Delia (Emily Louisa) Page-Turner, 1892-1976, later Mrs John McClintock Clive
Delia Emily Louisa Blaydes (Page-Turner) was
born 6th August 1892 and baptized St Pauls Bedford in the same year.
Died in 1976, she was the 12th child and 8th daughter of Frederick Augustus Blaydes Page-Turner 1845–1931 and Alice Caroline Dyer 1850–1925
Attended Miss
Susan Cunnington’s Wiston’s School at 10 Montpelier Crescent Brighton. Miss
Cunnington the head and founder was a lesser-known suffragette.
A suffragette was a member of an activist
women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner
"Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in
public elections in
the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to
members of the British Women's
Social and Political Union (WSPU), a women-only movement founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst, which engaged in direct action and civil disobedience.
It is possible
that much of Delia’s strong-willed individuality was shaped by her encounter
with Susan Cunnington whilst at Wiston’s school. Delia developed a love of art
and design & Drama & was an accomplished artist working in oils and
watercolours. She was a horsewoman.
Little is known
about Delia's secondary education but the next big change in her life was her
involvement in World War I as a Nurse. In Delia's personal photography album
and scrapbook, there are many references to her participation as a Nuse both in
the UK and France.
Nurses Dormitory Accommodation Waverley Abbey
In the 20th
century, Waverley Abbey was owned by the Anderson family. Rupert Darnley Anderson, son of Thomas Darnley Anderson of Liverpool, inherited it from his
brother Charles Rupert Anderson in 1894. His father had purchased it around
1869. During the First World War the house was the first
country house to be converted into a military hospital. It treated over 5,000
soldiers. The Commandant, Mrs Rupert Anderson (the owner’s wife), was awarded
an OBE.
The spacious drawing
room and all the other rooms on the first floor will be occupied by the
patients, and the staff will include a matron and six trained nurses and
members of the Farnham detachment of the Red Cross Society, of which Mrs.
Anderson is commandant, and others.
Following the
First World War outbreak, the British Red Cross formed the Joint War Committee
with the Order of St John. They organised nursing staff in the UK and abroad to
support the naval and military forces. Delia Page-Turner was 1 of many young
women who volunteered to help with the wounded soldiers from the front in England, France and Belgium.
Voluntary
nurses – better known as Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs) – were people who
willingly gave their time to care for wounded patients. VAD members were not
entrusted with trained nurses’ work except in an emergency when there was no
other option. At the start of the war, VADs were known to have ‘fluttered the
dovecotes of professional nursing’ due to their enthusiastic desire to nurse
wounded soldiers.
The
Base Hospital was part of the casualty evacuation chain, further back from the
front line than the Casualty Clearing Stations. They were manned by troops of
the Royal Army Medical Corps, with attached Royal Engineers and men of the Army
Service Corps. In the theatre of war in France and Flanders, the British
hospitals were generally located near the coast. They needed to be close to a
railway line, in order for casualties to arrive (although some also came by
canal barge); they also needed to be near a port where men could be evacuated
for long-term treatment in Britain.
There were two types of Base Hospital, known as Stationary and
General Hospitals. They were large facilities, often centered on some pre-war
buildings such as seaside hotels. The hospitals grew enormously in number and
scale throughout the war. Most of the hospitals moved very rarely until the
larger movements of the armies in 1918. Some hospitals moved into the Rhine
bridgehead in Germany and many were operating in France well into 1919. Most
hospitals were assisted by voluntary organizations, most notably the British
Red Cross.
Constance Duchess of Westminster British peeress and
socialite Constance Edwina Lewis (1875-1970) sponsored a military hospital in
northern France, which was housed in a local casino in, Le
Touquet.
The hospital was opened by
Constance, the Duchess of Westminster at a former casino with her own money and
donated funds. Le Touquet was a fashionable seaside town, and with surrounding
woods and golf courses, it had been a popular holiday destination before the
war. The No. 1 British Red Cross Hospital was a Base Hospital and took
casualties from the front lines Casualty Clearing Stations. Le Touquet was very
close to Etaples, which was a massive British base with over twenty hospitals.
The No. 1 British Red Cross
Hospital was quite a small hospital, with only four wards and 150 beds. Wards A
and B were spacious and bright, clean and tidy. The chandeliers were wrapped up
in protective cloths with screens on frames around each bed. Although set up
initially for all ranks, the hospital soon took in mainly officers, who
received a greater degree of privacy.
The mix of nurses and VADs
(identifiable through their Red Cross) is required on the wards.
As well as four wards the
hospital had a laboratory and an X-ray department. Captain Stone was the
radiographer. Nine medical officers of the medical staff, including Colonel
Watson, the Commanding Officer.
Constance, the Duchess of
Westminster, the patron of the hospital, also took an active role as a nurse.
In a newspaper, she was described as ‘an excellent masseuse’ along with two
nurses, Miss Richmond and Miss Molesworth.
Entertainment
The hospital seems to have
placed a high emphasis on lifting the spirits of the men they cared for, as
well as for the staff themselves. This may be seen in the number of diversions
they held. These diversions included sports and Amateur dramatics, Inter-troop
wrestling, and Equestrian activities.
In May 1916 the army put on a
Programme of Sports which involved some of the cavalry. This included a;
jumping competition, inter-troop wrestling (on horseback) and a tug of war
(dismounted). Another concert, held on 13 June 1916, featured the Convalescent
Camp Band. The finale was a rendition of a patriotic song – 'Our Flag'.
Etaple Beach 1917
Their initial purpose was to
support military and naval medical services during wartime. However, it was
soon realised that detachments could play an important role in caring for the
large number of wounded soldiers during the First World War. When the Joint War
Committee took control of the VADs and trained nurses, these two departments
were placed under the direction of Dame Sarah Swift, who had been matron of St
Guy’s Hospital.
From the outset
of the war until November 1918, trained nurses were sent abroad at short notice
under the banner of the Red Cross. Over 2,000 women offered their services in
1914, many declining a salary, and from this list, individuals were despatched
to areas of hostility including France, Belgium, Serbia and Gallipoli. From
1915 onwards they were joined by partially trained women from the VADs who were
posted to undertake less technical duties.
Membership of
the detachments grew still further on the outbreak of the First World War when
the Joint War Committee was formed. VADs had to be between 23 and 38 years old.
Women under 23 were rarely registered as nurses with the Red Cross, but the
rule was not enforced for women over 38 who had no diminished capacity. From
the beginning of the war until the armistice, trained nurses were always
available to be sent out by the Red Cross. Partially trained VADs, working
under the Joint Committee, carried out duties that were less technical, but no
less important, than trained nurses. They organised and managed local auxiliary
hospitals throughout Britain, caring for the large number of sick and wounded
soldiers arriving from abroad.
Training was at
the heart of the VAD. During peacetime, the volunteers practised their skills
by helping in hospitals and dispensaries and running first aid posts at public
events. When war broke out, they were ready to use these skills. A few VADs had
already gained experience in nursing during the Balkan wars. The number of
volunteers increased dramatically in the early years of the First World War and
by 1918 there were over 90,000 British Red Cross VADs. Number of detachments on Foreign and Home
Service in 1915: Number of detachments on Foreign and Home Service in 1915: 7th
January 1915: 217 Detachments on Foreign Service, 118 Detachments on Home
Service 30th June 1915: 371 Detachments on Foreign Service, 915 Detachments on
Home Service.
Delia Page-Turner with VAD colleagues
During the war a new system of ‘Special
Service’ supplied Red Cross nursing members to Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC)
military hospitals. Previously staffed exclusively by army nurses and orderlies
from the RAMC, the scheme introduced VADs to military hospitals. The VADs were
posted by the Joint Committee of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of
St John at Devonshire House. Special Service VADs were also sent to Red Cross
hospitals, both in England and abroad. After the first few months, the general
rule was that nurses were only sent abroad after they had served for at least
two months under the Joint War Committee in an auxiliary hospital at home and
had received a favourable report. The quality of care by the Red Cross meant
that every nurse employed to carry out work in a hospital overseas came up to
the standard of a sister, staff nurse or even a matron in an average London
hospital.
Nurses who wanted to be appointed completed an application form and would then appear before the selection board. After an interview, references were followed up. When applying to full-time nursing positions there were several rules for potential candidates:
They had to
have a certificate with three years of training in a general hospital of at
least 50 beds and a recommendation from the matron. Nurses with only two years’
training could work as staff nurses and be paid £40 per year. Where health
certificates and references were satisfactory, candidates were put on the lists
for Home or Foreign Service. A good knowledge of French was desirable for
Foreign Service. All nurses had to be equally willing to perform night or day
duty at home or abroad.
Candidates were
required to sign an agreement to serve in a home hospital for a period of six
months at a salary of one guinea per week. Insurance, outdoor uniform,
travelling expenses from London, board and lodgings were provided. Laundry cost
2s. 6d. per week, and lodgings at a hostel were provided between engagements.
Indoor uniforms
had to be provided by the nurses.
On and after 7
June 1917, third-class railway fares to London were paid to nurses on their
engagement and their fare home was paid on completion of their contract.
After one
year’s service with the Joint War Committee, the rate of pay was automatically
increased by 16s. 8d. per month. This took effect from 1 July 1917 and applied
to all nurses on the payroll on 30 June 1916.
Delia Page-Turner and colleagues Le Touquet 1917
The annual
holiday was two weeks per year, exclusive of days spent travelling and sick
leave. If a woman had to travel to her training, her travelling expenses were 18
shillings per week. If she stayed in nurses’ accommodation she was told to
bring the following (all marked with her name): One canvas or calico bag – six
feet four inches by three feet – to be filled with straw at camp One pillow or
pillow bag Two blankets One Macintosh rug is useful One enamel washing basin
and a piece of soap Two towels; one should be large for bathing One duster One
knife, fork and spoon One enamel cup and saucer Two enamel plates Two tea
cloths One brush for boots (1d nail brush will do) A bicycle lamp or a candle
lantern Small luxuries like: A deckchair Air cushion Spirit lamp Probationary
nurses were trained in nursing and first aid by Red Cross-approved medical
practitioners. Classes and examinations were arranged locally by divisions
until July 1916 when they were held at the College of Ambulance, 3, Vere
Street, under an agreement with the owner, Sir James Cantlie. The fee to be
examined was 1s 6d for evening candidates and 2s for day candidates. Two Red
Cross Officers supervised the examinations. Tredegar House, No. 99, Bow Road
was the London hospital’s training home for probationers before they were
admitted to the wards of the hospitals themselves. Members had to stay at
Tredegar House for seven weeks where they received instruction, board and
lodging and half a crown a week for washing, but no other pay. They were
examined in the sixth week. After passing the exams and receiving first aid and
home nursing certificates, they were sent for a month’s trial in a hospital. If
they passed the trial they were accepted into a hospital for “three months’
hard work” before they were accepted full-time.
In 1909 the
British Red Cross became involved in the VAD scheme. It was decided that
volunteers should wear an official uniform to reflect this role. In 1911 a
uniform sub-committee recommended the adoption of a standard uniform ‘having
regard to economy, utility and the practical duties the Red Cross detachment
would be required to perform on mobilisation’.
The Red Cross
women’s VAD nursing members’ uniform was described as: A blue dress of
specified material (red canton for commandants, blue lustre for members) to be
in one length from throat to ankle, and sufficiently full to be worn, when
necessary, over ordinary dress. To be buttoned in front under a two-inch box
pleat, slightly gathered in front at the shoulder and neck and finished with a one-inch-wide
neckband on which to fasten the white collar. The bottom of the skirt to have a
two-inch hem and two one-inch tucks. The sleeves (commandant) to be a small
bishop shape with a three-inch wristband and fastening with two buttons. The
sleeves (member) shall not come below the elbow. Ground clearance (pre-1917)
four inches; (1917–1930) six inches.
A starched
“Sister Dora” cap is worn across the head.
1911–1915:
“Sister Dora” pattern in one piece, having a three-inch hem to turn over in
front, which is square, the other part being rounded, having a narrow hem and a
flat tape stitched round from hem, and 12 inches in from the edge, through
which a narrow tape is run for drawing up.
1915–1930: an
oblong of white cambric or linen, unstarched, in two sizes, 28 inches by 19
inches, or 27 inches by 19 inches, hemstitched all round two inches from edge,
placed centrally on the head, the front edge to be worn straight cross the
forehead and the two corners of front edge brought straight round the head
fastening at the back with plain safety pin over the folds. The Red Cross
emblem at the centre front was introduced in c1925 Stiff, white, stand-up
shaped, linen collar of the improved “Sister Victoria” pattern, fastened by one
or two white studs or a soft turned-down collar of white linen that may be worn
with the working dress and fastened with a safety pin brooch bearing the
Society’s emblem, viz. a shield with a red cross on white ground. For the
nurses, white linen oversleeves, 15 inches long, fastening at the cuff with one
button and with elastic at the elbow. For the commandant, stiff white linen
oversleeves, fastened with one white stud. A white apron with the Red Cross
emblem is displayed on the bib. Made of linen, with bib pleated in band and
continuing in straps (without join), cut in three widths and pleated in band at
sides. On both sides is a large square pocket stitched on, the front part of
pocket having a narrow strip continuing upward and stitched in the two-inch waistband,
fastening at the back with linen button, the straps crossing over and also
buttoning about five inches from either side of centre at the back. The Red
Cross of Turkey twill, 4 inches in height and length, and of the authorised
Geneva pattern, with each limb 1-inch square to be sewn on the centre of the bib,
the bottom of the apron being finished with a two-inch hem. Length to be the
same as overall. A starched white linen belt, two and a half inches wide,
starched, to be worn over an apron. Ordinary black boots with black stockings.
Estimates for uniform material were requested from well-known firms and one was
selected based on quality and prices. A permit was obtained from the War Office
for the cloth to be purchased and an application had to be made to the
controller of woollen and textile fabrics at Bradford. They allowed the
selected firm a certain amount of cloth per week for making nurses’ uniform
coats. When coats and hats were received from Home or Foreign Service they were
inspected and if they were considered to be satisfactory, they would be cleaned
and relined for re-use which saved hundreds of pounds.
Competitions
were regularly held during the war to test the VADs’ knowledge of nursing
standards. The competitions were used to highlight the expertise of VADs and
encourage funding from local residents. The competitions included tests in
first aid and home nursing for women first aid in the field and stretcher
drills for men. A number of questions were also asked in order to test VADs. At
Huntingdonshire in 1914 the following questions were asked: What are bedsores?
What precautions would you take to prevent their occurrence, and if they occur,
how would you treat them? How would you prepare a patient and a room for a
major operation? Write a brief history of a case of enteric fever during the
third week, giving a temperature chart How would you prepare a linseed meal
poultice, an ice poultice, and a mustard poultice? What are the indications for
their use? What do you mean by Crisis and Lysis? In what illnesses do they
respectively occur? How do you make peptonised beef tea?
Nurses were
rewarded for their efforts with bars or stripes to display on their uniforms.
One year’s war service was signified with a bar, two and a half inches long, of
red quarter-inch universal lace, to be worn horizontally on the left forearm of
the jacket only, three inches from the bottom of the cuff. Two- or three-years’
war service – for each successive year’s war service a further bar may be worn
a quarter of an inch below the last one. Four years’ war service – a bar, four
inches long, of blue and white half-inch herring-bone pattern braid, shall be
worn horizontally on the left forearm of the jacket, three inches from the bottom
of the cuff, and shall replace the war service bars previously awarded. VAD
military nursing member – members of detachments in possession of scarlet
efficiency stripes awarded for service in a military hospital, or blue
efficiency stripes awarded for service in a naval hospital, may wear the same
on the right sleeve below the shoulder on the indoor uniform. Nursing members
appointed to the grade of assistant nurse in a military hospital or naval
hospital will wear the letters “A.N.” on the apron on the right side of their
outdoor uniform coats. Assistant nurse – members of detachments who have
qualified under the Society’s rules for the position of assistant nurse are
permitted to wear a blue stripe on the right sleeve below the shoulder in
addition to the war service stripes worn on the left sleeve on the indoor and
outdoor uniform. The letter “A” in gilding metal shall be worn on the bib of
the apron, a quarter of an inch above the Red Cross in the centre.
After the War had finished Delia Page-Turner returned to England back to normal life and in her case, she spent the season with her younger sister Bobbie Page-Turner in London.
The social season, or season refers to the traditional annual period in the spring and summer when it is customary for members of the social elite of British society to hold balls, dinner parties and charity events.
Delia on Motor Car Running Board Pic Nic Break
Diving Brighton Pier and Gliding South Downs
Until the First World War, it was also the appropriate time to reside in the city
(generally meaning London) rather than in the country in order to
attend such events developing friendships.
Delia met
H.S.H. Prince George Imeretinsky and became engaged to him in (Nov. 1920). George Imeretinsky was educated at Lancing
College not far from Brighton where Delia Page -Turner grew up.
Prince
George G. Imeretinsky (1897–1972) was a Georgian royal prince (batonishvili) of the royal Bagrationi dynasty of Imereti.
George was
born to Prince George Imeretinsky at Tsarskoye Selo, Saint Petersburg on 16 May 1897. George was
the godson of the last Emperor Nicholas II of Russia.
George was educated at Lancing College.
In 1916 he was granted an honorary commission in the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards, at the request of the Russian Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Holding the rank of lieutenant he was wounded in the Battle of the Somme in 1917 and served with the regiment until 1920.
Later he was an officer in the Royal Air Force, a Cresta champion, and was well known in Bentley racing circles, being a correspondent to various motoring journals. He married first in 1925 Avril Joy Mullens and divorced in 1932. She later married Ernest Simpson, the former husband of Wallis Simpson. Imeretinsky married secondly in 1933 Margeret Venetia Nancy Strong. His two younger brothers, Mikheil and Constantine were also educated at Lancing and joined the Royal Flying Corps. Prince George died in Cheltenham on 24 March 1972.
After
Prince George (1897–1972) the headship of the House of Bagrationi-Imereti was transmitted to his young brother Prince Constantine (1898–1978).
Their engagement
came to an end sometime in 1923/24 with George Imeretinsky marrying in 1925.
Delia Clive became engaged to Major John
Clive in August 1929.
John McClintock
Clive Birth 1891 - Florence, Italy Death Sep 1955 – died Cirencester,
Gloucestershire, England Mother Ellen Lizzie Lugard Father Henry Somerset-Clive.
Commissioned into the Army. 20/7/1920
(31/7/1920). Married Delia Page-Turner in 1921 Maj. 20/7/1934. Supply. List 13/8/1930.
%20leaving%20Bicester%20Church%20aftr%20their%20marriage%20FA%20Page-Turner%20to%20left.jpg)
John Clive and Delia (Page-Turner) leaving Bicester Church at their marriage
FA Page-Turner to left 1929
%20and%20her%20husband%20John%20Clive%20leaving%20Bicester%20Church%20after%20their%20wedding%20service.jpg)
Delia Clive India 1930's
- 14
April 1929 C. in C's Camp, India (Khyber). Regarding the future prospects
for Captain Clive of the 47th.Sikhs.
- a. 28 May 1929 Simla. Further on Clive's future: the possibility of Military Accounts Department. Mentions getting Contract Budget out of Finance Department, and benefit to the army in being prepared for war. Comments on the attitude of politicians and Swarajists. Comments Afghan situation.
Prince Edward spent four months in
India, travelling from Bombay to Calcutta and then from Madras to Karachi. As the
British Empire's Ambassador, the Prince visited India on behalf of his father
King George V, to thank the nation for the essential role it had played during
the First World War. October 1921-January 2022.
Major John Clive and Delia Clive were caught up in
the Quetta Earthquake, Delia recounted being pulled out of the rubble of her
destroyed living quarters while still in her night clothes.
An earthquake occurred on 31 May 1935 between 2:30 am
and 3:40 am at Quetta, Baluchistan Agency (now
part of Pakistan), close to the border with
southern Afghanistan. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.7
Mw and anywhere between 30,000 and 60,000 people died from the
impact. It was recorded as the deadliest earthquake to strike South Asia until 2005. The quake was centred 4 km
south-west of Ali Jaan, Balochistan, British
India.
Movement on
the Ghazaband Fault resulted in an earthquake early in the morning on 31
May 1935 estimated anywhere between the hours of 2:33 am and
3:40 am which lasted for three minutes with continuous aftershocks. Although there were no instruments good enough to precisely measure
the magnitude of the earthquake, modern estimates cite the magnitude as being a
minimum of 7.7 Mw and previous estimates of 8.1 Mw are
now regarded as an overestimate. The epicentre of the quake was established to
be 4-kilometres southwest of the town of Ali Jaan in Balochistan, some 153 kilometres away from Quetta in British
India. The earthquake caused destruction in almost all the towns close to
Quetta, including the city itself, and tremors were felt as far as Agra, now in India. The largest aftershock was
later measured at 5.8 Mw occurring on 2 June 1935. The
aftershock, however, did not cause any damage in Quetta, but the towns of Mastung, Maguchar and Kalat were seriously affected.
The Chappar
Rift in Balochistan, a landmark railway site, was affected by the 1935
earthquake when the mountains opened up in parts. The gorges and rifts owe much
to this earthquake for their appearance
Most of the
reported casualties occurred in the city of Quetta. Initial communiqué drafts issued by the government estimated a total of 25,000 people
buried under the rubble, 10,000 survivors and 4,000 injured. The city was badly
damaged and was immediately prepared to be sealed under military guard with
medical advice. All the villages between Quetta and Kalat were destroyed,
and the British feared casualties would be higher in surrounding towns; it was
later estimated to be nowhere close to the damage caused in Quetta.
Bruce Street immediately after the earthquake
The infrastructure was severely damaged. The railway area was destroyed and all the houses were razed to the ground with the exception of the Government House which stood in ruins. A quarter of the Cantonment area was destroyed, with military equipment and the Royal Air Force garrison suffering serious damage. It was reported that only 6 out of the 27 machines worked after the initial seismic activity. A Regimental Journal for the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Royal Regiment based in Quetta issued in November 1935 stated.
A destroyed Bungalow and Shop
It is not possible to describe the state of the city when the battalion
first saw it. It was razed to the ground. Corpses were lying everywhere in the
hot sun and every available vehicle in Quetta was being used for the
transportation of injured ... Companies were given areas in which to
clear the dead and injured. Battalion Headquarters were established at the
Residency. Hardly had we commenced our work than we were called upon to supply
a party of fifty men, which were later increased to a hundred, to dig graves in
the cemetery.
Rescue efforts
Tremendous
losses were incurred on the city in the days following the event, with many
people buried beneath the debris still alive. British Army regiments were among
those assisting in rescue efforts. Lance-Sergeant Alfred
Lungley of the 24th Mountain
Brigade, Naik Nandlal Thapa, and Lance Naik Chitrabahadur
Gurung earned the Empire Gallantry Medal for highest gallantry in these rescue efforts. In total,
eight Albert
Medals, nine Empire
Gallantry Medals and five British
Empire Medals for Meritorious Service
were awarded for the rescue effort, most to British and Indian soldiers.
The weather
did not help, and the scorching summer heat made matters worse. Bodies of
European and Anglo-Indians were recovered and buried in a British cemetery where soldiers had
dug trenches. Padres performed the burial service in haste, with soldiers
quickly covering the graves. Others were removed in the same way and taken
to a nearby shamshāngāht for their remains to be cremated.
While the
soldiers excavated through the debris for a sign of life, the Government sent
the Quetta administration instructions to build a tent city to
house the homeless survivors and to provide shelter for their rescuers. A fresh
supply of medicated pads was brought for the soldiers to wear over their mouths
while they dug for bodies in fears of a spread of disease from the dead bodies buried underneath.
The natural disaster ranks
as the 23rd
most deadly earthquake worldwide to date. In the
aftermath of the 2005 Kashmir
earthquake, the Director General for the Meteorological
Department at Islamabad, Chaudhry Qamaruzaman,
cited the earthquake as being amongst the four deadliest earthquakes the South
Asian region has seen; the others being the Kashmir earthquake in 2005, 1945
Balochistan earthquake and Kangra earthquake in
1905.
Watch footage of the
aftermath of the Quetta Earthquake:
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-quetta-earthquake-may-31st-1935-1935-online
Quetta is nearly six thousand feet above sea level and bitterly cold in winter. The train journey from Karachi involved crossing the Sind Desert and climbing the famous Bolan Pass which had tested the old Queen’s Royals so hard almost a hundred years previously at the beginning of the First Afghan War. The Battalion was now part of a large garrison comprising every branch of the British and Indian Armies and a large RAF detachment. Mess staffs set about making the somewhat barren messes and canteen more homely. There were numerous football and hockey grounds and the battalion football eleven soon made a name for itself by winning the Baluchistan District Championship. The polo club set about acquiring new ponies. With spring came the fruit blossom for which the area was well known, and things looked much more cheerful.
On 31st May 1935
at 3.40 am in the early morning, the city of Quetta and the countryside for 100
miles to the south-west including the town of Khelat were devastated by a
severe earthquake which lasted three minutes. There was another severe shock on
2nd June.
An official Government
communique issued on that day from Simla stated:
“1. The whole city of Quetta is
destroyed and being sealed under military guard from 2nd June
with medical advice. It is estimated that 20,000 corpses remain buried under
the debris. There is no hope of rescuing any more persons alive. The corpses
extracted and buried number several thousand. There are about 10,000 Indian
survivors including 4,000 injured.
2. All houses in the civil area
are razed to the ground except Government House, which is partially standing
but in ruins. The church and club are both in ruins, also the Murree Brewery.
3. One quarter of the cantonment
area is destroyed, the remaining three quarters slightly damaged, but
inhabitable. Most of the damage was done in the RAF area where the barracks
were destroyed, and only six out of the twenty-seven machines are serviceable.
4. The railway area is
destroyed.
5. Hanna Road and the Staff
College are undamaged.
6. Surrounding villages are
destroyed with, it is feared, very heavy casualties. The number is not yet
ascertainable. Military parties are being sent out to investigate and render
help.
7. Outlying districts, as
already reported from Khelat and Mastung, are reported to have been razed to
the ground with heavy casualties. All the villages between Quetta and Khelat
are also reported to have been destroyed”.
There follows a description of the first three days taken from the Regimental Journal of November 1935:
“It is not possible to describe
the state of the city when the battalion first saw it. It was completely razed
to the ground. Corpses were lying everywhere in the hot sun and every available
vehicle in Quetta was being used for the transportation of injured.
The area allotted to the
battalion was the Civil Lines, which included the Residency, the post office,
the civil hospital and the western end of the city. Companies were given areas
in which to clear the dead and injured. Battalion Headquarters were established
at the Residency. Hardly had we commenced our work than we were called upon to
supply a party of fifty men, which were later increased to a hundred, to dig
graves in the cemetery.
The system was to search methodically from house to house looking for the injured and the dead. The injured were removed to the hospitals and the dead were laid out on the side of the road and collected in A.T. carts.
Europeans and Anglo-Indians,
some unidentified, were taken to the British cemetery, put into trenches dug by
our men, and covered over quickly whilst the Padre read the Burial Service.
Indians were removed in the same way and taken to a burial ground outside
Quetta. Rescue work went on steadily throughout the day. At 8 pm we stopped. It
was impossible to dig in the dark and there were no lights; furthermore, the
men were exhausted, added to which they had had practically nothing to eat.
The next day, The Glorious First
of June - the Battalion marched at daybreak to the city. That was to be our
area for the day. It seemed a hopeless task - nothing but a pile of bricks.
Dead were lying everywhere. Squatting all over the place were survivors, each
in turn begging us to search this and that house for their relatives and
belongings. But we had all learnt a lesson from the previous day. No longer
were we going to dig for dead under the houses, but only for the living. The
previous day much precious time had been wasted by digging for dead and carting
them away. This time we were going to look for the living and leave the dead.
This was easier said than done, for in looking for the living we came across
the dead; they had to be buried at once, for already the city was beginning to
smell terribly.
Owing to the narrow streets
being full of bricks and rubble it was impossible to get ambulances up, and the
men had long journeys carrying the injured over piles of bricks to the nearest
point where ambulances could collect.
Long before the evening the men
were deadbeat. It was a very hot day, the digging and burying had been
terrific and the smell was hourly becoming worse. The pitiful requests of the
survivors - who would do nothing to help themselves - and the sight of the dead
bodies added to the strain. There was still a party at the cemetery burying
Christians - Mohammedans were taken out to their burial place by cart and the
Hindus burned their dead at any convenient place.
On the third day the Battalion
continued working in the city. In the morning we were still digging out live
people but they were fewer than before. The men had to work with medicated pads
over their mouths and noses owing to the danger of disease from dead bodies.
The chief job, however, was moving the survivors from the city. A big refugee
camp had been opened up for them on the racecourse, tentage was supplied and
water and food provided. Families were put into lorries by the men -whether
they liked it or not - and taken to the racecourse.
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Racecourse Buildings.
By the evening it was apparent
that even if anyone was still alive they would never be found. Practically
every survivor had been evacuated to the refugee camp and the city was empty
except for military patrols. In the morning one party from the West Yorkshire
Regiment heard faint cries and dug furiously for hours. At last they came to an
opening and looked in - to find a cat and five kittens.
Not the least of our troubles
was the question of what to do with the animals. The city was full of cows and water
buffaloes, and most of them had calves. The injured were shot on the spot,
which only added to the smell.
On 3rd June -
that is to say the fourth day - the city was sealed. By that, it meant that no
one was allowed in the city, except on duty. A cordon of soldiers surrounded
the area, and for the next two days patrols were sent through the city clearing
out anyone seen and shooting stray animals. Since then the city has been closed
by barbed wire entanglements, patrolled day and night by soldiers at first, and
now by the North West Frontier Police.
During the first day or two,
when everything was disorganised, the riff-raff in the neighbourhood, and from
as far as forty miles away, came to Quetta. They knew that beneath all those
bricks thousands and thousands of rupees and valuables were buried; for
although a few shopkeepers put their money in the bank the large majority kept
it in a box under the bed.
Martial law was declared, which
meant looters could be shot on sight, and the 16th Cavalry were
posted on the outskirts of Quetta to stop them coming in, but it was quite
impossible to prevent them all and very often tribesmen were caught looting.
They were tied to railings in the most uncomfortable position possible. There
they were left in the hot sun all day, and in the evening given twelve across
the behind and released. It was quite an unpleasant punishment.”
There was still much to do. By
12th June all British women and children were evacuated besides
thousands of refugees and over ten thousand injured, some by air but nearly all
over the single railway line. Rations had to be provided for everyone, British
and Indian, and thousands of horses and mules had to be foraged. Tents arrived
from all over India and had to be put up, barbed wire fences had to be erected
around valuable stores and ammunition, refugees had to be controlled and
prevented from getting out of hand. Later, Wana huts had to be built and the
remaining barracks made more earthquake proof.
The Battalion subsequently
received a certificate from the Viceroy of India recording the thanks of the
Government of India for their share in the work of rescue and succour “which
saved so many lives and mitigated so much suffering”, and two soldiers of the
battalion, Lance Corporal G. Henshaw and Private A. Brook were awarded the
Empire Gallantry Medal which was later converted to the George Cross by command
of King George VI.
Work on reconstruction continued
almost continuously into the autumn. Conditions gradually settled down and a
pleasant break was provided during the winter for all ranks by a month’s
holiday in Karachi where the comparative civilisation, the warm weather and the
bathing, sailing and fishing were much enjoyed.
In 1936 the battalion reverted
to normal training, and in October they moved to Allahabad. The Regimental
History records that “They were especially sorry to leave the Indian battalions
of the brigade, the 2/11th Sikhs and the 5th/11th Sikhs and Duke of Connaught's Own, 4/19th Hyderabad
Regiment and the 2/8th Gurkha Rifles, who had filled them with
great respect for the Indian Army.”
Major John Clive, MC, Changi
Prison Prisoner of War
Following the Fall of
Singapore on 15th February 1942 the Allied soldiers including the Commonwealth
forces and the Indian Army were moved to Changi prison. Major John Clive was
one of over 80,000 who surrendered to the imperial Japanese army. The Prisoners remained there until they were liberated
by troops of the 5th Indian Division on 5 September 1945 and
within a week troops were being repatriated. The conditions were a lot better
than many Japanese POW camps but the conditions did take their toll. Major John
Clive died prematurely in 1955 aged 64.
A large prison camp complex opened by the Japanese during World
War II to house POWs captured in Singapore, Changi was set on nearly 16 square kilometres
of undulating hills at the eastern end of Singapore.
After the island's fall on 15 February 1942, over 15,000
Australian and 35,000 British prisoners were herded into Changi Prison,
formerly the magnificent Selarang Barracks and, lately, home to the Gordon
Highlanders, a Scottish regiment. Now Changi was supposedly a hospital centre,
but in fact, it served as a massive POW camp. The barracks were badly damaged
by shelling.
As more and more prisoners filed into Changi, overcrowding
became an ongoing problem. Within two months, 8,000 prisoners were without
shelter. There was no water, lighting, or sewage facilities and clouds of flies
were a constant annoyance. Food stores rapidly diminished, and the men were
placed on strict rations.
There was only a nominal Japanese presence inside the vast
compound, the guards mostly staying outside the confines of the camp. Changi's
administrative staff had warned the prisoners that, apart from a rice ration,
they had to be self-supporting, so the prisoners were placed under the
management of their own senior officers. The officers encouraged the men to
clear drains to prevent the breeding of malaria-bearing mosquitoes, and they
supervised efforts to dig latrines, scrounge for food, and get wood for cooking
fires.
Army engineers repaired the shattered plumbing and restored
electricity. Lieutenant-Colonel Glyn White of the Australian Army Medical Corps
smuggled in hospital equipment, drugs, and medicines, and soon the camp was
functioning reasonably well. Gardens provided fresh food, and eventually, 10
truckloads of green vegetables were being harvested every week. A poultry farm
was established as well and fresh eggs were distributed under the direction of
doctors.
With the camp running smoothly, the men looked for other
diversions. They attended lectures on a variety of subjects, studying such
things as history, geography, engineering, and business. Major John Clive wrote
a Dictionary in three languages, English French and Italian. An Australian
concert party was formed, and well-attended shows (which continued until July
1945) gave the men some relief from the boredom and uncertainty of prison life.
During one early show, an Australian comedian named Harry Smith coined a
melancholy slogan that will forever be associated with Changi: "You'll
never get off the island!"
The Japanese soon began drawing on their prisoner population for
local work parties, and over 8,000 men laboured on tasks such as filling bomb
craters and gathering scrap metal for export to Japan. In May 1942, around
3,000 prisoners known as A Force were taken out of Changi to work on the
Burma-Thailand Railway. Two months later, a further 1,500 were shipped to
Sandakan in British North Borneo to begin work on an airfield, while others
went to labour camps in Japan. In August, the Japanese removed all the camp's
senior officers above the rank of lieutenant colonel and shipped them to
Formosa.
As prisoner numbers dwindled, the entire camp, including the hospital, was moved to Selarang. Conditions there worsened dramatically and by war's end, Changi's POWs were in a pitiful state, diseased, starved, their bodies reduced to skin and bone. Today the Selarang Barracks still stands, while Changi itself is now home to Singapore's huge, modern international airport.
Delia and John Clive settled into life at Coln St Aldwyns in the Cotswolds where John died in 1955 and Delia died in 1976.
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