GUWAHATI, June 4 ? The mortal remains of Sir Henry John Stedman Cotton, one of the founders of the 100-year-old Cotton College, after whom the college was named, were not buried. Contrary to popular belief here, the mortal remains of Sir Cotton were cremated, alongside his wife?s, at the Golders Green Crematorium in London. This was discovered by Mr Harry Ridge during his search for the grave as well as the descendants of Sir Henry Cotton in England, in connection with the centenary celebration of Cotton College. Mr Ridge was asked by Dr Satyendra Kumar Choudhury, general secretary of Cotton College Centenary Celebration Committee (CCCCC) in 1998, to find out the grave of Sri Henry Cotton and his descendants as well as the descendants of Prof F W Sudmersen, the founder principal of Cotton College.
Harry Ridge, the 80 year-old bachelor from Sheffield, South Yorkshire County, United Kingdom, is a familiar name and figure in this city nowadays. Many, because of his keen participation in the Cotton College centenary celebration, took him for a descendant of Sir Henry Stedman Cotton, the founder of Cotton College, and some others took him for an academic. Mr Ridge, however, in his typical English style said, ?You described me as a relation of Sir Henry Cotton. But, I am not, nor I am an academic,? while talking to this correspondent on June 1. He left for London via Delhi on June 2. Mr Ridge started visiting foreign countries since his retiring from the post of Laboratory Assistant in the Ecclesfield Grammar School in Scheffield city in 1987. He visited India under a package tour organised by Coax and Kings, a renowned travel company that year.
On two occasions in the 1990s, he had also been to Pakistan. He entered India from Pakistan on both the occasions. Its colourful people, their cultural heritage, the heritage left behind by the British rulers and the natural beauty of the land have been pulling Mr Ridge time and again to India. To him, Kolkata is one of the most fascinating places in India. No doubt, the contrast between the cultural landscapes of Old and New Delhi, the setting sun of Kanyakumari and the Taj Mahal are also fascinating for him. But, the North East region of India is of course, different, he said. Besides, the people, the tea estates and the forests, there is Guwahati by the majestic Brahmaputra and the Cotton College here.
Mr Ridge came to know about Cotton College from Prof PK Sen, the then Head of the Department of Chemistry (now retire) of Presidency College, in 1995. He was rather intending to visit Gauhati University (GU) then. But, when he came to visit Cotton College around January 1996, it was something beyond his expectation. ?It is a very grand impression,? he said. But, why? Mr Ridge said that because of its people he was having that impression. Moreover, what surprises him about the college is that it can still claim itself to be the premier institute of higher education in the NE region, despite the fact that there are several universities now in the region. The College is also having good students, teachers and employees, he said.
Mr Ridge who worked as a maintenance fitter for about six years till 1947 and then helped his mother, till her death in 1957, to run the family pub, also worked for about a year in an iron foundry as a castings inspector around 1957/58 near Sheffield, before joining the Ecclesfield Grammar School. He retired from that school when he was 65 years old. He is now drawing two pensions ? old age pension and pension from the local pension authorities of South Yorkshire County. Coming back to the latter part of Sir Henry Cotton?s life, Mr Ridge said that Sir Cotton became a follower of French philosopher Auguste Compe. Dr Richard Congreve propagated Compe?s philosophy in England then. Dr Congreve founded the Church of Humanity in London and elsewhere in England. Compe was the first man who laid the foundation of modern sociology, Mr Ridge said.
Mr Ridge also searched out in 1998, the descendants of Sir Henry Cotton. One of them was the 89 year-old Sir John Cotton of Hampshire, the grandson of Sir Henry Cotton, and the other was Mr Brian Cotton, the son of Sri John Cotton. However, they were not able to attend the centenary celebration of Cotton College. But, Mr Ridge could arrange for the coming of Mrs Gwynneth White, the grand daughter of Prof Sudmersen from his daughter?s side, over to Guwahati during the opening ceremony of the centenary celebration last year. Mrs White sent her best wishes to the Cotton College family through Mr Ridge this time. Mr Ridge also made a contribution of Rs 3,000 to the CCCCC fund and presented some books to the college. ?I want Cotton College not only to flourish, but, also to continue with its academic excellence,? he said.