Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to visits made by Europeans and Americans to Saudi Arabia, and specifically to Riyadh:A visit made in 1937 by Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, former Political Agent at Kuwait, reportedly in his capacity as a representative of the Kuwait Oil Company. The papers include English translations of press reports of the visit as reported in various Arab newspapers, including the Baghdad newspaper
Al-Kifah, the Cairo newspaper
Al-Mukattam[
Al-Muqattam] and the
Wakalat-ul-Sharq Al-Arabia(ff 3-16).Dickson’s request to the Political Resident to visit the Ruler of Saudi Arabia Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in December 1938, and the Ruler of Kuwait’s [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] strong objection to the visit (ff 18-28).Lord Alington’s [Captain Napier George Henry Sturt] visit to Ibn Saud in April 1939, including notes on his visit, and demi-official letters exchanged between the Political Agent at Kuwait (Major Charles Crawshaw Galloway) and the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle) commenting on Alington’s description of Ibn Saud (ff 27-37).Correspondence dated 1942 between the Political Agent at Kuwait and the United States military relating to unauthorised entry into Saudi Arabia by foreigners (ff 41-42).A note written by the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield), dated 5 April 1943, on wartime conditions in Saudi Arabia, based on reports received by Dr Harold Storm and Gerrit Dirk Van Peursem, both of the American Mission at Bahrain, following their medical tour of Saudi Arabia (f 44).Correspondence dated August 1943 relating to a visit to Ibn Saud by Lieutenant-Colonel Harold B Hoskins, personal envoy of US President Roosevelt (ff 45-54).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 60; 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; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The volume consists of telegrams, letters, and reports relating to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Most of the correspondence is between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Political Residency in Bushire, the Political Agencies in Bahrain and Kuwait, the India Office and the Foreign Office in London, and the Government of India.Much of the volume covers Saudi-US relations, including:US financial assistance to Saudi Arabia;the report (ff 146-147) of a medical tour of the country made by the American Mission to Bahrain;a trip to Kuwait made by Colonel Hoskins, President Roosevelt's Personal Envoy to Ibn Sa'ud in August 1943;the opening of a US Consulate in Dhahran;a secret report (ff 223-224) on 'America and Arabia' from the Political Residency in Bushire.Other subjects covered are:the report (ff 79-99) of a trip to Riyadh made by Tom Hickinbotham, the Political Agent in Kuwait;the wartime supply situation in the region;the financial situation in Saudi Arabia;Ibn Sa'ud's relationship with Sa'ud bin 'Abdullah bin Jiluwi, the Amir of Hasa;telegraphic communications in the country;meteorology, including a report (f 181) on the British Meterological Party's tour of Saudi Arabia;Ibn Sa'ud's request for British military and financial assistance.Also notable within the volume are:Gerald De Gaury's interview with Ibn Sa'ud (ff 19-22);annual summary reports on Saudi Arabia produced by the British Legation in Jeddah for the years 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1944;a letter (152-154C) from Bertram Thomas to the Political Residency in Bushire following his trip across Arabia, detailing anything he thought might be useful for the British Government to know;a report (f 175) on the Saudi Arabian royal family by the British Legation in Jeddah.At the end of the volume (ff 249-264) are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the sequence starts on the first folio and continues through to the inside back cover. The numbering is written in pencil, circled and located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. There are the following irregularities: 1A, 1B, and 1C; 28A and 28B; 154A, 154B, and 154C; 216A and 216B.Condition: the broken spine cover is detached from the volume and enclosed in a plastic sleeve numbered folio 265, at the back of the volume. The plastic sleeve may cause some loss of sharpness to the digital image of the spine cover.There is a second sequence that is inconsistent. It is also written in pencil but is not circled.