This account of Aden was published
for the benefit of all ranks of 2nd Battalion the
Suffolk Regiment who were serving in the unpleasant
climate of Madras. A posting to Aden that November for
one year was to be the final year of a full 8-year
Indian tour. The information in the first part was
provided by an officer of the KOSB already in Aden,
whilst the remainder was taken more or less verbatim
from a booklet entitled “Three Hours in Aden” – the 3
presumably the time ashore that the passenger on a mail
steamer had, bearing in mind that the P&O contract only
allowed for a 4-hour stay at Aden. I have omitted a
little over a sixth of the original account – that
dealing with the geography of the settlement and
information about flora and
fauna.
“Our Next Station”: from The Suffolk
Gazette, May 1906
To say that the whole Battalion is
going to Aden is incorrect. Headquarters are to be
there, but Aden pukka, that is the well known Crater,
only locates two companies, while two other companies
are stationed at Steamer Point some five miles distant.
Four companies are at Dthala (pronounced Dala) which we
understand is a charming spot and compares favourably
with the best hill stations of India. Round Dthala the
country is very fertile, and thickly wooded [sic!]
and game is plentiful [sic!]. The
ninety miles to this place can be covered only by camel
caravan or march route, and is at all times dangerous to
small parties; only recently the post peon was brutally
murdered and the letters and parcels strewn around his
dead body. A light railway has been under consideration
for some time, but is not likely to be in readiness
during our stay there. The latest rumour is that the two
companies at the Crater are to be moved up to Dthala
during the autumn; if so we shall have headquarters
comprising six companies there, and a detachment of the
other two companies at Steamer Point. Should this
alteration come about, we shall be considerably better
off than we have been for the last seven years. [This
did not come about, and I am not sure that the Suffolks
ever got up to Dthala during their year in Aden.
Because the barracks in Aden had a limited capacity the
battalion had to leave two companies behind in India to
provide the permanent staff of the transit camp at
Dohali.]
There are English
churches both at
the Crater and Steamer Point, and a good soldiers’ home
administered by the Church of England clergy at the
latter place, which is rather a long walk from our
barracks. Gharries [horse-drawn carriages] are
expensive, while a bicycle is practically useless owing
to the roads being hilly and very sandy. Aden itself is
not half so bad as it is painted and compares very
favourably as regards health with most places in India,
an absence of vegetation, the dryness of the soil, and
the purity of the drinking water which for all Europeans
is condensed, constitute sufficient safeguards against a
host of maladies common to tropical countries. Persons
suffering from lung disease find a winter residence
beneficial, although, unless great care is taken,
especially after exercise, the cold, dry northeast wind
that prevails is apt to cause a chill and is
particularly trying for rheumatic or neuralgia subjects.
The ills to be apprehended are malarial, and sun fevers,
dysentery, neuralgia and heatstroke, all of which,
except of course the latter, are, curious to say, more
prevalent in the cold than in the hot season. This is
accounted for by chills after exercise. A quick change
of clothing when warm, avoiding the chilly north-east
wind, and other precautions we are accustomed to here in
Madras are very necessary.
'Church of England Institute for Soldiers' is the second
low building to the left of the Church (immediately
above the rock or whatever in the water), below the
Signal Station at Steamer Point.
The temperature never rises so high
as it does in Madras; the cool season registers 72
degrees in the shade, while the hottest months do not
exceed 102 degrees and here at Madras we sometimes
breathe hard at 110 degrees. Rain is not limited to any
particular time of the year. Slight falls may occur at
any time, but the heaviest take place about March and
April. Aden is considered one of the healthiest Military
Stations in the East, a considerable fall in sick lists
invariably attending the sojourn of corps in the
peninsula, and many Europeans have been known to live
continuously and enjoy good health in the settlement for
many years. Long residence, however, is said to impair
the faculties.
The settlement is exceptionally free
from infectious diseases and epidemics. Enteric is very
rare, but there is a severe form of rock fever prevalent
in the hot weather for which, however, a trip to the sea
provides an unfailing remedy. Only two epidemics are on
record as having visited the settlement, one of cholera
in 1881, and plague from February to July 1900. In the
cool season Aden might be described as a gay place. From
the beginning of November to the end of March the
climate is temperate and permits of outdoor recreation
at all hours of the day. The garrison being of
considerable strength there is always present a large
number of military and naval officers, besides the civil
officials and merchants. The European staff of the
Eastern Telegraph Company contribute a welcome addition
of over thirty members to the local society, and do a
great deal to keep up interest in all kinds of sports.
With the facilities that now exist for performing the
journey between England and Aden, the higher degree of
comfort attainable, and the greater attractions in the
way of amusement and sport, many ladies pass the winter
in the settlements, and find the change a novel and
pleasant experience.
