Interview with Arthur Walter Pryde OBE [sound recording]

Summary: Playback Cassette Side 1: Family and educational background. Commissioning in Indian Army Reserve of officers, 1917. Postings in India. Afghan War: relief column for Bannu; orders to withdraw; Pryde1s complaint about neglect of wounded: his whisky remedy for dysentery; cholera epidemic amon...

Full description

Archive & Special Collections OA4/16 Closed

Order number: OA4, Memories of the British in India, Sound Cassettes, Box 1 [CLOSED]
Date(s) of creation: 7 February 1984-18 February 1984
Level: Item
Format: Archive           
Main author: Pryde; Arthur Walter (b 1896);
Other authors: Wood; Conrad (b 1942); historian and interviewer

collection SOAS Archive
id OA4.16
recordtype archive
scb_item_location Archive & Special Collections
item_location Archive & Special Collections
scb_loan_type Reference only
scb_order_with OA4, Memories of the British in India, Sound Cassettes, Box 1 [CLOSED]
callnumber OA4/16
callnumber_txt OA4/16
callnumber-sort OA4/16
prefix_number 16
scb_previous_numbers OA2/73/1-7
title Interview with Arthur Walter Pryde OBE [sound recording]
scb_date_creation 7 February 1984-18 February 1984
scb_level Item
level_sort 8/Collection/Sub-Collection/Sub-Sub-Collection/Sub-Sub-Sub-Collection/Series/Sub-Series/Sub-Sub-Series/File/Item
scb_extent 4 sound casettes
author Pryde; Arthur Walter (b 1896);
author_facet Pryde; Arthur Walter (b 1896);
Wood; Conrad (b 1942); historian and interviewer
authorStr Pryde; Arthur Walter (b 1896);
author_letter Pryde; Arthur Walter (b 1896);
author2 Wood; Conrad (b 1942); historian and interviewer
author2Str Wood; Conrad (b 1942); historian and interviewer
format Archive
scb_admin_history Arthur Walter Pryde - Indian Army 1917-23 including service in Third Afghan War 1919. Indian Police 1923-47 including service in Bombay and Sind.
scb_custodial_history Recorded as part of the ’Memories of the British in India’ project by India Office Library & Records [subsequently the Oriental and India Office Collection, British Library]. This recording was previously held at SOAS Library as part of the 'British in India Oral Archive Project' collection [Reference OA2], removed from this collection in August 2014 to reflect the recording’s alternative provenance as part of the ‘Memories of the British in India’ project.
description Summary: Playback Cassette Side 1: Family and educational background. Commissioning in Indian Army Reserve of officers, 1917. Postings in India. Afghan War: relief column for Bannu; orders to withdraw; Pryde1s complaint about neglect of wounded: his whisky remedy for dysentery; cholera epidemic among troops; tribesmen's theft of unit's sheep; Pryde's opinion of enemy; decapitation of CO. Afghan War: burial of CO; winning of posthumous VC by RAMC officer; rawness of troops; punitive raid on village; Fakir of Ipi and crash of plane; sight of Afghan Army. Benares: Pryde's evacuation to; his station staff officer duties; taking over of armoury at Moghul Serai; assessment of non-co-operation movement and strength of British rule; Pryde's commissioning in Indian Army. Summary: Playback Cassette Side 2: His securing of Indian Police appointment. Training at Nisik. Sholapur: an anti-Muslim Hindu police officer; music before mosques tensions; control of crowds at Hindu fair; labour relations in mills; inter-British relations; police officer's defamation case against Hindu newspaper over bias allegation. Attempt of Englishman to bribe Pryde. Bribery attempt. Attempted bribery case in Sind; taking of bribe by Sessions Judge; dismissal of police officer for giving false evidence, about 1941; refusal to release murder suspect on bail; course taken by case. Surat: memories of Vallabhbhai Patel. Quality of Bhils as policemen. Summary: Playback Cassette Side 3: Surat: attempt at bribery by gambler; successful raid on gambling den. Railway policing; theft of gold bars; murder case and Horniman's romanticizing of it; dismissal of policeman for theft. Mahableshwar: problems over accommodation of Linlithgow Commission. Khandesh: recruitment of Bhils; character of country; capture of dacoit; hockey exploits. Khandesh: tiger hunt; leave entitlement. Kaira: criminal character of district. Ahmedabad: increase of dacoity with rise of civil disobedience movement; failure of ambush of dacoits; round-up of Pathan suspects; capture of dacoits by means of clear-the-line telegram; use of whisky to 'loosen tongues'. Summary: Playback Cassette Side 4: Ahmedabad: civil disobedience movement in; use of mounted police to disperse meeting; investigation of financing of Congress movement; informers in Congress ranks. Kaira; memories of Morarji Desai. Ahmedabad: anti-dacoit work. Bombay: special duty fighting Communist influence; Sir Victor Sassoon's tricks on Communists; Communist leaders. Censoring anti-British publications. Bombay: anecdotes to illustrate flamboyant character of W B Gilligan; how he came to be dismissed; his relationship with his servants; Pryde1s attempt to end strike; problem of mill hand indebtedness; Pryde's objection to mill hands Red Flag; his attempt to improve mill hands' conditions; case in which he paid mill hands legal expenses. Summary: Playback Cassette Side 5: Bombay: conciliation case relating to mill hands' pay; Pryde's role as Labour Officer; his daily routine; areas of Bombay he was responsible for; his relationship with mill owners; Sassoon's trick on Girni Kamgar Union; group of mill hands who tried to take advantage of Pryde; how W R G Smith took potshots at Joglekar on-the-run; Pryde's opinion on individual Communist leaders; memories of Brabourne. Ahmedabad; Jeejeebhoy's anti-INC feelings; police ranks. Ahmedabad: a Parsi colleague; Pryde's belief in keeping accurate records; leisure pursuits. Bombay: conditions in chawls; use of country liquors. Convoy back to India at beginning of Second World War; Pryde's resentment of ICS members pulling rank on troopship. Sind: problems learning Sindi; problems with illiteracy and corruption in police force; case of extortion; corruption. Summary: Playback Cassette Side 6: Sind: attempt to stamp OUT rasai; starting of malicious rumour about Pryde taking bribes, 1949; appointment and dismissal of Governor of Sind after 1947; Pryde's arrest of Pir Pagaro; civil disturbances, 1941; amusing story of martial law case. Sind: peculiarities of province; Commissioner system; character of Sindis; cattle theft; characteristics of Hurs; origins of civil war (or feud) between sons of Pir Pagaro; religious attitudes of Hurs; story to illustrate reverence of Hurs for the Pir; story of staged 'miracle' by the Pir; memories of Lambrick.
scb_arrangement Summary: Playback Cassette Side 7: Sind: story to show lack of co-operation between ICS and police; memories of Bhutto family. Partition: security precautions for Mountbatten and Jinnah; transference of Muslim refugees from the Punjab to Sind. Hindu-Muslim tensions in Sukkur before 1947. Hyderabad District Magistrate's order for burning down of Muslim huts. Effect of Pakistan formation on policing; problem of armed tribesmen; impressions of Jinnah.
scb_access_status Closed
scb_conditions_gov_access Sound recording currently unavailable at SOAS Library due to preservation reasons. Researchers can access a copy of this audio recording at the British Library Listening & Viewing Service. For more details see www.bl.uk/listening or contact listening@bl.uk / 020 7412 7418.
scb_copyright Copyright held by British Library
scb_use_restrictions Private study only. For publication or broadcast please refer to Archivist
language English
language_search English
scb_originals Original sound recording of interview available at British Library Listening & Viewing Service [Reference: C63/76-88]
hierarchy_top_id_raw OA4
hierarchy_sequence OA4.0016

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