Deolali
Deolali cantonment, situated about 3½ miles to the south west of Nasik , was established in 1869. It was used as a transit camp for nearly all troops proceeding to and from Bombay and Britain.
In addition to the soldiers assembled after finishing their tour of duty, the troops waiting there also included mentally ill soldiers sent from all over India, who were being repatriated to Britain on medical grounds. In the nineteenth century, troopships sailed on a seasonable basis only in winter and spring, and soldiers posted there after March had to wait until November before voyages recommenced. The slang words doolally or doolali, or doolali-tap, are used to describe someone who is "out of one's mind" or crazy. The second part is a Hindustani word for fever, although in Sanskrit,‘tapa’ means simply heat or torment. Taken literally, it is best translated as ‘camp fever’. These expressions are derived from Deolali, where some soldiers went mad, waiting for extended periods for ships to take them back to Britain.
External links
- History of Deolali Deolali Cantonment Board
- 1870 Photograph: A view of the Deolali cantonment near Nasik
- "The madness at Deolali" by N A Martin Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps. 2006 Jun; 152 (2):94-5 html version original pdf
- Reading between unwritten lines: Australian Army nurses in India, 1916-19 by Ruth Rae Australian War Memorial website. Describes the 34th Welsh General Hospital (34 WGH) at Deolali
- Who Do You Think You Are? - Alan Cumming. Alan’s grandfather was treated during World War 2 at Deolali - well known for housing psychiatric patients. However, this section was removed from his Army service record, perhaps because of the stigma attached to mental illness at the time. ancestry.co.uk
- Reminiscences of Professor R H Girdwood, Royal Army Medical Corps, WW2. He served at Deolali for a short period of time. scotsatwar.org.uk
- The trooping season between India and the United Kingdom lasted for about seven months each year, with the full programme being published some months in advance. The gap was the same each year – to avoid the worst of the heat in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In 1913-1914 there were seven sailings from Bombay. adenairways.com
Historical books online
- "Deolali" Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 11, page 246.
