1936 - 1937 Mission Diary

The official diary of the Gould mission to Lhasa sent by the British government. Read more about the mission diary.

1st September Tuesday. Lhasa

see photographs below

The following visitors called today.

(1) The Wool-Tax Collector.

(ii) Yutok Depon. Commander of the Bodyguard.

(iii) Driyu. Assistant Accountant General.

(iv) Lord Chamberlain to the Regent and Prime Minister.

Yutok Depon said he had had orders from the Kashag to prepare to carry out artillery practice with live shell to show us how his gunners worked. He said that he was afraid we should laugh at his soldiers as they were not efficient, and did not know what to do even when correct orders were given.

He said that after lie himself had been trained at Quetta, when he came back to Tibet he was put into a civil job, and now he had forgotten most of what he had learnt from the Indian Army.

It was then arranged with him that we should see artillery, machine gun and Lewis gun practice, also some rifle shooting and infantry drill, as soon as a day was fixed with the Kashag. He said it was a great advance getting the Kashag to permit the use of some live shell, and also rifle and machine gun ammunition.

The Mission went to call on the Chikyab Khenpo at the Potala, and on Yabshi Phunkang Kung and left presents on them.

Author: Philip Neame [see handwritten annotations in Diary by Hugh Richardson in MS. Or. Richardson 2, Bodleian Libary, Department of Oriental Collections, University of Oxford]

Page Reference: Pt V p.1