{{Short description|British educationist and administrator 1907-1997}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Hugh Catchpole | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1907|5|26}} | birth_place = Ipswich, Suffolk, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1997|2|1|1907|5|26}} | death_place = Islamabad, Pakistan | burial_place = Cadet College Hasan Abdal, Pakistan | alma_mater = Ipswich School<br>Oxford University | occupation = Teacher, educationist and administrator | known_for = * Teaching * Founder Principal of Cadet College Hasan Abdal * Principal of Rashtriya Indian Military College, PAF Public School Sargodha and Abbottabad Public School | awards = * Order of the British Empire (OBE) * Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) * Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Award by the President of Pakistan in 1979 * Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) Award by the President of Pakistan in 2007 }}
'''Hugh Catchpole''' <small>CBE HI</small> (26 May 1907 – 1 February 1997) was a British educationist and philanthropist, mostly active in British India, and later India and Pakistan. He was a teacher and administrator in military colleges and schools such as Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College, Pakistan Air Force School in Sargodha and Abbottabad Public School. He was the founder principal of Cadet College at Hasan Abdal.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 June 2007 |title=Teacher's centenary unites over 100 students across border |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Teachers-centenary-unites-over-100-students-across-border/articleshow/2094755.cms |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=28 May 2007 |title=RIMC founder remembered |url=https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/news/rimc-founder-remembered-14012 |access-date=10 September 2022 |website=NDTV |type=Video}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chopra |first=Jaskiran |date=18 March 2015 |title=Hugh Catchpole: RIMC's legendary teacher |work=The Pioneer |url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/STATE-EDITIONS/dehradun/hugh-catchpole-rimcs-legendary-teacher.html |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref> For 5 years of his life, he was in the Royal Army and for over 60 years, he was associated with schools in India and Pakistan.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
== Background == Hugh Catchpole was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England on 26 May 1907. One of five siblings, his father Henry Catchpole was the head of a building firm in Suffolk. He studied in Ipswich School during his early years and played cricket for Suffolk County XI. Later he studied Modern History at the University of Oxford with a scholarship, which he completed in 1928. He also studied Indian history during his stay in Oxford, which formed his interest to come to British India for a teaching assignment at Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (Rashtriya Indian Military College) in Dehradun, India as a teacher in 1928.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://pafcollegesargodha.com/pages/display/56/1|title=Mr Hugh Catchpole|website=pafcollegesargodha.com|access-date=10 March 2018|archive-date=12 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412091957/http://pafcollegesargodha.com/pages/display/56/1|url-status=dead}}</ref>
He joined the Royal Army in 1941 and was in the army until September 1946. In the military he attained the rank of Captain and taught Urdu to British cadets and in the United Kingdom he interrogated Indian soldiers who had been captured by the German army but managed to escape. He later served a second stint in army from December 1946 to October 1948.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Founder Principal, Mr Hugh Catchpole |url=http://www.cch.edu.pk/about-us/2013-10-12-02-45-19/founder-principal.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123121352/http://cch.edu.pk/about-us/2013-10-12-02-45-19/founder-principal.html |archive-date=23 January 2021 |access-date=13 November 2022|publisher=Cadet College Hasanabdal website}}</ref>
== Students == His students include highly ranked officers in the Indian defence forces, the Pakistani defence forces and the Bangladeshi defence forces. These include officers such as Air Marshal Asghar Khan and Air Marshal Nur Khan and Air Marshal Shafique Haider<ref name=TFT/> Haider Lateef
== Awards and honours == * 1 January 1971 – Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), conferred by Elizabeth II<ref name=TFT/> * 31 December 1980 – Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), conferred by Elizabeth II<ref name=TFT/> * 23 March 1979 – Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Award by the President of Pakistan.<ref name=TFT>{{cite news|url=https://www.thefridaytimes.com/2017/11/03/hugh-catchpole-of-cadet-college-hasan-abdal/ |title=Hugh Catchpole of Cadet College Hasan Abdal|newspaper= The Friday Times (newspaper)|date= 3 November 2017|access-date= 13 November 2022}}</ref> * 15 June 2007 – Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) Award, second highest civil award of Pakistan, conferred by General Pervez Musharraf posthumously.<ref name=TFT/>
== Hugh Catchpole Memorial English Debate == The '''All India Hugh Catchpole Memorial English Debate''' is an interschool debate competition in India started by Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) in 2006 and is named after Hugh Catchpole.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=26 April 2016 |title=RIMC wins Hugh Catchpole English debate contest |work=The Tribune |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/rimc-wins-hugh-catchpole-english-debate-contest-227479|access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref> The debate is conducted on a modified Cambridge pattern. Up to 20 reputed institutions from India participate in this event, and the winners over the years have been schools such as Wynberg Allen School in 2009,<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2009 |title=Cadet Archit bags best speaker award |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090418/dplus.htm#5 |url-status=dead |access-date=13 November 2022 |website=Tribune India |archive-date=13 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213024755/https://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090418/dplus.htm#5 }}</ref> La Martiniere (Lucknow) in 2013,<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 April 2013 |title=La Martiniere Lifts Hugh Catchpole English Debate Trophy |work=The Pioneer |url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/dehradun/la-martiniere-lifts-hugh-catchpole-english-debate-trophy.html|access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref> St. Joseph's Academy (Dehradun) in 2015<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/uttarakhand/education/st-joseph-s-academy-win-hugh-catchpole-english-debate/72561.html|title=St. Joseph's Academy win Hugh Catchpole English debate|date=26 April 2015|work=Tribune|access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref> and RIMC in 2012 and 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|date=20 April 2012|title=RIMC wins Hugh Catchpole Inter-School English Debates; SJA gets trophy|url=http://garhwalpost.in/dist_news_details.php?nid=513|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809031649/http://garhwalpost.in/dist_news_details.php?nid=513|archive-date=9 August 2018|access-date=13 November 2022|website=Garhwal Post (India) website}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
== See also == * The Frank Anthony Memorial All-India Inter-School Debate
== Bibliography == * Bikram Singh, Sidharth Mishra (1997). ''Where Gallantry is Tradition: Saga of Rashtriya Indian Military College.'' Allied Publishers Limited {{ISBN|8170236495}}
== References == <references />
== External links == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20210123121352/http://cch.edu.pk/about-us/2013-10-12-02-45-19/founder-principal.html Founder Principal, Cadet College Hasan Abdal - Archived] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tw3lMi5pcE Life of Hugh Catchpole] * [https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/news/rimc-founder-remembered-14012 RIMC founder remembered] * [https://202.74.245.22:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/240/1.%20Introductory%20pages%20and%20table%20of%20contents?sequence=1 Mr Hugh Catchpole's Notes on English Grammar and Uses]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Catchpole, Hugh}} Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Category:Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Heads of schools in India Category:Heads of schools in Pakistan Category:1907 births Category:People educated at Ipswich School Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford Category:1997 deaths Category:British expatriates in Pakistan Category:British people in British India