| Summary: |
Audio recording of oral history interview with H.T. Wickham, covering the period 1904-1922.
Cassette side OA1/72/1: Choice of career in Indian Police; their position in India. Voyage out 1904; call at Port Said. Kitting out. Dangers to health in India. Arrival in Bombay. Origins of police recruits. Relatively low status of police in society. Train journey to Lahore. Choosing bearer. Police training; learning necessary languages. Organisation of police districts. Position of domiciled Europeans and Anglo-Indians.
Cassette side OA1/72/2: Colour prejudice of Anglo- Indian officer. Posting as assistant district superintendent to Ambala: continuation of training. Local club. Question of Indian membership at Peshawar club 1921. Club life. Description of household servants and bungalow. Daily routine as police officer. Need for specialised Urdu. Recollections of horse and groom. Description of touring; preparations.
Cassette side OA1/72/3: Continues description of touring; objectives. Drinking habits. Visiting villages; landscapes in Punjab and North West Frontier. Differences between plains and hill people. Evocative memories of India; pests. Posting to NWF. Increased contacts with army; living in mess as honorary member. Different nature of administration. Mess life with Guides Regiment in Mardan; officers' relationship with Indian troops. British police officers' similar reliance on Indian subordinates.
Cassette side OA1/72/4: Posting as commandant of Military Police Battalion in Peshawar 1919: duties; prevalent anti-British feeling. Reactions to Amritsar incident. Headquarters in Peshawar. Nature of city; enjoyment of life there. Posting as superintendent in Peshawar 1920. Efforts to prevent attacks on British officers by use of Frontier Outrages Act. Efforts to prevent murderous family vendettas by use of Frontier Crimes Regulations. Levels of corruption within police; incorruptibility required from British officers.
Cassette side OA1/72/5: Refusal of credit in Peshawar as result of dishonesty of some British officers during Afghan War 1919. Story of supervising orderly's treatment for typhoid. Breaking strike on North Western State Railway. Story of rape of nurse; successful investigation. Failed efforts of Muslims to emigrate to Afghanistan 1920; smooth handling of incident. Account of Handyside raid across border to retrieve stolen rifles 1922. Recollections of local characters.
Cassette side OA1/72/6: Recollections of cricket matches with Maharajah of Kashmir. Protocol and calling cards. Limits of socially acceptable marriages. Licensed brothels for troops in Peshawar cantonment. Calcutta prostitutes. Climate's danger to health. Deterioration in law and order after First World War; continued loyalty of police. Opinions on Raj.
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| Main author: |
Wickham; H T (fl 1904-1972); policeman |
| Other authors: |
Allen; Charles (b 1940); historian and interviewer |
| Extent: |
2 hr. 42 min.
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| Admin history: |
British commandant in India Police and Military Police 1904-1922: Lahore, Ambala, Peshawar, Punjab, North West Frontier, Mardan, Amritsar. |
| 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: C1510/72/01-06. 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: C1510/72/01-06
Copy available at Imperial War Museum. Reference: 004971/06 |
| Related material: |
Transcript available at SOAS Library. Reference: OA1/72/T |
| Format: |
Archive
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