'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' [‎44r] (87/118)

for another forty years I find it hard to understand. That autumn Christopher
had his first taste of Prep. School for one term as a day boy at Alleyn
Court, Westcliff-on-Sea, fun by my friend Denis Wilcox, the Essex cricketer,
- for whose casual XI I had played while on leave in the thirties. Five years
later Christopher was to return to Alleyn Court as a boarder and stay there
until he went to Marlborough.
Despite travelling difficulties, we managed to visit friends and
relatives all over the country, including Devon and Worcestershire, and spent
Christmas and the New Year in the Deanery at Worcester with the Davies family,
with whom Jane had stayed during her school holidays before the War. We
actually welcomed the New Year 1945/46 in from the top of the tower of
Worcester Cathedral, and although Mrs. Davies had retired to bed before this,
the Dean later took us all in to wish her a Happy New Year.and drink a toast
to 1946. During the course of the proceedings, I was.inspired to sing a
Gurkhali song and break into a Gurkhali dance, something which I suppose ha
neverhappened before and will never happen again in the bedroom of a Dean's
wife, particularly at 3 o'clock in the morning. It was a good party.
Before leaving India in 1945 I had been asked by the Foreign and
Political Department where I would next like to be posted and I hah a ske
either to go to the Legation at Kabul or to a big Indian Stare, such as
Hyderabad Deccan. I had much enjoyed my time in Baluchistan but I wanted,!
oossible to go to Afghanistan or failing that to see something more of ‘-he
Princely'states of India. However, I was not unduly surprised, or disapp ,
“ y the e" no notice was taken of my request
I was posted as Assistant Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
We sailed for India from Liverpool on the 12th Janu ^ y jlf
;: C opirbufL^his^ip ^pittfng on tL deck was the least of their offences,
and service was grudging in the extreme.
We were very pleased to find Guy and Bunty Pettigrew fll and
Simon on hoard and f° and a ^itIsh°Consui r at 0 Bushire where v,'e had been in
^939 :nd P - : 4 :Voleetuitra lot of him and his family during the next
eighteen months, both in Persia and Bahrain.
i j i, aa-rOv -in February, rescued our heavy baggage from
We reached Bombay early in Fe. Y* Gulf steameri which went
Grindlay's store, and then caugn ^ Arabian Sea up the Gulf of
up the coast to Karachi and thence across p ers i an Gulf and on to Bahrain.
Oman and through the Strait o ormuz i ashore to visit Sir Francis Mudie ,
the r GSvIrnor S gf n Sindfllias K "un?le Frank”,who had been my Collector and mentor