Here is a unique entry-point into British and Indian social and cultural history in the last and momentous period in the history of the Raj. It is a vivid collection of individual memories of children born between 1914 and 1940 and who spent their childhood and adolescence in British India or the Princely States. It includes details of the roots in India, family connections, friendships with other British and Indian children, journeys, adventures, questions of color and race, and impressions of the Raj. The Second World War forms a natural break--war-time India, Independence and Partition, and the postwar return--how did they feel about the new India, and what had India given them and what did they give to India?

These are the stories of the last generation of children raised in British India, in their own words. Over 280 contributions and 200 photographs from over 120 individuals make this a unique record of an extraordinary time and place. The experience of life in the Raj is now remote from British daily life, and yet only a few generations ago many British children lived this vibrant and colourful life. Here we see the normal trials and thrills of childhood, but in an extraordinary setting, and overlaid in many cases with the hardships of war, separation and then the sadness of leaving India permanently. These stories teem with fascinating details of the domestic, of travel over huge distances, of spectacular celebrations, but also deal with the segregation of the races and an awareness of the privileges of the ruling elite, all told with the authenticity of first-hand experience and the freshness of a child's eye. Mark Tully sets the scene to both volumes, writing with great poignancy of the influence on the "last children" of their upbringing, and the legacy of the Raj: "our parents lived as a separate race [but] they were Anglo-Indians, in that they were touched by India". This is a fascinating book for those who experienced the Raj, or who want to pass on to children or grandchildren a sense of that extraordinary life. It is also an invaluable primary source for scholars interested in the colonial experience, written by those who lived it.

Here is a unique entry-point into British and Indian social and cultural history in the last and momentous period in the history of the Raj. It is a vivid collection of individual memories of children born between 1914 and 1940 and who spent their childhood and adolescence in British India or the Princely States. It includes details of the roots in India, family connections, friendships with other British and Indian children, journeys, adventures, questions of color and race, and impressions of the Raj. The Second World War forms a natural break--war-time India, Independence and Partition, and the postwar return--how did they feel about the new India, and what had India given them and what did they give to India?