'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' [‎27v] (54/118)

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two extra Brigades in the District, which had come up to deal with the
tribesmen in the Ahmedzai Salient. The Salient was a piece of tri a
territory jutting out into British administered territory, from which
large gangs had recently been making frequent raids into the settled
lands of Bannu District.
jfelt
It was annoying to be kept hanging around in Bannu, when I might
have had another five days with Jane in Lucknow, but I was lucky to find
that Peter O’Neal (late of Barnes B, Christ's Hospital) and now in the
2nd Battalion 1st Gurkhas, was down in Bannu on a staff job, and I was
able to stay with him and feed with the 1st Bn. 9th Gurkhas, who were in
camp just across the way. Bill Gahan of the Regiment was also down visiting
his wife and they were old friends of mine, and we played some golf^together.
On one day, at the invitation of George Belton of the 9th Gurkhas, I played
polo and thoroughly enjoyed it. He ncounted me and I played four chukkas,
and much to my surprise and relief I was not at all stiff afterwards although
I had not been on a horse for seven months.
There was little chance of doing so again for some time as in those
days one could not ride in ^azmak. Formerly one could go out shooting,
riding or playing golf up there but since 19 ^, and the coming into force
of the 1935 Constitution, the law and order situation had so deteriorated
that we could not go outside the perimeter wire, even in broad daylight,
without being sniped at. So squash and fairly strenuous soldiering were
one's only form of exercise there. Even in Bannu, within administered
territory, one could only venture outside the cantonment with an armed guard.
At the time I commented caustically ’’So much for the famous policy of 'making
friends with the tribesman' so much advocated by those in Simla and Whitehall",
It was a fact I thought and still think, that the tribesmen sensed an overall
loosening of British control of India in the Provinces and assumed wrongly
at that time, that the same would apply in tribal territory. Obviously in
time of war this could not be allowed though after Partition in 194?
Pakistan was to adopt a less rigid policy and abandon Razmak, which in our
time contained about 10,000 troops in the midst of Waziristan. It was
sometimes described as the biggest monastery in India as no women were ever
allowed there. Some wives, such as Ella Gahan, came up to Bannu during the
cold weather, and their husbands in Razmak, convoys permitting, were able to
get down for the occasional weekend or a few days local leave, but Bannu in
the summer at not much over 1 , 000 ft above sea level, became very hot and the
Married Families Camp was then closed down. Razmak was much higher, over
8 , 000 ft. and when I got there there was a considerable amount of snow, in
places three feet deep. Rather a contrast to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. where I had
been less than a month before.
The snow made an added task for the Razmak garrison and other posts
en route for Bannu, as not only had the heights on either side of the road
to be picquetted, but the road itself had to be cleared of snow to enable
convoys to get through. It was very cold in Razmak in January - February
and one wore an incredible number of sweaters with a sheepskin coat or
jerkin on top. I remember my foundation garment was an old school rugger
jersey.
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