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'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977' [167r] (333/498)
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.
- 165 -
of Omar. Down into the city by St.Stephen's Gate - and the place of his
stoning - by narrow street past the place of the Flagellation - the Church
of Coronation, showing in the roof the emblem of the Crown of Thorns —
opposite the door where Pilate is reputed to have 'washed his hands',
exclaiming "I find no fault in this man' 1 - along the street of the Via
Dolorosa, the stages of the Cross with buttresses across the narrow—walled,
steep way. In the afternoon Fareed took us to General Gordon's calvary,
outside the city gate . This garden was looked after by a Mrs. Matar, an
Arab lady who showed us round, explaining the controversy over the "place of
execution — Golgotha", the outline of a skull on the cliffside — the wine
press - the tomb, hewn out of the rock in the cliff wall - the likely place
of Joseph of Araraathia's garden — a lovely, quiet retreat of a garden — with
locust trees, hyssops, old prosecution place of Hadrian's time. Then we
went on to Bethlehem, some ? three miles outside Jerusalem - past Rachel's
tomb - to the Church of the Nativity - the crypt - place where the Aramaic
Bible was translated into Greek — where Muslims and Christians worship together —
crypt of the Innocents - three denominations - Christians, Muslims, Jews - a
mother-of-pearl workshop - St. John's Crusader fort - old headquarters site -
Ruth s fields — the field of the shepherds — Herod's palace away south on a
volcano-like hill. And so back to visit Gethsemane Church and the little
olive tree orchard with knarled old trees - and the tree of the agony. Within
what a small compass took place all the Christian history.
Back to the hotel for tea and a rest. Mrs. Vester, the American hostess
of the hotel, showed us her beautifully executed portfolio of all the wild
flowers of Palestine.
Next day Fareed Imam called for us and took us, first to the "Tombs of the
Kings” recently (May 1954-) uncovered by French archeologists. Down deep cut
steps and now a water catchment tank, a cut in the rock leads to a lar^e
courtyard, then a stone covered verandah and steps down to a tomb with a
rolling stone - like a millstone - rolling in a groove to close the entrance
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
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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
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.