Abstract: The file comprises maps and notes prepared in anticipation of the stopping off at Bahrain of Indian Army regiments that were part of Indian Expeditionary Force D, which travelled from Bombay to Basra in October 1914, and went on to fight in the Mesopotamian campaign of the First World War. The regiments stopped at Bahrain between 23 and 30 October 1914. However, in spite of the preparations made, no troops or livestock left the Expeditionary Force ships which moored off the Bahrain coast.The file contains:three hand drawn maps (one original and two tracings) showing the proposed sites for camps, and planned routes for infantry and animals from the selected disembarkation points in Manama, to the camps (ff 4-5, ff 6-8, ff 9-11);a carbon-copied sketch map of a camp, located one mile south of Manama, with allocated plots within the camp for different regiments, many of which were part of the 6th (Poona) Division (f 3);a general note entitled ‘camping grounds in Bahrain Island’ (f 2);disembarkation notes, identifying the customs jetty, Political Agency jetty, and the Gray Paul & Company jetty, as the three points where disembarkation could take place (ff 12-13);a note on the availability of drinking water in Bahrain, including surface wells, deep wells, sea springs and island springs (ff 14-15);further notes on the two possible camping grounds identified (ff 16-18);a note on supplies, with brief details of fuel and fodder (f 19);notes for the ADMS [Assistant Director of Medical Services] on the climate and sanitary situation at Bahrain (f 20);duties of various people who would be involved in the disembarkation and supply of provisions (f 21).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 22; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Distinctive Features:Shows Gazabia and Zulma Bad villages and surrounding area
with landing ground outlined in red. Properties labelled for reference with owners'
names and measurements reported.Physical description: Materials:Pen and ink with crayon on tracing clothDimensions:712 x 431 mm
Abstract: Distinctive Features:A tracing of a plan showing in red the extent of land at Qadhibia, south of Manama, acquired by the British Government for the purposes of a naval base. Area outlined and hatched red shows land leased to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Private properties labelled with owners’ names given.Top left-hand corner: ‘Registration No. 407/1352’ and ‘Tapu No. 511/1352’.Upper right: ‘DRG. No. BAH 129’.Physical description: Materials:Pen and ink with crayon on tracing paperDimensions:402 x 331 mm
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to American influence and activities in the Persian Gulf. The correspondence is mostly between the Political Agency at Bahrain, the Political Residency at Bushire (later at Bahrain), and the India Office.The file opens with a copy (folio 3) of correspondence on the subject of American influence in Saudi Arabia, between the British Ministry at Jeddah and the Foreign Office, dated 4-10 May 1944.The file contains a report, dated 1 March 1945 (folios 5-9) by Tim Hickinbotham, Political Agent at Bahrain, on American activities in the fields of politics, commerce, aviation, and wireless and telegraphic communications.The file also contains a letter (folio 13) from the Persian Gulf Residency, Bahrain, to Doctor W H F Storm of the American Mission Hospital in Manama, dated 12 November 1949, regarding medical work in the Hadhramaut region of Yemen.At the back of the file (folio 14) are internal office notes.On the front cover of the file there is reference to 'File 18/8 and 1 A/20'. These files are believed lost or destroyed.Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-14; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence between the British Political Agent at Bahrain and the British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, as well as J.W. Storrs, Sub-Divisional Engineer at Bushire, Sheikh ‘Īsā bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah, Sheikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsā Āl Khalīfah, Yūsuf Kanoo, Seth Rao Sahib Tirathdas Maharaj, Director of Bahrain Customs, and various merchants, shipping agents and contractors.This correspondence concerns the proposal to build a pier and godwons (warehouses) at Manama, Bahrain. Included within the correspondence are details concerning shipping, the loading and unloading of cargo, and wharfage fees at Bahrain; estimates and expenses for building materials; surveys of the proposed location for the pier; and fund-raising for the project among Bahraini merchants.Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second uncircled foliation sequence commencing on f. 2 is also present.
Abstract: The file comprises a letter to the Political Agent at Bahrain outlining steps that could be taken to improve the cleanliness and sanitation of Muharraq and Manama, including employing street cleaners, naming streets and numbering the houses, improving the quality of street lights, and developing drainage systems.Also included is correspondence between Shaikh Abdullah bin Isa Al Khalifah [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah] and the Political Agent at Bahrain regarding an individual whose house was being used to dump waste following the collapse of its southern wall.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 7; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-6; these numbers are written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence relating to the establishment of, and raising of funds for the construction of, an Anglican church in Manama, Bahrain. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior); the Bishop of Jerusalem (the Right Reverend Weston Henry Stewart); the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave); the Assistant Political Agent at Bahrain (Captain Hugh Dunstan Rance).Subjects covered in the correspondence include:negotiation with representatives of, and consent from other Christian institutions in Bahrain, namely the Bahrain Petroleum Company’s church at Awali, and the American Mission church in Manama;appointment of a chair to the Bahrain appeal committee;contributions and fundraising activities towards the construction of the church, with reference made to the expensive nature of construction in Bahrain, as a result of the war;visits to Bahrain by the Bishop of Jerusalem in March 1945 and January 1946;postponement of construction of the church in the immediate post-war period, due to continued prohibitively high material and labour costs;recruitment of a chaplain, including discussion of salary and requirements (accommodation, car);discussion of the nature and architectural style of any church building that might be built.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 59; 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 comprises: Eid (referred to as Id throughout) greetings sent during Id Adh-Dhuha [Eid-al-Adha] and Id Al Fitr [Eid-al-Fitr] by the Bahrain Political Agent (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch) to the various rulers in the Persian Gulf, and letters in return giving thanks and acknowledging receipt of these greetings; arrangements for visits made by the Political Agent to members of the Bahrain ruling family and prominent Bahrain merchants during Eid; regulations concerning restrictions on activities such as eating, smoking and the playing of music during Ramadan, announced by the Government of Bahrain and Manama Municipality. The file’s correspondence covers the period 12 Sha’ban 1352 to 17 Dhu Al-Hijja 1354, according to the Islamic (Hijri) calendar.Aside from the Bahrain Political Agent, the file’s principal correspondents include: the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, and other members of the Āl Khalīfah family, including Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah and Shaikh Salmān bin Ḥamad Āl Khalīfah; the Ruler of Qatar, Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī; the Amir of Hassa [al-Aḥsā’] Shaikh Saud bin ‘Abdullāh bin Jalawī Āl Sa‘ūd; the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ; the Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī.Included in the file is a set of instructions detailing the Bahrain Political Agent’s actions and calls for Eid (ff 258-259), and two greetings postcards sent by the Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī (ff 267-268).Correspondence in the file is chiefly in Arabic, with some accompanying English translations.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 324; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-279 and ff 280-300; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to purchases for and the maintenance of the Bahrain Political Agency gardens. The file’s correspondents include: the Political Agent (Major Cyril Charles Johnson Barrett; Captain Charles Geoffrey Prior; Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch); representatives of the Manama Municipality (writing in Arabic); horticultural suppliers, including Pestonjee P Pocha & Sons of Poona, Bliss & Company of Karachi, and Imperial Chemical Industries (India) Limited; Nora Loch (née Dalyell), wife of the Political Agent Percy Gordon Loch.Papers relating to purchases made for a range of supplies (including flower and vegetable seeds, bulbs, plants, garden implements, manure, artificial fertilizer, labour) include advertisements, order forms, bills, receipts, and price lists, and correspondence confirming arrangements for the delivery of items to Bahrain. Papers relating to the maintenance of the garden include correspondence relating to the recruitment of a gardener from India, water and electricity supply, and damage to a garden water tank.Other items in the file include:a price list of flower and vegetable seeds supplied by Sutton & Sons and imported by Bliss & Company of Karachi, received at the Political Agency in September 1930 (ff 58-59);an illustrated brochure of Christmas gifts for gardens, produced by Pestonjee P Pocha & Sons, received at the Political Agency in November 1930 (ff 73-80);a brochure advertising new year offers for roses, cannas, chrysanthemums, fruit trees and other plants, produced by Pestonjee P Pocha & sons (ff 115-120);a price list of Arthur Yates & Company’s Australian flower and vegetable seeds for 1935/1936, supplied by Bliss & Company (f 172);correspondence dated 1936/1937 between Nora Loch and the curator at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, Roland Edgar Cooper, concerning seeds and plants for the Agency Garden (ff 226-229, f 232);a list of cuttings and seeds planted in the Political Agency garden. The list is divided into sources (the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, local sources, the House of the Binns in Scotland, and Egypt), and arranged alphabetically by each plant’s Latin name, with date (presumably the planting date) and notes on its location (ff 183-225);garden diary entries for the period 16 October 1935 to 6 January 1936 (ff 238-239) and flower lists for the period 13 October 1936 to 21 March 1937 (ff 242-245). These lists are interspersed amongst correspondence sent by Nora Loch, and are likely to have been compiled by her.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 316; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 4-301, and ff 302-311; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file consists of correspondence relating to electric lighting in Manama, Bahrain. The papers cover the requirements for extension of the power network, appointments within the state Electricity Department, and notice of service closures. The correspondence is between the Political Agency in Bahrain, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave), State Engineer (Hubert Poyntz-Gaynor Leigh), and some customers and employees of the Electricity Department.Folios 18-19 are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 40; 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 consists of correspondence between the Political Agency in Bahrain, the Government of India (Foreign and Political Department), the Government of Bombay (Public Works Department), Callender's Cable and Construction Company Limited, and various departments of the Government of Bahrain. The papers relate to the electrification of the towns of Manama and Muharraq. Several matters are covered, including:the deputation of WL Stevenson, consultant engineer in Bombay, to Bahrain to report on the feasibility of the project (folios 27-29);the cost of the project;issues over the location of the power station;whether the project should be a public or a private concern;the plan to extend power to Muharraq in 1931;maintenance and improvement of the system;emergency and routine shut downs.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 157; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 10-153; these numbers are written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to the planning and construction of a sea road between Manama and Muharraq Island, Bahrain. The correspondence is between the following:the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (usually Charles Dalrymple Belgrave);the Political Agent, Bahrain;the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf;the Government of Bombay, Public Works Department;the Government of India, Central Public Works and Central Revenues Departments;the India Office;members of the ruling Al Khalifah family of Bahrain;a number of construction and engineering companies.The papers cover the period from when Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah expresses interest in the idea of a connecting road, in 1929, to the final completion and naming of the bridge in 1941, during which time the project went into abeyance several times. The documents pertain to the discussions and administration connected to the planning, contracting, delivery, construction and financing of the bridge.Folios 217-236 are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 237; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.An additional foliation sequence is present between ff 2-216; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.