'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' [‎20r] (39/118)

... S ° me n W ?! kS b , efore L first ”ade unofficial enquiries, I had
written to Delhi asking for official permission to get married, Is
P °^u Ca o SerVi ° e W6re nQt SU PP° sed t0 without
the express sanction of the Government of India. I had been given to
understand that there would be no objection, so I was horrified to receive
a semi-official letter, on the day after my arrival in Rajkot, saying that
in view of my sudden transfer there and the likelihood of my having a very
lull ime 30 b assisting the Resident, it was considered advisable for me to
postpone my marriage until October. This was a bitter blow to us both, not
made any the easier to bear by the fact that we were then already a thousand
miles apart, as Jane had gone to stay with her mother in KurwarRai
Sultanpur District, Oudh, on the far side of Lucknow, prior to their going
up to Nainital at the end of April. 6 *
. . The Under-Secretary in Rajkot was Frank Pearson of my Regiment. He
had joined the first Bn. 1st Gurkhas a year before I joined the 2nd Bn.
later served some time as an A.D.C. to the Viceroy and joined the Political
a year before me. He was married and they were a charming couple and very
Kind to me; as were indeed most of the small European community. This was
only about twenty strong, half a dozen Politicals, some people in State
Service, including the Principal and Vice-Principal of the Kathiawar Chiefs'
College, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, the Judicial Commissioner#
and a few people in business. Some were married but there seemed an unusually
high proportion of bachelors, including the Resident, the Secretary and me.
Strangely enough Mrs. Barrett, the wife of the Principal had been at school
with my two sisters.
There was a small club, used by both Europeans and Indians. Of the
latter some were state officials and others the princes of the various
Kathiawar States. One could play tennis and golf, and after my horse arrived
I rode early every morning, but it was all rather quiet and dull after the
excitements of Agra.
On 18th March the Resident, Mr. Gibson, and Major Fletcher, the
Secretary, returned from Delhi and it then seemed unlikely that Gandhi
would come back to Rajkot as the trouble had apparently been settled, and
I began to wonder whether my posting to Rajkot had really been necessary and
how long I should stay there.
On the 27th March there was the Annual Investiture. Major Fletcher
was ill so Frank Pearson deputised for him and I for Frank. The orders were
duly handed by me to the Resident, who presented them to the recipients as
Frank read out their names. Before that we had solemnly processed up the
red carpet amidst the assembled company, numbering about 150. The proceedings
took place in the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Garden, which was all lit up and decorated, and
lasted from 9.15 P*m. until midnight. After the presentations had been made,
it developed into an ordinary garden party, except that there was whisky as
well as lemonade available.