John A. K. Martyn OBE (more commonly known as J. A. K. Martyn) (1903–1984), was an English

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled after B ...

, scholar, academic and a distinguished British

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

. He was the second headmaster of

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a selective all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer from Calcutta, who prevised a school mode ...

Career

In 1935, John Martyn accompanied

Arthur Foot Arthur Edward Foot Order of the British Empire, CBE (more commonly A.E. Foot) (21 June 1901 – 26 September 1968), was an English schoolmaster, educationalist and academic. He was a science master at Eton College from 1923 to 1932. In 1935, h ...

to India to establish the teaching staff of

, a newly opened

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for Indian boys. Martyn had previously taught at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

in England for ten years before he moved to India. In Doon, he was given the post of Deputy Headmaster, which he kept till 1948. Shortly after Indian independence in 1947, Foot left

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

to take up the headship of

Ottershaw School Ottershaw School was founded in 1948 as an English school for boys in Ottershaw Park, Ottershaw, approximately southwest of London between Chertsey and Woking, Surrey, south of England, on an estate that dated back to 1761, when the first house ...

, and Martyn succeeded him to become the second headmaster of the Doon School. Martyn was at Doon for 31 years, thus becoming one of the longest-serving schoolmasters in the school's history. Of those 31 years, 18 were spent as Headmaster, making him the school's longest-serving Headmaster to date. Apart from teaching, Martyn was very keen on mountaineering, and was part of the expedition team to

Trisul Trisul is a group of three Himalayan mountain peaks of western Kumaun, Uttarakhand, with the highest (Trisul I) reaching 7120m. The three peaks resemble a trident - in Sanskrit, Trishula, trident, is the weapon of Shiva. The Trishul grou ...

with pioneers like

Jack Gibson Jack Gibson may refer to: * Jack Gibson (rugby league) (1929–2008), Australian player and coach * Jack Stanley Gibson (1909–2005), Irish physician * Jack Gibson (ice hockey, born 1880) (1880–1955), ice hockey player and executive * Jack Gibs ...

Gurdial Singh Gurdial Singh Rahi (''Gurdi'āl Sigh''; 10 January 1933 – 16 August 2016) was an Indian writer and novelist who wrote in Punjabi. He started his literary career in 1957 with a short story, "Bhaganwale." He became known as a novelist when he p ...

and

Nandu Jayal Nandu may refer to: Places * Chengdu, a city in Sichuan, China, known as (''Southern Capital'' or ''Nandu'') during the early Tang dynasty * Jiangling County, a city in Hubei, China, formerly known as (''Southern Capital'' or ''Nandu'') during th ...

. He, along with Jack Gibson, climbed

Bandarpunch Bandarpunch (lit. Hindi: ''Monkey's tail'') is a mountain massif in the Garhwal Himalaya in Uttarakhand, India. The massif has 3 peaks: White Peak (6102 m), also called Banderpunch II, to the west above Yamunotri; almost 5 km east is Banda ...

with

Tenzing Norgay Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; perhaps 29 May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. He was one of the first two people known to reach the sum ...

, who later became the first man to climb

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

Honours and distinctions

Martyn was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in 1958, and in 1983

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, the fourth-highest civilian award in India, from the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

for his notable contributions to the establishment of the Doon School. He was one of the few Englishmen to have been honoured by both the governments. He was also a member of the famed

Alpine Club The first alpine club, the Alpine Club, based in the United Kingdom, was founded in London in 1857 as a gentlemen's club. It was once described as: :"a club of English gentlemen devoted to mountaineering, first of all in the Alps, members of which ...

. After his death in 1984, his wife Mady Martyn wrote a book about him entitled ''Martyn Sahib, the story of John Martyn of the Doon School''. In his honour, his wife and Martyn's friends set up ''John Martyn Memorial Trust'' in a village at the foothills of

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

called Salangaon. The trust runs a school for underprivileged children and provides free education to over 150 children.About John Martyn – John Martyn Memorial Trust
Martyn House, a holding-house for new students at Doon, was named after him.

References

;Notes

External links

John Martyn Profile Page

John Martyn Memorial Trust Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martyn, John A.K. Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Teachers at Harrow School The Doon School faculty 1903 births 1984 deaths Headmasters of The Doon School Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education 20th-century English educators British people in colonial India

Career

Honours and distinctions

See also

References

Further reading

External links