Major Geoffrey Langlands has spent decades in his £40 a week post as the principal of Langlands School and College, in Pakistan, and in an interview with the Daily Telegraph the 94 year old has spoken about his decision to stand down, now he has found the right man to replace him: a woman, Carey Schofield.
A familiar name? Well, yes. Carey happens to be the author of Inside The Pakistan Army, and is a distinguished journalist.
She told the Telegraph, ‘I met Major Langlands a couple of years ago, when I was helping to organise a cricket match in aid of the school,” she says. “I was struck by his energy and verve. I thought he would turn up in the afternoon as the guest of honour, but instead he was there before nine in the morning, sorting out chairs and tents and caterers.
I was asked to help find a replacement for the Major. He wanted a young British Army officer to take on the job. But somehow the idea emerged that perhaps a woman could do it just as well as a man.
Chitral is a magical place. I can’t imagine anyone who has been there not wanting to stay. The climate is lovely, the mountains very beautiful and the people relaxed and friendly. They are very proud of being Chitrali, of their history as a princely state, and of their language’.
What an absolutely fantastic job to be doing. Whilst the rest of us are battling with TFL just to get into work, Carey is going to be doing one of those jobs that you only really hear of people doing, rather than doing it yourself. Of course with her expertise on Pakistan, she’s a natural fit for the job and we’re sure she will be fantastic!
So, if you could do any other job in the world what would it be?
I asked Editorial Assistant, Jess, who immediately replied, with alarming certainty, ‘WEDDING PLANNER’. Olivia, Publishing Assistant, would be a ‘Tory wife. I could wear tweed and drink gin all day’. Marketing Manager, Katy, said ‘I wanted to be the first female Red Arrows jet pilot. I’ve been beaten to it, and the day I found out I cried’. Well it’s good to know that people are so dedicated to their causes! Like Major Geoffrey Langlands himself, who is a fascinating character.
He ‘lost his father to the influenza epidemic of 1918. His mother, left with three children to look after, died of cancer when he was 10. The headmaster of King’s College Taunton, a family friend, offered him a free place at the school.
“I’ve always taken life as it comes,” he says, “that these things happen and you just make the most of it. I’ve always been happy, even when things were going wrong.”
Langlands began working life as a mathematics teacher at a public school before joining up on the outbreak of war. He was subsequently posted to 4 Commando, taking part in the disastrous amphibious raid on Dieppe in 1942. The following year he was selected for officer training and posted to the Indian army.
“When independence came, they asked British officers to volunteer to stay on for one year to train up the new army. I had every intention of returning home but volunteered to stay behind for a while.”
One year with the Pakistani army turned to seven. It was the commander-in-chief of the army who suggested to Langlands that he should stay on and put his educational expertise to good use in civilian life. He began teaching at Aitchison in 1954, moving to a school in North-West Frontier Province in 1979. The dramatic high came in 1988 when he was kidnapped by tribesmen in search of ransom.
“They took me to their village. I had to walk six and a half hours in the mountains, in mid-winter. I walked into the hut and found there were three prisoners there already. They had been there for four and a half months. I was the VIP. The military could not assault the village because we would have been killed, so they got a party of elders to approach the kidnappers. They said, 'Look, you can’t kidnap the principal.’ So they agreed to release me on condition that nothing was done against them.”
Well, I can only say that I hope the same fate doesn’t befall Carey! Best of luck.