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‘File 28/57 II Volunteers for national service’ [‎200r] (405/719)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (351 folios). It was created in 24 Feb 1930-2 Feb 1942. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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Dear Carl,
Officers* Training School
Belgaum, India.
July 27th/41. C, G,
^ell, it was a good idea while it lastprl * c-ni ruy r
Unfortunately for me, I didn't quite make it ~ So uni pc*- n fv home 1 m J an *
jrllht 4 uick like, it looks as if yours truly will h^cne a'hit i of e t t ^° Ver
in the gears of the Indian.army. Just call me lootenant aM
I am writing this so that you fellows 'har.ir ?hG- t, ■
know what you are up against if you get any ideas wl11
skip home through India. iThen the plane got' into Karachi Ind i went^tr.
the customs house to get ay luggage examined they were waitinetor me*
It seems that the political agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. had wired to the military anthnh??Go
at Karachi, telling them what time I would arrive at the ai/port^ aG ^
recommended my conscription. As nice a piece of underhand wo^k as I
tovg ever had the misfortune to witness. If that cable had not hlen sent
there is no doubt but that I should have been allowed to proceed ,r
I am feeling bitter about the whole affair so I am hoping that none nr 7
you Will attempt what Idid. " oplng l ' nat none of
All the righ'/S which a Canadian citizen has at home are nTmamr+i
forfeited when he gets to India and the fact that'there is no conlcrirtioS
at home or the fact that you are in transit means nothing to the millta™
ithorities here. The law reads "Any British subject is liable to con?
scnption no matter from what part of the Empire he comes" and believe
me, you have to have a mighty good story to get around it. Obviously
mine was not good enough. ' J ’
I had a te/iihle time in Karachi. T had to "be interviewed "by
„ . . , t t t ox d iC . J - 11 ^iracni. i naa to be interviewed by
l ?~ army officials and it was four days before 1 knew definitely
H|t I was not going to be allowed to go. After that I was conscribted
and sent here for a four months' course.
EEI here took me four d.ays. Bel gaum is about two hundred
miles south of Bombay. There is no coastal railroad from Karachi so that
upd to cover half of Ind ia to get there - I went by way of Lahore, Delhi
and believe it or not, good old Poona. In fact I slept in the station at
Poona one night after missing a connection. It's a great life sometimes.
The life at this training school is not too bad although the
strenuous routine of physical training and rifle drill etc, is just about
ailing me after the comparatively lazy life of Bahrein. On the other
land, it should do me a lot of good physically.
All this has been a great blow to my marriage mans. There is
i possibility though that I will get a commission in the ordinance Corps
id be put in a munitions plant. If this materializes I will try to get
lelen out here.
The unfortunate part of it is that those things that I sent home
\ my box for some of the fellows there at Bahrein will not be delivered
rnless there is some means by which I can have my father claim the box.
)therwise it will just lie there in bond until I get home to claim it
lyself. Tell Harvey Clare that I am sorry that I will not be able to
trrange for those flowers for his girl friend and that I will return his
loney to him at Bahrein.
I would be very glad if you fellows would write to me here and
.et me know how everything is going at Bahrein. I sure would appreciate it
f you would do this and I promise to answer everybody. Perhaps you would
>e interested in what life in the Indian army is like.
If you are writing, the new handle is Officer-Cadet P.L. Johnson
.nd the address is on the letter head.
Say hello for me to Homo, Bene, Jim, George, Harvey, Pap, Keith
.nd all the rest,
Sincerely,
(sgnd ) Lloyd..

About this item

Content

The volume comprises applications made by individuals in Bahrain (chiefly employees of the Bahrain Petroleum Company, BAPCO) for emergency commission to the military forces, and correspondence concerning official policy towards volunteers for military duty, and proposals for the introduction in Bahrain and Qatar of conscription for military duty. The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 28/57 I Volunteers for national service’ (IOR/R/15/2/748). The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior; Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay); the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman; Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban); the Chief Local Representative of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) (Ward P Anderson; Milton H Lipp).

The volume includes:

While the earliest piece of correspondence in the volume is dated 24 February 1930 (a school reference submitted by a BAPCO employee, f 174), the volume commences with correspondence dated from October 1940.

Extent and format
1 volume (351 folios)
Arrangement

The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the volume (ff 323-353) mirror the chronological arrangement.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 357; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 6-278; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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‘File 28/57 II Volunteers for national service’ [‎200r] (405/719), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/749, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026187823.0x000006> [accessed 6 April 2025]

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