Mr & Mrs Drewett : In June 1879, Dr. Ghose took his family to England to admit his sons to an English school in England. He could do this on the assurance given by his friend Edward George Glazier, Collector of Rungpur that Glazier’s cousin William H. Drewett who lived in Manchester, would to take charge of the boys. Glazier had also assured him that the Nonconformist Congregational Church, of which Drewett was a minister, attached a great importance to modern trends in education. The Drewett family, which consisted of William, his mother Elizabeth & wife Mary lived at 84, Shakespeare Street, Stockport Road, Ardwick, agreed to take in the boys in exchange for regular remittances for their maintenance. Benoy & Manmohan read at the Manchester Grammar School which, thanks to Mr F.W. Walker, who was appointed its High Master in 1859, had risen “from provincial obscurity to a commanding position in the academic records of the country” [RES PAULINAE The 8th half-century of St. Paul’s School, edited by R.B. Gardiner, M.A. (formerly Surmaster) & John Lupton, M.A. (lately Asst. Master); St. Paul’s School, West Kensington, 1911: 116-17]. Arabinda read at home: William grounded him in Latin & Greek & English history; Mary coached him in French, geography, & arithmetic. Apparently in 1884, leaving the Ghose brothers in charge of orthodox old Elizabeth, William & Mary who had accepted to host them as paying guests, immigrated to Australia (with or without Mrs Drewett’s sister Edith Fishbourne who was in 1881, so Govt. census, 22 years old to Arabinda’s 9), without forgetting to collect the dues from a pauperised Dr. Ghose. How much of a ‘home sweet home’ were those five years in the Drewett home for the blackies who never had one even when with their parents may be gauged by these statements of E.R. Braithwaite: “To many in Britain a Negro is a ‘darky’ or a ‘nigger’ or a ‘black’…they expect of him a courteous subservience & contentment with a lowly state…. It was not entirely their fault. They had been taught with the same textbooks that these children [in his class] were using now [in 1959], & had fully digested the concept [Prophet Darwin’s dictum] that coloured people were physically, mentally, socially & culturally inferior to themselves.” [To Sir, With Love, Penguin, New York, 1987, pp.41, 99-100] A crucial reason for emigrating must be the dwindling payments of Dr Ghose & his ‘brainwashing’ his sons with ‘scandalous’ cuttings from The Bengalee relating cases of maltreatment of Indians by Englishmen & his ‘wicked’ letters denouncing the British Govt. in India as heartless. [See SABCL 26:3-4, Light & St. Paul’s School]
... even stepped inside it. It was my two brothers who studied there. I was taught privately by the Drewetts. Mr Drewett who was a scholar in Latin (he had been a Senior Classic at Oxford) 1 taught me that language (but not Greek, which I began at Saint Paul's, London), and English History etc.; Mṛṣ Drewett taught me French, Geography and Arithmetic. No Science; it was not in fashion at that time. ... First sentence altered to: ] Aurobindo studied at home, learning Latin, French and other subjects from Mr and Mṛṣ Drewett. Sri Aurobindo never went to Manchester Grammar School, it was his two brothers who went there. He himself studied privately with Mr and Mrs Drewett. Mr Drewett was a very fine classical scholar and taught him Latin and grounded him so firmly that the Head Master of St. Paul's... expressed about his character. [ Another version: ] Sri Aurobindo never went to Manchester Grammar School. His two brothers studied there, but he himself was educated privately by Mr and Mrs Drewett. Drewett was an accomplished Latin scholar; he did not teach him Greek, but grounded him so well in Latin that the headmaster of St. Paul's school took up Aurobindo himself to ground him in Greek and then ...
... religion and her culture. In Manchester, apart from the people at home he knew only the Bentleys of York who occasionally visited the Drewetts, and a sister of Rev. Drewett's who used to come to see her family. These visits were returned. And, of course, old mother Drewett lived with them. She seems to have been a woman with a streak of cheerless religiosity. Manchester was then one of England's main... "never even stepped inside it. It was my two brothers who studied there. I was taught privately by the Drewetts. Mr. Drewett who was a scholar in Latin (he had been a Senior Classic at Oxford) taught me that language (but not Greek, which I began at St. Paul's, London) and English, History, etc. Mrs. Drewett taught me French, Geography and Arithmetic. No Science; it was not in fashion at that time." ... use to attend Church. I was about ten at that time." By this time, the boys' father had become rather irregular in his remittances, so when the Drewetts emigrated to Australia they passed through Calcutta to collect their dues. Yes, the Drewetts went to Australia. When? The exact date is not known, except that it was sometime in 1884. They left the three boys in charge of the old lady. We ...
... monumental epic, Savitri. Mrs. Drewett, Mr. Drewett's mother, wished to convert the three brothers to Christianity, but Mr. Drewett, who was a man of strong common sense, objected to it, and Mrs. Drewett had to give up her benevolent idea. In 1885 the Drewetts had left for Australia, and "the three brothers lived in London for some time with the mother of Mr. Drewett, but she left them after a quarrel... Aurobindo, being too young, was "educated privately by Mr.and Mrs. Drewett." "Drewett was an accomplished Latin scholar". He taught Sri Aurobindo Latin and English, while Mrs. Drewett taught him history, geography, arithmetic and French. Besides these subjects, Sri Aurobindo read himself the Bible, Shakespeare, Shelley, Keats, etc. Mr. Drewett grounded Sri Aurobindo so well in Latin that when Sri Aurobindo... name, which gave rise to a rumour that he had been converted into Christianity, and Mrs. Drewett's pious solicitude for saving his soul, Sri Aurobindo once said: "There was once a meeting of non-conformist ministers at Cumberland when we were in England. The old lady in whose house we dwelt, i.e. Mrs. Drewett, took me there. After the prayers were over, all nearly dispersed but devout people remained ...
... Sri Aurobindo for All Ages II: Manchester and St. Paul’s School, London (1879-1890) AT MANCHESTER, the boys were readily given shelter by the Drewett family: Rev. Drewett, his wife and his elderly mother. Before he left, Dr. Ghose gave strict instructions that his sons should not be allowed to make the acquaintance of any Indians or to undergo any Indian... destined hour, it burst into flame. The two elder brothers joined the Manchester Grammar School, but Auro was coached at home by Rev. Drewett, an accomplished scholar in Latin and English. His wife taught the boy arithmetic, geography and French. It took Mr. Drewett little time to realise that Auro was a boy of exceptional qualities: sharp intelligence and deep concentration, a sweet temper and a quiet... certainly not the practice in England for a boy of his age to study exclusively at home but perhaps the Drewetts realised that Auro with his very unusual qualities would not fit into the rough and tumble of school life and so he needed special nurturing. Sri Aurobindo did receive help from the Drewetts but at the same time it would be true to say that he was largely self-taught. As the young boy grew ...
... [He was sent to boarding school in London.] St. Paul's was a day school. The three brothers lived in London for some time with the mother of Mr. Drewett but she left them after a quarrel between her and Manmohan about religion. The old Mrs. Drewett was fervently Evangelical and she said she Page 27 would not live with an atheist as the house might fall down on her. Afterwards Benoybhusan ...
... George Glazier was, as we had occasion to see, a very close friend of Dr. Ghose's. He had a clergyman cousin, Reverend William Drewett, who lived in Manchester. It was to him that Dr. Ghose brought his family. He put the three boys in the care of the Drewetts. Rev. Drewett was Congregational priest of the Stockport (now Octagonal) Church, and lived nearby at 84 Shakespeare Street. Sri Aurobindo lived... believer in random chance.... What then is the link between the Bard of Avon and Sri Aurobindo? After making all necessary arrangements for the education and lodging of his sons, and promising the Drewetts to pay £ 300 a year for the maintenance of the three boys, Dr. Ghose left for London with his wife and baby girl. In London he found the medical help he was seeking for his wife. Dr. Matthew was to ...
... body fell on Dr. Walker who had distinguished himself in running the Manchester Grammar School. It seems quite plausible, therefore, that Walker and Drewett were quite well known to each other. And, surely, before departing for Australia, Rev. Drewett wanted to leave his wards in good hands, and had arranged for their admission to St. Paul's? And, again, he must have spoken of the brilliance of his... as the original building was burned down, the school was moved to South Kensington in 1884, just before the two Ghose brothers joined it. It was within a mile or so from Shepherd's Bush, where ma Drewett had taken lodgings for them, so the two brothers would have travelled to school on foot or by bus. We do not know if they felt happier at their new environment. London, then the world's biggest ...
... boys were entrusted to an English family, the Rev. William Drewett, a congregational minister, and Mrs. Drewett, who lived at 84, Shakespeare Street, Manchester. Mr. Drewett was a cousin of a magistrate at Rungpur, Mr. Glazier, with whom Dr. Krishnadhan was on friendly terms. Page 29 He left strict instructions with the Drewetts that the boys "should not be allowed to make the acquaintance... the Manchester Grammar School, Sri Aurobindo himself — he was only seven — was educated privately by the Drewetts. Himself an accomplished scholar, Mr. Drewett gave Sri Aurobindo a good grounding in Latin and made him proficient in English, and taught him history, etc. While Mrs. Drewett taught him geography, arithmetic and French, Sri Aurobindo found time at home to read on his own Keats and... Fox's Weekly. While games did not appeal to him, he seems to have played cricket in Mr. Drewett's garden, though not at all well. An interesting incident of the Manchester period is worth recording. Once when a meeting of non-conformist ministers was being held at Cumberland, old Mrs. Drewett (Mr. Drewett's mother) took Sri Aurobindo there. To continue in Sri Aurobindo's own words, — After ...
... Ghose had given strict instructions to Mr. Drewett not to allow his sons to mix with any Indians or to know anything about the Indian way of life. Among the people they knew at Manchester were the Bentleys; who occasionally used to visit the Drewetts from York, and a sister of Mr. Drewett who used to come to see him. These visits were returned. Mr. Drewett's mother was a devout Christian and she wished... and probably considered too young to attend a school, was not sent to school, but was taught at home by the Drewetts. Mr. Drewett, an accomplished Latin scholar, grounded Aurobindo in that language very well, and also taught him English, history, Page 5 etc. Mrs. Drewett taught him geography, arithmetic and French. As he was studying at home he had plenty of time to read books according... friendly with Mr. Glazier, a magistrate at Rangpur, and when Dr. Ghose decided to send his three sons to England for studies, he arranged to leave them with Rev. William H. Drewett, a cousin of Mr. Glazier, who lived in Manchester. Mr. Drewett was congregational minister of the Stockport Road Church – now known as the Octagonal Church. He lived at 84, Shakespeare Street, near the church. Aurobindo's two elder ...
... Thus A. A. Ghose, who had not been taught any Greek by Rev. Drewett, was coached in it in the 'special' class, and as he was found to be exceptionally intelligent, he was pushed up rapidly into the upper forms. The most formative years of Sri Aurobindo's life were therefore influenced by two Englishmen — Reverend W. H. Drewett and Dr. R W. Walker. When he left St. Paul's, Sri Aurobindo was... January, April and September; the largest number of entrants being in September. Both M. M. Ghose and A. A. Ghose entered the School in the Autumn term of 1884. While Mano's guardian was named as 'W. H. Drewett,' Sri Aurobindo's was listed as 'Mr. Ackroyd': GHOSE, ARAVINDA ACKROYD. A. A. Ghose was elected to St. Paul's by competitive examination as a Foundationer. The Foundation Scholars received remittance ...
... United Kingdom. The boys were put into the care of the Reverend William H. Drewett, with the explicit order that they must be kept away from anything or anybody even remotely connected with India. ‘Aurobindo spent his formative years totally cut off from the culture of his birth,’ 2 writes his biographer Peter Heehs. Drewett and his wife personally looked after Aurobindo’s education. He seemed to ...
... Rangpur, he had become friendly with the English magistrate there, a Mr. Glazier, and the latter had arranged with his cousin, Rev. Drewett, a minister at Manchester, to take charge of the boys. Accordingly, Dr. Ghose took his boys to Manchester to live with the Drewetts. ...
... Reverend Drewett and his wife took excellent care of the three Indian brothers. Benoybhusan and Manmohan joined Manchester Grammar School, but Aravinda was taught by the Drewetts themselves, and very well indeed, as his success in his future studies would bear out. The Rev. Drewett, a scholar in Latin (he had been a Senior Classics scholar at Oxford), taught him Latin and history, Mrs. Drewett French... I would dedicate my life to a similar World-change and take part in it.’ 8 But the Drewetts emigrated to Australia, travelling via Calcutta to collect the arrears K.D. Ghose owed them for the boarding, lodging and education of his sons. The three brothers, under the tutelage of grandmother Drewett, moved to London. There, in September 1884, Manmohan and Aravinda were admitted to St Paul’s... younger sister Sarojini on a voyage to Great Britain. A friend, the British magistrate of Rangpur, had given him the address of an excellent person to look after the boys: the Reverend William H. Drewett, Congregational minister at Manchester. And that is where Doctor K.D. Bose left his sons, with the recommendation that they would be allowed to choose their own religion when reaching the years of ...
... 1878 February 21 Birth of the Mother in Paris. 1879 Taken to England. 1879-1884 In Manchester (84, Shakespeare Street) in the charge of the Drewett family. Tutored at home by the Drewetts. 1884 September Admitted to St. Paul's School, London . Takes lodgings at 49, St. Stephen's Avenue, Shepherd's Bush, London. 1886 August Vacation in ...
... 1878 — February 21 Birth of the Mother in Paris. 1879 — Taken to England. 1879-1884 — In Manchester (84, Shakespeare Street) in the charge of the Drewett family. Tutored at home by the Drewetts. 1884 — September Admitted to St. Paul School, London. Takes lodgings at 49, St. Stephen's Avenue, Shepherd's Bush, London. 1886 — August Vacation in Keswick ...
... am living in an august, glamorous, lotus-eating dreamland where no hard facts of life or nature present themselves. But what an illusion all the same!" Oh, the poignancy of it! Even before the Drewett couple left for Australia in 1884, the remittances from Dr. Krishna Dhan Ghose had become irregular, and as time went on they grew increasingly Page 153 rare, till finally they almost ...
... him a retreat from life. There was never any talk about the reconstruction of India, only about her liberation. He played cricket well. Never. He only played cricket as a small boy in Mr Drewett's garden at Manchester and not at all well. It was at Sardar Majumdar's place that he first met Yogi Lele and got some help from him in spiritual Sadhana. No. Lele came from Gwalior in answer ...
... an English nurse, Miss Pagett, Sri Aurobindo had no—or very little knowledge of—Bengali when he arrived in England. At Manchester, he stayed with friends of his father, the Rev William H. Drewett and Mrs Drewett, and learned from them Latin, French, history, geography and arithmetic. Even in England, the Ghose boys were carefully insulated, under instructions from their father, from the Page ...
... Previous to Khulna, my father was at Rangpur. There also he was like a king. The magistrate, who was his friend, did nothing without consulting him. It was with the friends of this magistrate—the Drewetts—that we stayed in England The magistrate was transferred and a new magistrate came in his place. He found that he had no authority in the town, all power being in the hands of my father. He couldn't ...
... Aurobindo saw more than a century ago? He was always a great walker, was Sri Aurobindo. Another year, another place. This time A. A., B. B. and M. M. were in London, in the same lodgings that old Ma Drewett had taken. The next three letters to L. Binyon are from 49, St. Stephen's Avenue, Uxbridge Road. "April 15. It is rather wretched here in the holidays, more so than in school-time, for there is ...
... Das, C.R. 12,17,45 De Chardin, Pierre Teilhard 35-37 De Ruggiero, Guido 450 Dharma 11 Dickinson, Emily 314 Dowsett, Norman 18 Drewett, William H.6 Dryden, John 310,341 Dutt, Tom 253 Eliot, T.S. 44,198,267,272,314,389,391, 397,408,411,413,414,453 Emerson, R.W. 332 ...
... D. Canal. Sri Aurobindo went on. "When he was at Rangpur he was very friendly with the Magistrate 2 who did nothing without consulting him. It was with the friends of this magistrate — the Drewetts —that we stayed in England. This magistrate was transferred and a new magistrate came in his place. He found that he had no authority in the town, all power being in the hands of my father. He couldn't ...
... stay away from your parents. Mr. Drewett, the master of the house, taught me English and Latin, and his wife Mrs. Drewett taught me French, history, geography, and drawing. Do your mothers know all these subjects?" "Yes, because most of them have been educated in this school. Moreover the Mother herself has taught them so much," said Kriti. "Well, Mr. Drewett was deeply religious as well as learned... the Mother has not left much scope for epicures. So was it at the Drewetts', for not only was it an English house, it was also a pastor's home where simplicity and cleanliness were the law." "They must have been very religious. Weren't they so?" "That they were - always singing hymns and going to church. Especially old Mrs. Drewett, our tutor's mother. She was an almost fanatical churchgoer. She... giving place to the boy and, though I had not yet quite learned how to fly freely, my wings had begun to show. I no longer needed the safety of the nest that old Mrs. Drewett had made for me, though I believe it was for our sake that Mr. Drewett suggested to his mother to come and live in London. Indeed, this did help us to some extent, otherwise that vast unknown city would have swallowed up the three boys ...
... At Loretto Convent School, Darjeeling, where he Wad his first direct experience of a supernatural character. 1879-84 In Manchester with his father's friends, tie Drewetts. Striking proficiency in Latin acquired at home, for which he was admitted P a higher class in the school. 1882 Had an intimation of his part in great upheavals of the future ...
... 449 Divina Commedia ("The Divine Comedy'), 92, 663-64 Diwakar, R. R., 66 Donnelly, Morwenna, 736 Dream of Surreal Science, A, 160, 650-51 Drewett, The Rev. William, 29ff Drewett, Mrs.,30,31 Dibreuil, Jouveau, 384 Dupleix, SS, 374, 376, 377, 379 Dutt, Charu Chandra, 189ff, 193, 207,208, 285fn, 286, 322 Dutt, Kanailal ...
... which children recite their prayers before sleep, in order to keep up an appearance. That was the only thing. But I did not use to attend Church. I was then about ten years. The old lady's son, Mr. Drewett never used to meddle in these affairs because he was a man of common sense. But he went away to Australia and we came to India. Page 165 When we were staying in London this old ...
... reading Observations (with documents consulted) 26 a Senior Classic at Oxford William H. Drewett (1842/3 - 1909) is not listed in Alumni Oxonienses 1715 - 1886 , the authoritative register of members of the University of Oxford. He attended Didsbury College, Manchester, in 1860 and 1861, and... nineteenth century had a "strong emphasis on classics", that is, Latin and Greek ("Burton-on-Trent Grammar School"). As the son of a Methodist minister who was planning to become a Methodist minister, Drewett would not have attended Oxford, which did not grant degrees to non-Anglicans before 1866. 28 Lieutenant Governor of Bengal ...
... as a child in Manchester, he went through the works of Shelley again and again. He also wrote that he read the Bible "assiduously" while living in the house of his guardian, William H. Drewett, a Congregationalist clergyman. Songs to Myrtilla This, Sri Aurobindo's first collection of poems, was printed in 1898 for private circulation by the Lakshmi ...
... extremely popular at Khulna. Wherever he went he became a power. When he was at Rangpur he was very friendly with the English magistrate. We went and stayed with his cousin in England afterwards, Mr. Drewett. It was always 'doctor' who got things done at Rangpur. "When the new magistrate came he found that nothing could be done without Dr. K .D. So he asked the Government to remove him and he was ...
... Manchester, with strict instruction that they should not be allowed the acquaintance of any Indian or undergo any Indian influence. 4 Dr. Ghose was indeed a peculiar man. He also ordered Pastor Drewett not to give his sons any religious instruction, so they could choose a religion themselves, if they so wished, when they came of age. He then left them to their fate for thirteen years. He believed... in one of his early poems; his inner window had already opened, although he was quite unimpressed with religion, as is evident from the account he gives of his "conversion." Predictably, Clergyman Drewett's mother had undertaken the task of saving the souls of the three heretic children, or at least that of the youngest one, whom she took one day to a meeting of "nonconformist" ministers. After the ...
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