On Tuesday, 11th September 2001, Steven Lawn (The Digby 1987-91) was killed while working in his office on the 82nd floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, when terrorists crashed a second plane into the Twin Towers. He was 28 years old.
Steven is named on the South Pool Panel S-54 of the 9/11 Memorial in New York.
Steven Lawn (1972-2001) came to Sherborne School in 1987 from St Lawrence College Junior School in Ramsgate, Kent. He was a member of The Digby and was remembered fondly by his former housemaster Mike Davis, who said of him:
‘Steven joined the School and the House a year later than most of the students, but fitted in extremely quickly. He made friends very easily and was sensitive to others needs. He was very much the all-rounder academically and was a very hard worker. He loved his sport and played for the House in hockey, football, rugby and cricket, which led onto School representation. On the lighter side, he was to be seen taking part in a 24-hour marathon football match on the Digby lawn to raise money for a youngster who needed a racing wheelchair. Not to mention a charity 24-hour croquet marathon and cake stall for other charities. Steven wanted to help his fellow man in any way possible and in the House he was there for the younger boys to talk to when they needed guidance. He was very popular with the Davis family and especially the two corgis. As he progressed through the House he took his responsibilities very seriously and was admired by all.’
On leaving Sherborne School in 1991, Steven went on to study French and German at UCL where he met his future wife, Victoria. He graduated in 1996 and joined the Aon Corporation in London before transferring to their New York office.
In 2003 Steven’s family established the annual Steven Lawn Memorial Lecture to be held each year at Sherborne School on or around the 11th September with the aim of building better understanding between the West and the Islamic world.
Speakers at the Steven Lawn Memorial Lectures have included:
2003: Major General Patrick Cordingley (The Green 58-63) gave the inaugural lecture entitled ‘Religious intolerance is still a major problem even in Europe.
2004: Douglas, Lord Hurd, Conservative politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Mayor.
2005: Terry Waite, human rights activist and author.
2006: Camila Batmanghelidjh (Sherborne Girls’ 78), Director and Founder of Kids Company.
2007: Robert Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, lead on the Butler Review into intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
2008: Sir Jeremy Greenstock, former UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York and UK Special Representative in Iraq.
2009: Richard Watson, investigative journalist specialising in Islamic extremism, Al Qaeda and the terrorist threat in the UK.
2010: Dr Sarah Katherine Fane, founder of the Afghan Connection.
2011: Monawar Hussain, Imam at Eton College, founder of the Oxford Foundation.
2012: Rev. Stephen Winter, c0-founder with Joseph Ayok-Loewenberg of the Under Trees Schools.
2013: Satish Kumar, Indian activist and pacifist.
2015: Simon Weston OBE, Falkland’s war veteran.
2016: Sister Denise Boyle, former Executive Director of Franciscans International.
2017: Dr Scilla Elworthy, founder of the Oxford Research Group and of Peace Direct.
2018: Alistair Harris OBE (Westcott 92), former UK diplomat and UN investigator.
2019: Tom Frost, Head of Shell Project Academy.
2020: Major General James Cowan, CEP of Halo Trust.
2021: Luke Baker (The Green 91), former foreign correspondent and bureau chief for Reuters in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.