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49. ‘File 13/2 VIII Air facilities in Arab shaikhdoms’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file’s contents concern the implementation of civil air agreements, and the use of air facilities, at Britain’s aerodromes along the Arab coast (chiefly Bahrain (Muharraq), but also at Sharjah, Kuwait, and Qatar) in the period directly following the Second World War. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay), and incumbents of the post of Political Agent at Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Crawshaw Galloway, Captain Hugh Dunstan Rance, and Cornelius James Pelly).Subjects in the file include:Renegotiations between British Government officials (Persian Gulf, Foreign Office, Air Ministry) over the terms of the various air navigation regulations held with the various rulers of the Arab coast of the Gulf;Questions of the continued use of the aerodrome at Sharjah by the Royal Air Force [RAF], and the maintenance of British Overseas Airways Corporation [BOAC] staff and radio facilities at Sharjah;Renewal of the agreement between the British Government and Sheikh of Dubai over air facilities at Dubai;Requests from foreign airlines (France Air, Quantas, Czecho-Slovak Air) to fly over or land at aerodromes administered by the British in the Gulf;Hay’s concern of the lack of regulation of civil aviation in the Gulf, in light of the increasing number of flights and operators (both national and local) operating in the region, and in increasing tendency for foreign aircraft to not seek prior permission to land at Bahrain;Discussion in 1949 of the concept of ‘pre-packed airports’ being marketed by the likes of Westinghouse Corporation in the United States, with enquiries into their viability for the Gulf, and a lack of interest on the part of British officials at Bahrain (f 193) and Qatar (f 190);The installation of new light and radio facilities at Muharraq aerodrome in late 1950, in response to two fatal crashes by Air France aeroplanes that occurred in June 1950.Items of particular note in the file include:A letter from the Secretary of State for India, dated 26 June 1947, detailing the RAF’s long-term commitment at Sharjah, with a list of permanent buildings required at the Sharjah aerodrome (ff 69-71);A schedule of fees payable to the Sheikh of Bahrain for 1947, showing flights made into and out of Bahrain (f 63);A list of foreign aircraft landing at Bahrain during January to March 1949 (f 150);Notes of a meeting held at the Foreign Office on 25 September 1950, intended to address concerns over increasing local competition on air routes in the Gulf (ff 234-244).Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the cover and terminates at the last folio; 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 between ff 2-259; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
50. ‘File 13/5 Assistance to Imperial Airways & Accidents to their Craft’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence on a number of different, air-related matters, and is not restricted to air accidents suffered by Imperial Airways aircraft. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Political Agent in Bahrain, and the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast.The subjects covered by the file are:The emergency landing in March 1933 of an Imperial Airways ‘HANNO’ [Handley Page] aircraft at Jubail, in Ibn Saud’s [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] territory, the subsequent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the emergency landing, and discussion amongst British officials over whether a gift should be given to the Amir of Jubail, whose subjects lent assistance to the aircraft’s pilot (ff 4-46);Reports of a missing plane in the Gulf in March 1940 (ff 47-52);In July 1940, the theft of copper panels from the wireless station at the aerodrome in Sharjah, leading to the aerodrome’s inability to provide radio bearings to incoming aircraft. Further correspondence documents the investigation into the theft, and the apprehension of the culprits (ff 53-63);Through the remainder of the file, correspondence from 1941 to 1943 relating to the development of air facilities in a number of locations, as part of the Aden to Karachi air route. This correspondence includes: extensive arrangements for the temporary charter by the British Overseas Airways Corporation of the Sheikh of Dubai’s launch, to be used at Ras al Hadd; work at Masirah (island) and the sourcing of a launch to enable operations to proceed between the mainland and the island; unrest amongst the workers at Salalah.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside 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 present in parallel between ff 2-171; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled.
51. ‘File 13/7 II Civil Aerodromes and Civil Air Agreement–Bahrain’
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume is a continuation of ‘File 13/7 Civil Air Agreement’ (IOR/R/15/2/515), and contains correspondence relating to the air agreements and navigation regulations in place at the aerodromes on the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf, and chiefly at Muharraq in Bahrain. The principal correspondents in the file are Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle, the Political Agent at Bahrain, Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, and the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, Charles Dalrymple Belgrave.The subjects covered by the volume are:The issue of certificates of ‘special authorisation’ (of which there are examples at ff 22-24) for Imperial Airways aircraft at Muharraq;Discussion between British officials in the Gulf, and at the India Office and Air Ministry in London, on the best approach to obtain exemption from fuel duty for Imperial Airways aircraft;Punishment for the unauthorised landing of foreign aircraft at aerodromes in Kuwait, Bahrain and Muscat, including the question of fines and practicality of imposing prison sentence (draft regulations on ff 86, 120-122);The question of policing, and the financing of policing, at Muharraq aerodrome, in the light of increased numbers of aircraft landing each week;An outbreak of smallpox at Sharjah, addressing matters including: quarantine at the Sharjah aerodrome, the wider implications of diseases and air travel, a report on the matter produced by the Office of International d’Hygiene Publique, the situation in relation to the International Sanitary Convention, and questions over whether there is a lack of an epidemiological information service in the Gulf region.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 7-264; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
52. ‘File 13/28 Sharjah air agreement (aerodrome facilities at Sharjah)’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the renegotiation of an air agreement with the Sheikh of Sharjah. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay, the Political Agent at Bahrain, Cornelius James Pelly, and the British Agent (sometimes referred to as the Political Officer) at Sharjah, Patrick Desmond Stobart.The correspondence documents the protracted negotiations and arrangements for a renewal of the existing Sharjah air agreement, required to replace the existing agreement, which was due to expire on 22 July 1948, and in response to the changing circumstances and requirements at Sharjah, in relation to its civilian and military use in the post-war period. Topics covered by the file include: discussion over the maintenance or disposal of camps and buildings at Sharjah aerodrome; the administration and operation of wireless communications at Bahrain, including their transfer from British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) to International Aeradio Limited; the departure around August 1949 of the Sheikh of Sharjah, Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī, to Bombay for medical attention, and the transfer of his responsibilities in negotiating the air agreement to his brother, Sheikh Muḥammad bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī; negotiations for the raising of salaries of the aerodrome guards, and disagreement over the payment of duty on aviation fuel at Sharjah; Hay’s recommendation to the Foreign Office in mid-1950, that back payments for the rent of the land for the aerodrome, going back to August 1945, be transferred to Sharjah, partly to enable Sheikh Sultan to pay his medical bills in Bombay, and for Sheikh Muḥammad to pay his tribesmen (the Beni Qitab) their annual allowance; urgent proposals in June 1950 for the extension of the runway at Sharjah by the Royal Air Force.The file contains several drafts of a new air agreement for Sharjah (ff 9-12, 69-73, 81-86), and maps showing the aerodrome site (ff 3, 4), originally enclosed with a letter from the Residency to Pelly, 7 May 1949 (f 104), and which can be read in conjunction with a number list of the aerodrome buildings (ff 15-16).Correspondence on the Sharjah civil air agreement continues in ‘File 13/3 Sharjah Civil Air Agreement’ (IOR/R/15/2/938-939).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover on folio 1 and terminates at the back cover on folio 210; 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 6-198; these numbers are written in pencil and blue ink, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
53. ‘File 13/32 Joint use of Bahrain and Sharjah airfields by civil and military aircraft’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file’s contents relate to the proposed joint-use of the aerodromes at Bahrain and Sharjah for both civil and military purposes, and are chiefly comprised of a series of papers entitled ‘General Principles and Practices to be followed at Joint-User Airfields Overseas’, issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air Ministry Co-ordinating Committee. The first paper, bearing the reference number (48)1 (ff 4-8), deals with a range of generalised issues (responsibilities, finance, administration, supply, briefing and telecommunications) without any specific reference to the airfields at Bahrain or Sharjah. The second paper, reference (48)2 (ff 9-10), specifies airfields covered by the joint-user plan, including air traffic control authorities and the authorities responsible for telecommunications facilities, and specifies whether these will be under RAF or civilian authority (the latter being the case for Bahrain and Sharjah). The third paper, reference (48)4 (ff 11-14, with revisions on ff 17-18), is a detailed plan of telecommunications staffing and facilities for Sharjah and Bahrain.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence 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.
54. 'File 14/5 Correspondence regarding Postal arrangements at Shargah and Dubai'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence and telegrams discussing the proposal to open a Post Office in Sharjah and Dubai. The Ruler of Sharjah requests that the name of Sharjah is printed on the stamps. The file also contains agreements with Imperial Airways for the delivery of mail, and arrangements for a suitable office at Sharjah. Whilst the Ruler of Dubai is initially against the opening of a Post Office in his town, further discussions develop in 1938 for the opening of a Post Office in Dubai (sketch on folio 208).The principal correspondents are: the Ruler of Sharjah (Shaikh Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī); the Ruler of Dubai (Shaikh Saʻīd bin Maktūm bin Hasher Āl Maktūm); Imperial Airways; the Mesopotamia Persia Corporation Limited; the Superintendent of Post Offices, Lower Sind and Persian Gulf Division, at Karachi; the Director of Post and Telegraphs at Karachi; the Residency Agent at Sharjah (Khan Bahadur Isa bin Latif, and from 1936 Khan Sahib Husain bin Hasan 'Amad); the Political Agency at Kuwait; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and the Political Agent at Bahrain.There is some correspondence in Arabic, with English translation, with the Residency Agent at Sharjah, the Ruler of Sharjah and the Ruler of Dubai.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 268; 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 4-235 and ff 236-267; these numbers are written in a combination of pencil and red ink, but are either partially circled or not circled.
55. 'File No. 17/15 WIRELESS STATION AT DUBAI'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains proposals from the Director of Posts and Telegraphs at Karachi (Harbans Lal Jerath) to the Political Agent at Bahrain (Cornelius James Pelly, Arnold Crawshaw Galloway) and Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Arnold Crawshaw Galloway, William Rupert Hay) to establish a wireless station at Dubai and a Post Office at Sharjah.Neither proposal is taken forward at that time owing to the Royal Air Force (RAF) taking over the existing wireless station at Dubai belonging to the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Service deciding to undertake a review of the future of postal services in the Persian Gulf.Included in the file is a letter in Arabic and English from the Sheikh of Sharjah (Shaikh Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qasimī) from 1938 regarding the possibility of establishing a post office there.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 13-14.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 15; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
56. 'File 19/1 II Political Agents Bahrain touring'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains telegrams and correspondence regarding arrangements for visits of the Political Agent and the Assistant Political Agent at Bahrain to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Dubai, Ras al Khaimah; and programmes of tours of the Trucial Coast in 1937 and 1938, staying at the Rest House in Sharjah.The principal correspondents are: Mesopotamia Persia Corporation Limited; Imperial Airways Limited; Major Frank Holmes; the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf; the Residency Agent at Sharjah; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; and the Political Agent at Bahrain.There are some documents in Arabic with English translation within the file, letters to local rulers and correspondence with the Residency Agent at Sharjah.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 278; 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 present in parallel between ff 2-253 and ff 256-277 respectively; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
57. ‘File 28/5 (a) I War. Proposed extension of export licensing system’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises correspondence, memoranda and statistical data relating to the monitoring of imports and exports of important commodities into and out of Bahrain and the states of the Trucial Coast, as part of the wider export license controls and Navicert system of trade and contraband control during the Second World War. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban), the Residency Agent at Sharjah (Khan Sahib Saiyid ‘Abd al-Razzaq), and the Director of Customs at Bahrain (Claud Cranbrook Lewis DeGrenier).The file includes:copies of correspondence exchanged between the India Office in London, the Government of India, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior), relating to proposals for the extension of export control licenses and the Navicert system to the states of the Persian Gulf. The correspondence includes a request for an estimate of annual imports and consumption of commodities in the Persian Gulf, and details of the decision to monitor on an ongoing monthly basis, imports and exports of important commodities, and commodities important to war purposes, at Bahrain and the Trucial Coast (ff 50-51);following a request from the Political Agent at Bahrain (f 53), dated 11 June 1941, monthly submissions from the Customs Director at Bahrain of imports and exports of commodities at Bahrain, starting July 1941 and running through to December 1942;following an identical request from the Political Agent at Bahrain (f 54), dated 11 June 1941, monthly submissions from the Residency Agent at Sharjah for imports and exports of commodities at Sharjah and Dubai, starting July 1941 and running through to February 1943;statistics for the import and export of commodities at Bahrain, Sharjah and Dubai, collated from the reports received by the Customs Director at Bahrain and from the Residency Agent at Sharjah, forwarded to His Majesty’s Secretary of State for India at the India Office, the Secretary to the Government of India in the External Affairs Department, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf;correspondence and file notes (ff 355-356) relating to the need for an additional clerk at the Political Agency in Bahrain, to handle the increased volume of work created at the Agency by the War, including correspondence between the Political Agent in Bahrain, the Political Resident, and representatives of the Customs House at Karachi, over the employment of one of latter’s own clerks at Bahrain (ff 112-113, ff 131-136);correspondence relating to a request from the Foreign Department, Delhi, for statistics on the amount of rice, wheat and wheat flour imported from India into the Persian Gulf for the six-month period June to December 1942 (ff 304-310).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 375; 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 355-370 and a mixed/foliation/pagination is in the file notes at the back between ff 355-370; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
58. ‘File 28/5 (a) II War. Proped Extention [sic] of Export Licences System. (Monthly Statements of Imports & Exports on main Commodity into & from Bahrain & the Trucial Coast)’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises copies of statistical reports on the imports and exports of important commodities into and out of Bahrain and Sharjah and Dubai on the Trucial Coast, as part of the wider export licence controls and Navicertsystem of trade and contraband control during the Second World War. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Tom Hickinbotham); the Residency Agent at Sharjah (Khan Sahib Saiyid ‘Abd al-Razzaq until February 1945; Jasim ibn Muhammad Kadmari thereafter); the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast (Captain Maurice O’Connor Tandy until April 1944; Reginald Michael Hadow until October 1944; Captain Richard Ernest Bird thereafter); and the Director of Customs at Bahrain (G W R Smith). The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 28/5 (a) I War. Proposed extension of export licensing system’ (IOR/R/15/2/684). The mispelt title of the file refers to the proposed extension of the license export system.The file contains:monthly submissions from the Customs Director at Bahrain of imports and exports of commodities at Bahrain, running from January 1943 through to March 1945;monthly submissions from the Residency Agent at Sharjah, or the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast, for imports and exports of commodities at Sharjah and Dubai, running from March 1943 through to March 1945;statistics for the import and export of commodities at Bahrain, Sharjah and Dubai, collated by the Political Agent from the reports received by the Customs Director at Bahrain, the Residency Agent at Sharjah, and the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast, and forwarded to His Majesty’s Secretary of State for India at the India Office, the Secretary to the Government of India in the External Affairs Department, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. The imports tables include columns for: commodity; source; quantity (measured in long tons for commodities into Bahrain; measured in hundredweights, bales, cases, tins, etc. for commodities into Sharjah/Dubai). The exports tables include columns for: commodity; destination; and quantity.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 257; 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 2-224; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. and are located in the same position as the main sequence.Pagination: the file notes at the back (ff 251-256) have been paginated using pencil.
59. ‘File 29/18-A TEA FOR THE TRUCIAL COAST’
- Description:
- Abstract: This is a correspondence file about Indian tea exports to the Trucial Coast ports of Dubai and Sharjah under the quota system and the export licensing restrictions imposed by the Government of India during the Second World War (1939-1945), when tea and other essential commodities were in short supply. The file contains the correspondence of the Political Agent, Bahrain with the Political Officer for the Trucial Coast and the Residency Agent, Sharjah; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire and the Tea Controller for India, Calcutta. Included in the file are several circular lists compiled by the Tea Controller for India and the Political Agent, Bahrain. These lists show the tea quotas for the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms and neighbouring Arab States, the names of the Indian merchants in Calcutta and Bombay licensed to export tea to the Trucial Coast, details of shipments of tea and its distribution among Bahrain and Dubai merchants on importation.The file also contains copies of official correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and others, mainly Government of India officials in the Department of External Affairs, New Delhi. They discuss reductions in the Indian tea quotas allowed for export to the Trucial Coast for the following purposes: local consumption, re-export to neighbouring countries such as Saudi Arabia, as barter for fresh meat and other essential supplies from Iran, for consumption by the British Residency and Consulates of the Persian Gulf. The file also contains a small amount of merchant correspondence, mainly between the Chairman of the Persian Gulf States Pool (an association of Indian tea exporters), Calcutta and the Political Agent, Bahrain about the allocations of both regular quota tea and frustrated (spoiled) tea for export to the Trucial Coast.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 196; 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 2-178; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
60. ‘File 29/20 – Vol II FOOD STOCK POSITION – Monthly Return’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence and statistics about the monitoring and maintenance of adequate supplies of quota rice, wheat, sugar and also cotton piece goods, in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, in the years following the Second World War (1939-1945). These essential commodities continued to be subject to Government of India quota arrangements and other controls imposed on trade with the Persian Gulf shaikhdoms, due to wartime shortages.The main contents of the file are the monthly stock figures sent to the Political Agent, Bahrain by the Director of Customs, Bahrain. These figures show the quantities (in tons) of Bahrain Government imports, stocks and exports (mainly to Qatar) of rice, wheat, sugar and cotton piece goods. There are similar monthly stock figures for Dubai, Sharjah and the other Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, submitted by both the Residency Agent and the Political Officer for the Trucial Coast, Sharjah. There are also file copies of the monthly consolidated stock figures sent by the Political Agent, Bahrain to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. Included in the file is a small amount of correspondence between the Political Agent, Bahrain and his officials at Sharjah, about wheat and sugar prices in Dubai and Sharjah, following the abolition of controls and a return to normal market conditions for these food commodities.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence 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.