Indian soldiers however were subjected to a more lax set of rules. They were confined to a curfew and a few other conditions. White Dominion soldiers were never subject to any restrictions in any of the theatres in which they served.
Many believed that the white working class women were responsible for the outbreak of VD. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in The Times about "these harpies carry off lonely soldiers to their rooms, make them drunk often with the vile liquor which they keep there, and finally inoculate them, as likely as not, with one or other of those diseases which, thanks to the agitation of well-meaning fools, have had free trade granted to them amongst us." Opinions such as Arthur Conan Doyle's were typically being expressed by British officials blaming women for the pit falls of their troops. A fear of losing imperial control is what harboured opinions and fears like Doyle's. Yes, Britain was concerned with the well being of their troops but the underlying concern was what the colonials would bring back to their respective colonies. The British believed that " if white women were seen as "available" for colonials use, then a major prop of imperial power would be swept away." Britain was concerned with the dishonour they would suffer by having their white women sleeping around with men they hardly deemed as human.
Women were somewhat to blame for their behaviour. They seemed to be quite excitable in the presence of men of color. Sir Walter Lawrence, wartime commissioner recalled "the perverted behaviour of English women" when Indian troops attended the coronation. Their fears primarily lay on white women's relations with black men more often than on the association with white men with black women. "The color line ran in only one direction. ".
This article was found to be quite amusing. Rather than being disgusted and ashamed of the behaviour of my ancestors I am surprisingly proud.
