| Summary: |
Audio recording of oral history interview with Sir Gilbert Laithwaite, covering the period 1919-1943.
Cassette side OA1/38/1: Entry into India Office; its position and strengths; distinguished superiors. Visit to India as private secretary to Lord Winterton 1922: voyage out; visit to Poona; VIP trains; aides-de-camp; meeting Lord Reading at Simla. Viceregal splendours; justification during wartime. Attitudes in India to visiting VIPs. Comparison of British and Indian civil servants. Accompanying Ramsay Macdonald to 1931 India Round Table Conference.
Cassette side OA1/38/2: Opinions of Gandhi and Jinnah; contrasts. Brief portraits of Viceroys: Reading; Irwin; Willingdon. Service as private secretary to Viceroy Linlithgow; re-establishment of good relations with Gandhi; Linlithgow's physical appearance; background to 'Linlaithwaite regime'; extent of Laithwaite's influence. Linlithgow's efforts to implement Round Table Conference decisions including federation; disruption caused by war. Political triumphs and defeats. Opinions on Auchinleck and Wavell; choice of Wavell as Viceroy.
Cassette side OA1/38/3: Return to England 1943. Accommodation as private secretary 1936. Description of servants. Daily routine of Laithwaite and Linlithgow; relaxations; description of typical tiger shoots. Viceregal visits to Calcutta and Madras. Viceregal audiences, balls and investitures. Description of Simla; its social life. Servant's story of Curzon's working habits.
Cassette side OA1/38/4: Respect for Indian Secretariat. Reaction to leaving position as Viceroy's private secretary 1943; later career. Opinions on partition; independence and achievements of Raj.
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| Main author: |
Laithwaite; Sir; Gilbert John (1894-1986); Knight; colonial administrator |
| Other authors: |
Allen; Charles (b 1940); historian and interviewer |
| Extent: |
1 hr. 42 min.
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| Admin history: |
British civilian Private Secretary to Viceroy in India Office. |
| Access status: |
Closed
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| Access conditions: |
Access to sound recording of this interview is currently unavailable at SOAS Library. The transcript can be consulted. Researchers can access a copy of this sound recording at the British Library Listening & Viewing Service. Reference: C1510/38/01-04. For more details see www.bl.uk/listening or contact listening@bl.uk / 020 7412 7418.
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| Copyright: |
Copyright held by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) |
| User restrictions: |
Private study only. For publication or broadcast please refer to Archivist |
| Language: |
English
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| Copies: |
Copy available at British Library Listening & Viewing Service. Reference: C1510/38/01-04
Copy available at Imperial War Museum. Reference: 004937/04 |
| Related material: |
Transcript available at SOAS Library. Reference: OA1/38/T |
| Format: |
Archive
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