C.E. Tyndale-Biscoe, after whom the downtown Srinagar school is named, wasn't in Kashmir at the time of the lashkar's invasion in late October-November 1947. But he had a strong view on the 'Afridi tribesmen and other devils' whom he held responsible - as this document attests.
The educationalist Cecil Earle Tyndale-Biscoe (1863-1949) first came to Kashmir in 1891 and spent more than half-a-century in the Valley. The school that came to bear his name had been established on a modest scale a decade earlier. Tyndale-Biscoe was a product of his time - an old school Christian and a stalwart of Empire; he came to have a deep affection for Kashmir. His final departure was in early October 1947, just a couple of weeks before the invasion by forces from Pakistan which instigated what we would now call, in geopolitical terms, the Kashmir conflict.
Tyndale-Biscoe moved to what was then Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he died in 1949. His memoir, Tyndale-Biscoe of Kashmir: An Autobiography, was published posthumously, with forewords from, among others, the Kashmiri nationalist leader (and at various times Kashmir's Prime Minister and Chief Minister) Sheikh Abdullah, who sent his son, Farooq, to Tyndale Biscoe School.
This two-page account of Tyndale-Biscoe's departure from Kashmir, and his reflections on the invasion, has just come to light. It is almost word-for-word the same as in his published memoir. But this appears to have been issued earlier, as indicated by the jotted note 'To Mr. L.P. Richards with kind regards from CETB'. It was perhaps circulated to friends who were concerned about Kashmir and the fate of the school and of medical and other facilities in the Valley which had been established by Christian missionaries.
Richards served with the Royal Air Force in India during the Second World War. He spent some rest-and-recreation time in Kashmir and described it to his family as one of the most magical places he had ever visited. One must assume that he struck up a friendship with Tyndale-Biscoe at that time. His son, Bill Richards, has passed on this document and we're very grateful for his permission to post it here.
By the way, the second line of the document which is largely hidden by a crease reads 'closed the Residency, and that ended protection of British'. The C.M.S. was the Church Missionary Society.
The educationalist Cecil Earle Tyndale-Biscoe (1863-1949) first came to Kashmir in 1891 and spent more than half-a-century in the Valley. The school that came to bear his name had been established on a modest scale a decade earlier. Tyndale-Biscoe was a product of his time - an old school Christian and a stalwart of Empire; he came to have a deep affection for Kashmir. His final departure was in early October 1947, just a couple of weeks before the invasion by forces from Pakistan which instigated what we would now call, in geopolitical terms, the Kashmir conflict.
Tyndale-Biscoe moved to what was then Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he died in 1949. His memoir, Tyndale-Biscoe of Kashmir: An Autobiography, was published posthumously, with forewords from, among others, the Kashmiri nationalist leader (and at various times Kashmir's Prime Minister and Chief Minister) Sheikh Abdullah, who sent his son, Farooq, to Tyndale Biscoe School.
This two-page account of Tyndale-Biscoe's departure from Kashmir, and his reflections on the invasion, has just come to light. It is almost word-for-word the same as in his published memoir. But this appears to have been issued earlier, as indicated by the jotted note 'To Mr. L.P. Richards with kind regards from CETB'. It was perhaps circulated to friends who were concerned about Kashmir and the fate of the school and of medical and other facilities in the Valley which had been established by Christian missionaries.
Richards served with the Royal Air Force in India during the Second World War. He spent some rest-and-recreation time in Kashmir and described it to his family as one of the most magical places he had ever visited. One must assume that he struck up a friendship with Tyndale-Biscoe at that time. His son, Bill Richards, has passed on this document and we're very grateful for his permission to post it here.
By the way, the second line of the document which is largely hidden by a crease reads 'closed the Residency, and that ended protection of British'. The C.M.S. was the Church Missionary Society.
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