Abstract: Photograph of a palm grove on the shore at Salalah, in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. In the foreground on the right are sardines that have been left to dry.This photograph is part of a series of photographs that appear at the end of a preliminary report on the land resources of Dhofar, produced by Brian Joseph Hartley, Director of Agriculture, Aden, and dated 20 March 1948.Physical description: Materials: 1 black and white photographDimensions: 85 x 139mm, on sheet 331 x 202mm
Abstract: The file contains papers, mostly correspondence, relating to defence facilities in the Persian Gulf and on, or near, the Southern Arabian Coast. It includes papers relating to the following:The construction of a naval ammunition store on Jiddah Island (also spelled Jidda Island in the file), near BahrainThe use of Masirah Bay by the Royal Navy as a port of assemblyThe proposed provision of additional facilities for aircraft at Socotra (also spelled Sokotra in the file) and Salalah in Muscat territory, for action against enemy warships (including the question of whether Britain was bound under Article 6 of the 1938 Anglo-Italian Agreement regarding certain areas in the Middle East to notify the Italian Government of the measures to be taken at Sokotra and Salalah)The proposed acquisition of permanent facilities for the Royal Air Force on Masirah Island, and the question of whether this should take place through the purchase or lease of Masirah Island from the Sultan of Muscat, or the exchange of Masirah Island for the Kuria Muria Islands, accompanied by cash compensation for the Sultan of Muscat.The main correspondents are as follows: the India Office; the Admiralty; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Commander in Chief, East Indies; the Political Agent and HM Consul, Muscat; Saiyid Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd], Sultan of Muscat and Oman; the Government of India External Affairs Department; the Foreign Office; the Air Ministry; the Royal Air Force Middle East Headquarters; the Colonial Office; and the Treasury.The file also includes:A copy of a Foreign Office Eastern Department paper, dated 25 April 1938, regarding the Anglo-Italian Agreement regarding certain areas of the Middle EastDraft minutes of meetings between representatives of the India Office, the Foreign Office, the Air Ministry, the Treasury, and the Colonial Office, held on 13 April and 8 September 1944, to discuss the proposed purchase or lease of Masirah IslandA Cabinet joint memorandum by the Air Ministry and the India Office on the proposed acquisition of Masirah Island as a permanent RAF base, dated 29 May 1945, which includes a map showing the location of Masirah Island [IOR/L/PS/12/3928, f 61], and draft versions of the memorandum.In addition, the file includes a copy of an aide memoire in Italian from the Italian Air Ministry to the Air Attaché of the British Embassy, Rome, dated 13 March 1940, of which there is a copy of an English translation.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 483; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of telegrams and letters related to the Muscat Civil Air Agreement. The correspondence includes draft copies of the agreement, which contains the following:The heads of agreement between His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom and the Sultan of Muscat and OmanAir navigation regulations for civil aircraft made by His Highness the Sultan of Muscat and OmanThe general conditions laid down by the Sultan to govern the use of the aerodromes within his territoryThe special rules for the conduct and the security of personnel at Salalah and Masirah.The draft agreement was a subject of further discussions and alternations, particularly concerning the following: the specific number of the Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel stationed at Salalah and Masirah; the rent paid to the Sultan; and the steps to take once the agreement expires.Negotiations regarding the agreement terminated in January 1947 and resumed in March 1947. A final agreement (ff 151-154) was reached and signed on 5 April 1947 between William Rupert Hay, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, and Sa‘id bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd, the Sultan of Muscat and Oman on behalf of the Government of Muscat and Oman.The file also contains correspondence regarding the following: revision of the scale of landing fees for light aircraft; the Egyptian Air navigation regulations; RAF personnel complaining about the Sultan’s guards at Salalah; plans for a Christian cemetery at Salalah, Masirah and Dhofar; the payment of rent to the Sultan’s account with Lloyds Bank; and the charges of authorisation fees by the Sultan of Muscat and Oman.The main correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent, Muscat; the Political Resident, Bahrain and Kuwait; the India Office, Whitehall, London; the Ministry of Civil Aviation, London; the Secretary of State for India, London; British Forces Headquarters, Aden; and the Sultan of Muscat and Oman.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 258; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence in the form of telegrams, and letters related to the air facilities/landing grounds at Salalah, Masirah and Ras Al-Hadd used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the work in progress there.Among the issues discussed in the correspondence are the following: providing workers and artisans for the building of extra accommodation at Ras Al-Hadd and Masirah; ships loading and unloading; workers fleeing to Muscat; the shooting of an Arab man by one of the sentries at Ras Al-Hadd; the recruitment of an Arab guard at Ras Al-Hadd; the hiring of the Shaikh of Dubai’s launch; the payments of Shaikh Said bin Sultan and Shaikh Khamis bin Hilal of Masirah; and Persian Gulf and South Arabian Coast Policy.The volume contains correspondence related to the payment of customs duty on goods and equipment imported into the State of Muscat and Oman in connection with the organisation of the Karachi-Aden Air Route. It also contains reports and nine appendixes (ff 93-111) on the landing grounds at Masirah and Ras Al-Hadd. Those reports and appendixes are prepared by G S Cooper, Civil Engineer, Air Headquarters, Iraq. Among the issues covered in the reports are the following: runways; progress of work; nature of ground; dispersal; water supply; bomb and petrol storage, as well as staff and labour.The volume also includes correspondence with the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) providing statements for lists of goods imported to Masirah for the period between April and December. The volume also contains correspondence regarding communication with the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, and his views on the following: the work in progress at the landing grounds; the RAF’s plan to establish a flying boat base at Raisut (Raysut); digging a well in the RAF camp and the terms of the water agreement, raising the price of labourers, customs’ regulations; and the behaviour of the RAF staff at Salalah.The main correspondents in the volume are the Political Agent, Muscat; the Assistant Political Agent, Salalah; Air Headquarters, Iraq; the Political Resident, Bushire; and J H Campbell, Executive Engineer, Government of India, New Delhi.Workers are referred to in the volume as 'coolies' [a pejorative term used by the British to refer to a non-British labourer].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 200; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.