Lawrence Samuel Durrell
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Samuel Durrell (23 September 1884 - 16 April 1928) was a British Indian subject and engineer, and is best remembered as the father of novelist Lawrence Durrell
and naturalist Gerald Durrell
. He was an Anglo-Indian
in the sense that he was an Englishman born and brought up in India
.
Born in Dum Dum
(present day Kolkata
) on 23 September 1884, he was by profession an engineer
. He studied in the prestigious Thomason College of Civil Engineering (now the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee). It was in Roorkee
that he met Louisa Florence Dixie and married her in 1910. They had three sons and a daughter - Lawrence
, Leslie, Margaret
, and Gerald
. He worked for the North-West Railway and it was in Jalandhar
that Lawrence Durrell was born in 1912. He also went on to work for the Mymensingh–Bhairab Bazar Railway Company in Bengal.
In 1918, he became the Chief Engineer of the famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
, and in 1920 left the company to found his own company Durrell & Co., Engineers and Contractors at Sakci, which became the industrial boomtown of Jamshedpur. Gerald Durrell was born in Jamshedpur in 1925. Many of the important industrial constructions in Jamshedpur were undertaken by his company, including the Tinplate Company of India, the Indian Cable Company, and the Enamelled Ironware Company, and contractual work for the Tata Iron and Steel Works.
He purchased a house in Dulwich
and was planning on moving back to England
but had to move to Lahore
with his family for supervising contract work. He fell ill there in 1928 due to causes which were medically undiagnosed and attributed to overwork. The family moved to Dalhousie
for the climate in 1928, but Lawrence Samuel Durrell died on 16 April 1928 of suspected cerebral haemorrhage. He is buried in the English cemetery at Dalhousie.
Like many Englishmen whose families had been resident in India for generations, Lawrence Samuel Durrell worked and socialised with Indians of all confessions and castes. On one occasion, according to a story told by Lawrence Durrell, his novelist son, Lawrence Samuel gave up his membership at a club when his proposal to include an Oxford
-educated India
n doctor who had saved his son's life was turned down.
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer, though he resisted affiliation with Britain and preferred to be considered cosmopolitan...
and naturalist Gerald Durrell
Gerald Durrell
Gerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell, OBE was a naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and television presenter...
. He was an Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...
in the sense that he was an Englishman born and brought up in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Born in Dum Dum
Dum Dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a neighbourhood in North-west Kolkata and the location of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, formerly Dum Dum Airport.Dum Dum is a well known place in greater Kolkata...
(present day Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
) on 23 September 1884, he was by profession an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
. He studied in the prestigious Thomason College of Civil Engineering (now the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee). It was in Roorkee
Roorkee
Roorkee is a city and seat of a municipal council in Uttarakhand, in far northern India. It is located on the banks of the Ganges canal on the national highway between Delhi and Dehradun. Roorkee is known for Roorkee Cantonment, one of the country's oldest cantonments, and the headquarters of...
that he met Louisa Florence Dixie and married her in 1910. They had three sons and a daughter - Lawrence
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer, though he resisted affiliation with Britain and preferred to be considered cosmopolitan...
, Leslie, Margaret
Margaret Durrell
Margaret Isabel Mabel Durrell was the younger sister of novelist Lawrence Durrell, and elder sister of naturalist, author and TV presenter Gerald Durrell, whose Corfu Trilogy of novels — My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and Garden of the Gods — lampoons her...
, and Gerald
Gerald Durrell
Gerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell, OBE was a naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and television presenter...
. He worked for the North-West Railway and it was in Jalandhar
Jalandhar
Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...
that Lawrence Durrell was born in 1912. He also went on to work for the Mymensingh–Bhairab Bazar Railway Company in Bengal.
In 1918, he became the Chief Engineer of the famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, nicknamed the "Toy Train", is a narrow gauge railway from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal, run by the Indian Railways....
, and in 1920 left the company to found his own company Durrell & Co., Engineers and Contractors at Sakci, which became the industrial boomtown of Jamshedpur. Gerald Durrell was born in Jamshedpur in 1925. Many of the important industrial constructions in Jamshedpur were undertaken by his company, including the Tinplate Company of India, the Indian Cable Company, and the Enamelled Ironware Company, and contractual work for the Tata Iron and Steel Works.
He purchased a house in Dulwich
Dulwich
Dulwich is an area of South London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth...
and was planning on moving back to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
but had to move to Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
with his family for supervising contract work. He fell ill there in 1928 due to causes which were medically undiagnosed and attributed to overwork. The family moved to Dalhousie
Dalhousie, India
Dalhousie is a hill station and popular tourist spot in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, India.- Weather :Dalhousie experiences winter-like cold climate throughout the year. Heavy rain with thunder showers are experienced during the period from June to September...
for the climate in 1928, but Lawrence Samuel Durrell died on 16 April 1928 of suspected cerebral haemorrhage. He is buried in the English cemetery at Dalhousie.
Like many Englishmen whose families had been resident in India for generations, Lawrence Samuel Durrell worked and socialised with Indians of all confessions and castes. On one occasion, according to a story told by Lawrence Durrell, his novelist son, Lawrence Samuel gave up his membership at a club when his proposal to include an Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
-educated India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n doctor who had saved his son's life was turned down.