Before he was the best allied general of WW 2, Bill Slim wrote magazine articles between the wars to supplement his meagre military pay. Those articles have been edited and republished recently-for the time being only in ebook editions available through Amazon. The first of the newly-published books, "The General Wondered Why…," contains 17 stories about the Indian Army. The second, "The English Colonel," has 11 stories about India without much mention of the Army, and the third, "A Close Shave," has 17 stories which the editor, Robert Lyman of The War Room website, says have no Indian or military dimension albeit the subtitle of all three books is "Tales of the British Army and Empire."
Anyway, all three are available as kindle books through Amazon, and are relatively cheap at about $4 USD per. I'm part way through the first book, and Slim's writing style in its humor and simplicity reminds me a bit of George McDonald Fraser in "Quartered Safe Out Here," (or maybe John Masters in his memoirs) which is somewhat fitting as Slim is mentioned most favorably in Fraser's autobiography.
In the event you hesitate to buy a pig in a poke, as you should because you never know what's in the bag until you open it, 2 of the stories are available on Lyman's website. The first one I read, "Providing ‘Aid to the Civil Power' in Colonial India," is available here:
link
If nothing else, Slim's articles give a bit on insight into the thinking and culture of the British colonial military and the Indian Army in the early 20th century.
goes to sea with the Terrain Mat.
