Ex-Malvern College student known as ‘Indian Oskar Schindler’

The selfless acts of Indian national Jam Sahib, Sir Digvijaysinhji Jadeja, the Maharaja of Nawanagar, who was a pupil at the school between 1910 and 1915, saved around 1,000 Polish children during the war.

When many nations were unwilling to offer shelter, the Maharaja took in an initial 500 refugees before opening his palace to many more.

He has been likened to German businessman Oskar Schindler, who helped protect his Jewish workers from deportation and death in the Nazi concentration camps during the conflict, but the Maharaja’s efforts are almost unknown beyond his native India.

His actions are outlined in a book currently being written by former Malvern College teacher and housemaster Andrew Murtagh on behalf of a friend whose mother was one of the children the Maharaja saved.

Yet, despite being linked by the school, Andrew discovered the Maharaja was an Old Malvernian quite by chance.

“The book tells the extraordinary life story of my friend’s Polish mother called Bronislawa Piotrowska,” the 75-year-old said.

“My friend started telling me stories about her mother which were really intriguing and when I heard what had happened to her I thought the story had to be told.”

As a 10-year-old, Bronislawa was bundled into a cattle truck to endure a horrific, three-week journey to a Russian prison in Siberia. Many did not survive the journey and many more died in the forced labour camps.

“When Germany invaded Russia and Stalin joined the Allies, Winston Churchill insisted all Polish prisoners be released,” Andrew said. “On foot, these refugees made their way to British-controlled Palestine yet more died on the way.

“Once in Palestine, nobody seemed to want them. What to do with the thousands of orphans?

“An Indian Maharaja, who had a successful military and diplomatic career, offered to take in under his protection 500 orphans and care for them.

“He took them to his palace in India and gave them shelter, peace, security, clothing and proper education.

“He was an extraordinary man and to the Polish people he became a national hero, ‘The Good Maharaja’, an Indian Oskar Schindler.

“There are references to him in the archives at the college but nothing about this. His story has flown under the radar and the college has remained unaware of his humanitarian deeds - until now!

“It is an amazing story which has blown me away.”

Andrew said he had discovered the Maharaja, who died in 1966 at the age of 70, was an Old Malvernian by accident.

“When I looked him up I noticed the name of his son, who is the current Maharaja of Nawanagar, and thought to myself where had I seen that before,” he said.

“At the college on the wall in the Long Room are the names of all the cricket teams since the beginning of the school. This name you can’t miss because it goes halfway around the room.

“He had obviously been at Malvern and when I looked it up, I noticed his father, the Maharaja, had also been at the college and was ironically in Number 7 - the house where I was housemaster - from 1910 to 1915.”

Following the war, Bronislawa and her father, who had fought for the Polish Army, came to Britain and gained British citizenship. She died in her 80s.

“It was only when she knew her life was coming to a close that she decided to tell her daughter the story of what happened to her,” Andrew said.

“All she remembered was happiness and peace and said she owed the Maharaja her life.”

Andrew, who played cricket for Hampshire for a decade and has written seven books to date, spent 30 years at Malvern College, including 18 as a housemaster.

“I meant to come for one year and ended up staying 30. It was a privilege to work in such a wonderful place,” he added.

“When it was time for me to move on, it was not golf but writing that beckoned.

“Write about what you know was always my advice to pupils stuck for ideas for their essays so my subject was always going to be cricket. Or, more specifically, my subjects were always going to be cricketers.”