Letter to Queen Elizabeth II from Mrs Soffe in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, 13 August 1949, Catalogue ref: DO 35/4191.
The Delhi Durbar of 1911 was a coronation ceremony held in Delhi on 12 December 1911 to mark the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India.
N.C.O: An officer who does not hold a commission. He will have entered the ranks and earned his position through promotion, On the other hand, commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy or after some kind of training.
Mounted Orderly: A commissioned office assigned to an officer as a person man servant. In this case a member of the cavalry.
The period after the Second World War saw the rise of mass movements across India, reflecting the growing demand for independence.
Transcript
COPY.
D/13/8/49.
To: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth .
Queen of Great Britain,
Buckingham Palace
LONDON
Dear Madam,
I have taken the opportunity of placing my grievance before Your Majesty and I trust Your Majesty will have some compassion on me and my family. I have seven little ones, during the riots of 1945 and 1947 we lost our home and property, and the little money we possessed was looted from us and left us stranded. My husband who has been since doing odd jobs to keep the family going has been given a month’s notice. As there are no jobs in this country for us Europeans and Anglo-Indians since the Indian Government has taken over our kind is treated worse than Indian and we are also told to quit India as there is no place for us Europeans and Anglo-Indians in this country. Our daughters are abused and insulted by these Indians when seen on the streets. We have no other means and I will be going to hospital for my confinement in September. I haven’t the means to get the few necessary things that are required for and needed in a confinement such as clothes ad medicines etc. I trust Your Majesty will have some compassion on me and help me with fifty pounds which will also enable me to make my little ones some clothes and bedding etc. which they have been in great need of. I wish to also bring to Your Majesty’s notice that my husband who is an Ex-N.C.O. had the pleasure of being a Mounted Orderly for His Majesty the late King George V when he came to India for the Delhi Durbar in 1911 and 12. I shall be ever so thankful and grateful and so will my little ones pray and may God bless the Royal Family.
I beg to remain Your Majesty’s
Most Humble Servant
Signed Mrs M. Soffe.
Block No. 249
SAHARANPUR, U.P.
Read the Background Section on Maltese and Balkan refugees in Coimbatore for more historical context.
- Why has Mrs Soffe written to Queen Elizabeth II?
- What can we find out about from the letter about:
(a) Her personal situation
(b) The political situation in India
(c) The British Empire - Why is the address for the sender of this letter given as ‘Block no. 249’?
- Why is this letter part of the Dominions Office collection?
- Find out more about the Partition of Indian in 1947 for further context for this source.