My dearest Mum & Dad, Doff & Charlie
Thanks so much for your letter & papers received at Bombay & also those received here yesterday.
I thought you would get a lot of different tales as to where we were going, the list you gave me very much amused us all, but as doubtless you know long ago from my letters we didn’t have more than an hour or two at Southampton.
Well, since my last letter our programme has been about as under:-
We arrived at Bombay on Monday last, got into the Docks on Tuesday, when we were allowed to get ashore, but of course not outside the Dock gates. However, after tea three of us managed to get over the railings, & had a fine time looking round the City, the buildings of which are wonderful. From Bombay on Wednesday our Division was split up for their different Stations & we had one of the longest journeys – a thousand miles by train – to Delhi, which took 2 nights & a little more than two days.
We are about 4 miles from the City & find a guard there of two companies at a time for 3 weeks. We left G & H Companies there & the rest of us are here under canvas in lovely large tents (small marquees), 8 of us to a tent & large spaces between each. We have beds of bamboo poles & rope net to sleep & a lock-up box for our clothes. We have never at any English Camp had a quarter the accommodation we have here, or anything like such good feeding.
The weather is not so very hot here in the day time, & the nights very cold. It is by a very long way the best camp I have ever been stationed at.
The only regiments here are 1 British & 1 Native Battalion viz the 4th Wilts & 9th Gourkhas. The Gourkhas are most polite & very friendly, & some talk English fairly well. I spent yesterday afternoon fishing in the River with Dick Drury & 2 natives but the fish here are very small though 2 miles away there are large ones & 11 miles away they run to 20 & 30 lbs.
Bikes may be hired 2 miles away for 2 annas an hour, but I havent been that far yet. The money one soon gets used to & is:- 1 pic 1/12 th of a penny, 1 pice = ¼d, 1 anna = 1d & a rupee 1s/4d.
In the Supper Tent we can get a good hot meal for about 3 annas, & the waiters salute many times & are awfully pleased if we give them a pice. Fancy giving an English waiter a farthing!
We had a drive round Bombay the evening we were there (when we escaped) & the garri wallah charged us 2¾d each & was fairly overcome when we gave him the equivalent to an English shilling for the 4 of us – 3 Lavington & 1 Artilleryman from Swindon.
The Climate has rather upset the stomachs of most of our Officers & men but they have got over it now. I have been perfectly well myself & am very glad to get to a place when I can have a hot supper & a pint of English beer for the inclusive sum of 5 annas. English Beer is 2¾d a pint & Country beer 2½d. I generally have a pint after supper but none during the day as the tea & chocolate (liquid) is so good. The Government Dairy is close to us & the Viceroys Residence on the Delhi side of us – we also find a guard there.
I do hope that all my letters have safely reached you by now.
How are the Black Cat & Herbert & Little Pott
I want this letter (if rough) to be a long & fairly descriptive one. So am making it also include Charlie & Tommy, which I hope will be satisfactory to you all.
I am picking up a bit of Hindustani, & can ask for most things that I require now, I had a little book on the language given me whilst on board.
All natives who come into the camp have a Government pass & those selling Tea, chocolate, & fruit are all Government Employees.
I very much enjoyed the train journey for you can understand how nice it was to pass through 1000 miles of Country so different to what we had seen before. We stopped for meals only – at the following places Baroda, Rutlam & travelled on the B.B. & C.I.R. (Bombay Baroda & Central Indian Rly), our food on the train was principally biscuits (Service ones) being exactly like an ordinary dog biscuit, & without soaking in water it would take a good man to eat one in an hour.
We are on the exact camp that was used for the Troops which took part in the Durbar 2 years ago. The ground is all sand, there being very little grass, but the Tropical flowers & trees are lovely.
There are thousands of Jackals round the Camp every night & the fire-flys are very pretty.
At the bottom of our Camp is the main Delhi Road & there are electric lights all the way, far better than Weymouth esplanade, whilst at the other end of the camp only a few yards away is forest with jackals hyenas (cant spell it) such a contrast.
There is a deuce of a lot to tell you even now & much of it must wait until we meet, which I hope (although I much like this Country at this time of year) wont be so very long.
I will give you my address under
Fondest love to you all, & a kiss to the O.C. first (others in rotation) from
Yours affectionately
Jack
From J F Welch E Coy 4th Wiltshire Regt Kingsway Camp Delhi India
The Jack Welch Diaries 