Over much of last year, I managed to complete reading Isaac Tyrrell’s From England to the Antipodes & India, 1846 to 1902, with startling revelations, or 56 years of my life in the Indian Mutiny, Police & jails, printed at the ALV Press, Madras, in 1904. There is an excellent online edition of the same, available at archive.org. The book was heavy going, and the racism inherent in the text can set your teeth on edge. What made it an unusual work was that it focused, especially in its second half, on life in the Central Prison, Madras.
Tyrrell was from Suffolk and enlisted in the army in 1846, joining the 46th Regiment of Foot. He travelled to India, was posted at many places and saw action, including during the first war of Indian independence, 1857. When his regiment was transferred to New Zealand, he opted to resign and joined the police force in Madras. His first assignment was as a Police Inspector, Chintadripet division. The majority of his service, however, was in prisons and penitentiaries. And among the early assignments, he was Jailor Madras Penitentiary. From 1869 till the mid 1870s, he was in charge of what was till a few years ago, the Central Jail, opposite Central Station. From here, he moved to jails in Cannanore, Palayamkottai and retired in 1895 as the superintendent of the Rajahmundry prison.
