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Indian Chai Histories : Alan Lane

MY RETURN TO INDIA AS A CROSSLEY ENGINEER IN ASSAM
On completion of my education at the Technical High School in Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom, I was offered a three year ‘special’ training course at Crossley Brothers, Diesel Engine manufacturers, in Manchester, subject to an interview by Inchcape & Co., 40 St Mary Axe, London, on the understanding that on completion of the period of training, and subject to completing a Higher National Certificate course at the Manchester Institute of Science & Technology,(now UMIST)  I would be expected to proceed to the Crossley Engine agency department at Kilburn & Co., located in Calcutta. Then to move to Assam to be a service engineer overhauling the many Crossley engines installed on the tea estates, and plywood factories.

On completing my three year term at Crossley’s, I was issued instructions by Inchcape in London to proceed to Liverpool, and thence to Bombay via the Anchor Line passenger ship MV Cilicia.

The journey of three weeks was very enjoyable, but I was full of anticipation and excitement in being able to return to India, the country of my birth, which was something that I had been longing to do throughout my childhood. This was quite a common feeling amongst those children of tea planters who had been born in India (mostly in the North Eastern states).

On arrival at Ballard Pier, Bombay, I was met by a very nice Parsi gentleman by the name of Jimmy Engineer, who was the Crossley agent for Western India. Jimmy eased me through Customs within a matter of minutes, and then took me for a tour along Marine Drive of Bombay. First of all we called at the Parsi Gymkhana Club for tiffin, and then later we went to Jimmy’s apartment located on Malabar Hill. Jimmy drove me past the St Elizabeth Nursing Home, the place where I was born, before having tea and sandwiches at Jimmy’s home.

In the early evening, Jimmy took me to the Victoria Terminus in Bombay to board the train to Calcutta. 

The train journey took a couple of days, which I thoroughly enjoyed, as I could watch all the life of India as it went past on my way to Howrah Station. I still remember the marvellous fish curry that I had on the train when we stopped at Jubbulpore.

On arrival at Howrah Station, I was met by a member of staff, of the Crossley agency office and taken to stay at the Great Eastern Hotel, in Old Court House Street. The next morning I was collected by a driver, and introduced to the many people that were in the office located at 2, Fairlie Place. What an imposing building! Within that building, were various companies, such as Mackinnon Mackenzie, Macneill & Barry, Kilburn & Company, and various other subsidiaries of the Inchcape Group.

After three days of getting ‘acclimatised’ I was taken to Dum Dum airport and put on the Indian Airlines DC3 Dakota flight to Mohanbari, via Gauhati, and Jorhat. The flight was rather ‘bumpy’ over the Khasi Hills (it was just before the break of the monsoon), and the plane seemed to be skimming the forest below on the way.
On arrival at Mohanbari, I was met by the resident Crossley Engineer, based at Nagaghoolie. The bungalow there had been the Manager’s bungalow before Nagaghoolie was absorbed into the Maijan garden. The nearest bungalow to this one was the factory bungalow at Greenwood TE. The Greenwood factory bungalow was my father’s first residence when he joined tea in 1938!

The next day, we drove to Powai TE (James Finlay), near to Digboi, to carry out servicing to the Crossley QVD 6 engine there. We travelled each day to Powai from Nagaghoolie, and boy was it hot and humid! The route we took was from Nagahoolie, through Greenwood, then Manohari and past Mohanbari airfield to the AT Road near the James Warren engineering workshops. Then took the road from Lahoal to Duliajan, through the rain forest to Digboi, and on to Powai TE. Quite a heave there and back each day.

Our next call out was to Kharjan TE (Shaw Wallace) where there was a problem with the QVD 5 in that it had somehow bent the main vee belt pulley shaft. Norman removed the shaft and we handed it to Work & Works in Lahoal who did a splendid job of straightening out the shaft again. 

I was with this engineer for only a short while before I was handed over to another Crossley engineer located at Mahakali TE in Tingri district.  I travelled about to various gardens, in the Upper Assam area (Dhoedaam, Deamoolie, Beesakopie, Samdang, Digulturrung, Baghjan, Anandabag, Tengapani, Bazaloni and many others). Oh well, we all have many memories – especially when travelling up and down the Brahmaputra valley, from Sadiya to Nowgong, and all places in between. I can still remember all the rustas and short cuts through different bustees to arrive at one garden or another.

By the time I had completed my six month probationary period, it had reached ‘cold weather’ time, and I was detailed to cover the tea estates in North Western Cachar district. These gardens were Kalline (Macneill & Barry), Craigpark (Kanoi Group), Kallinecherra (Octavius Steele) and Jellalpore (Macneill & Barry). This fitted in nicely as I could spend Christmas with my father who was Manager at Kalline TE. We managed to get a few days off at Christmas as ‘local leave’ and went camping and fishing in the Mikir & Jaintia Hills.

On completion of my work programme in Cachar, I returned to Upper Assam and carried on servicing Crossley engines on the many estates located up and down the valley. The gardens were located from Doom Dooma, Digboi, Tingri, Panitola, Dibrugarh, Moran, Nahorkutia, Sonari,  Nazira, Mariani, Jorhat, Golaghat to Nowgong.

The majority of Crossley engines installed on the tea estates were either the HD/HH horizontal or the QVD/QS vertical. Some were twin cylinder horizontal engines, and the vertical engines ranged from three to eight cylinders.

Sadly, it all had to come to an end in 1968 when Crossley’s in the UK were bought out by the APE Group (Allen Diesels and Belliss & Morcom) . The Crossley engine agency was terminated with Kilburn & Co, as Belliss & Morcom had their own offices in Little Russell Street, Calcutta. They were not interested in employing expatriate engineers, so it meant that all of us expatriates were now redundant and were to depart from India as soon as possible.
It was on the one hand a sad time for me, but on the other I was very happy as I met and married my wife, Jackie, in Margherita. We have been together for 49 years.

My wife and I still have lots of connections with India and we are, as you may well say, ‘Indophiles’.
  Photograph of my mother and I, on the left at the front  sitting on the bungalow steps at Thailu TE in 1945 (pic by Alan's father)


Editor's Note : Indian Chai Histories is a page for your reminiscences, autobiographical notes and biographies. You all welcome here!
Gowri
  

 Editor's note : We received this photograph from Alan Lane in reply to Dhiraj Barman's query in the comments section.
Alan writes, 'I have sent a photograph of the Chairman's names of the SVBITA that I had been given by Ali Zaman. Peter Wallerstein, who was at Khumbirgram TE when I visited that estate in 1964/1965 had been, at one time, the Chairman of the Surma Valley Branch ITA, and was followed on by my father John J Lane.' 

More in the comments section.

19 comments:

  1. Lovely to hear your story!I spent my teens in kallinecherra as my father was the manager there in the early 80's.Brings back so many memories...keep writing!

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  2. Thank you for your comment Kumud - when I overhauled the engine at Kallinecherra TE, the Manager was a Mr Banerjee - I always enjoyed the lunch at his bungalow that had been wonderfully overseen by his wife - a really lovely couple. Unfortunately, as you will know, the burra bungalow was situated behind the factory with its rear verandah facing the jungle clad Mikir Hills. These hills, in the cold weather, were patrolled by a herd of wild elephants that used to cause a lot of problems to the four gardens located there, and also to the subjibari and maliabari at the bungalows and labour lines. All the banana plants at the Kallinecherra bungalow had been completely destroyed and the elephants were real budmashes! - Kind regards - Alan Lane

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  3. Great, Allan! those Crossleys and QVD's were our life line!and the Servive Engineers our saviours!

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  4. It was nice going through your extensive service tours all over. You may have come across a tall, lanky person called Peter Walstine who was an ex-Octavius Steele Manager in Cachar gardens. I had met Peter Walstine at his wife's house (a Khasi lady) in Fire Brigade, Shillong in 1983 for whom I had carried two packets of tea from my Manager. Peter was once my Manager's Manager in Cachar gardens (may be Longai or Pathni TE) of Octavius Steele.

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  5. It was nice going through your extensive service tours all over. You may have come across a tall, lanky person called Peter Walstine who was an ex-Octavius Steele Manager in Cachar gardens. I had met Peter Walstine at his wife's house (a Khasi lady) in Fire Brigade, Shillong in 1983 for whom I had carried two packets of tea from my Manager. Peter was once my Manager's Manager in Cachar gardens (may be Longai or Pathni TE) of Octavius Steele.

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  6. Hi Dhiraj - Yes indeed I do remember Peter Wallerstein, who was at Khumbirgram TE when I visited that estate in 1964/1965. Peter had been, at one time, the Chairman of the Surma Valley Branch ITA, and was followed on by my father John J Lane. I have sent a photograph of the Chairman's names of the SVBITA that I had been given by Ali Zaman, to Gowri, so that you may see the names for yourself. I understand that the board is located at the Silchar Planters (Retreat) Club. Kind regards to you all. - Alan

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  7. Thank you Alan...what a co-incident... quite a few names of Chairman, SVBITA board are familiar as most of them were from Octavius Steel e.g. AP Dutta(72-74) SK Bhasin(74-77) MK Dasgupta(79-80) SK Shivpuri(1982) A Sen(86-87) D Shyam(88-90) D Saha(93-94) RC Sarraf(97-99)

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  8. Alan a truly enlightening story! Thanks for the memories we missed

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  9. Alan must recount I was the last occupant of the Mahakali "chung bungalow"! Lived three years there as a bachelor till it was finally knocked down to build the new Assistants bungalow a plinth one. Today it is occupied by the Garden Doctor. Went there with Nilufer kind curtesy Magors' and the Vats the then Barra shaib family on my retirement from Andrew Yule.
    It was in a very dilapidated state as for the last ten years before I joined Macneil & Barry at Mahakali was told it was always programmed to
    be dismantled and a new bungalow to be built.
    The London Director when he visited "tut tuted" about the condition of the bungalow feeling sorry for me, and tried to cheer me up by saying " you are fortunate young man, you can't go to a worst bungalow than this one!!

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  10. Hello - I am the new editor of www.koi-hai.com - my father Peter Shortt was at Langharjan Tea Estate with my mother Rosemary - does anyone remember them ?

    Please do visit our new Koi-Hai facebook group which is really proving a success!
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/teaplanters/

    Thanks
    Denys

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  11. Hello Allen. My late father Dr DP Misra was the CMO/Surgeon at Labac Central Hospital till 1964 prior to leaving for Panitola Hospital. He was a friend of Mr Peter Wallestien and would regale us with stories about their times together.

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    1. Hello Souri - I recently purchased the book "Burra Bungalows and all that" from INTACH Calcutta Chapter, and note that there are a couple of photographs of the Labac Hospital on pages 92 and 93 of the book. I highly recommend the purchase of the book to you and all ex-planters.
      Labac, as you may well know, was part of the Tarrapore Tea Company (Dewan, Burtoll, Labac, Thailu tea estates) that was at one time owned by McNeill & Barry (Inchcape Group) before it was sold to Birlas "Jay Shree Tea & Industries" - Best regards, Alan

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  12. hello my Grandfather RM Vipan is merntioned on the board did you work with him?

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  13. Hi Alan, what a wonderful recount. You mentioned Dibrugarh. Did you ever go to Dekiajuli?

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  14. Hi Yawar - No, I never visited the North Bank district of Darrang, which is where Dekiajuli is located, plus, as it was a garden under the Balmer Lawrie agency, it was very rare indeed to be requested to visit their gardens. This was because the majority of the Balmer Lawrie factories were powered by Lister-Blackstone engines and not Crossley.

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  15. Hi 'Stuff to know' - No, I did not visit the garden where your grandfather R.M.Vipan was based - Sephinjuri Bheel TE in Cachar. It too was under the Balmer Lawrie agency, and probably had Lister-Blackstone engines driving the factory.

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  16. Alan - you have a great memory and able to remember names and dates so clearly.

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  17. Alan - My father Alexander (Alec) Taylor was manager of Longai TE and I believe you must have met him. I spent the first 8 years of my life at Longai before being banished to school in England. My husband and I returned to the garden some years ago after a great many years and found had changed. It was wonderful.

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