I was born at No - The MAN & Other Families

30amateur musical Society conducted by Wm. Bigge, judge of the small cause Court. Hewas a brother of Sir Arthur Bigge who later became Lord Stamfordham. We had quite afew good amateur musicians both vocal and instrumental, among them members of theGerman community who were musicians almost to a man.My next move was again to Akyab where I was sent to relieve our Manager there whohad to go on sick-leave. Akyab is a very pretty place at the mouth of the Arakan River,but it is a rather unhealthy place and most Europeans stationed there contract a fevercalled Arakan fever. During the three months I was there I escaped the fever but had anattack of cholera, a very unpleasant experience.There were only about a dozen Europeans in Akyab, mostly bachelors. We all met at theclub in the afternoons and evenings and played whist and billiards sometimes far into thenight. It was a tradition on Akyab that a glass of gin and bitters taken early in themorning would ward off fever, so most of the men on their way down to office called inat the Club for a glass. Personally I never did, so and I don't claim any virtue for notdoing so; I only refrained because I don't like the taste of gin and bitters.While at Akyab I instituted a boat club. I found under my house an old four-oared boatthat had evidently not been used for years. I had it repaired and painted and set up in theBlack-water creek. We formed a boat club and ordered a four-oared racing boat withsliding seats from Rangoon, and with these two boats we used to have "bumping"handicap races nearly every evening.Akyab was a very dull place after Rangoon and I was very glad when the man I wasrelieving returned from sick-leave and I returned to Rangoon. On the voyage back weran into a cyclone and had a very bad time. On arrival at Rangoon we heard that thecyclone had struck Akyab badly, wrecking the oyster Reef lighthouse at the mouth of theriver and blowing down many houses.After a few months in Rangoon I got another transfer, this time to Chittagong in Bengal,to take up the management there in relief of the Manager (Gardiner) who was ill andgoing on sick-leave. Chittagong was a very curious place. It was situated on theChittagong river and the European residential part was a series of little hills like giganticant-hills and each residence was built on the top of a hill, so all the stables had to be builtat the foot of the hills and there was no house where you could drive up to the door.