My father made no claim to be much of an artist or a poet. In fact I never cared much for his paintings, and he cared less for his poetry. Nevertheless, he had talent in both forms of artistic expression and I am particularly impressed with a booklet of caricatures of his army colleagues which he produced in 1925 (see below).

As to his poetry, I have two copies of a small book of poems that he had published in his (Indian army) printing shop. In later life, he cringed whenever anyone mentioned the book, regarding his work as "sentimental rubbbish" or words to that effect. He grew to hate sentimentality in any form, especially in musical expression and he never hesitated to tell anyone who was within earshot!

His humorous and life-like caricatures display not only a skill that he never seems to have developed further, but also a sense of joy in his companions which seems out of character to one such as me who knew him only in his later years. In all his paintings that I ever saw, I never saw a human form; and I summarily disposed of all his latter-day photographic collection because it contained only views (landscapes etc) that were meaningless to me because they were all devoid of human life. I remember in Australia the trouble he always took when taking a photograph of a landscape to make sure there was no-one visible in his view-finder! How he must have changed.

Below is a letter he wrote to his mother in 1925 describing the caricatures that he had had printed into a booklet. I don't have the printed book, but have copied the illustrations directly from his original sketch book. The caricatures are displayed below the letter - there is an extra one of Basil Boulden, but he is not mentioned in the letter. A caricature of himself is also included though it too is not mentioned in the letter. [See also his "Missing Years".] I knew five of the people illustrated in later life, and apart from Jack Steeman, I can recognise all of them from their caricatures.

Piazha
29/3/1925

My dear Mum

Glad to hear physical progress continues. I enclose herewith a small book which may interest you. The production I have, as you will remember, mentioned before. The reproduction has taken all this long time to complete. Since the litho[graphy] section at Bangalore is remarkably out-of-date, it all had to be accomplished by hand, traced through tissue paper and thence transferred to stone. Considering the antiquity of the process, they have been done very well, though "some of the inherent charm of the little chef-d'oeuvres" has been unavoidably lost. (Wa, wa!)

A few explanations seem to be demanded if you are to get there at all, and will at the same time serve to fill up space which as the summer progresses becomes with the rise in temperatures, increasingly difficult.

Well shut your eyes - cling to your seats - my boy - she's starting ----------

1. Colonel Hill the commandant. This is not a defamation as to his behaviour or moral character, but gives a general indication of the reason why dinner late again.
2. Lt. Col. Broughton R.E. who was C.R.E. Madras district. A man of comfortable disposition with a giggle.
3. Col. Boileau, late of the Bombay Sappers and Miners, now Colonel on the Staff R.E. Simla, whose job it is to watch over the welfare of the S & M units in general. This is a bad reproduction. He had not cut himself shaving when I saw him.
   (Excuse pencil but my "replacing" fountain pen has not yet arrived, and that steel one I have been driving would just about have dug my grave for me)
4. This is Lt. Steedman, a senior subaltern, short and round but of exceedingly great toughness, who generally leaves the hockey field in a blood-stained condition.
5. Major Hamilton, the possessor of a long and powerful American car which he - like Jehu - driveth furiously.
6. Major Bulckeley who dashes about a hockey field with monocle and knee pads. The medical authorities were appalled at the numbers of casualties due to gravel rash. Major B. invented the preventative illustrated, but was the sole individual to use them. He is of immense weight and used to play in the Harlequins scrum.
7. Capt. Jeakes: O.C. No 33 Field Troop, who before he got married last year, was shaping exceedingly well for polo. He is now, so they say, growing too heavy. One of the "hearty" types.
8. Lt. (now Capt.) Tucker who believes in getting the most off his stone.
9. Lt. Turner who missed (inset) Capt. Pearce as a butt when that individual left for a course at Chatham.
10. Lt. Ray condemned to push a pen in the Quartermaster's office. A love of baccy and ale.
11. Capt. Anderson, the adjutant. His was most difficult to produce and was in the original unlike. He rides with an amazing length of leather.
12. Capt Sleigh.
13. Lt. Thomson the only owner of a motor bike and an exceedingly raucous one at that.
14. Cassels. The daily explosion.
15. St George.
16. O'Donnell: Assistant Superintendant of the Park. The subtitle is quoted from an old and lewd song beginning:- "Sons of the workshop nustri, sitting on the workshop's wall ……"
17. Richards: Subaltern in the field troop who issues grain and forage to the officers syces(?) on Wednesdays. The old man was our mali (gardener) ot a syke at all, but served as a model.

Wireless seems an obsession these days. Please refrain from technicalities as I can't follow. I am not a jundi-wala in Indian flag wagger. We are ourselves now being treated to a series of thunderstorms, so perhaps it is as well we haven't got a set here.

Let me know - as the Irishman said - if you don't get this - and I'll send another.

Yours ever affec'ly

Harold