'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' [‎50v] (100/118)

Political Service. Nobody knew, of course, when this would be but it was
o'enerally thought at that time that India and Pakistan would get their
independence in June 19^-8. (It was not until some months later that, we we ^ e
suddenly told that the date had been brought forward to the 15 th August 19 7).
There were said to be a limited number of vacancies in the British Poreign
Service, the Colonial Service and the Home Civil Service, and I applied for
transfer to each of them in that order, but as I knew that most of the
European element in the Indian Civil Service and the Political would be doing
the same, I realised my chances were, to say the least, uncertain. Pakistan
was also keen to retain some British Officers in their Administration and had
it not been for the family I think I would have opted for that. I knew and
liked the people and the country, and had spent a good deal of time in learning
the main languages, and it seemed such a waste to give it all up at the age of
thirty-five. However, in January 19^7 we thought we had a year and a half
still to go, and continued to go about our daily business without undue thought
for the future.
During the War and just after not much cricket had been played in
Bahrain but in the cold weather of 1946-4? there was a great revival and in
January 194? alone I played in six matches for Manamah and regularly kept
wicket. Our opponents included teams from the Navy, Awali (Banco), B.O.A.C.
and a Sind XI. the last named was very strong, composed largely of local
Indian shop-keepers and clerks. We played on matting wickets over a concrete
base and the ball came off very fast but true. The outfields, on the other
hand, were gravel with odd patches of soft sand, and were less satisfactory.
In January - February the weather was quite cool and we even had fires
on some days, most unusual in Bahrain. In fact not many houses had fireplaces.
On the 10th February H.M.S. Glasgow, the flagship of the East Indies Fleet,
arrived with Admiral and Lady Palliser on board. The Pallisers flew up to
Basra but Glasgow remained in Bahrain for a week before going on to Basra,
and there was the usual round of parties for the officers at 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.
and the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , and on one day a number of us, including Jane and her mother,
had lunch on board and were shown all over the ship. The Paymaster Commander,
Max Ommanney was an old friend and a contemporary of mine at school in Barnes B
and he came ashore and spent a day with us. The Engineer Commander turned
out to be the brother of John Kitson of the 2nd Gurkhas, another old friend,
and he and another officer came to dinner one night.
That same week Colonel and Mrs. Smyth, friends from India, arrived
on the B. I. steamer en route for Basra, and came ashore for the day and had
lunch and tea with us. Bahrain was, indeed, a great meeting place and one
was always glad to entertain visitors from the outside world who were passing
through.
Later in the month Glasgow returned from Basra, with the Pallisers
on board, and a fresh round of visits and parties ensued. This time, with
the Admiral present, we also had official calls to make and receive, and I
had J -o put on undress uniform complete with sword. One of the better
occasions was a cocktail party on board, given by the Pallisers, who were
charming people. We met them again at the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. later in the week, and