January 2004
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VADHA Secretary
January 2004
Dear Vadhans, Families and Friends, Yet another year has passed. and the New Year wishes may be the same, but no less sincere. Good Health first, and Happiness in Life - our present and our past. This will be an "Energetic" letter for you! I am photocopying certain information for you, which will be appended, but I ask you to read these as I refer to them. Hence, you will have to keep turning forward and back! No, not yourselves, just the pages! However, I have just received my daughter's old scanner, and by the next Newsletter in June, you should not need to perform any acrobatics! REUNIONS 1. As you know a letter from Rahashree Moktan teacher in VS, informed me that our schools will be celebrating their 125th Anniversary in May. As yet no formal programme has been arranged, but loke Nandi, Secretary of the Dow Hill and Victoria Ex-Students Association on Calcutta, has put the following information on his web site. (Grace means - an email) (Both Dipak Sengupta and Peggy Littlewood passed it on to me.) So please turn to page 7 and read it nowl (Here
it is…….) From: "Aloke Nandi" <no_spam_aiita@satyam.net.in> Subject: 125 years VICTORIA AND
DOW HILL EX-STUDENTS ASSOCIATION Email: alita@satyam.net.in Victoria and Dow Hill Schools have chugged along merrily for over a century. Next year, it will enter their 125th year, a landmark surpassed only by St.Paul's. With Dow Hill School in tow, Victoria may be a trifle weather-worn but it's still alive and well. As former students, we plan to gather the faithful and roll back the years. Let's all do it together on 30th April, 1st May and 2"d May 2004. We envisage three days of festivities, which will include a Toy-Train, ride from Siliguri to Kurseong, a cricket match, a musical evening and a show by the current students of both Victoria and Dow Hill. We expect you to join in the festivities and make this a truly memorable experience. Please make your travel plans accordingly and intimate us by February 28, 2004.That has to be the cut-off date because all arrangements have to be made by the first week of March, 2004,which includes the schedule of events, the accommodation details and various other reservations. What we intend to achieve is a wider recognition of the schools, more involvement of the West Bengal Government and a substantial fund for development work. What we need immediately is individual contributions from all ex-students around the world. We simply have to make this success, on a bigger scale than the Century Extravaganza 25 years ago. The budget estimate is touching Rs.5 Lakhs (approx.), so we do need substantial funding. Please mail all your correspondences to the above address and all contributions to be made in cheques/drafts; in favour of "Victoria and Dow Hill Ex-Students Association." Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 12112/2003 End
of Msg…. Very Sadly, I will not be able to make it as my cousin, John Victor Lochner is getting married in May, in Scotland. John was born in the Victoria Hospital in Darjeeling, and is "Punchie" Lochner's son. However, I have written a contribution for the magazine the schools plan to publish and hope many of you will do too. I sent mine. by hand, with Alison Blunt. Many of you will have met Alison over the last few years, and from feed back, find her as pleasant, friendly and sincere as I do. She has wllten an account of her visit to the Hill Top in September, and her meeting Olga Ankelsarla (Watson) in Calcutta. So, please go to Pages 8&9 to read it now. (Here it is) Visit to Victoria and Dow Hill, September 2003 Alison Blunt I had the great pleasure of visiting Victoria and Dow Hill for the first time in September this year, as part of a two week trip to India. I have heard so much about the Hill Top from past pupils now living in Britain and Australia, and it was wonderful to be able to visit in person as well as in my imagination! In Kolkata I was delighted to meet Mrs Olga Ankelsaria and her husband, and to visit their beautiful home for tea. I then flew to Bagdogra and went to Kurseong by car, often up very steep, twisty roads as parts of the cart road (and the railway) were closed by landslides. I spent two nights in Kurseong, staying at the very comfortable Tourist Lodge, and enjoyed walking through the busy town and watching streams of schoolchildren walking up and down the road in their neat uniforms. I was amazed to learn that Kurseong has 52 schools! At Victoria, I was delighted to see Radhashree Mokhtan again, after meeting her at the VADHA reunion in London in 2002. Later that day I had the great pleasure of meeting Radhashree's husband - who also teaches at Victoria - and father-in law at their home in Kurseong. I had tea with Radhashree and Dr Jayanta Pal, who has been Headmaster at Victoria since May 2003. Dr Pal had been a Geography teacher at Victoria since 1988, and he told me how interesting he had found Stanley Prins' recent history of the school. Victoria currently has 243 boys, of whom 197 are boarders. Over the last five years, more than 50% of boarders come from Bihar, with an increasing number from railway families. Radhashree and Dr Pal kindly took me on a tour of the school. Particular highlights included visiting the hall, and seeing familiar names on many boards listing Senior Cambridge exam results; seeing the dining hall set with thali (??is this right) plates and an apple at each place for lunch; imagining generations of Victoria boys playing hockey, cricket and football on the upper and lower flats; and seeing the `calendar' maple tree next to the lower flat, (This is in fact a Cheena tree. They come from Kashmir and is the only one of its kind in the school. John F - Editor). which loses its leaves at the end of term but has a new season's growth when the boys return after the Christmas vacation! My tour of Victoria ended at the Anglican Chapel. Although it was locked, the door was slightly ajar and I could see through it to the beautiful stained glass window, and imagine how inspiring and memorable it must have been to so many Victoria boys and Dow Hill girls. Radhashree then showed me some of the 360 seedlings funded by the Rotary Club and planted by Victoria boys in the grounds of the school. They are thriving, and there will be many new rhodedendrons and other plants adding to the lush green foliage in years to come. The walk through the forest to Dow Hill was beautiful, and the sun was shining when I arrived at the school, although unfortunately it was too cloudy to see the mountains. Radhashree introduced me to Sandra Moss Hayes, who is the housekeeper at the school and whose mother was housekeeper before her. Mrs Moss Hayes told me that Miss Pradhan, who had been at Dow Hill for 47 years, and Headmistress from 1975 to 2000, now runs Hillgrove School in Kurseong. Miss Giri was acting Headmistress from 2000 until the current Headmistress, Miss Basu, took over in September 2002. Miss Basu had been a Bengali and History teacher at Dow Hill since 1977. I had tea with her in her very comfortable house. There are currently 370 pupils, half of whom are boarders and half of whom are day scholars (including daughters of teachers at Victoria and employees of the Forestry Department, and local girls). Miss Basu told me that the Governing Body of Victoria and Dow Hill is taking the initiative in planning for the future development of the schools. Although the school faces funding and infrastructural difficulties, a new computer laboratory opened in July 2003 and the Public Works Department is laying a pipeline to connect Dow Hill to the new reservoir in Kurseong. Cooking is done using wood and coal, but the school has applied for liquid petroleum gas, which would be a cleaner and - in the long term cheaper source of fuel. I had a tour of the school, and really enjoyed meeting very friendly and polite Dow Hill girls, as well as Miss Sherpa, who has taught games and junior classes for the last 20 years, and Pooja Khati, who is a dormitory matron. By the time I left, it was raining heavily. I walked back to Kurseong with Sonia, who is a current pupil whose family lives in Darjeeling and who wants to be a flight attendant. I have a lovely photo of her standing at the bottom of Jacob's Ladder. Dr Pal and Miss Basu were finalising arrangements for the 125th Anniversary celebrations while I visited. Both of them were very pleased to receive a letter from Grace, on behalf of VADHA, sending best wishes for the Anniversary. While the current and future pupils are clearly her priority, Miss Basu told me how much she respects the rich heritage and traditions of Dow Hill. I took lots of photos at Victoria and Dow Hill and will bring them to the reunion in London in 2004. Visiting the schools was a real highlight of my trip to India, and I can now fully appreciate what impressive schools they are, located on such a spectacular, and very peaceful, hill top. The next day I travelled by the toy train from Kurseong to Darjeeling
(the only part of the line that was open), and stayed at the Windamere
Hotel for two nights. I loved the toy train, especially the number of
children waving at us as we climbed higher and higher. I went up Tiger
Hill at dawn, and, even though there was thick cloud, there were lots
of other people hoping to see the view. The following day, en route to
visit Dr Graham's Homes at Kalimpong, I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse
of Kanchenjunga through the clouds. My trip was complete! End
of Alison’s story…. Alison's own book which is about "Home and Identity, Life Stories in Text and in Person" is to be published later this month. She has certainly been most thorough in her research, and no doubt, this will be used by her students in Queen Mary College, London University. We attended a Book Launch, in which a section is devoted to this work, and met her co authors and some students. As you know., many Vadhans, both here and in India and Australia., have been very helpfull and hospitable to her. Olga Ankelsaria, (Watson), wrote of Allison. "I managed to meet Alison Blunt, but she was so well organised and already had a whole lot of contacts in Calcutta -- so I was not of much use . But a very interesting person to talk to. I phoned her on her return from Darjeeling (I had mentioned Dr. Graham's Homes in Kalimpong to her,) and she managed a trip to the Homes on her way back from Darjeeling. She is a real "Go-Getter" and I take my hat off to her." Radhashree also informed me of Parlane MacFarlane's visit to Victoria in October. He had been in school from 1934-42. He and Lillian have been married for 57 years - Great! Parlane took along a lot of old photographs to show, and Radhashree was really pleased to see them. Sadly, he missed Sports Day which had to be postponed, but too late to inform Parlane “Mac”, Radhashree said.he was happy to see his Alma Mater, but he did not like the present condition of the school. I found him and his wife very warm". Yes, Clarrie Callow and Eunice Abbey who visit them, when they are in Australia, certainly second that. Parlane's name, again, came up very recently. Clarrie was visiting a friend in hospital, and was surprised to find that George Agabeg, his old classmate, was in the same ward. George was unable to speak, but wrote his replies on a piece of paper. They reminisced about their old contemporaries and especially about Parlane. 2. I
received Paul Dickson's information for the Himalayan Hill Schools'
Reunion March 2004 too late to include in the June newsletter. As it
is to be held on Wednesday 10th March, should you wish to attend, please
apply for tickets EK DUM! ASAP. Dereyck and I will be there with our
DH and VS table shields, and our loudest voices to cheer when they
call out our schools, the food is AMAZING and it is a really good occasion.
SO! Please turn to Page 10 for the details. Here are the details for the Himalayan Hill Schools Reunion…….. The Himalayan Hill Schools Reunion, March 2004 Chairman Treasurer / Secretary Paul Dickson 01753 865972 Committee Members June Kybert 01895 632755 Peter Scott 01843 851630 Peter Stringer 01883 624540
Details of The Himalayan Hill Schools' Reunion Luncheon Date: Wednesday 10th March, 2004 Cost: £29.50 per person The £29.50 covers pre-lunch drinks, 3 course Indian Lunch, Table Wine, Waiter Service, background music and music for dancing. The Clay Oven Suites are elegantly decorated and there is a Pay Bar for those wishing to have additional drinks. There are escalators and lift services, and a large free and monitored Car Park. Road access is good; it is just off the Hanger Lane Roundabout on the A40. For those wishing to attend, an initial payment of £10 per person should be made as soon as possible and the balance submitted by the 31`t January 2004. It is preferable if full payment could be made at the time of application. Please note that Refunds will not be made after the 19` February 2004. (If a receipt is required, please enclose a stamped addressed envelope). To assist with seating arrangements it would be appreciated if members could state which School they attended. Members who would prefer English food should let Paul know. Cheques should be made to HSR and sent to the treasurer Paul Dickson at 4 Gilman Crescent, Windsor, Berks. SL4 4YN The function is aimed essentially at people who were educated in the Himalayas. It is proposed that tickets will be made available on a first come first serve basis to each school member, their partner and friends. We anticipate reaching our maximum of 500. Disseminating this information as widely as possible would assist greatly. Should you need any clarification please contact any of the following: Lionel Connor 01753 868400 mary.connor@ukgateway.net Darjeeling: Loreto Convent, Mount Hermon School, New School, St.Joseph's College, St. Michael's School, St. Paul's School. Ghora Gali : Lawrence Memorial School. Kalimpong : Dr. Graham's School. Kurseong : Dow Hill Girls' School , Goethal's Memorial School, St.Helens, Victoria Boys' School. Murree: Jesus & Mary Convent, St. Deny's School. Mussoorie:. Caineville House School, Jesus & Mary Convent, Oak Grove School, St. Fidelis, St.George's College, Waverley Convent, Woodstock School, Wynberg-Allen School. Naini Tal: . All Saints College, Hallet War School, Philander Smith College, St.Joseph's College, St.Mary's Convent, Sherwood College, Wellesley Girls' School. Sanawar. Lawrence Royal Military School. Shillong: Loreto Convent. Simla: Auckland House School, Bishop Cotton School , Jesus & Mary Convent (Chelsea), Loreto Convent, Mayo School, St. Bede's College, St. Edward's High School. Srinagar:
Sheikh Bagh & Garden
School End
of Information for the Himalayan Hill School’ Reunion Luncheon. 3. Local Vadha Reunion June 12th 2004. The slips returned to me for choice of venue were 20 for Wimbledon, 2 for Greenford and 4 were happy with either. Hence I have booked the Raynes Park Methodist Church Hall and the Caretaker for that date from 3 to 7 pm. The cost is £60.00 opposed to £200 in Greenfield, and, taking into account incidental expenses, a charge of £1.50 per head at the door should suffice. I will append all details, with a map, 4. Alice Wriggley (Hardaker). Natalie Noney. and Thelma Johns hope to attend the Anglo-Indian Reunion in Melbourne this month. I await their news of the event. O.K. You can now take a coffee break from turning pages for a while! Stanley Prins's book, "Summoned By The Bell" is selling well on every continent, and also receiving due praise. Stanley wrote that Mark Tully, in his programme on Radio 4 "Something Understood" “had a Hill School experience over the war years very similar to ours," and much praised the book. A friend of Glendinning (Seymour-Shove) - Frank Blewitt, also enjoyed the book, and wrote, thus, to him,"Apart from well known games like cricket, football etc, it was the games that are almost unique to India that interested me. It was your comment, something along the lines that you had not come across Gillie Dunda (Gooly Dunda?), played anywhere else that caused me to do some research. My father, who as a young man in England was in the merchant navy shipping out of Hull, told me that the game was known. as Tip Cat and quite widely played in England. Apparently, in the 17th Century it was very common here and was exported to the USA in the 18th Century. Further digging has turned up evidence that it was popular in Melbourne, Australia. I enclose these reports and even a definition of the game from Webster's Dictionary. Also, the rules of the game, although I'm sure these varied from place to place. I don't think we played the game exactly in accordance with these rules. It appears that the Indians are now planning to take the game to the USA once more, and I enclose the article that details those plans. “If anyone is interested in the details do apply to Frank at - 1 Newmansfield Close, Bushey, Harts, WD23 4HL. He went on to give the rules of “Seven Tiles" and "Carroms"from the "Hindu". We have a board and it gets well used. Our 14 and 11 year old grandchildren, like their parents and grandfather, play fairly competent games. Stanley's book, quite naturally, led to Wartime Experiences of other Vadhans. Hugh Rassaby sent a section of an article on Anglo-Indians in the IAF by Group Captain Kapil Bhargava. Under the heading "Gallant Heroes" he wrote, "Perhaps the first Anglo-Indians to be decorated with the Vir Chakra were Flt Lt MPO (Mickey) Blake and Fg Offr GD Nobby Clarke flying Tempest IIA aircraft in the Kashmir War. Mickey Blake was always cheerful, angry for about two minutes only if greatly provoked. In the Kashmir War he was once flying a Harvard with SR (Jackie' Parwar as the other pilot. They spotted a Pak tank on the riverbank in Pak territory. Mickey Blake decided to take it on with the Harvard's puny little gun. It did no harm to the tank which fired back and hit the aircraft's canopy. The shattered plastic damaged Jackie's helmet, injured him and made him deaf. Fortunately, the doctors were able to do the required repairs. But more than half a century later he still carries some plastic pieces in his neck. Later, in 1948 Mickey Blake joined the Aircraft Testing Unit for clearing and inducting into service the Vampires, IAF’s first jet fighters. Led by Wg Cdr Moolgavkar, ATU went round showing off the Vampires all over the country. A Harvard aircraft used to accompany the team. The rear seat of the aircraft was often meant for Mickey's bull terrier named Sandy. Sandy was a very good guard of the Vampires. He only allowed uniformed personnel to approach aircraft. Nobby also joined the team a little later. Mickey Blake commanded No.7 Squadron with Nobby as his Flight Commander. He was such a loved and respected leader that all squadron pilots were ready to lay down their lives at his command - not that it ever became necessary. Both Mickey Blake and Nobby Clarke became Group Captains and took premature retirement to emigrate to Australia. Another hero was Fred Berry. Please flip to Page 11 for the information sent by John Feltham. (This information was actually taken from my web page on Flt.Sgt. Fred Berry DFM. Click here to read it. John F) While his sister, Elizabeth, was alive, she mentioned her work in the War Rooms in London, during the War, to Yvonne Jackson (Keymer) who wrote, "Elizabeth said on one occasion after the war on the table around which they all sat, (the “Big Wigs" I presume) she saw a memorandum she had typed. Great to be able to say “That memo on the table - I typed it." When Mark and I went with a group from retired Eastern Electricity Association to London, and we went round the underground War Offices there was a photograph of the people who worked there and their names were given. Unfortunately, I didn't hear very well, and with so many people “helping” you along, I couldn’t stop. The name “Elizabeth” with a very short surname was mentioned so it could have been “Law”. I did mention our visit when we spent a morning with Rusty (Edie Collins nee Berry)”. Yes, I knew that Elizabeth worked in the War Rooms. She told me that she didn’t know that the plane she had to remove from the wall, as one being shot down, was that of her own brother. When Dereyck and I visited her she showed us photographs of Fred with his group which included Group Captain Peter Townsend. I was very sorry to have missed the mini reunion Joan Steinhouse (Peters) held while Betty Brrown (Conley) was in London. (Dereyck and I were away touring in Sicily). How Peggy Littlewood sent me an account of the occasion, and you can read this on Page 9.
Here it is……..
How lucky some of us were to meet together at Joan (Peters) Steinhouse's home in London on September the 5th. Joan (as wonderful a hostess as you could imagine), with whom Betty Brown (Copley) was spending a few days, as part of her trip to the UK with hey husband. Bob, to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Betty and Bob were thoroughly enjoying their visit and, as part of the celebrations a few of us were able to have a mini reunion with Betty and Joan. Rosemary (LaRivierre) Ingels. Angela (Carter) Gribble. Arleen (D'Sena) Rice. Dorothea (Myers) Inglis. and Peggy Littlewood. We so enjoyed a day of much reminiscing. (all talking together at the same time of course). scrumptious food and general good camaraderie in Joan's relaxed and very comfortable home. Joan was able to spend all the time with her guests as her fantastic daughters had done all the cooking, serving and looking after our every need! Thank you. Joan. for a wonderful day. It was so good to see Betty. and we certainly hope there will be another visit to the UK in due course. I did manage to catch Betty on the phone on our return, before she left
these shores, and have a chat. My
classmate, Jill Butcher, (Adams) and her husband go on many interesting
holidays, but one last year was even more so. She wrote "In June
we went on a coach trip called, "Colditz and the Great Escape".
Most interesting and by coincidence Derek Avery's son-in-law .and his
father were on the trip .He said his in laws spent six months of every
year in Goa and that he went to school in Darieeling. I asked his name.
I said I knew of Robert (Bob). What a small world." Derek did go
on to St. Pauls in Darjeeling, so sits with a leg on each table at the
Hill Schools Reunion! For the many who enjoyed filling in the "Pop Quiz" re VS and DH compiled by John Feltham (Actually, I got it from John Webster. John F), the correct answers are as follows: 1. 1879. 2. 1880. 3. Mr. Pegler. 4. Mrs.Pegler. 5. Queen Victoria Jubilee. 6. 1897. 7. tea. 8. cryptomaria. 9. St Helens/Goethals. 10. tailor. 11. dandy. 12. toy. 13. magsulph. 14. houses. 15 St.Marys. 16. Victoria. 17. Sunday. 18. toilet. 19. Oct/Nov. 20. Pony trap. Did anyone get all correct? Yes, I did, but it would have been pretty disgraceful if I hadn't!! I received all the details and lovely photos from Gillian Millar (Donaldson),
of the Reunion held in Sydney in Oct 2002. I'm sorry, Gillian, that your
husband has not been well, but hope he is remaining in good health now.
The photos will be displayed at the next Reunion. Gillian's address is:-
12, Parsons Street, Mordialloc, Victoria, 3195, Australia. Phone:- 0395121545. Pat Redmond (Skill) wrote to me:- "Now, Grace, you are the one with an elephant memory about the old mullock. Seem to remember us all going on an annual school picnic. The walkt to the venues seemed interminable. `Where was this place and how far from the school itself ? I also remember the dormitory ayahs came along too - well at least to look after us little ones, I suppose. Am I right? Then there were the cook and bearers, and somewhere under the trees they used to set up a cook house so that we had a lovely hot meal. None of your English squidgy egg sandwiches! I can't remember how we actually ate the meal, i.e. did we sit cross legged on the grass, spoon and fork in our hands or did we have to assemble by class and sit in rows at makeshift benches or what? I seem also to remember there were games and finally we could all go off and just play. The boys used to swing from trees imagining themselves to be Tarzan and we girls used to run off and pick wild flowers and try to catch butterflies. (Pat, how sexist that sounds! I’m afraid I was one of those who did the lot! Sure, I made Daisy chains, but I climbed trees as high as anyone else, I played tops and marbles, wielded a catapult all to anyone else's standard, and enjoyed it all.) Is my memory playing tricks so that it is a case of distance lending enchantment to the view in my old age? The other thing I wanted to know about is this. I remember the "crocodile" seemed always to be on walks. We walked and walked and walked allover the place. One of the best walks (for me) was somewhere in a wilderness place. I think the teacher, Mrs. Papi, called it a "Nature Walk". I remember collecting pockets full of mica and we just picked it off side of the Khud. There it was, just glistening magically at us, whole sheets of of the stuff, some of it quite robust, and I remember filling every available material orifice I possessed with it. There were also flint stones - very marbled that smelled sulphuric, and we kids collected these which we later hit together under our beds in the dorm and watched the sparks fly. I must say the smell of sulphur in the air was quite strong and Mrs Karvey (our Matron) asked us if someone had a box of matches. Do you remember whereabouts this place was in Kurseong? I am putting together some "Memoirs" for my granddaughters and I would like things to be as accurate as possible.” I replied that the place that she described was the Pool of Bethsada. I also recall filling jars with frog's spawn, talking about them and then emptying them back in the pond. Years later, as a Guide, we would go there and one of the activities was to rub two twigs together to start a fire, to “survive”. I would have died as I never succeeded!! Mind you I could have lived on “Khutta Meeta”, nasturtium leaves and buds, juice sucked from convolvulus flowers, and other such “goodies” of the Hill Top.! Pat and I , would be grateful for any further help with locations of walks. Joy Jones (Kemer) has not been too well, but is OK now. I thought you might find her illness interesting! She wrote, "I managed to contract a Malaria Virus! Strange but true "No malaria in England" Wrong. The specialist I saw in our hospital said,”Oh yesthere is”, but I am doing well and staying clear of those darn mosquitoes. An amended address list will be appended. The difficult part of my news letter is to report the passing of Vadhans. As you know, we had many "Families" at the Hill Top, for eg:- the Berry's, Prins's, Beale's, Badiali's, Lochner's, and Browne's to name a few. Sadly, it is from each of the last three that we have lost a member. As you all know Quinton Baddeley has been fighting cancer and heart trouble for quite a while now. He has, sadly lost the fight. Those who knew him will know what a gem of a friend he was. His enriching of our lives can never be taken away from us. It was very sad that we only got to know him since the Anglo-Indian reunion in Auckland in 2001. However I know there will be many who remember him from boyhood days. The last time I phoned him he told me he had suffered a heart attack and was it was the beginning of the end. I cheered him up by saying “Yeh, I’ve heard that one before,” and our call ended on a happy note recalling the fun we always had. There were over a hundred people at his funeral, and Charles and Barbara Downey were two. Charles has benn a wonderful friend to Quinton and I know he is missing him a lot. Our hearts, especially mine, go out to Mavis and his family. From
the Lochner family, I, personally, have lost the last one of that generation.
But Vadha has lost a "Character" as all those who
knew Daphne Lochner will agree! Daphne was living in Alaska where her
daughter had an Army posting. She did attend a Reunion in about 1989
when her daughter was posted here. Daphne regaled us with all her escapades
in school, and explained how she came to be expelled. She was always "well
built" and not very athletic. Well, one night, the girls were to
meet the boys in the forest and Daphne was to keep cavey (KV), When she
saw a teacher approaching she raised the alarm and everyone ran like
hell. The only one who got caught was Daphne. As our ethical code forbade
sneaking, she carried the can and got expelled. But she considered it
all a huge joke, and said the only regret she had was that she wasn’t
there to meet a boy!!! She had a real zest for life, right to the end. Some
of our friendships last throughout our lives. One such is that of Jean
Lockyer (Watkins) and Joan Browne (Owen's sister). Jean wrote, "My
old friend, Joan passed away last year just a couple of days before Christmas.
I met her in about my fourth year and we were good friends. In our little
group were Iris Stevens (Ball) and Cynthia Tassie. Cynthis was a Calcutta
girl and I lost all touch with her – as I did with Joan and Iris.
However, during the war years I did bump into Joan in Calcutta and now
and then – mostly in the New market or Movie theatres. I knew that
she married and went to the States, and then Don and I came to Canada.
I don’t know how we “found” each other and kept in
touch for the last 40 years. I used to fly down and visit her after she
had a stroke and was bedridden. Her daughters keep in touch and we talk
on the phone. They drive up once a year and stay with us for a long weekend.
Not only did Owen lose his sister, but he also lost his wife within days
of each other. We offer him our sincere condolences, and I am so very
glad I met Betty. She was most attractive, with a lovely, warm smile. Our
lives in Kurseong started and ended each year with the Toy Train and
I have articles sent by Hazel Morrison (Francis) and Bob Hale. I reproduce
their enclosures on Pages 12, 13 & 14. Here are pages 12 and 13. (John F). EARLY MEMORIES I was born at a seaport called Vizagapatam, on the East Coast of India, in November 1929. However, my earliest memories are of a place called Dongargarh, a small railway colony located in the Central Provinces within the state of Khairagarh, on the mainline of the Bengal Nagpur Railway, from Nagpur to Calcutta. It was a magical place to grow up in, surrounded by jungle and rocky hills and teeming with wildlife. I came to the UK with my parents in 1937, on holiday and stayed with my maternal Grandmother. Unknown to me, I was meant to remain with her to complete my education after my parents returned to India. Fortunately for me, my father had a change of heart and decided that this would not happen for another two years and I was saved by the war. In 1942, my father who was a driver on the Bengal Nagpur Railway joined the army and I was sent to Bishop Westcott School near Ranchi. After the summer holidays, the school was taken over by the army and we moved to Allahabad, an interesting experience. At the end of 1943 arrangements were made for me to start the new term in 1944 at Victoria School, Kurseong. It was in March 1944 that I joined the school train at Sealdah for the overnight journey to Siliguri. To say that I was apprehensive would be an understatement. However, there were new friendships to be forged and bedrolls to be sorted out, so some of the apprehension was eased. It was dark when we left Sealdah, so it wasn't too long before sleep overtook us. My mother had told me about the 'Toy Train', because she had travelled on it a couple of limes, going up to Kalimpong. She said that the train went up the Teesta valley to Kalimpong Road. She spent ten years at Dr. Graham's homes in Kalimpong, but only travelled on the Teesta valley line twice. She said that the younger children were carried to the homes in baskets, and the older ones travelled on ponies after they left the train. She is 96 years old now and sadly her recall is not good. We arrived at Siliguri fairly early in the morning and I'm sure we had breakfast there, but I don't remember it. I was eager for my first sight of the famed 'Toy Train'. I had seen narrow gauge engines before, but they were fairly large, with a 4 6 2 wheel arrangement When I did see the engine, I could not believe that this diminutive loco would be capable of pulling our train up into the foothills of the Himalayas. I never saw what had happened to our luggage, but assumed that it had been loaded. The carriages and compartment layout were as described by Tom Cunningham in 'Twenty journeys on the train to Darjeeling' in issue 21. We left Siliguri about 9.am, the second half of the train was to follow a bit later. The journey here was fairly flat and uninteresting, but got better as we entered the forest section. To me, the most notable feature was the height of the trees. Although I had lived in an area surrounded by jungle, I had never seen trees as tall. From here on the train began to climb and I was so fascinated by the ever changing views, that all my earlier apprehension about being a new boy almost disappeared. I think it was at Agony Point that some of the older and more adventurous spirits among us jumped down off the train and ran across to the other end of the loop and rejoined us. The train slowed almost to a stop and the wheels were screeching and I remember thinking at the time, that it would be easy to misjudge the speed, but I can't remember anyone ever failing to rejoin after jumping off. The following year it was my opportunity to have a go. As we got higher, I noticed a sort of buzzing in my ears. Someone said it was the altitude. At one time, I noticed the second half of the train on the opposite side of the hill. It was working extremely hard and one of my lasting memories is of the bark of the exhaust echoing off the hills. Having come from a Railway background and ridden on the footplate of mainline locos, I thought of the poor old fireman having to shovel a lot of coal in such a confined space. The journey was absolutely incredible, but I found that the section between Gayabari and Kurseong was the most spectacular, with sheer drops on one side and vertical mountain on the other. I must admit to being a bit nervous at times. Occasionally there were glimpses of the plains and rivers a long way down and always there was the cart road, but not much traffic on it. We stopped at Pagia Jhora for the engine to have a drink. There was no mad torrent and I wondered why this place was so named, not realising at that time what it would be like during the Monsoon. As we approached Kurseong, there was a huge rock on our left, by the cart road. It had a name, but sadly I can't remember it. At the end of the year, this rock had a part to play. We reached Kurseong in the early afternoon, but didn't have lunch at the station. There was a climb of about 900 feet to the school before we could think of food. That was a hard climb and some of the short cuts were almost vertical. After several stops we got to the school, our home for the next nine months. We were allowed down into Kurseong on some weekends and sometimes saw the train meandering through the main street, at times only inches, or so it appeared, from the wares displayed by some of the shopkeepers. People also jumped on and off the train and I often wondered if there were accidents although I never ever witnessed one. At the end of the year those of us taking both the Junior and Senior Cambridge exams stayed an extra two weeks after the rest of the pupils had gone home. At the end of my first year, I had to stay the extra two weeks because I was in the Junior Cambridge year and taking the exams. Those that were going home were in high spirits, while those of us to be left behind had mixed feelings. On the day of departure, we accompanied the 'Homegoers' down to Kurseong and when the train left we ran with it downhill till we got to the large rock and waved frantically till the train disappeared. Somewhat dispirited at this stage we trudged wearily back up towards Kurseong and consoled ourselves a bit later in the town with a plate of 'Chow' in the local Chinese restaurant. 'Chow' was a sort of fried rice with everything thrown in delicious The next year, being between the major exams was a much more relaxed affair and I was able to enjoy the journey a lot more. I never ever saw the streamlined engine and was quite surprised to read in the "Mail' that one existed. There was a halt at Goethalls School, but although we played soccer and hockey against them at their school and ours, we never used the train. At the end of the year, I travelled down with the school party and don't remember much of the journey except the jumping on and off at some of the loops and "Z's' as we called them. It was a time of high spirits and great excitement because a three month holiday was just starting. One thing I do remember is that some of the lads got the crew of the main line engine to secure a specially made school badge to the front of it at the last stop before Sealdah. The next year, 1946 was my last year at school. I was a member of the school cadet corps and during the year we went to a camp in the Dooars. We travelled in an open top army truck down to Siliguri and up the Teesta Valley to the Coronation Bridge where we crossed the river. We stopped there and walked over the bridge to get a better look at the Gorge. Looking back the way we had just travelled, the railway ran along the right hand bank of the river and under the bridge. Sadly I never saw a train on that line then, or on the return journey. Travelling in an open truck opened up the view, because there was no roof to get in the way. On the way back to Kurseong, we did see a stationary train with the leading bogey of the first coach off the rail. We stopped and offered assistance, but it was declined so we drove on. I did wonder if the stout wooden pole carried on the locos would be used to assist re railing the bogey. During the year we travelled to Darjeeling to play hockey against St Paul's school. I do not remember any stations on the way except Tung, Sonada and Ghum. I do remember a group of us leaving the train, but I can't remember if it was at Ghum station, or the Loop. [We called it the Ghum loop] Our intention was to race the train into Darjeeling. Unfortunately the train won. I don't remember much about the return journey, but it was dark when we got back to school and the servants had left bread and butter for us. We toasted the bread on an open fire and I don't think I have ever tasted toast as good as that again. We'd missed the evening meal, so we were ravenous. The end of the year was soon with us and once again we were running with the train down to the 'Rock' and waving the homegoers goodbye. I remember thinking at the time that I would never do that again. After sitting the exams we headed for home and in a way it was a sad journey. I didn't know if I would ever ride the Darjeeling Himalayan again. So far, I haven't. I did go back to India in 1983, but had to cut the visit short because of illness. I didn't get to Darjeeling. I took employment with a Jute company at a place called Godenail near Narayanganj in East Pakistan as it was then. In June 1948 I returned to the UK. I flew in an Avro York from Dum Dum airport, Calcutta and the journey took three days. We stopped at Delhi, Karachi, Basra, Cairo and Castel Benito in Tripoli. We flew at about 10,000 feet most of the way and at times it was a pretty turbulent journey If my father had decided to leave me in the UK in 1937, I would have missed some of the happiest and most memorable times of my life. I am certain that my school years would not have been so wonderful. The Victoria and Dow hill schools still hold an annual reunion. I find this incredible after all these years and I still meet some of my old classmates. I would also have missed out on some of the most amazing railway journeys of my life. Bob Hale.
As you know, the Newsletter is being produced by Yours Truly, and so you are able to see how much I still have to learn! Dora Randall (Matthew) sent me an article she had received from Charles Dunne, with a large picture of Dow hill across the top. Unfortunately, the page is too long to photocopy but will be on display at the next reunion. The article is about the beauties of Kurseong and all that Tourists would appreciate. But appropriately, under the picture of Dow Hill is the heading of the article…… SHANGRILA REVISTED. YES! ! And we from Shangrila have never aged! ! We recall our years with fondness and our close ties are the gift we cherish. With Love Grace. Amendments to the Address List. Elaine Andrews (Brown) 17, Elm Park Avenue, Homchurch, Essex, RM12 4SP. Tele:- 01402457447. Australia. Catherine Buckly (Morrison) 10/75 Cook St. Forestville, NSW Barbara Todd (Barnettl 10/2; not 12 Bruce Street. New Zealand Bill Barlow. 368 Marine Parade, New Brighton, Christchurch Delete:- Subscriptions
continue at £3.00
for Locls and Europe, per year. DIRECTIONS FOR REUNION, JUNE 12th 2004. The Raynes Park Methodist Hall is on Worple Road, between Tolverine and Trewince Roads. BY ROAD. Coomb Lane. On right before Rayens Park Station is a Car Park (Pay and
Display). OR Side Streets by the Hall. Just after Raynes Park Station
there is a one-way to the left and then to the right, into Worple Road.
The Hall is almost as you enter Worple Road on the left. BY TRAIN TO RAYNES PARK I do not usually, have my mobile switched on, but it will do so once I leave my house, the number is 67761501964 See you there……
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