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William John Battersby
William John Battersby (1904-1976), also known as Brother Clair Stanislaus, was a Catholic teacher, author, and member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, more familiarly kno...view moreWilliam John Battersby (1904-1976), also known as Brother Clair Stanislaus, was a Catholic teacher, author, and member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, more familiarly known as the La Salle Brothers or the Christian Brothers, who have schools all over the world. He published eleven books and numerous articles for various magazines.
Battersby was born and raised in Portsmouth, England in 1904, where he attended the Brothers’ college (high school) and decided early on, aged thirteen, that he wished to become a De La Salle Brother. He began his religious training in the Junior Novitiate, the Novitiate and the Scholasticate. He then moved to London and began teaching whilst completing his studies at London University, where he earned two Honours degrees in English and History, as well as a degree in Economics. His first book, De La Salle: Pioneer of Modern Education, based on his doctorate thesis was published in 1949 at age 45.
He then spent six years in Rome, where he gained access to all the material on and around the subject of his next scholarly book, a full-length biography of St. John Baptist de La Salle, which was published in 1957.
Battersby returned to England in 1954 and began teaching history, as well as English, geography and art at the very first Brothers’ school in that country, which opened in 1855 at Clapham, London, and which had grown to a large school of 700 boys. Battersby continued writing during this period, and published several books on the history of the Order, including The De La Salle Brothers in Great Britain (1954), St. Joseph’s College, 1855-1955 (1955) St. John Baptist de La Salle (1957) and Brother Solomon: Martyr of the French Revolution (1960) and History of the Institute in the 18th Century (1960).
In 1959 he was elected President of the Association of Catholic Teachers of the entire London area, which encompassed some 1,700.
Battersby passed away in 1976.view less