Fanshawe's Indian Summer

‘You seem to think dearest Mother that I am an evergreen. I am getting on, completed 30 years’ service on the 14th on the month and I am getting rather tired of knocking about the world…’

Lt. Colonel Thomas Basil Fanshawe wrote frequently to his mother, Mrs Katherine Fanshawe. He describes his journeys, daily routines and events. In 1875 at Kamptee in India, he was in command of the 33rd Duke of Wellington’s Regiment.

Fanshawe had served the regiment nearly thirty years, and was typical of many of Queen Victoria’s robust soldiers keeping peace in the vast new Empire. Disliking the unfamiliar climate, the loneliness of his bungalow, he tells how he compensates by invigorating pastimes, routines and regular activities.

These letters capture his emotions, including his difficult decision to retire and follow his anxieties caused by the Cardwell Reforms. Interwoven in the letters are familial everyday gossip and comments on current events on the time.

Basil Fanshawe experienced his own ‘Indian Summer’ after retirement and the biographical notes included reveal how his training and personality made a valuable contribution to the community of Bath. 

Previously published collected letters of Basil Fanshawe are: ‘Sebastopol to Dagenham’ Crimean War letters (2016) and ‘Abyssinia 1868’ (2018). The original letters are held in the Barking & Dagenham Archives & Local Studies Centre at Valence House, Dagenham.