Newsletter (Senior)
September 2017PDF 2
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S a l
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A k r
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R a j
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THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF
MAJOR G.D. LANGLANDS
Major Geoffrey Douglas Langlands served Aitchison College for 25 years, leaving an
indelible mark on his students and also the school. The College will be celebrating his
100th Birthday on 21st October, 2017. On this special occasion, we take a look at the
life and legacy of the Major to honour his remarkable contribution to the country and the
cause of education in particular.
Major Langlands was born in 1917 in Hull, England. His parents passed away when he
and his siblings (twin brother and a sister) were still children.
He attended public school at King's College Taunton, Somerset, where he studied from
1930 to 1936. He began his working life at the age of 18, when he started teaching at a
private Preparatory School in London in 1936. While working at the school, he was also
studying for B.Sc. at Birkbeck College (evening College of London University).
On outbreak of the World War ll in 1939, Langlands left his studies in his final year to join
the British Army where he subsequently climbed official ranks. He was posted to 4 Com-
mando, taking part in the disastrous raid on Dieppe in 1942.
He was then selected for officer training and posted to the Indian Army. He arrived in
British India in January 1944 and served the Indian Army till 1947. In 1947, upon Parti-
tion, the Major volunteered to stay behind to train up the new army. He remained
attached to the Pakistani Army on contract till 1953. When it was time for him to leave,
the Commander-in-Chief of the army General Ayub Khan requested him to stay and to
put his educational expertise to good use in civilian life.
Hence, Major Langlands picked up where he had left. On completing contract with the
Pakistani Army, he joined the staff at Aitchison College in January, 1954. He was
Housemaster of Kelly House from 1954 to 1956 and later was appointed as the House-
master of Preparatory School boarding house, Saigol House in 1969. At Aitchison, he
was also in charge of athletics, P.T. and College expeditions. He was made Acting
Headmaster of Preparatory School several times before being officially appointed as the
Headmaster of Preparatory School on 1st October 1974.
In 1979, Major Langlands was requested by the Government of NWFP to serve as the
Principal of Cadet College at Razmak in North Waziristan. He decided to put his experi-
ence at Aitchison College to good use by serving the cause of education in Pakistan in
new fields. He took up the challenge and served the Cadet College at Razmak for a
decade. During his time there, he was also abducted by tribesmen in 1988 but released
unharmed after six days of negotiations.
Major Langlands then embarked on another challenging journey by taking up the helm
of affairs at the Sayurj Public School in the mountains of Chitral. To houner his great
contributions, the school was renamed as ‘The Langlands School and College, Chitral.
After running the Langlands School and College for 24 years, he stepped down at the
age of 94 and chose Aitchison College as his home after retirement, where he continues
to live in the Bahawalpur House.
Major Langlands has received several prestigious awards including Member of the
Order of the British Empire, Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, as
well as Hilal-e-Imtiaz.