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'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977' [238r] (475/498)
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.
- 236 -
(zm)
May 1964, sudden death of Nehru in India — heart attack Serious question
as to who can succeed him in that difficult job of Prime Minister.
In June 1964 Nancy and I went to see over Never Castle. A curious little
castle, rather like a child’s toy with a moat round it which one might almost
jump over. An Italian style garden with a large number of broken pieces of
statuory and a large lake at end of a piazza — Anne Boleyn's walk through a
rhododendron maze, pheasantry, etc. - must cost a lot to keep up - but of
great historical interest and beautifully located in a large park.
On July 2?th 1964 Churchill made his last appearance in the House of
Commons, sixty-four years of membership, except for a brief break of two
years. Tomorrow the House will pay an unprecedented tribute to the old warrior,
historian, maker of history, saviour of democracy - and indeed of the world
sanity. He is showing his age now, hardly comprehending the House’s tribute,
very doddery on his legs.
On Sunday, 24th Jan. 1965 Churchill died and the Captains and the Kings of
the world came to attend his national funeral in St. Pauls. Unprecedented,
a ruling royalty, the Queen attended a commoner’s funeral.
In April 1965 Lavender, Moira Drake and I attended the ’’Floralies of
Ghent” — the Dutch tulip tour. We drove with some forty others by coach from
London down to Manston airfield in Kent and then flew over to Oatend. From
there we drove by coach via Bruges, a lovely old town with attractive squares
and buildings, on to Ghent to the fifth year ’’Floralies”, a huge building in
a public garden. But the crowd was so numerous we had difficulty in moving
round to see all the beautifully arranged mounds of azaleas, fountains, water
falls. It would have been nice to have had a private view, but in such a
crush it was a slow crawl round the displays. Not surprising, I suppose,
as the ’’Floralies” is held only after every five years.
On next day to Brussels around the sights of which we were driven - the
garden of remembrance for the much-loved Queen Astrid - a lovely city with
some lovely architecture in the old parts. And so on to Antwerp, a textile
/
About this item
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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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