Great Railway Journeys
Chugalug,
By no means should you be chastised ! As things turned out, it would have been better (and infinitely cheaper) to disband 8 Sqn when VV ops ended in summer '44, scrap the aircraft and disperse the crews, then reform it in the November as a new Spitfire XIV unit with new pilots. But you never know, perhaps it might be a good idea to hang on a bit just in case ! (Something like that may have been in the mind of AHQ Delhi - perish the thought of a simple cock-up !)
Yes, the old steam engine had a lot going for it; Indian Railways stayed steam-hauled for many years after the war. As for the Jewel in the Crown, it was pretty well the whole thing, I have read that the Crown ruled directly over more subjects in India than in the rest of the Empire put together (but I cannot quote a source). It had its own department of State (the India Office), whereas all the rest were lumped together in the Colonial Office. The Viceroy was the plum political appointment of the day: out there he was God for all practical purposes and ruled in appropriate splendour.
When would Indepedence have come had there been no war ? And under what circumstances ? Could Partition have been avoided ? Those are some of the most tantalising questions of 20th century history: now they must for ever remain unanswered.
Terribly sad about Fred, hope my reply was adequate.
Danny.
Last edited by Danny42C; 27th Aug 2012 at 15:26.
Reason: Spelling Error.