| Summary: |
Audio recording of oral history interview with Edwin B. Pratt, covering the period 1926-39 and 1945-47.
Cassette side OA1/54/1: Prior knowledge of Army and Navy Stores' branches in India. Selection for posting to India: return of undesirables; reasons for acceptance. Description of voyage to India 1928. Arrival at Bombay. Use of bedding roll. Lack of sensible help in kitting out for India. Account of train journey to Calcutta: eating arrangements; arrival at Howrah terminus.
Cassette side OA1/54/2: Description of Howrah terminus. Crossing Howrah pontoon bridge into Calcutta. Living in bachelor chummery in Army and Navy Stores' building, Chowringhi Road; view. Recreations on Maidan. Calcutta transport: trams; bus services; taxi drivers. Daily morning routine. Description of office; dealing with Indian clerks. Office conditions during climatic extremes; electric fans and air conditioning. Evening routine. Weekend recreations.
Cassette side OA1/54/3: Lunch break siestas. Calcutta clubs: sports facilities offered; community segregation. Importance of clubs up-country; facilities. Sources of entertainment in Calcutta. Scene on club verandas. Army and Navy Stores: role and scope; origin of products; success of furniture factory; Nepal royal visits; efforts to get Maharajah to settle bill promptly. Credit and chit system in India.
Cassette side OA1/54/4: Traders' actions against persistent debtors and disciplinary action of debtors' employers. Military tailoring establishments; credit available for junior officers. Problems of administering accounts of Indian royalty. Description of Calcutta Army and Navy Stores: sales staff; outlying branches in clubs; mail order services. Position of Anglo-Indians. Milk supplies; buffalo milk. Water drinking precautions. Washermen. Diseases: upset stomachs; typhoid. Membership of Calcutta Scottish unit of Auxiliary Force India.
Cassette side OA1/54/5: Christmas visits to Darjeeling. Calcutta hotelier. Opinions on British presence in India. Description of Calcutta demonstrations and processions. Secondhand experience of violence; seeing bodies in Hooghly River. Reactions to poverty. British contribution to India. Discrimination against Indians; clubs' colour bars. Opinions on independence and partition. Relationship with Indian staff. Importance of Raj. Opportunities India presented.
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| Main author: |
Pratt; Edwin B (fl 1926-1972); Army and Navy Stores employee |
| Other authors: |
Allen; Charles (b 1940); historian and interviewer |
| Extent: |
2 hr. 30 min.
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| Admin history: |
British civilian employee of Army and Navy Stores in Calcutta, India. |
| 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: C1510/54/01-05. 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: C1510/54/01-05
Copy available at Imperial War Museum. Reference: 004953/05 |
| Related material: |
Transcript available at SOAS Library. Reference: OA1/54/T |
| Format: |
Archive
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