Description

1. Twenty-nine Survey of India Maps. (listed by Sheet No. Date Place Scale):
   • 38 0/2 1937 Kohat District and Tribal Territory 1 in.= 1 mile
   • 38 0 1929 Kohat 1 in.= 4 miles
   • B 1939 Kohat and Surrounding Country 1 in.= 1 mile
   • 43 1916 Srinagar 1.014ins.= 1 mile
   • (revised based on 1842-1860)
   • 43 F 1928 Abbottabad 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 43 9 & 12 1932 Tribal Territory Hazafara District 1in.= 1 mile
   • 43 1929 Rawalpindi District 1 in.= 1 mile
   • 43 I 1934 Gilgit 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 43 J 1935 Srinagar 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 43 J/16 1912 Srinagar 1 in.= 1 mile
   • 43 K 1923 Punch 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 43 1915 Muzzafarabad District & Punch State 1 in.= 1 mile
   • 52 B 1916 Ladakh District 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 52 F 1875 Ladakh District 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 53E/8 1928 Simla District and Simla Hill States 1 in.= 1 mile
   • (2nd ed. 1935) Patiala and Suhet States
   • 53 H 1933 Delhi 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 1933 Delhi 1.014ins.=32 miles
   • 1942 Delhi Guide Map 3 ins.= 1 mile 55 1935 Nagpur 1.014ins.=16 miles
   • 55 1/9 1912 Saugor District 1 in.= 1 mile
   • 55 1/10 1910 Bhopal State; Saugor District 1 in.= 1 mile
   • 55 J/7 1913 Betul, Chhindwara and Hoshangabad Dist. 1 in.= 1 mile
   • 77 D 1929 Kampa Dzong 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 77H 1930 Gyantse 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 78 A 1923 Darjeeling 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 78E 1934 Punakha 1 in.= 4 miles
   • 1917 Tibet & Adjacent Countries 1 in.= 39.451 miles
   • 1940 South East Asian Series: Yunnan 1 in.= 31.566 miles
   • 1941 South East Asian Series: Rangoon 1 in.= 31.566 miles
2. 3 Oil Paintings by HBH (framed)
   • Nanga Parbat (26,620 ft.) from near Chibas, on the River Indus.
   • Source of the Shyok River, where it emerges from the Shyok Glacier at about 15,000 ft. (with sketch map of  N.E. Kashmir on reverse, giving location)
   • View of the Safed Koh (a subsidiary of the Hindu Kush) above Parachinar, from the Kurram Valley. Highest point shown is 14-15,000 ft. Parachinar was the HQ of the Kurram militia.
3. Six articles by P. Fleming, The Statesman December 1935. One article, The Statesman December 1935. 14 ff.
4. Two articles, The Times September 1948 on Central Asia. 2 ff.
5. Peter Fleming’s obituary The Times August 1971. 1 f.
6. Two articles Daily Mail November 1937 about Theo Bernard. 3 ff.
7. An account of a journey from Thal to Gyantse, Tibet in 1937. 35 ff.
8. Summary of a diary, notes and letters written in Tibet 1937-38. List of books. 20 ff.
9. Letter from J.G.I. Keys, 15th Punjab Regiment. September 1939. 4 ff.
10. Extracts from diary of J.G.I. Keys, 15th Punjab Regiment. February March 1940. 7 ff.
11. Newspaper cuttings etc., dealing with the search for and installation of the new Dalai Lama 1936-40. 16 ff.
12. Two newspaper cuttings about a Tibetan flood 1940. 3 ff.
13. Route to Gyantse, Tibet, in section, showing altitudes. 1 f.
14. Newspaper cuttings about Tibet 1949-1983. 18 ff.
15. Copy of article Daily Telegraph August 1910. 1 f.
16. Photocopy of autobiographical memoir by Colonel Hudson entitled: ‘A backward glance’. This is an enthusiastic and nostalgic account of the career of an officer of the Indian Army during the years 1932 to 1947, much of it spent with the 1 st Battalion of the 15th Punjab Regiment. Colonel Hudson’s career took him to posts in the Punjab and the North West Frontier and his vacations were spent in exploring the western Himalayas above Kashmir, areas largely unpenetrated by foreigners.A memorable year (1937-1938) was spent in Tibet with part of his batallion acting as Indian Army Escort to the British Agency in Yatung and Gyantse. It is described with humour and affection, although he was fully aware of Tibet’s ‘tyrannical religious government’, its cruelty and the ‘shattering poverty’ of its people.

    The speed with which Army personnel were moved from one station to another during the 1939-45 War is illustrated by the account of his many transfers. A course at the Small Arms School, Pachmari, Central Provinces preceded six months in Staff College at Ouetta which was followed by a brief appointment to Ahmadnagar on the Deccan Plateau. From there he was sent to the General Staff at Army Headquarters, Delhi in the summer of 1941. He describes the delights of life in Simla with his wife and family, whence the entire Government of India moved for the hot weather months.

    Shortly after their return to Delhi he was ordered to Quetta and shortly after that to Dibrugarh, Assam, a journey of seven days. The date was April 1942: the Japanese were threatening the eastern borders of India. Hudson’s job was to help with the settlement of refugees, Indian and Chinese. A brief stint in Peshawar followed.

    At the end of 1944 he was sent to Italy, north of Florence, to take command of the 3rd Battalion of the Mahratta Light Infantry, 10th Indian Division. He gives a graphic description of his War in Italy; tales of bravery of the Mahratta soldiers, their terrible injuries and losses, and finally, after VE Day, the fortunes of the battalion during its seven months’ stay in post-War Italy.

    After his return to India and to his family he was posted again to Army Headquarters in Delhi as Assistant Adjutant General, dealing with the repatriation of British officers and their families.

    Home leave for himself and his family followed (his first since 1936). During this time he was asked, in a letter signed by Mountbatten, to return to India to help in making smooth the transfer of power.

    His return to Delhi took place shortly after the celebration of Independence Day (15 August 1947) in both new countries. The unnatural quiet seemed to him, as it proved to be, the calm before the storm. He describes atrocities on both sides of the border, and particularly in Delhi and Lahore.

    Colonel Hudson favoured Indian Independence and saw that partition and the creation of Pakistan was inevitable, but he deplored the way in which the actual transfer was carried out, resulting in so much carnage. ‘The ultimate tragedy … was haste. All safety standards were sacrificed on the altar of expediency.’ 350pp.