Peter Stafford Hayden Lawrence (9 February 1913 – 18 March 2005) was a

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and

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 mod ...

, India and an

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

.BBC NEWS , South Asia , Eton, the Raj and modern India
/ref> He was, until his death, the last surviving master at Eton to have served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Lawrence was born on 9 February 1913, the son of Aubrey Trevor Lawrence KC, MBE and his wife Constance Emily Fanning. He was the grandson of

Sir Trevor Lawrence, 2nd Baronet Sir James John Trevor Lawrence, 2nd Baronet, (30 December 1831 – 22 December 1913) was an English surgeon, horticulturalist, and art collector. He later became a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for 17 years, retiring to become treasur ...

and was, until his death, heir to that

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, where his godfather, Cyril Alington, had recently been appointed head master, and at Christ Church, Oxford, his father's college, where he read science and mathematics. During his time at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

he returned to Eton several times as a stopgap teacher. After university he taught for a while at

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

before returning to become a full-time assistant master at Eton. He later became a house master. Through his Indian connections he came to have the late Birendra of Nepal in his house. He was eventually rewarded with the

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันเป็นที่เชิดชูยิ่งช้างเผือก; ) is an order of Thailand. It wa ...

, First Class, for his work with the Nepalese Crown Prince. In August 1940, Lawrence married Helena Frances Lyttelton, the daughter of G. W. Lyttelton (see

Viscount Cobham Viscount Cobham is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created in 1718. Owing to its special remainder, the title has passed through several families. Since 1889, it has been held by members of the Lyttelton family. The barony ...

) and Pamela Marie Adeane, herself daughter of

Charles Adeane Charles Robert Whorwood Adeane (2 November 1863 – 11 February 1943) was a British army officer. Background Adeane was the only son of the politician Henry John Adeane and his wife Lady Elizabeth Philippa Yorke, eldest daughter of Charles York ...

. With her he had two sons and four daughters. During the

he served in the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

. Lawrence saw service as a radar officer in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. He was mentioned in dispatches following night patrols in the English Channel before D-Day and was demobilised as a

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

(Special Branch). In 1977 Lawrence retired to

Great Milton Great Milton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,042. The School Great Milton church of England primary school is a prominent part of the village community ...

, Oxfordshire. He was the author of two volumes of photography of Eton (''An Eton Camera'') and edited many others (including ''The Encouragement of Learning'', an anthology of articles and extracts from many sources covering most aspects of Eton life to the end of the Victorian Age, and ''Grizel Hartley Remembered'', a collection of letters and memories of a unique Eton character). He founded the Museum of Eton Life, and also wrote obituaries of Eton masters for the Daily Telegraph.

References

Daily Telegraph obituary
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *''Burkes Peerage and Baronetage'' (2003), s.v. Lawrence, Baronets, of Ealing Park {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Peter 1913 births 2005 deaths People educated at Eton College Teachers at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford The Doon School faculty

See also

References