The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 122
122 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN engines developed trouble and we had to go back to Marseilles. The trouble was set right within an hour and we left again, and after a stop at Accachon near Bordeaux for re-fuelling, we made Southampton before dark. We were driven to the railroad station and waited for the train. In the meantime it became dark, and there was a complete blackout. A complete blackout can be a very bewildering experience. Trains crept in like ghosts in the dark with no lights inside. To find a seat, somebody had to help you with a torch, and if no torch was available, you had to stumble over people's knees and tread over their toes and feet. As it was, my secretary had to shift for himself, perhaps he found a seat in one compartment, and I found standing room in another. We arrived at Waterloo station and were received by Colonel Crankshaw on behalf of the Hospitality Department, and were taken in a car to Grosvenor House, where accommodations had been arranged for us. Outside, as I have said, it was absolute and complete darkness. The moment we got through the revolving doors of the Hotel, we found the inside was brilliantly lit and, of course, the contrast was very striking. We were very comfortably lodged and though we had arrived late - it was 11 o'clock - we were served a sumptuous meal. At that time there appeared to be no shortages. The following evening I attempted to walk a very short distance in the blackout and found that I could not manage it at all; I had to beat a very hasty retreat. Next morning, we discovered that Casey and his party had not yet arrived. They got to Paris, of course, ahead of us; before we left Marseilles, they were already in Paris. But there they had to stop for the day, for they could cross only by night, and that night nothing was available, so they had to wait for another night in Paris. They arrived in London two days after us but just in time for the Prime Minister's luncheon to the delegates. The Prime Minister at that time was Chamberlain; Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty. Among other things, we were invited to the Admiralty one night after dinner, when Churchill briefed us, took us down to the map room and the security room, and explained all the arrangements, holding forth as eloquently as he used to. Someone of our number asked him, "Mr. Churchill, does it not strike you that you are doing the same job today as you were doing 25