of Dehra Dun in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Each of these pioneers set out on a challenging new path which culminated in the establishment of institutions which stand as epitomes of good education.
Whether it is the public schools like Doon and Welham, an international school like Woodstock, Christian schools like St.George’s College and Sherwood College or a “school on public school lines” like the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), all these residential schools have contributed equally in making these hills and dales of Uttarakhand into “school country”. With rich traditions and hallowed pasts, all of these schools have produced alumni who have done them proud.
It was at the Welham Boys’ Preparatory School in the Doon valley that Rajiv Gandhi spent his early school years. From Welham, he went to The Doon School in 1955. Amitabh Bachchan, the star of the millennium, grew up at Sherwood College, Nainital. Sam Manekshaw was a Sherwoodian too.
Prominent among the academic visionaries who lived and worked in the Doon valley was Miss Hersilia Susie Oliphant, an English lady whose death anniversary falls on September 20.The school which she founded was Welham Boys’ School. Welham was founded in 1937 as a preparatory school for boarding schools in England and India with a capital of £1000.
The story of Miss H S Oliphant is an extremely inspiring saga of a dedicated lady who worked tirelessly for the cause of education in India for several decades. Born on August 17, 1883, she spent her childhood at Playworth Hall, Retford, Nottinghamshire. There is no record to establish that she ever went to school or college. In 1920, Miss Oliphant arrived in India to work as a companion to the Maharani of Cooch Behar. Soon, she left Cooch Behar and went to work in Kanpur and then Delhi. From Delhi, she came to Dehra Dun and worked at The Doon School and Colonel Brown School.
She was resolved to set up a Preparatory School in the Doon valley. In 1936, the owner of 5, Circular Road, Hukum Chand informed her that the house could be made available for the school. The place was done up and the first boy to join the Welham Boys Prep School in January 1937 was Maqbool Hussain Khan. Miss Oliphant’s dream of a residential kindergarten and prep school for Indian children was finally realised. She was then 54 years old. There were only six boys to begin with.
Named by Miss H S Oliphant after her girlhood home, the Welham village in Nottinghamshire, this boys’ school has indeed come a very long way from its sheltered existence as a little prep school in the quiet Dalanwala area of the Doon valley. It has gone from “Strength to Strength”, as says its motto. Founded in January 1937, it kept sending its boys to other schools like The Doon School and Mayo College after Class 5, for many years-till 1980. The first Class Ten batch appeared for boards in 1985.
The school is spread over 30 acres and has a spectacular view of the Himalayan hills. There are around 500 students.
The School Magazine titled “The Oliphant” is brought out by the student-editors. India’s first Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, who studied at the Welham Boys’ School and The Doon School in the 1950s, said at one of founder’s day celebrations at the Welham Boys School, where he was the chief guest, that after leaving the “familiar “atmosphere of the Welham Boys’ School, when he went onto The Doon School, he “felt lonely and unhappy” for the first few weeks. “I stayed at Welham for two years and it was like home to me. It was a small school then.
When I went to The Doon School I was quite unhappy as it was a very big school with lots of students. The atmosphere of fellow feeling I was used to at Welham was missing in the Doon School. My most enjoyable time was spent at Welham. The founder, Miss Oliphant, was a motherly figure, though stern at times.”
In 1956, Ms Oliphant donated all her assets to the Welham Boys School which presently is administered by a distinguished Board of Trustees. Miss Oliphant fell ill in 1962 and went back to England where she died on September 20, 1962.
The academic world of the Doon valley will always remain obliged to this lady’s strong will and dedication. Her contribution to the sphere of school education in the Doon valley is indeed valuable and will always be cherished by the people of the valley.
