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'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977' [218r] (435/498)
The record is made up of 1 file (247 folios). It was created in 1976-1978. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
- 216 -
cubes How different from our ancient village scene at home. Into Tulsa
by sunset where we were met by Mr. Segar, Vice President of Carter’s Oil
Company. He drove us to the Mayo Hotel. Says fifty years ago Tulsa was a
small market town of seven thousand, but then oil was found in the neighbourhood
and now it is a town of a quarter of a million. Nice suite of rooms with a
sitting-room and kitchen with electric stove.
Oklahoma is a ’dry' state but we found Mr, Segar had stocked our frig with
a bottle of whiskey and gin and Mrs. Seger had kindly sent a vase of flowers
to enlighten our apartment.
Next day I was taken to call on the President of Carter Oil Coy. and met
their staff who explained to> me the workings of the company and the problems
of diverse land ownership complicating drilling permission. We had lunch
with the President of the National Bank of Tulsa after which I had to talk to
them of problems of oil companies etc. in the Middle East.
Mr. Seger took us to his house p.m. for drinks, nice two-storey houses
looking so clean and well painted, no hedges. Seger pointed out a new house
for sale #150,000. Segers have two cars, a big Chrysler and a Ford. A nice,
well-built bungalow of three bedrooms and a double garage. Took us to a
country club for nice buffet supper. All maids black, cheery and efficient.
A black maid coming five-and-a-half days a week of eight hours cost #46 per
week, so no slave labour! The country club has g<alf, tennis, bathing, dancing
etc. but is expens ve #46 per month.
Early to bed after buffet. These people like their eight hours' sleep -
but up and down to work early. Being a 'dry* state, there is no club drinking
or house drinking parties so perhaps no inducement to stay up late.
We were taken to the Tulsa fair of cattle, sheep, pigs and a busy pleasure
fair of every conceivable amusement game, thrill curiosity. The catt]e were
Hereford, Aberdeen Angus, Jersey, Shorthorn, Santa Gertruda, and the sheep
Suffolk, black face southdowns, etc. such as might be seen in a market town
in England. Gut for a drive round the attractive suburban houses, suburban
t>c
About this item
- Content
Memoirs of Sir Herbert Todd (1893-1985) of the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. , later of the Iraq Petroleum Company. Written during the years 1976-78, the memoirs begin by recounting Todd's childhood on his family's farm in Kent, his education and entrance into the Home Civil Service in 1912, and his entrance into the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. in 1913. Roughly half of the memoirs (ff 10-137) covers Todd's career up to 1947, which can be summarised as follows:
- Posted to the Indian Police, Burma [Myanmar], 1913-17 (ff 10-22)
- Served in the 11th Bengal Lancers (Probyn's Horse), Indian Army, in Mesopotamia [Iraq], 1917-19 (ff 22-24)
- Remained in Baghdad as Assistant Commissioner of Police, Baghdad East Subdivision, 1919-20 (ff 25-31)
- Transferred to Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. , holding positions in Baluchistan, 1921; Gilgit, 1927; Quetta, 1931; Bharatpur, 1936-39 (ff 31-67)
- Served in the Home Guard during extended leave (1939-40), first in Canfield, Essex, and later in Blackheath, London (ff 68-72), followed by a spell as an air warden while awaiting re-posting to India (ff 72-78)
- First attempt at passage to India abandoned when the ship he was travelling on, SS Simla , was torpedoed, September 1940 (ff 79-88)
- Returned to India, holding positions at Udaipur, 1940 (ff 93-97); Baluchistan, 1941 (ff 97-101); Cochin [Kochi] and Travancore, 1943 (ff 101-111); and Calcutta [Kolkata] and the Eastern States, 1944-47 (ff 111-134)
- Returned to London on leave, April 1947; career brought to an abrupt end in June 1947 with the announcement of the handing over of power and Indian independence (ff 135-137).
The last hundred or so folios relate to Todd's employment in the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), 1948-59 (ff 138-227), and his subsequent retirement in Oxted, Surrey, 1959-78 (ff 227-248). As Chief Representative of the IPC, Todd and his wife spent much of their time in Baghdad. The memoirs document Todd's relations with prominent Iraqi politicians, diplomats, and visiting British MPs, as well as Todd's visits to Beirut, Damascus, Palestine, Jordan, Kuwait, Persia [Iran] and the United States. Also included are Todd's thoughts on the Suez Crisis and the 1958 revolution in Iraq (Todd was holidaying in Austria at the time and never returned to Baghdad).
Aside from his career, Todd writes about his hobbies (polo and hunting) and comments on UK and world events, such as the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the death of Winston Churchill, and the first moon landing in July 1969; he also mentions in passing meeting Professor Max Mallowan and Agatha Christie at the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud (Iraq) in April 1955.
The text is typewritten with annotations and crossings out in pencil and ink. It includes some offensive terms and language in its descriptions of members of colonised populations.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (247 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 249; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The file also contains an original printed foliation sequence. It should be noted that number 13 in the original foliation sequence is missing (in between folios 14 and 15).
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- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F226/30
- Title
- 'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977'
- Pages
- 2r:248v
- Author
- Todd, Sir Herbert John
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- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.