!['AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977' [‎150r] (299/498)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000880.0x0002ef/Mss Eur F226_30_0299.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977' [‎150r] (299/498)")
'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977' [150r] (299/498)
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.
- 148 -
Majid, the Khederi family. Also at this time we saw a lot of Cissy, the
Rani of Nandgaon and her mother, the Dowager Maharani of Mayurbhanj - a nice
family, all of whom I was to see a lot of later when we went to live in
Baghdad as the Chief Representative of the Company. I also had much to do
with the Anglo Iraqi Society.
In January 1952 Nancy and I flew to Athens in a special plane with a load
of I.P.C. staff and wives and next day on to Basra for the official opening
by Nuri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
of the Basra oil line. Met the young King and the Regent.
Back to the daily round at I.P.C, office.
LVIII. DEATH OF KING GEORGE VI.
Weds. 6th Feb. 1952. The King is dead. Died quietly in his sleep at
Sandringham. A shock to the nation, through all that period of anxiety
when he was so ill, then operated upon, then seemed so much better, going
out even today of his death on happy winter day shooting, and then quietly
dies. What an anxious sixteen years of kingship he has had - saddled with
it because his elder brother couldn’t face it. What sincere grief in all
lands - what a tribute to a man handicapped in speech, yet so strongly
supported by his wife, he, determinedly, did his duty.
The dead King lay in state in Westminster Hall and seventy thousand filed
past his bier, last at 1.45 a.ra. It was well described by Richard Dimbleby
as grand, moving, inspiring in that old Hall of William Rufus - what history,
what a spontaneous demonstration, more so than in the eleventh century, for
today the people, not only the nubility and servants of the nobility, claim
the King, he is indeed the people’s King as never before. And next day,
Wed. 13th Feb, one hundred-and-seventy-eight thousand filed past the catafalque
until 3*30 a.m. Edward Windsor came too, to walk behind the body of his
favourite brother - the brother whom he left to carry the load he could not
uphold - sad, bitter memories indeed. I got copies of the film ’’The King
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).
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977' [150r] (299/498), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/30, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100096527774.0x000064> [accessed 27 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100096527774.0x000064
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100096527774.0x000064">'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977' [‎150r] (299/498)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100096527774.0x000064"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000880.0x0002ef/Mss Eur F226_30_0299.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000880.0x0002ef/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F226/30
- Title
- 'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977'
- Pages
- 2r:248v
- Author
- Todd, Sir Herbert John
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.