Aeon at 14:10, 1 January 2026

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{{Short description|British Army transit camp in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name = Deolali transit camp
| nearest_town = [[Deolali]], [[Maharashtra]]
| country = India
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| type = Transit camp, army depot
| coordinates = {{Coord|19|53|28|N|73|49|27|E|display=inline,title}}
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| ownership = India
| operator = Indian Army
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| built = 1861
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| builder = British Army
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'''Deolali transit camp''' was a British Army [[Military camp|transit camp]] in [[Maharashtra]], India. Established in 1861, the camp remained in use throughout the time of the [[British Raj]]. It served to house soldiers newly arrived in the country and those awaiting ships to take them to Britain. It also housed a military prison and served as a [[Prisoner-of-war camp|prisoner of war camp]] during the [[World War I|First]] and [[World War II|Second World Wars]]. Conditions in the camp were said to be poor especially for those stationed there for long periods and the term "[[wikt:doolally|doolally]]" became associated with mental illness. The camp was transferred to the [[Indian Army#History|Indian Army]] following the [[independence of India]].

== Transit camp ==
The camp was located near [[Deolali]], [[Maharashtra]], around {{convert|100|mi}} north-east of [[Mumbai]].<ref name=pow/> The camp is situated near a prominent conical hill and the Bahula Fort.<ref name=jacob/> The British camp was established in 1861 as the Deolali [[Cantonment]] and was soon used as a transit camp, particularly for soldiers awaiting return to Britain.<ref name=pow/><ref name=mad/> It was also used for training and acclimatisation for soldiers newly arrived in British India. New drafts would stay at the camp for up to several weeks carrying out route marches and close order drill to get used to the hotter climate.<ref name=mad/> The camp is described as one of India's [[hill station]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rao |first1=S. Mohan |title=Reflections |date=2018 |publisher=Notion Press |isbn=9781642496291 |page=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=71lQDwAAQBAJ |accessdate=20 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

The camp was connected to the port at Mumbai by means of a railway, which was used for troop transport.<ref name=mad/> During the [[First World War]] it was used as a hospital for prisoners of war held in other camps in India, including Turks taken prisoner on the [[Mesopotamian campaign]] and German soldiers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ariotti |first1=Kate |last2=Bennett |first2=James E. |title=Australians and the First World War: Local-Global Connections and Contexts |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319515205 |page=71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_wwDwAAQBAJ |accessdate=20 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Garga |first1=B. D. |title=Art Of Cinema |date=2005 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=9788184754315 |page=75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ITAnAgAAQBAJ |accessdate=20 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> The camp had a military prison that was used for soldiers of the British Army and, during the [[Second World War]], for captured Indian nationalists who had served in the Japanese-founded [[Indian National Army]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Indian Review |date=1981 |page=51 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rie2AAAAIAAJ |accessdate=20 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> During the Second World War the camp also boasted cinemas, swimming pools, amusement parks and restaurants for the troops.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Spectator |date=1965 |publisher=F.C. Westley |page=475 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uGIHAQAAIAAJ |accessdate=20 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

The complex was transferred to the Indian Army after Indian Independence in 1947 and was used as an artillery school and depot for at least 10 artillery and service corps units. It also hosted an army records office and an aerial observation squadron.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sainik Samachar: The Pictorial Weekly of the Armed Forces |date=1991 |publisher=Director of Public Relations, Ministry of Defence |pages=5–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OHnfAAAAMAAJ |accessdate=20 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> During the period leading up to independence the camp was known as the "Homeward Bound Trooping Depot" and was used to return large numbers of British troops and their families back home as British forces withdrew from the country.<ref name=jacob>{{cite book |last1=Jacob |first1=Lt Gen J. F. R. |title=An Odyssey in War and Peace |date=2012 |publisher=Roli Books Private Limited |isbn=9788174369338 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99BbBAAAQBAJ |accessdate=20 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

The camp is the setting for the 1970s BBC comedy series ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=It Ain't Half Hot Mum |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/itainthalfhotmum/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719044545/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/itainthalfhotmum/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 July 2012 |website=BBC |accessdate=20 January 2019 |language=en-gb}}</ref>

== Doolally ==
The soldiers' name for the camp, "Doolally", became a slang term associated with mental illness.<ref name=pow/><ref name=mad/> The term is a contraction of the original form "Doolally tap", where the latter part is derived from "tapa" ("fever" in [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] and "heat" or "torment" in [[Sanskrit]]).<ref name=mad/> The whole phrase is perhaps best translated as "[[Malaria#War|camp fever]]".<ref name=mad/> The term was in use from the late 19th century and the contracted form was dominant by the [[First World War]].<ref name=mad>{{Cite journal | pages = 94–95 | year = 2006 | pmid = 17175772| url = https://jramc.bmj.com/content/152/2/94 | issue = 2 | volume = 152 | title = The madness at Deolali | journal = Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps | last1 = Martin | first1 = N. | doi=10.1136/jramc-152-02-05| s2cid = 5449940 | url-access = subscription }}</ref>

It was said that soldiers at the camp, who often had a long wait for a [[troop ship]] back home, broke down from the heat of the long Indian summers. The ships only sailed between November and March so some men had to wait at the camp for months.<ref name=pow>{{Cite journal | issue = 2 | volume = 21 | pages = 163–183 | year = 2010 | pmid = 20695409 | journal = 20th Century British History | title = British prisoners-of-war: from resilience to psychological vulnerability: reality or perception | last1 = Jones | doi = 10.1093/tcbh/hwp056 | last2 = Wessely | first1 = E. | first2 = S.| url = https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/british-prisonersofwar-from-resilience-to-psychological-vulnerability-reality-or-perception(014b5c8e-d5c1-4c85-a2c7-340791f2a499).html }}</ref> Having been disarmed and allocated only light duties there was little to occupy the men. The camp was often full by the end of summer with soldiers awaiting troop ships; new arrivals in this period often had to sleep on the floor owing to a lack of beds and suffered from sand flea bites. Men were allowed to spend time in the nearby city of [[Nasik]] which offered numerous gin bars and brothels; as such [[venereal disease]] was common. Malaria, which can affect the brain, was also common in the Deolali area and remained a major issue for the British Army right through the [[Second World War]] despite the development of [[antimalarials|anti-malarial drugs]]. Suicides in the camp were not uncommon. Despite its reputation the Deolali area actually has a milder climate than nearby Mumbai or Pune, though it was known to be incredibly dusty in the period leading up to the monsoon.<ref name=mad/>

The camp had a sanatorium (military hospital) but, despite its reputation, there was never a dedicated psychiatric hospital there. Cases of mental illness were instead confined to the military prison or sent to dedicated hospitals elsewhere in the country.<ref name=mad/>

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deolali Transit Camp}}
[[Category:Military of British India]]
[[Category:Installations of the British Army]]
[[Category:Military psychiatry]]
[[Category:Military installations established in 1861]]

Deolali transit camp - Revision history

Aeon at 14:10, 1 January 2026