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'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977' [85r] (169/498)
The record is made up of 1 file (247 folios). It was created in 1976-1978. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
m
- 83 -
died from exposure - only some seven children out of over a hundred were
saved. Apparently the escorting destroyers had left the convoy as they
thought they had got far enough out to be beyond reach of the German sub
marines. The pity of it was that the "Benares” had continued with the convoy
travelling at only eight or nine knots, instead of pressing on alone at her
full speed which would have saved her from any prowling ’ll* boats. The
escorting destroyers rushed back to the convoy when they heard of the "Benares
tragedy to see if they could rescue any more wrecked crew. Two ships which
had stood in to rescue survivors were, themselves, torpedoed and sunk.
- r e had been extremely lucky escaping so easily, as we did, from the "Simla"
After the feeling of elation at our escape, we began to think of v/hat we
had lost. I wished I had gone to bed that night in my full dress uniform
instead of the sloppy grey flannels and old jacket! I have always taken out
an ’All Risk’ insurance policy, but it did not cover war damage. Before
leaving London I had enquired about insurance, but Thos. Cooks had quoted
me v/hat I then thought was a prohibitive rate of some 11% of the value of
replacement. The figure of sinkings at that time was nothing near 11% so,
foolishly as it turned out, T had decided to carry the insurance myself.
Nov/ we had lost the whole of our twenty-two pieces of luggage, which
included the effects of all four of us.
Some of us men who had been on the "Simla" had discussed the inadequacy
of the arrangements for safety on ships going to sea at that time. On the
"Simla" we had had a very inadequate boat-drill talk on boarding the ship.
Jo attempt had been made to make us feel that there was a serious risk in
sailing at that time, and many mothers and children were busy in their cabins
and never heard of the boat-drill. The ship's staff should have made sure
that everyone had been warned to go to bed fully clothed and with life-jackets
handy. As a result when the "Simla" - and "Benares" were sunk, many mothers
and children were caught in scanty night attire.
I drafted a letter giving
About this item
- Content
Memoirs of Sir Herbert Todd (1893-1985) of 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. , later of the Iraq Petroleum Company. Written during the years 1976-78, the memoirs begin by recounting Todd's childhood on his family's farm in Kent, his education and entrance into the Home Civil Service in 1912, and his entrance into 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. in 1913. Roughly half of the memoirs (ff 10-137) covers Todd's career up to 1947, which can be summarised as follows:
- Posted to the Indian Police, Burma [Myanmar], 1913-17 (ff 10-22)
- Served in the 11th Bengal Lancers (Probyn's Horse), Indian Army, in Mesopotamia [Iraq], 1917-19 (ff 22-24)
- Remained in Baghdad as Assistant Commissioner of Police, Baghdad East Subdivision, 1919-20 (ff 25-31)
- Transferred to 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. , holding positions in Baluchistan, 1921; Gilgit, 1927; Quetta, 1931; Bharatpur, 1936-39 (ff 31-67)
- Served in the Home Guard during extended leave (1939-40), first in Canfield, Essex, and later in Blackheath, London (ff 68-72), followed by a spell as an air warden while awaiting re-posting to India (ff 72-78)
- First attempt at passage to India abandoned when the ship he was travelling on, SS Simla , was torpedoed, September 1940 (ff 79-88)
- Returned to India, holding positions at Udaipur, 1940 (ff 93-97); Baluchistan, 1941 (ff 97-101); Cochin [Kochi] and Travancore, 1943 (ff 101-111); and Calcutta [Kolkata] and the Eastern States, 1944-47 (ff 111-134)
- Returned to London on leave, April 1947; career brought to an abrupt end in June 1947 with the announcement of the handing over of power and Indian independence (ff 135-137).
The last hundred or so folios relate to Todd's employment in the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), 1948-59 (ff 138-227), and his subsequent retirement in Oxted, Surrey, 1959-78 (ff 227-248). As Chief Representative of the IPC, Todd and his wife spent much of their time in Baghdad. The memoirs document Todd's relations with prominent Iraqi politicians, diplomats, and visiting British MPs, as well as Todd's visits to Beirut, Damascus, Palestine, Jordan, Kuwait, Persia [Iran] and the United States. Also included are Todd's thoughts on the Suez Crisis and the 1958 revolution in Iraq (Todd was holidaying in Austria at the time and never returned to Baghdad).
Aside from his career, Todd writes about his hobbies (polo and hunting) and comments on UK and world events, such as the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the death of Winston Churchill, and the first moon landing in July 1969; he also mentions in passing meeting Professor Max Mallowan and Agatha Christie at the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud (Iraq) in April 1955.
The text is typewritten with annotations and crossings out in pencil and ink. It includes some offensive terms and language in its descriptions of members of colonised populations.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (247 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 249; 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. The file also contains an original printed foliation sequence. It should be noted that number 13 in the original foliation sequence is missing (in between folios 14 and 15).
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F226/30
- Title
- 'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977'
- Pages
- 2r:248v
- Author
- Todd, Sir Herbert John
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- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.