GB 0102 OA1 - Oral Archive: Plain Tales from the Raj

16 boxes (4 boxes of sound recordings, 12 boxes of transcripts)

GB 0102 OA1 (1876-1949) 1972-1974 Collection (fonds) 16 boxes (4 boxes of sound recordings, 12 boxes of transcripts) British Broadcasting Corporation , Radio 4

The series 'Plain Tales from the Raj' was produced by Michael Mason for BBC Radio 4 and first broadcast in 1974. The British interviews were largely conducted by Charles Allen, with further interviews conducted in India by Prakash Mirchandani and Mark Tully.

Deposited by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Cassette copies and transcripts of recordings of unedited interviews assembled, 1972-1974, for the radio series 'Plain Tales from the Raj', including material not included in the broadcast programmes, and comprising c200 hours of material. The 82 subjects interviewed, including men, women, adults and children, lived and worked in India from the late 19th century to Independence (1947) and the interviews cover a wide range of civilian and military experience between 1876 and 1949. Military personnel range from the Commander in Chief of the Army in India to Army privates. Civil servants of various ranks and members of the business and commercial world, for example tea planters, are also included. Women mainly comprise wives and daughters, but also include a few nurses and governesses. The project covered the lives of the British in India and, although the material touches upon the effect of the Raj on India and its indigenous inhabitants, only a small number of Indians and Eurasians were interviewed. Subjects covered include accommodation and living conditions; daily routine; social life and recreation; health and sanitation; the effects of India postings on family life; relations between the British, other Europeans, Indians and Eurasians in social and work environments; events such as riots and earthquakes; the fauna and landscape of India; and political events. Full typescript transcripts (including inaccuracies in some cases) exist for most, but not all, of the recordings.

Alphabetical by name of interviewee.

Access to most interviews unrestricted.

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.
English

Published guide: Plain Tales from the Raj: a Catalogue of the BBC Recordings (India Office Library and Records, London, 1981), arranged alphabetically by interviewee, summarising the main content of each interview and including reference codes for copies of material at the India Office Library and Records, Imperial War Museum, and School of Oriental and African Studies. More detailed and comprehensive card index available at the Imperial War Museum.

Copied from the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Copies of the material were also deposited at the British Library, Oriental and India Office Collections, and Imperial War Museum, Department of Sound Records. Copy tapes and transcripts can generally be purchased for private and educational use from the Imperial War Museum.

The interviewer Charles Allen published Plain Tales from the Raj: images of British India in the twentieth century (1975), including further information from the interviews. The work of recording the memories of those who served in India contiuned under the British in India Oral Archive Committee at the School of Oriental and African Studies and the series continues as the British in India Oral Archive Project (Ref: OA2). The School of Oriental and African Studies also holds sound recordings from the radio series 'India: A People Partitioned' (Ref: OA3). The Imperial War Museum, Department of Sound Records, carried out an oral history interviewing project on the role of the British Army in India in the inter-war period and the years before Independence.

Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project. Source: Plain Tales from the Raj: a Catalogue of the BBC Recordings (India Office Library and Records, London, 1981). Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. May 2002 Accommodation Agricultural land Agricultural products Animals Armed forces Army personnel Asians Beverages Biology British Broadcasting Corporation , Radio 4 Broadcasting Broadcasting programmes Building design Building standards Central government Civil servants Civil service Colonial administration Colonial countries Colonial forces Construction engineering Cultural conditions Cultural life Decolonization Disasters Earthquakes Educational personnel Enterprises Environmental engineering Ethnic groups Family Family environment Fauna Field work Food Government Health Historical methods History Housing India Indian Army , Commander in Chief Indians International relations Interviews Life styles Magnetic tape recordings Medical personnel Medical profession Medical sciences Military organizations Natural disasters Nurses Officers Oral history Organizations Paramedical personnel Personnel Plantations Plant products Political movements Political science Political systems Politics Private enterprises Programme content Public administration Radio Radio programmes Recordings Research work Riots Sanitation Sound recordings South Asia State security Surgery Tea Teachers Travel Travel abroad Whites Women teachers Zoology People by occupation People Disasters (by type)

Deposited by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Cassette copies and transcripts of recordings of unedited interviews assembled, 1972-1974, for the radio series 'Plain Tales from the Raj', including material not included in the broadcast programmes, and comprising c200 hours of material. The 82 subjects interviewed, including men, women, adults and children, lived and worked in India from the late 19th century to Independence (1947) and the interviews cover a wide range of civilian and military experience between 1876 and 1949. Military personnel range from the Commander in Chief of the Army in India to Army privates. Civil servants of various ranks and members of the business and commercial world, for example tea planters, are also included. Women mainly comprise wives and daughters, but also include a few nurses and governesses. The project covered the lives of the British in India and, although the material touches upon the effect of the Raj on India and its indigenous inhabitants, only a small number of Indians and Eurasians were interviewed. Subjects covered include accommodation and living conditions; daily routine; social life and recreation; health and sanitation; the effects of India postings on family life; relations between the British, other Europeans, Indians and Eurasians in social and work environments; events such as riots and earthquakes; the fauna and landscape of India; and political events. Full typescript transcripts (including inaccuracies in some cases) exist for most, but not all, of the recordings.

Alphabetical by name of interviewee.

Access to most interviews unrestricted.

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.

• English

• Latin

English

The interviewer Charles Allen published Plain Tales from the Raj: images of British India in the twentieth century (1975), including further information from the interviews. The work of recording the memories of those who served in India contiuned under the British in India Oral Archive Committee at the School of Oriental and African Studies and the series continues as the British in India Oral Archive Project (Ref: OA2). The School of Oriental and African Studies also holds sound recordings from the radio series 'India: A People Partitioned' (Ref: OA3). The Imperial War Museum, Department of Sound Records, carried out an oral history interviewing project on the role of the British Army in India in the inter-war period and the years before Independence.

Published guide: Plain Tales from the Raj: a Catalogue of the BBC Recordings (India Office Library and Records, London, 1981), arranged alphabetically by interviewee, summarising the main content of each interview and including reference codes for copies of material at the India Office Library and Records, Imperial War Museum, and School of Oriental and African Studies. More detailed and comprehensive card index available at the Imperial War Museum.

Copied from the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Copies of the material were also deposited at the British Library, Oriental and India Office Collections, and Imperial War Museum, Department of Sound Records. Copy tapes and transcripts can generally be purchased for private and educational use from the Imperial War Museum.

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

• English