The Last Englishmen

by Deborah Baker

  “Dams are to be built … resurgent nationalism.” JBA to WHA, January 17, 1948, BERG.

  Sudhin had been so … contemplated leaving India. Datta, World of Twilight, xx.

  As the last Englishman standing … while on leave. JBA to WHA, September 10, 1946. BERG. JBA to NS, July 21, 1949. PSA.

  When he questioned … considered quislings. JBA to WHA, September 10, 1945, BERG. JBA to SB, March 25, 1952. AMA. See also J. B. Auden, “The Bearing of Geology on Multipurpose Projects,” in Radhakrishna, J. B. Auden, 221.

  When John refused … release of his pension. GAA to SB, February 19, 1951. BERG.

  Without Sheila … in the morning. JBA to SB, July 2, 1952, and April 3, 1953. AMA.

  But for Sudhin … invited anywhere. JBA to SB, April 3 and 11, 1953. AMA.

  Toward the end … John’s life impossible. JBA to SB, May 19, 1953. AMA.

  Indeed John Auden’s … decades to come. Jeremy Berkoff to SB after JBA’s death on January 21, 1991.

  In his final weeks … show him his. JBA to SB, May 28, 1953. AMA.

  As he was packing up … in the Garhwal.” JBA to WHA, September 19, 1946. BERG.

  When morning came … without regrets. JBA to SB, May 27, 1953. AMA.

  On his first leave … speak to her. JBA to NS, October 17, 1956. PSA.

  “I am your wife … look after you.” SB to JBA, August 20, 1968. AMA.

  When she wept … shallowness of feeling. Auden, “1938–1939 Journal.” AMA.

  For a time … cruel tongue. Radhakrishna, J. B. Auden, 14.

  It wasn’t so much … deeply insulting. SB to JBA, August 20, 1968. AMA.

  She told him his lies … anything at all. JBA to SB, October 23, 1955. AMA.

  “an island against the bitterness.” JBA to NS, October 17, 1945. PSA.

  At the nursing home … wrote them down. Philip Spender, emails and interviews, and introduction in Nancy Sharp (Nancy Spender) 1909-2001. PSA.

  “In vino veritas … patient with us, though, my dear.” WHA to SB, undated. AMA.

  20. Night Falls

  Night falls on … the last Englishman to leave. MacNeice, “India Diary.” BOD. See also MacNeice, “India at First Sight,” 42–43. BERG.

  Enraged at John’s … failed in both. JBA to NS, October 17, 1945, May 16, 1947. PSA.

  It was an Indian geologist … of the Himalayan chain. Radhakrishna, J. B. Auden, comment by S. V. Srikantia, 222. In August Gansser’s 1991 obituary of Auden, he wrote: “Many of the problems which still occupy Himalayan geologists of today were already realized through Auden’s careful field observations and critical deductions.” Gansser, a legendary Swiss geologist, regarded John Auden, “one of the greatest Himalayan geologists,” as his personal hero.

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