An update on The King’s School, Tamil Nadu by Colin Wagstaff
Colin Wagstaff is an ex-Army officer who left the services in 1976 mainly due to injuries sustained in a parachuting accident. His parents and grandparents were born in India. His father, John Wagstaff, was a Captain in the British Royal Navy and he served with the Indian Navy. One grandfather served with the Bombay Grenadier Regiment and the other, a Royal Engineer, served in India with The Madras Sappers and Miners (now Madras Engineer Regiment). Colin attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 1964 to 1966 and retired from the military in 1976.
From there he entered the commercial world in and was involved in international sales and marketing in the marine and defence industry. He was involved with public relations and was a parliamentary lobbyist. He more lately became a business development consultant working with the hotel industry in the UK and with many companies in the defence and engineering sector in Tamil Nadu, south India.
In 1994 in Haslemere, UK, Colin & Anne-Marie, who had been married since 1974, were asked to care for an 11 year old Indian boy, Antonyraj, who had been brought to the UK for medical treatment. Antonyraj spent 4 months in UK before returning to India. Colin went to India with Antonyraj in order to find someone who could care properly for him, his sister Stella and his cousins Augustine, Belsi & Basker.
Colin spent one month in Valliyoor, south Tamil Nadu; the area where Antonyraj had lived as a homeless child. Colin decided that there was more that could be achieved in the area than just providing a home for 5 children. He registered a Charitable Trust, Kings World Trust for Children (India), in Valliyoor together with Indian friends and colleagues who he had met during his stay. A similar Charity was registered in UK called Kings World Trust for Children.
Coffee will be served from 10.15am, with the main talk beginning at 11am sharp, and lunch from 12.30pm.
Lunch & Talk ticket price: £18 (Members) & £20 (Guests)
Talk only ticket price: £10 – FREE for first-time visitors
Cheques payable to ‘English-Speaking Union’ should be sent no later than Thursday, 14 April to:
ESU Luncheon Secretary, 3 Stonemasons Yard, Salisbury SP1 2HX
[email protected]
Direct transfers can be made to:
Bank: Coutts & Co, 440 Strand, London WC2R 0QS
Sort Code: 18-00-02
Account Name: English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth
Account No: 01817590
Please mark the transfer clearly as “SalisLunch”
