Sheila had met Elinor and Sinbad … Simla was revolting. Sinclair, “A Memoir,” 49, 54–56, 64, 66. PSA.
Whenever Sheila heard … increasingly frantic. SB to JBA, August 30, 1942. AMA.
By way of a reply … now be crushed. Snow, People on Our Side, 42.
A mob descended … pillar boxes.” Statesman, August 14, 1942, 1, 5; August 16, 1942, 1.
Referencing “secret evidence” … All-India Radio. Orwell, Diaries, 359.
Viceroy Linlithgow … acts of terrorism.” Mansergh and Lumby, Transfer of Power, vol. 3, 661.
Calcutta’s Special Branch … went with it. Informer Report of Fifth Column activity, July 1942. Special Branch file. PMROK.
One of Subhas Bose’s broadcasts … BBC Eastern Service. The Argus (Melbourne), February 24, 1943, citing Lionel Felden in the Evening Standard.
“A few blows … can sink a ship.” West, Orwell, 78.
Sheila couldn’t bear Lila … in Burmese jungles. SB to JBA, April 4, 1942, and August 31, 1942. AMA.
Sheila confessed a … done too badly. SB to JBA, May 19, 1942. AMA.
When he finally received … vengeful Anglo-Saxons. JBA to NS, July 16, 1944. PSA.
Sheila liked to relive … in her life. SB to JBA, December 2, 1943. BERG.
“The whole world now sees … not meant for India.” Bose, Azad Hind, 8.
“Letters by soldiers … become an American.” Special Branch file no. 757. PMROK. These rumors, translated from Bengali, have been edited for readability.
Referencing the central … protect their crops. Mitra, Towards Independence, 113.
The fall of Burma … the Bay of Bengal. Mitra, Towards Independence, 104. Special Branch file no. 803. PMROK.
All forms of local … were taken up. Ray, My Reminiscences, 107.
Oxcarts were broken … were destroyed. Mitra, Towards Independence, 105.
The following month … not be spared. Mukerjee, Churchill’s Secret War, 122.
“This is our hour … did it matter? Mansergh and Lumby, The Transfer of Power, 632. Amery, Empire at Bay, 872.
The week Gandhi’s … Amery’s denial. “India: Death by Hunger,” Time, February 8, 1943.
An autopsy on … stuffed with grass. Moorhouse, Calcutta, 121.
“It is difficult … professional techniques.” Special Branch file. Report Re: Importation of rice and paddy. April 27, 1943. 01522/105 1943. PMROK.
That same month … indeed, with anyone. Amery, Empire at Bay, 887–89. Mansergh and Lumby, Transfer of Power, vol. 3, 953, 995.
Roosevelt’s newest envoy … all parties incommunicado. Phillips, Ventures in Diplomacy, 353.
Six weeks later Linlithgow … risen 600 percent. Mansergh and Lumby, Transfer of Power, 1052.
When a relief worker … League government. Ray, My Reminiscences, 108.
Everywhere Shaheed went … quite vindictive. Roy, My People Uprooted.
That same month … nearly twice that. Venkataramani, Bengal Famine of 1943, 38.
Linlithgow, still toiling … now upon him. Ministry of Transport Papers, Government of India to Secretary of State for India, July 21, 1943, as quoted in Mukerjee, Churchill’s Secret War, 130. Mansergh and Lumby, Transfer of Power, vol. 4, 169.
Reports of rural … cholera epidemic. Special Branch file. Report Re: Importation of rice and paddy. 01522/105 1943. PMROK.
On Cornwallis Street … eaten by dogs. Moorhouse, Calcutta, 123.
Vultures lined … less patient. Burchett, Democracy with a Tommygun, 145–46.
The burning ghats … death was everywhere. Das, Bengal Famine, 5.
The photographs, of skeletal … at the U.S. State Department. Venkataramani, Bengal Famine of 1943, 31.
In early October … eighteen hundred per week. Calcutta Statesman, October 19, 1943, 1.
The Statesman … on the paper’s front pages. “Mr. Amery on Food Crisis,” Calcutta Statesman, October 13, 1943, 1. Calcutta Statesman, October 24, 1943, 8.
Following Amery’s lead … of their own people. Branson, British Soldier in India, 103.
It was also said … civic nuisance. Das, Bengal Famine, 7.
And the British governor … officers and soldiers. Mukerjee, Churchill’s Secret War, 100.
Such moves had cynically … consolidate his power. Branson, British Soldier in India, 98, 103–4.
“This knocks … Punch and Judy show was ended?” Moorhouse, Calcutta, 126–27.
When the famine was … to stay alive.” Fast, Departure and Other Stories, 130–42.
On the insistence of … hiding in stairwells. Branson, British Soldier in India, 111.
After the war Sudhin … had a new flat. Datta, World of Twilight, xix–xxi, 85.
Sudhin would tell … from their doorsteps. LM India Diary: Ms Res. C. 1059 Box 44. BOD. Burchett, Democracy with a Tommygun, 153.
Shipments of grain … the starving. Ray, My Reminiscences, 108.
A bumper … Mymensingh districts. Bayley and Harper, Forgotten Armies, 296.
The new viceroy … and the Yugoslavs. Wavell deemed the Bengal famine “one of the greatest disasters that has befallen any people under British rule.” Wavell, Wavell: The Viceroy’s Journal, 54. Mukerjee, Churchill’s Secret War, 207.
Until mid-1943 … debt exploded. de Paiva Abreu, “India as Creditor: Sterling Balances.” Website.
Churchill demanded … violently policed). Wavell, Wavell: The Viceroy’s Journal, 12–13.
But India paid … breaking point. Voigt, India in the Second World War, 170–171. Amery, Empire at Bay, 836, 948.
While J. M. Keynes … the final bill. Amery, Empire at Bay, 899. Mansergh and Lumby, The Transfer of Power, vol. 4, 129.
Instead, in one of his … population still more.” Mukerjee, Churchill’s Secret War, 203.
“They breed like rabbits … done to Hamburg. Amery, Empire at Bay, 950. Colville, The Fringes of Power, 534.
Meanwhile, the British … would be cut. Panter-Downes, London War Notes, 288.
18. A Boy Falling Out of the Sky
He stayed up … during the Great War. NS to JBA, December 7, 1940. PSA.
By studying the wake … find it again. Babington Smith, Evidence in Camera, 145.
“permanent super-flap.” MS to NS [end of March 1941]. PSA.
There had been a panic … Gneisenau had. Beesley, Very Special Intelligence, 79.
Michael didn’t always bathe. Babington Smith interview with Quentin Craig, DFG 5670 [April 1956]. MED.
His imperious voice carried over everyone’s desks. Babington Smith, interview with Peter Riddell, DFG 5764 [May 1957]. MED.
… treating them like pieces of luggage. Babington Smith interview with Geoff Dimbleby, September 1956…. half of the unit’s personnel were useless. Babington Smith interview with Rose Macaulay, DFG 5783, May 1956/7. MED.
He kept three kittens … rolled-up newspaper. Babington Smith interview with Ann Rendell [May 1957], 2. MED.
He was often caught out. MS to NS, June 7, 1942. PSA.
But the man understood … write reports. MS to JA Spender, August 15, 1941. PSA.
Michael railed at … large RAF contracts. Spender, World within World, 282.
Though their unit … “for disposal.” MS to JA Spender, August 15, 1941. PSA.
After that, Michael … went on there. MS to NS, March 9, 1941. PSA.
From the cockpit … Louis’s book. MS to NS, February 21 [1941]. PSA.
These machines were … acting up. Spender, World within World, 282. Also Babington Smith interview with Rose Macaulay, DFG 5783, May 1956/7. MED.
They shared the Eskimo’s … talk of the dead. MS to NS, January 13, 1943. PSA.
And when, three hours … entirely forgotten. MS to NS, April 15, 1941. PSA.
Four nights later … went missing. MS to NS, April 19, 1941. PSA.
She had rung him … in his parked car. NS to LM, May 7, 1940.
Were the pipes … took my pajamas.” MS to NS, February 17, 1941. PSA.
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br /> That first winter she … patience and domesticity. NS to MS, March 12, 1941. PSA.
If, on the phone … with her coat on. NS to MS, January 17, 1941. PSA.
It was up to … be a treat? NS to MS, January 1, 1941. PSA.
The talk at RAF Medmenham … monumental tactlessness. NS to MS, February 21, 1943. PSA.
In August 1941 he was stripped … card in his face. MS to J. A. Spender, August 15, 1941. MS to G. E. Schuster [September 1941]. PSA. Babington Smith interview with Humphrey Spender, DFG 5782, June 1957, 1. MED.
“slap in the face with a wet fish.” H. Hemming to MS, June 6, 1941. PSA.
He wrote outraged … Elizabethan proportions. MS to J. A. Spender, August 15, 1941. PSA.
Part of him hoped … anywhere else. MS to NS, July 26, 1943. PSA.
People he had barely … dismay and support. MS to J. A. Spender, August 15, 1941. PSA.
Uncle Alfred warned … written off. J. A. Spender to MS [March 1942]. PSA.
“For people like us … doubt him. MS to NS, September 9, 1942. PSA.
On the understanding … photo intelligence. MS to NS, September 12, 1942. PSA.
And when Bill … said nothing. MS to NS, September 9, 1942. PSA.
Instead, while sitting … with a ring. MS to NS, January 1, 1945. NS to JBA, December 18, 1941. PSA.
He followed up … tinker with it. MS to NS, February 20, 1943. PSA.
“Juliet and Miranda … threatened to drown it). NS to JBA, March 4, 1944. PSA.
It wasn’t long … overanxious nanny. MS to NS, February 26, 1945. PSA.
When Michael arrived … was to be human. Babington Smith interview with Humphrey Spender, DFG 5782 [June 1957], 1. MED.
Then, just after … Second Tactical Air Force. Michael Alfred Spender RAF Service Record. PSA.
He had to travel … German occupation. MS to NS, September 26, October 2 and 5, 1944. PSA.
“I have to use all my … and get killed for.” MS to NS, October 25, 1944. PSA.
Against such … lived through, he wrote. MS to NS, December 1, 1944. PSA.
He took responsibility … to keep hope. MS to NS, February 1, 1945. PSA.
On the night of … at ninety miles an hour. Sebald, On the Natural History of Destruction, 27.
Within minutes … sizzling tar. Grayling, Among the Dead Cities, 89.
“The bombing of Hamburg … part of Europe.” Spender, World within World, 282. Babington Smith interview with Rose Macaulay, DFG 5783, May 1956/7. MED.
One and a quarter … dumb with shock. Sebald, A Natural History of Destruction, 29.
In the course of … London alone. Grayling, Among the Dead Cities, 20.
What he’d seen … resistance by force. MS to NS, November 17, 1944. PSA.
Churchill’s speech … English morality.” MS to NS, December 9, 1944. PSA.
When, long after … before the war. Wing Commander Edward Gordon Hughes DSO, DFC, “Appreciation of Michael Spender.” PSA.
Propaganda programs … casualties now.” MS to NS, February 12, 1945. PSA.
Reading between the lines … “This is the end!” MS to NS, April 26, 1945. PSA.
Michael liked to say … be safe. Wing Commander Edward Gordon Hughes DSO, DFC, “Appreciation of Michael Spender.” PSA.
But when he left … against him. Babington Smith interview with Humphrey Spender, DFG 5782, June 1957, 2. MED.
There had been scares … he was fine. MS to NS, January 22, 1941. PSA.
Two months later … forest in Germany. Wing Commander Edward Gordon Hughes DSO, DFC, “Appreciation of Michael Spender.” PSA. Hughes, the pilot, was grievously injured but survived. He felt it possible that the plane was shot down. There were “unsurrendered” German outposts around many airfields. The Ministry of Defence records concluded the cause of the crash was obscure.
Early the next morning … RAF Northolt. Email, Philip Spender to author, July 13, 2016.
Late in the war … to Nancy. MS to NS, December 23, 1944. PSA. The poem had appeared in a French publication.
Though he was often … in thirty minutes. Stern, The Hidden Damage, 126.
In Brueghel’s Icarus, for instance … “Musée des Beaux Arts,” in Auden, Collected Poems, 143.
19. Incompatible Gods, Irreconcilable Differences
“I read the papers … to the B.E.” WHA to JBA, February 27, 1946. BERG.
Shaheed Suhrawardy … citywide holiday. Dalton, Mahatma Gandhi, 145.
Moreover, he threatened … office in Delhi. Talbot, An American Witness, 188.
“Bloodshed and disorder … a noble cause.” Mosley, The Last Days of the British Raj, 31–32, as quoted in Hajari, Midnight’s Furies, 13.
“It is not a ridiculous assumption … in advance.” Sunday Statesman, August 18, 1946, 4.
For forty-eight hours the police were nowhere to be seen. Sunday Statesman, September 1, 1946, 1.
Over four days … majority of them were Muslims. Special Branch file. Incident Reports, August–November 1946. PMROK.
Shops and tenements … bodies were everywhere. Talbot, An American Witness, 191–92. Talbot estimated the number of dead at 4,000 but cites military estimates of 7,000 to 10,000.
“Those in possession … of rotting carcasses.” Datta, World of Twilight, 85.
Great Calcutta Killing … “gross negligence.” Sunday Statesman, August 25, 1946, 4, and September 4, 1946, 4. LM to HM, September 25, 1947, Box 64. BOD.
During the public inquiry … name of God, go!” Statesman, September 20, 1946, 8.
“The devil was loose here for three days.” JBA to WHA, August 30, 1946. BERG.
With the August heat … rats and vultures. Datta, World of Twilight, 85.
They bloated into grotesque … would be next. JBA to WHA, August 30, 1946. BERG. Datta, World of Twilight, 85.
Flare-ups continued … and slaughterhouses. Bharat, October 8, 1946. Special Branch Incident files, August–November 1946. PMROK.
During Diwali … should be sacrificed.” Special Branch Incident files, August–November 1946. PMROK.
Neither Jinnah nor Nehru … nothing had changed. Hajari, Midnight’s Furies, 18, citing Ispahani, Quaid-e-Azam as I Knew Him, 234, and “Mr. Nehru on Riots,” Times of India, August 19, 1946, 7.
Sudhin would cite … was thus fulfilled.” Datta, World of Twilight, 85–86.
“American business magnates … trawl for boys. JBA to WHA, January 17, 1948, draft of letter in Auden, “1938–1939 Journal.” AMA.
Evidently assuming … the New Britain.” LM to HM, August 10, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
“This campaign of yours … and vice versa.” MacNeice, “1947 Notes.” BERG. LM to HM, August 16, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
Many of the … hurry to pack up. LM to HM, August 16, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
But Dalmia had already … to prove that.” MacNeice, “1947 Notes.” BERG. LM to HM, August 10, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
Few telephones were … John Auden? LM to HM, August 10, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
He met a Congressman … “what the dickens.” LM to HM, August 19 and 28, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
“Salaams to you … Jolly good show.” LM to HM, August 28, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
Sinbad had his calves … read the paper. Sinclair, “A Memoir,” 45. PSA.
And then there … crushed him. LM to HM, August 28, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
At the midnight session … chiming midnight. MacNeice, “1947 Notes.” MSS MacNeice. BERG.
In a beautifully lit … other than politics. Ibid.
“Others were able to play … foisted upon us?” http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Debates/Result_Nw_15.aspx?dbsl=288. Indian Parliament website.
The violence reached … were set aflame. Hajari, Midnight’s Furies, 153.
Crazed-looking Sikhs … faced them down. Sinclair, “A Memoir,” 89–90. PSA.
Louis found Delhi … train for Calcutta. LM to HM, September 21 and 22, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
Shaheed sped to the Sodepur … prayer meetings
. Dalton, Mahatma Gandhi, 153.
He even … Great Calcutta Killing of 1946. Ray, My Reminiscences, 126. Chadha, Gandhi, 440.
Gandhi offered … “execrable” chief minister. Datta, World of Twilight, 86.
Shaheed and representatives … side of his bed. Dalton, Mahatma Gandhi, 155.
Seventy-three hours … is my message. Ray, My Reminiscences, 127–129.
This peculiar … he wrote. All else will crumble into dust; but, should / His name be uttered at the zero hour, The dream of independence would survive / The ruin of aggressive opulence. Datta, Art of the Intellect, xiv. Datta, World of Twilight, 87.
By the time … for a tip. LM to HM, September 25, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
Louis and Sudhin … immediate kinship. LM to HM, September 16 and 20, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
For one thing … Louis thought. LM to HM, September 26, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
At a meeting with … Auden and Spender. MacNeice, “1947 Notes.” BERG.
One Communist’s eight-year-old … his wife, Hedli.” LM to HM, September 29, 1947. Box 64. BOD. The poet was Sushin Dey.
Exclaiming that India … him shopping. LM to HM, September 29, 1947. Box 64. BOD.
The Set had been … but a Punjabi. Sinclair, “A Memoir,” 66–67. PSA.
Sudhin had once … become intelligible. SD to JBA, March 19, 1937. BERG.
Sudhin formed from … work of art. Datta, World of Twilight, xxiv.
Large as London … into Erica Spender. JBA to NS, August 27, 1947. PSA.
His visit had been … memories of 1938? JBA to NS, November 17, 1947; July 22, 1948; and July 9, 1949. PSA.
Who has left a scent on my life … MacNeice, Autumn Journal, 5.
In 1950, when … reconnaissance in 1952. Horrell, “Tilman’s Everest Southside Reconnaisance.” www.markhorrell.com/blog/2015/tilmans-everest-south-side-reconnaissance. Father Bakewell was a friend of Charles Houston, one of the American undergraduates who, with his father, had asked Tilman to guide them up Nanda Devi in 1936. The Houstons were also on this reconnaissance.
John also wanted to … grace worked slowly. JBA to WHA, March 15, 1951. BERG.
While her husband was in Rome … chapter and verse. JBA to WHA, June 3, 1951. BERG. JBA to NS, July 15, 1951; JBA to NS, September 20, 1956. PSA.
As India’s freedom … letters and gifts. JBA to NS, July 22, 1948. PSA.
Confronting John on his return … ever again. JBA to NS, July 19, 1951. PSA.
The Last Englishmen Page 40