Eighty years ago: diary of Indian Army officer cadet March to December 1941

Three periods TEWT [Tactical exercise without troops or Training exercise without troops] quite interesting. Had to remain in college over the weekend owing to being on Fire Duty. Played a game of tennis with Barnes; enjoyed it although out of practice. Started writing home in the evening. Listened to wireless until 10:00 p.m. and went to bed.

Nothing of event. Learnt that I was to go to Kalthurutty [Kerala, India] for my leave; address c/o Mrs See, The Club. There are reasons for my going from the college for a week. Had third month’s PT test. Noticed that my expenses for May, i.e. Urdu Bearer, dhobi , etc. were only INR36 – not bad.

Nothing of import. Work mostly out of doors, much cooler now monsoon approaching. Feeling pretty fit. Went down to bank, cashed cheque for INR20 to keep me going. No Urdu today; two tomorrow. If I can only get hold of the language things would be easier. Letter received Monday keeps me cheerful.

  Night Operations in evening, digging trenches quietly in the dark. Very little has happened today; feel more cheerful after receiving letters; strange none from ST [or St ?]. Very good photos of Bill and baby; look very well. Redbrook [a village in Gloucestershire, England, on the border with Monmouthshire, Wales] will be changed by the time I return, becoming most modern. Must go now to play hockey. Good game; tired; retired early.

Lecture by Cdt re the arrival of Indian cadets who are to Mess with us; [he] expects co-operation between us. Again, overjoyed to find another letter from home dated 27 March. This one said that Mam had received a cable on 19 March and was very pleased. I’ve read this letter many times. Surprised that Fred has a new job; hope all goes well.

Started the week with a lecture from a Captain just back from Tobruk. Spent three periods on practical MR on a hilltop in strong winds. At last a mail arrived and for once I looked into my pigeonhole and was not disappointed. A letter helps a lot, even if one only. It is evident that letters between 20 Feb and 16 March went down. This one was dated 17 March. Mam mentioned a letter received three weeks before; that must have been from Freetown. Very pleased to get short letter from Did [Eileen].

Arose about 8:00 a.m., shower, breakfast, service and again writing letters and completing this from memory. Had a quiet afternoon doing Urdu and reading. Went to the evening service, read a little and went to bed.

Started off with reveting [a revetment is a retaining wall, or facing, for maintaining an earth slope at an angle steeper than its natural angle of repose] and sandbagging trenches, did a spot of work with a mallet. Then SL, siting of roadblocks. In the afternoon, had a look around the park, which is very beautiful. In the evening, went to the cinema with Dean and company and saw Ginger Rogers in ‘Kitty Foyle’, a good film. Afterwards visited Bunny’s; had egg and chips out in the garden, a pleasant evening. Retired about 11:00 p.m.

Quite a busy day. Night Operations in the evening. Quite interesting. Much cooler lately, but I think it is because I am getting used to the climate. Still no letters.

Don’t remember any event to record. Getting very interested in a book called ‘Michael’s Angels’ by L. Gibbs. Now compulsory to have pay paid into a bank, so just as well I have an account. Impressed by a remark made by a Warrant Officer concerning the corruption of the officers in the RATSC [Rome Army Technical Services Command?].

  Arose at about 6:00 a.m.; getting later slowly. Had tea at about 5:40 a.m. Started off with Urdu, PT, three SL, MR and CW. Quite a good day. Went to voluntary Morse and voluntary PT. Some of the exercises are beyond my strength. Soon be going to voluntary Urdu. Still no letters; some must have gone down. Roll on Christmas.

Had a fairly easy day; three WT, Urdu, two MR, Law and CW. Nothing exciting happened. Went to voluntary Morse at 3:15 p.m., voluntary Urdu at 4:15 p.m. and so missed tea. Felt very tired, so tried to find a little relaxation in a book. Did a spot of ‘ Fauzi alfaz’ [writing not clear; no English translation found] and slept well, being very tired.

Started off with PT, getting pretty strenuous. Surprised to hear I had been graded A for the second month; fourth in the Platoon with 67%. Nothing else to record. Don’t find days quite so hard now; in fact, I like to be occupied and the weekends are less pleasant. The rest used to be essential, now I get too much time to think. Still sleep excellently and feel a good deal better all round.

  Awoke at 6:30, tea at 7:15, up at 7:30 to shave, cold shower and felt fresh and ready for breakfast. After breakfast, went to service, very cool and pleasant this morning. Again, writing letters, but don’t seem to receive any. Posted letters, did a spot of Urdu, tidied up and had tea. Went to evening service, then had dinner and retired early.

Went out to Sappers’ and Miners’ depot to see the trenches, dug-outs, bridges, etc. with FE. Afterwards, gas respirator drill, which was boring. In the afternoon, went down to the city and had a look around. In the evening, dressed and made the usual visit to the cinema. Saw ‘Contraband’; quite good. Returned to college and had supper. Early to bed.

Nothing very exciting except a lecture by the Commandant (Cdt) on discipline, which followed the catching of about 150 out after 11:00 p.m. without passes. Again, had an interesting talk with Munshi ; he is going back to the university for 2 years to get an MA degree in Economics. We get on rather well together. Surprised to hear the Cdt say that cadets used too many tonics and that Mess bills were, in many cases, far too high.

A hard day. We had PT, drill (twice), SL and FE (twice) before lunch. Just about done up at the end. Quite interesting period on camouflage. Still no letters from England; getting fed up with the disappointment.

 Actually, we do not see much of the real India here, with its Yogis [practioners of yoga] and mysticism. Still, we pass through many villages, which western civilisation has not penetrated. Their occupations and places of abode are very primitive.

Feeling well nowadays, but not really fit. Food is not very wholesome, meat is bad; just a steak and kidney pudding at home would be a luxury. Out on the plains now we meet millions of insects and lizards, etc. I haven’t seen a live snake, but others have seen quite a few, one a 5 ft [1.52 m] cobra. My room is a place of torture after dark, mosquitoes and insects of every kind. We now try burning a certain chemical-like incense.

  Here beginneth the 10 th week. This description will be very boring, there is nothing to put down and I often have to bring my diary up to date from memory. Urdu progresses slowly. I have rather a high opinion of Munshi [a Persian word used in British India for native language teachers] Sahib. He was asking me if read Shakespeare, Bernard Shaw, Milton and H.G. Wells. He has studied all of them. Wells is not popular with the Munshi. He likes Shaw, I don’t. I should like to become really familiar with Milton. India has great poets, but names I fail to remember.

Awoke about 6:00 a.m. and dozed until 7:00 a.m. Read until 7:40 a.m. when our Bearer brought the chota hazri [literally small presence – a meal served in households and barracks shortly after dawn – tea and biscuits]. After breakfast I went to a service. Now begins the usual writing. Service again in the evening followed by supper and bed. Not much variety in my Sundays, but I do enjoy the rest. Weeks pass quickly, but time, as a whole, seems long.

Today we had an indoor MR test. Had an interesting conversation with Munshi Sahib on the subtleties of Ghandi Ji. The Munshi is a Muslim and does not have a high opinion of the old man. Went to the Plaza [film theatre] in the evening and quite enjoyed the film ‘Comrade’, with Clark Gable and Hedi Lamar. Returned to Mess, listened to the wireless and went to bed about10:30 p.m. This diary is becoming jolly monotonous, I rarely diverge from the weekly routine.

Nothing of great report. As I am Section Commander this week (the 20 th week) I had to lead a reconnoitring patrol; not an easy task in the country we were working in. Had another terrific rainstorm this evening. A mail arrived at last and I was in the front of the crowd that surrounded the postman, but only to be disappointed. No air mail. He said it might arrive next week.

Had quite a busy day which included a practical MR test. The half-term grading is approaching. In the evening we started off on Night Operations armed with rolls of paper. After making reconnaissance we outflanked the enemy in a wood and attacked with our batons from the rear. Only trouble is caused by mosquitoes and other numerous insects and reptiles.

  Arose as usual, drill and PT, two horrors, before breakfast. Reported to the British Military Hospital as ordered, but they decided I did not need another dose of TAB [a vaccine against typhoid]. Just going to play hockey against an Indian side now, afterwards Urdu, dinner, a few notes and bed.