The Doolally Club, Brierfield

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iBase ID

226647

Reference identifier

ENE14072008097

Title

The Doolally Club, Brierfield

Place

Brierfield

General notes

The Brierfield Doolally Club began in the years before the 1939 war.
Saying this to someone suggests that they have gone mad or are very silly.
In the late 19th Century the British army established a military base at Deolali, north of Bombay.
It had an asylum for unstable troops that doubled as a transit camp, where soldiers were stationed at the end of their duty tour while awaiting the boat home.
As ships left Britain only between November and March some had to wait several months.
The long weeks of heat, exhaustion and boredom often resulted in strange and eccentric behavior, which was explained on a man's return to the UK as his having gone through Deoilalli.
Doolally was recorded as a military slang in 1925.
Image donated by Alan Heaton, 2007.

Medium

Photographic print

Colour

Original image size

10.3/14.0cm

Year of image

c1950

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Subjects

Place Names > Brierfield

TRADITIONS > Traditions

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