Description
Object description
British wife of NCO with Royal Artillery in India, 1933-1938
Content description
REEL 1 Recollections of period as wife of NCO with Royal Artillery in India, 1933-1938: memories of First World War; parental reaction to marriage to soldier; reasons for men for joining army; nature of life as army wife living off army strength prior to posting to India; degree of prior knowledge of India.
REEL 2 Continues: beneficial educational effects of travel for children; conditions on Indian trains; companionship of other service wives; initial impressions of India on arrival in Karachi; married quarters in Hyderabad; servants; recreations; snakes; incident of snake bite; necessity of supervising servants; description of married quarters; outline of daily routine and recreational activities.
REEL 3 Continues: Indian caste system; employment of servants; Indian thieves; friendship with ayah; degree of contact with officers' wives; contact with Anglo-Indians; social ostracism of partners in mixed marriages and Anglo-Indians; attitude of army wives to her friendship with Anglo- Indians; opinion of Anglo-Indians; children's education; strained racial relationships.
REEL 4 Continues: Indian birth; illness and poverty of Indians; limitations of army education; reasons for sending children away to school; children's recreational activities; sightseeing visits; immediate reaction to Quetta Earthquake, 31/5/1935; foraging after earthquake; use of Gurkhas to protect against looting Pathans; damage caused by earthquake; restrictions on movement of earthquake survivors on return to Hyderabad; sensations of being in earthquake.
REEL 5 Continues: importance of friendship with army wife; character of Nowshera; visit to Peshawar; description of Pathans; lifestyle in Nowshera; question of health of children in India; her interest in Indian culture; soldier who ran away and converted to Sikhism; borrowing books from vicar; reasons for belief in necessity of British rule in India; Indian dependence on money-lenders.
REEL 6 Continues: opinion of Sikhs; bribery in India; question of how British presence gave Indians incentive for Independence; tension caused by pre-monsoon heat; plight of untouchable caste; interest in Mahatma Gandhi's activities; belief that Indian self-rule would be hampered by bribery and caste system; penance of holy man; problems with beggars; attitude to fortune telling; Indian festivals.