'A Grandfather's Tale: Memoirs being mainly concerned with service in the Indian Army and the Indian Political Service in India and the Persian Gulf from 1932-1947' [‎16r] (31/118)

siin and a temperature of 11 QO. There was a small mosque on too, and
a Hindu shrine as well, so we were very ecumenicalI Happily. ^Iso, we
were met there by one of the local Chiefs, the Thakor Sahib of Jambughoda,
and he provided us with much needed refreshment and rest. We came down
the mountain in the evening and then on by car to Jambughoia where we
dined. The Police Guard of honour there was composed of Gurkhas and they
were delighted when I addressed them in their own language instead of
Hindustani. Back to Baroda, a 2% hours' drive by moonlight and so to bed
at.midnight. We had started at 6 a.m. so it had been a long but most
enjoyable day. The Bishop took it all in his stride but his chaplain
seemed, a trifle weary and wished he had accepted the offer of a horse to
take him up the mountain instead of accompanying the rest of us on foot.
And so ended my first six months in the Political. It had been
a fascinating time and full of interest and I had learnt a lot more about
the real India than I could in an isolated spot such as Dharmsala.
On Friday April 30th I left Baroda at 3»30 a.m. and arrived in
Simla the following morning. It was lovely to be in the cool again, with
three blankets on one's bed and an overcoat if one went out in the evening,
after nights of close on 90 ° and days of 'HO 0 . Simla is at 8,000 ft
while Baroda is only just over sea level. Simla was then the summer
headquarters of the Government of India, and huge, but otherwise much like
&ny other Hill Station, all hillsl No cars were allowed, except for the
Viceroy, the Governor of the Punjab and the Commander-in-Chief. The only
means of getting aoout was by rickshaw, which I loathed, by pony or by
walking. I usually chose to walk, and in a day could easily cover
six miles just getting from one place to another and not as exercise.
John Gueritz, Pat Tandy and I, all three military politicals, were attached
for three weeks to the Foreign Office and then for a similar period to
the Political Department, and met all the staff from the Foreign and
Political Secretaries downwards. Within the time allowed we were given a
fairly comprehensive insight as to how each of the Departments worked, and
also given a number of files to read dealing with historic cases dealt with
in the past. We also had lunch with the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, and his
family.
The story was that on these occasions the sweet was always
cherry tart, to see what the new entry would do with the stones. But on
this occasion we, or they, were disappointed as it was some harmless form
of mousse. We did, however, have curry and all three of us ate it according
to Indian etiquette with spoon and fork. There were a few disapproving
glances from one or two guests recently arrived from England, unaware of
native custom, but we survived intact with no adverse comment on our
confidential reports.
The Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. was the Viceroy's particular Service,
only about 1?0 officers strong, and at one time it had been suggested it
should be called the Crown Service. Normally each new candidate was
interviewed by the Viceroy himself, as well as by the Senior Officers