'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' [‎47r] (93/118)

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12 feet by 6 feet wide, so not much good for grown-ups.
We had our very good bearer Mohammed Hussain, a Murree Hillman, whom
we had had in Quetta, with us having collected him at Karachi on our way up
the Gulf, but our other servants were locally recruited. Jane had difficulty
in acquiring a decent ayah but after false starts with first a Persian and then
a local Arab woman, both of whom proved quite unreliable, she found Yasmin,
who was a treasure. She was coal black, the daughter of an Indian stoker and
an Arab woman, who must have had a good deal of negro blood in her, but clean,
sweet-tempered and willing, and the children loved her, and she stayed with us
until we left. Finding a good cook was another problem but eventually we
discovered a Goanese, who had been employed in the Oil Camp, but had got tired
of being treated as a n maid of all Work” by his American employer. He turned
out to be very satisfactory and settled in happily with the rest of our
•household.
Peter Williams (Air Liaison Officer) had a birthday on the 15th June
and our seventh wedding anniversary was on the 1 ?th, so we decided that instead
of inviting all our friends twice over within two days, we would have one big
drink, supper and dance party on the 16th June, on the flat roof of the Air
Liaison Officer’s house. We had about sixty guests, the first of whom arrived
at 8 p.m. and the last of whom departed at k a.m. It was a good party, and
luckily, as the house was well away from the Town, we had no neighbours to be
disturbed. I was in my office by 8 a.m. that morning with no ill effects.
About this time Sir Geoffrey Prior was relieved by Colonel Hay, who
had been my A.G.G. in Baluchistan. I was sorry to see Sir Geoffrey go, as I
had a great admiration for him and he was a very fine Arabist. In actual fact
the two swopped jobs as, after some leave, Sir Geoffrey went to Baluchistan as
Resident and Agent to the Governor General. The two men did not get on well
together, so much so that on the day Colonel Hay arrived in Bahrain I was
unofficially instructed to invite Sir Geoffrey to dine with us so that he would
not have to eat with Colonel Hay; and they had the briefest possible period of
handing over, as Sir Geoffrey left, I think, the following day lor England.
The eldest Hay girl, now nineteen, had remained in Quetta, while Mrs.
Hay and the rest were either in England or on their way there, long overdue for
some proper schooling. That autumn Mrs. Hay and Mary came out to Bahrain but
the rest of the family remained at school at home.
On the 2nd July 1946 I wrote to my mother, ”We have had an interesting
time this week. On the 29th June the First Lord of the Admiralty, M/je.A.^ 7.
Alexander, arrived at Moharraq (Land Aerodrome) at 5«30 p.m. and the Political
Agent, Pelly (Resident’s Secretary) and I met him, as did the Commodore (Senior
Naval Officer Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ). The First Lord spent the night with the Navy at
Jufair but we Politicals, including Jane, went along for a drink at 7.30 p.m.
and stayed until nearly 9 P*m. Alexander was very pleasant in a rather nearty
manner, and we discussed the delights of Leigh and Southend amongst other
things. He told Pelly on parting, not very tactfully, that he had (aiuer ms
Indian sojourn) discovered that there were people in the world even more