Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to three reported incidents at Sharjah Aerodrome, involving the servants, staff and property of Imperial Airways and its successor British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). The three cases are: the investigation and conviction of refuelling clerk Muhammad Hajiih for the theft of cash from the Wireless Office in 1937; the search and recovery of a missing canoe belonging to Imperial Airways in 1939; the investigation of a complaint made in 1940 by Ibrahim bin Muhammad al Madfa’ the clerk of the Ruler of Sharjah and his brother Isa, a pearl merchant, against two clerks employed by BOAC, concerning the embezzlement of pearls entrusted to them for dispatch by air freight. The main correspondents are the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Residency Agent at Sharjah, Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr [Shaikh Sultan II bin Saqr Al Qasimi] the Ruler of Sharjah, and the airline’s Station Superintendent at Sharjah. Included in the correspondence is a witness statement made in 1940 by Mr G C Sen Gupta the BOAC Cashier and Accounts Clerk. There are both Arabic and English copies of the letters exchanged between the Ruler of Sharjah and the Residency Agent, 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 54; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Three additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 4-23, ff 24-30, and ff 31-43; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains numerous courtesy letters expressing friendship, congratulations and thanks, which are exchanged mainly between the Political Agent, Bahrain and the Shaikhs of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The majority of courtesy letters received by the Political Agent, Bahrain are from the Dubai shaikhs, particularly from Shaikh Mani bin Rashid Maktum [Āl Maktūm, Shaikh Mana bin Rashid] who is the cousin of the Ruler Shaikh Sai’d bin Maktum [Āl Maktūm, Shaikh Saʻīd bin Maktūm bin Hasher]. Several of the letters from Shaikh Mani bin Rashid Maktum contain complaints against Sayid Abdul Razaq the Residency Agent at Sharjah.The file also contains a small amount of claims correspondence relating mainly to debt repayment. This correspondence includes petitions received from local merchants and other inhabitants of Bahrain, Dubai and Sharjah, as well as letters from the Residency Agent, Sharjah to the Political Agent, Bahrain reporting his investigations into some of the claims made and any settlements reached. The majority of letters are in Arabic and are also translated into English. Included in the file are two merchant letters in Persian and a short extract from a German ornithological report in 1937, together with an English translation, about white storks.Finally, there is a small amount of correspondence in 1937 between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Government of India regarding legal opinion on the service of summonses in the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms.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 204; 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 2-157; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast and the Foreign Office, regarding a new civil air agreement for Sharjah, which was signed on 15 November 1951.The file covers the negotiations for the agreement with Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr al Qasimi [Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qasimī], until his death in March 1951, and the conclusion of negotiations - focusing primarily on increased pay for the airfield guards and rent for an extension to the airfield - with the new ruler Shaikh Saqr bin Sultan [Saqr bin Sulṭān Āl Qasimī] from March 1951 onwards.The file contains draft copies of the agreement and associated documents in English and Arabic, along with the final signed copy at folios 122-143.Also included in the file are details of new landing and housing fees introduced at Bahrain and Sharjah in 1951, and a request from the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Ethiopian Air Lines to use Sharjah airport as a technical stop on flights from Addis Ababa to Karachi and Dhahran.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 2-5.Physical description: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 144; 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 6-115; 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.
Abstract: The file comprises a signed copy of the Sharjah Civil Air Agreement with accompanying air navigation regulations, and an exchange of letters between the Shaikh of Sharjah (Shaikh Saqr bin Sulṭān Āl Qasimī) and the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast (Arthur John Wilton).Also included in the file is correspondence between the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast and the Political Agent at Bahrain, which concerns the following: an agreement for free facilities for the despatch ingof telegrams, which are to be granted to the Shaikh of Sharjah; information on how to publicly announce a written law in Sharjah.Physical description: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 36; 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 2-35; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file discusses rumours that the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) were to evacuate their facility at Sharjah in 1947 and that Cable and Wireless Limited were interested in taking over their wireless facilities there; however the rumours were shown to be incorrect.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folio 6.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.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to affairs in Sharjah. The correspondence is principally between the Residency Agent or the Political Officer at Sharjah, the Political Agency at Bahrain, and the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf at Bushire (Bahrain from 1946).Matters covered by the file include:Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr, the ruler of Sharjah's proposal to build a fort on the island of Sir Bu Nu'air;an intercepted letter from King 'Abdul 'Aziz bin Sa'ud of Saudi Arabia to Shaikh Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Huwaidin of the Bani Qatab [Bani Qitab] tribe (August 1939);a settlement between Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr and Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed of Kalba over the allowance given to the latter;fears of Bedouin raids in Dubai;a proposal from the Bank of India and Persian Gulf to open a branch in Sharjah;the murder of the cousin and rival of the Shaikh of Himriyah;incidents of robbery by members of the Bani Qitab and Awamir tribes;reparation work carried out on the falaj (
pl.aflāj), a network of water channels, at Dhaid.Folio 12 is a secret memorandum on the Bani Qitab tribe, written by Khan Abdur Razzak, the Residency Agent, dated 6 October 1943.Folio 51 is a genealogical chart of the Qasimi tribe.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 52; 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 2-34; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence related to the Air Staff Intelligence, Air Headquarters, Baghdad’s request for information to be obtained from Muscat regarding the possible establishment of a subsidiary air route from Iraq to India via the Arabian side of the Gulf. The required information was concerning the straight line Mirfah-Biraimi-Khaburah. Arrangements were made for some Royal Air Force (RAF) representatives to visit the region accompanied by a doctor, and Bertram Sidney Thomas, Financial Advisor to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman.The correspondence contains information on the estimates of the cost of the journey including hire of camels; cost of feeding men and camels; presents to be given to the Shaikhs; wages and foodstuffs, coffee etc.Letters were sent to various Shaikhs and Walis in Sohar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Baraimi [Buraimi] and other regions, asking them to assist the Royal Air Officers while conducting their work. The correspondence contains letters of certain Shaikhs such as Shaikh Salim bin Diyin [Dayyin] Al-Ka‘bi and Shaikh ‘Isa bin Salih Al-Ḥārithī [Al Harthi] negotiating the terms for them to accept the RAF work to take place. It also contains reports about the troubles made by some of the Bedouin tribes.Bertram Sidney Thomas reported on his observation on the proposed seaplane flight along the south Arabian coast. He also sent a report (ff 82- 130) to the Sultan and the Political Resident on the proceedings of the RAF Trans-Oman Expedition which he conducted from Sohar to Sharjah between 12 May and 3 June 1927. The report is in two parts covering the following: preliminary situation; itinerary of expedition; description of country passed through; tribal situation and Ibn Saud; personalities; tribal considerations and the air route.The volume also includes correspondence with the Sultan of Socotra regarding the construction of landing ground in his territory near Qishn. It also includes correspondence about the Air Ministry’s interest in extending the reconnaissance to establish landing grounds along the southern coast of Arabia.Among other correspondents in the volume are: the Political Agent, Muscat; Muscat and Oman, Council of Ministers; and C Hilton Keith, Squadron Leader RAF, Sohar.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 229; 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.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of letters and notifications related to the outbreak of smallpox at Sharjah. Correspondents in the file discuss the necessity of the application of the International Sanitary Convention and of quarantine restrictions in the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Coast.The correspondence also discusses the issue of sending a medical officer by airplane from Baghdad to Sharjah; the sanitary administration at aerodromes on the Arabian Coast of the Persian Gulf; and measurements that are taken at Bahrain; Kuwait and Muscat.The main correspondents in the file are the Political Residency, Bushire; the Office International d'Hygiène Publique (International Office of Public Hygiene); India Office; the Ministry of Health, and the Air Ministry.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 61; 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 3-60; 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 file relates to the appointment of Mehta, who had previously acted as Agent for British India Steam Navigation (BISN) at Dibai [Dubai], to a position in the Hamalbashi Branch of the Customs at Shargah [Sharjah], responsible for the collection of customs revenue, and ensuring the correct quantity and condition of all merchandise arriving by sea and subject to customs duty, at a salary of 15% of net income from customs. The position is also referred to in the papers as 'Financial Adviser to the Sheikh of Sharjah'. The papers consist of correspondence between the Political Agent, Bahrain and the Office of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, January-February 1933, together with copies of earlier correspondence on the subject dated November-December 1932.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 9; 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 2-8; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and other papers related to anti-British and pro-German propaganda being disseminated at Sharjah, and specifically that being allegedly spread by the Ruler of Sharjah’s Secretary, Abdullah bin Faris. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman; Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban) and the Residency Agent at Sharjah (Khan Sahib Saiyid ‘Abd al-Razzaq).The file includes:the Residency Agent’s reports on propaganda activities at Sharjah, dated July 1940, including anti-British statements made by the Ruler of Sharjah’s secretary, Abdullah bin Faris, and one report enclosing a number of poems (in Arabic original and English translation), two of which are pro-British in tone (ff 10-11, ff 13-14), and another, apparently written by the Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī, which is pro-German in tone (f 12, f 15);a petition, signed by forty-eight inhabitants of Sharjah who are of Arabic, Iranian and Indian origin (Arabic original f 40, English translation ff 23-24) affirming that the Abdullah bin Faris is ‘the greatest supporter’ of the British Government;further correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Residency Agent at Sharjah, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior), concerning reports that the signatures on the petition supporting Abdullah bin Faris were obtained by misrepresentation, and a circular, sent to those British (Indian) subjects at Sharjah who signed the petition, dated 16 October 1940, ensuring that they were fully aware of what they had signed (ff 38-39);letters sent by the Political Agent at Bahrain to the Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī, warning him against the spread of anti-British propaganda in Sharjah, with replies from Shaikh Sultan (ff 21-24, ff 44-45).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 50; 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 mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-48; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains copies of correspondence, reports and other papers concerning oil storage facilities requested by the United States Army Transport Corps (USATC) at Muharraq airfield in Bahrain. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Tom Hickinbotham); the Royal Air Force (RAF) Air Liaison Officer (ALO) at Bahrain, Squadron Leader W A Chase; representatives of the Air Ministry and India Office.The file includes:correspondence and notes, chiefly written by the Political Agent at Bahrain during the period November to December 1943, concerning meetings held with the ALO at Bahrain, US Army and RAF officials, concerning the USATC’s requests for Bahrain and Sharjah (specifically, aviation fuel supplies, accommodation and wireless facilities at Bahrain), in anticipation of the increased movement of US troops to the Far East theatre of war (ff 2-36);correspondence dated 1944 concerning the installation of a pipeline to carry aviation fuel from the Bahrain Petroleum Company’s (BAPCO) refinery to the RAF jetty at Manama and airfield at Muharraq, and fuel storage tanks at Muharraq. Correspondence concerning the fuel storage tanks occupies much of the remainder of the file, and includes correspondence between various parties including the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior) and India Office and Air Ministry officials. The correspondence includes: BAPCO objection to the erection of tanks on behalf of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), who supply aviation fuel to the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and RAF at Muharraq; proposals for the RAF to purchase and install fuel tanks; legal questions over whether the storage of AOIC fuel for use by BOAC at Bahrain contravenes the exclusive rights BAPCO holds with the Government of Bahrain; the Air Ministry’s assertion of its right to construct and maintain fuel storage facilities at Bahrain for its air stations (f 120).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 123; 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 mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-122; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file comprises papers relating to the accounts (actual expenditure and estimated budget) of the Political Agencies at Bahrain and Sharjah:a copy of a circular written by Ernest Bevin, then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, dated 18 July 1946, requesting returns from overseas agencies of their expenditure for the period April to September 1946, and enclosing specimen forms (ff 3-7, with duplicates at ff 10-14);a copy of a second circular from Bevin, dated 30 April 1948, acknowledging the difficulties and delays in receiving accounts of expenditure for 1946, and stressing the need for accurate and prompt accounts for the period 1948-1949, with a revised form for returns enclosed (ff 8-9);compiled budget estimates for the Political Agency at Bahrain, and for the Sharjah and Dubai Agencies, for the financial year 1949-50 (ff 16-26);further specimen forms for annual returns of expenditure, listed under various subheadings (public information services, consular establishments, diplomatic establishments, commercial diplomatic establishments) (ff 31-37);the annual return of expenditure and receipts for the Political Agency in Bahrain for the period 1 April to 30 September 1948, with financial estimates for the subsequent eighteen months (ff 39-50).Financial figures are given in a mixture of British sterling and Indian rupees, with conversion rates indicated (for example, 1 pound sterling being equivalent to 13.26 rupees, f 39).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 52; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Condition: Water damage to the file notes (f 51) has obliterated a large portion of the handwritten notes on this folio.