The family album - now complete

Rob_The_Pom

Hi all!

The MyGrandad collection is now finished. I loaded another 10 or so pictures today.

1930s colonial India

I just wanted to say thank you very much for the nice comments everybody has made about the pictures, especially considering that colonial history can always be a sensitive subject.
My mother was quite delighted with the interest generated, especially as some people were kind enough to ask for more details about my Grandfather.

After a little research I'm now fairly confident of the following:-
Hyderabad, Sindh was where they spent the majority of their time.
They were also stationed in Manora - which is in Karachi.
They must have spent a considerably time in Quetta as well - I suspect that they were involved in the clean-up after the Earthquake. I certainly hope they weren't in it!
They spent at least one holiday in Darjeeling, possibly more.
They entered or left the country via Bombay.
The child, Daphne, is probably buried in the Christian church in Hyderabad, Sindh. I need to investigate this more though. (Of course, I'll let you know the results.)

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and if I find anymore I will, of course, scan and post them here.

Take care

RTP

__________________
There is no God but Dawkins and Hitchens is his prophet.

Shiver me Timbers

Great to see someone taking such an interest in their family's history. And what an interesting history it is. Fair Play Rob!

iyou

I'll second that; what a great collection, and what a privilage to get to see them all here. Thank you so much for taking the time to scan and post them all.

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--May a moody baby doom a yam.

robing

They are fantastic They raise some many question you would love to ask somebody at that time Oh for t aime machine Do you have any takes of their
experiences

Rob_The_Pom

Thanks for the kind words guys.

As far as any takes on their experience, not really. My Grandmother would tell me stories about various happenings, but to be honest, I was really too young to appreciate exactly what she was talking about. At the time the history of British India wasn't an interest and India itself wasn't an obsession.
I was only 14 when my Grandfather died, which sadly mean the stories he told me have drifted into my dim and distant past now.
I certainly wish I had a time machine, if only to hop back 21 years so I could ask them both more about their experiences.
My Aunt - who is featured in the Taj Mahal picture - was in India from ages 5 to 11 (I think), she doesn't recall too much as it was so long ago and she was very young. She did say that her strongest memory was that my Grandfather had to shot her favourite horse and that made her very sad.
Certainly researching, scanning and posting has been both a fascinating and, at times, quite emotional experience for me. I have strong memories of both of my mother's parents and this has really added to that.

Thanks and regards

RTP

Shiver me Timbers

It's amazing how these things can feed on themselves, you never know what lies just around the corner. If you find little Daphne's grave in Hyderabad, you never know what you could find with it. Good luck with the research.

Betsy Lotze

Thanks for the great photos, Rob. My husband's parents arrived in Pakistan just after partition and the photos brought back many memories. My father-in-law died about 15 years ago--long before my obsession with all things Indian/Pakistani. I wish he were still around to share his early days on the subcontinent. We really enjoyed looking at your photos, seeing what "the raj" really looked like (thank goodness the pith helmets went out of style! Well, my husband says they were still sold when he was a kid in the early 70's...) and talking about our own family history.

The photo of your grandfather driving should be sent somewhere for publishing! We LOVE it!

concoran

Thanks for sharing excellent pictures, Rob. Though I am Indian, I am in no way offended by you posting the memories. While many old pictures of Raj era from other sources are available, it's nice to see collection of one certain family so that all the pictures can be put into a context. I will appriciate if you can post some more information about what your grandparents did in India, or interview his colleagues if you can find them. That would be pretty fun.

Rob_The_Pom

I've just made a fairly major breakthrough in my search for Daphne's grave. My Aunty discovered her christening certificate. She was baptized at St Thomas' Church in Hyderabad, Sindh (Which what I'd guessed, but needed confirmation). I'm reasonably confident that this was the military church in Hyderabad - the picture is posted in the album.
A quick search on the website of the Anglican Communican, led me to the e-mail address of the Bishop of Hyderabad.
I've dropped him a line explaining what I'm looking for. I just hope he replies.

RTP