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28 / 208 (Commonwealth Brigade) Signals Squadron Part 4 - The 'Char Wallah'
The photograph shows our donor Bernie astride the saddle of the local barracks 'Char Wallah' or supplier of hot tea and more. The name char became synonymous with tea in British Colonial days, particularly in India where they employed locals, known as 'Char Wallahs' to make and serve tea to the troops in the barracks. It was paid for by the cup. When the British Army left India in 1947, the faithful Char-Wallahs followed it overseas and set up their mobile shops, to complement the official canteens by providing ‘char’, Horlicks, cocoa, cold soft drinks, and banjos (sandwiches or filled rolls) of all sorts. They were in Malaya during the Emergency, 1948-60; in Cyprus from the mid-1950s; and by the 1970s had even reached the Army camps in Northern Ireland.
One old soldier remembers that the Char Wallah was the soldier's friend. He started work at 5am by serving them with "Gunfire" (the day's first cup of strong sweet tea) and then was available throughout the day (until around 10pm) to be summoned by a single shout of "Char Wallah". Magically, wherever he was within the barracks he would appear immediately. In the larger camps he would also have a helper to keep the hot water supply going.
In this photograph can be seen the tea making equipment loaded on to the tricycle, the basket being especially interesting as it holds the cooking stove, accessed through the hole cut in it. The Char Wallah is of course trying to make himself inconspicuous behind the tree.
To go to Part 5 - The Lineman, click here.
To learn more about 28/208 Squadron in Part 1, click here.