Abstract: This file is composed of papers produced by the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee, which was chaired by George Curzon for most of its existence. The file contains a complete set of printed minutes, beginning with the committee's first meeting on 28 March 1918, and concluding with its final meeting on 7 January 1919 (ff 6-214 and ff 227-272).The file begins with two copies of a memorandum by Curzon, dated 13 March 1918, proposing the formation of the Eastern Committee. This is followed by a memorandum by Arthur James Balfour, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, approving Curzon's proposal, and a copy of a procedure for the newly created committee, outlining arrangements for committee meetings and the dissemination of information to committee members.Also included is a set of resolutions, passed by the committee in December 1918, in order to guide British representatives at the Paris Peace conference (ff 216-225). The resolutions cover the following: the Caucasus and Armenia; Syria; Palestine; Hejaz and Arabia; Mesopotamia, Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. They are preceded by a handwritten note written by Curzon 'some years later', which remarks on how they are a 'rather remarkable forecast of the bulk of the results since obtained.'Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 272; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file is composed of papers produced by the Foreign Office's Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs. It consists entirely of printed minutes of meetings of the conference, most of which are chaired by George Curzon.Those attending include senior representatives of the Foreign Office, the India Office (most notably the Secretary of State for India), the War Office, the Admiralty, the Air Ministry, and the Treasury (including the Chancellor of the Exchequer). Other notable figures attending include Harry St John Bridger Philby and Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell.The meetings concern British policy in the Middle East, and mainly cover the following geographical areas: Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, Trans-Caspia, Trans-Caucasia, the Caspian Sea, Palestine, Persia, Hejaz, and Afghanistan. Some of the meetings also touch on matters beyond the Middle East (e.g. wireless telegraphy in Tibet, ff 79-80).Recurring topics of discussion include railways (chiefly in relation to Mesopotamia), Bolshevik influence in the Middle East (particularly in Persia and Trans-Caspia), and relations between King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] and Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].Several sets of minutes also contain related memoranda as appendices.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 145, these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file mostly consists of minutes of meetings of the War Cabinet's Mesopotamian Administration Committee (later renamed the Middle East Committee), chaired by George Curzon.The papers are chiefly concerned with current and future British policy in Mesopotamia, which during the period covered was under British military occupation. However, the minutes also discuss matters relating to the wider Middle Eastern region, as reflected in the change of name to Middle East Committee in August 1917.In addition to minutes, the file includes the following: a draft report by the committee, dated March 1917, containing recommendations regarding future British policy in Mesopotamia and the wider region (ff 1-2); a letter to George Curzon from Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Sykes, dated 2 July 1917, recommending that the committee be renamed, in order to define its scope and work (ff 24-25).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 39; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence regarding the visit of Anthony Eden and his son to the Middle East. Related matters of discussion include the following: approval of the visit from the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations; arrangements for the visit, including details of all the places where the Edens will be staying.The file also contains political opinion regarding Persia, and a schedule of the twenty-three-day visit to the Middle East.The file features the following principal correspondents: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Commonwealth Relations Office, the Foreign Office, officers acting on behalf of the British Middle East Office, Cairo.The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 23, these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file consists of letters and notes. The letters are regarding the demonstration tour given by Airwork Limited of a Bristol Freighter aircraft in Europe and in the Middle East during March and April 1947. One of the letters has attached the itinerary of the tour in Europe and in the Middle East. For the demonstration Airwork Limited need the clearance for the aircraft and its crew around the Middle East by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 8; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file consists of a letter, telegrams, report, notes and maps between Francis Anthony Kitchener Harrison of the India Office and W D Monsell-Davis of the Ministry of Fuel and Power regarding the visit of Dr Nuttall to the Middle East. Dr Nuttall visited different oil companies and oilfields as a technical adviser on behalf of the Petroleum Division. Attached to the file are a report and a map produced by Dr Nuttall after his visit. The visit included stops at Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Kirkuk.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 16, these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains the monthly newsletter of the Commonwealth Air Transport Council's 'civil aviation in the Middle East' issued from the British Embassy in Cairo for the year 1948. The newsletter lists the Middle East's various locations serviced by air transport links. The majority of the newsletter's instructions covers items such as custom's regulation, immigration, documentation, and prohibited areas for aircraft.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 39; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file relates to two War Cabinet committees: the Middle East Committee (originally named the Mesopotamian Administration Committee), and the Eastern Committee, both chaired by George Curzon.The first half of the file consists almost entirely of printed minutes of meetings of the Middle East Committee, dated 19 January, 26 January, 2 February, and 18 February 1918 respectively (ff 2-9). The main topics of discussion in these minutes are British policy in Palestine and future British policy in Mesopotamia.The second half of the file contains correspondence received by Curzon regarding the workings of the Eastern Committee, which inherited the responsibilities of the Middle East Committee (ff 10-21). The correspondents are as follows: Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, War Cabinet; Edwin Samuel Montagu, Secretary of State for India; Robert Cecil, Foreign Office. The letters discuss the dissemination of the committee's minutes among military representatives, the frequency and attendees of committee meetings, and whether the committee should be severed from the War Cabinet and absorbed by the Foreign Office's recently created Middle East Department. One letter touches on Anglo-Persian relations.Also included is a note by Curzon, dated 27 October 1918, regarding a memorandum from the advisory committee of the Foreign Office's Eastern Department (ff 17-18).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the final folio with 21; 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 papers relating to the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions concerning the Middle East. The Sub-Committee had been charged by the Committee of Imperial Defence to 'investigate and report on the measures which might be taken, either before or on the outbreak of war, to influence those Minor Powers and Arab States whose assistance or even benevolent neutrality might be of value to us in time of war' (folio 77). The work of the Sub-Committee focussed on Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, the Yemen, and the Arab States of the Persian Gulf, and the papers contain reports and discussions of British policy in relation to all those countries.The papers contain memoranda drawn up by the Foreign Office, the India Office, the War Office, and other British Government departments, and by British representatives in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Aden, etc. for submission to the Sub-Committee; agenda and minutes of meetings of the Sub-Committee; reports of the Sub-Committee; and India Office minutes.The Arab shaikhdoms of the Persian Gulf and Muscat were said by the India Office to be of importance to the British Government because of their situation on the air route to India, and in their significance as actual and potential sources for the supply of oil (folio 285); folio 327, folios 285-289, folio 98, and folios 4-44 relate particularly to the Persian Gulf.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 339; 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 file contains: a copy of an Admiralty memorandum, dated 11 October 1940, entitled ‘The Future of Oil in its Relation to the Middle East’; and correspondence related to the memorandum and to the arrival in Iran of eight German officers, who were suspected of being involved in activities against British interests, in particular against the Anglo-Iranian oilfields.The correspondents are as follows: the India Office; the Petroleum Department; the Foreign Office; and the Colonial Office. The India Office correspondence includes internal notes between India Office officials.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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 33, 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: This file concerns the British Government's response to the Pan-Arab movement during the 1930s and 1940s. Much of the correspondence refers to the prospect of an Arab federation, although the use of the word 'federation' is noted in some of the correspondence as being a mistranslation of the original Arabic expression, which would be more accurately represented by the words 'unification' or 'unity'.Significant subjects of discussion include:Arab party politics in Palestine.Iraqi-Egyptian relations.Italian propaganda in the Middle East.The future of Palestine.Britain's post-war policy in the Middle East.Whether the Arab states should be induced to make a wartime declaration in favour of the democracies (i.e. the Allies).The formation of the Arab League (also referred to as the Arab Federation in the correspondence).Details of the Pact (also referred to as Covenant) of the Arab League, signed in Cairo on 22 March 1945.Whether representatives of the Arab League should be present at the Palestine Conference in London, in 1947, in addition to representatives of Arab states.Notable correspondents include the following: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the High Commissioner for Iraq; His Majesty's Ambassador in Baghdad; the High Commissioner for Egypt; His Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo; the High Commissioner for Palestine; His Majesty's Minister at Jedda; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; the Minister of State in the Middle East; officials of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, the India Office, the Commonwealth Relations Office, and the Indian Political Service's External Affairs Department; Noury Said [Nūrī al-Sa‘īd], Prime Minister of Iraq; George Antonius, Lebanese-Egyptian author and diplomat.Also included with the correspondence are the following:Extracts from Palestine police summaries dating from 1933 to 1936, produced by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Jerusalem.A printed copy of a paper on Arab federation by the Foreign Research and Press Service, dated 20 June 1941.Copies of documents produced by the War Cabinet's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East (also referred to as the Middle East (Official) Committee), including minutes of meetings (1941-1942) and a copy of a report on Arab Federation, dated January 1942.A copy (in French) of the Protocol of the Preparatory Committee for the Arab Congress, dated 7 October 1944.Copies of the Pact/Covenant of the recently formed Arab League (consisting of a printed copy in French, distributed by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and an English translation of the full Arabic text, which includes a passage that was omitted from the French version).The French material consists of the aforementioned Protocol and Arab League Pact, plus one item of correspondence and a copy of a newspaper extract.The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folios 2-3).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 571; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two previous foliation sequences, which are also circled, have been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file is concerned with the operations of Pan American Airlines in the Middle East; British officials were concerned that the airline was using the war as a pretext for commercial penetration of British controlled territories. The file therefore covers the militarisation of Pan American Airlines operations in the Middle East, and its absorption into the United States Army Air Force (USAAF).In addition, the file contains correspondence related to the use of the Southern Arabian Air Route by the United States Air Force: in particular, the use of aerodromes at Masirah and Salalah, as per a 1942 agreement with Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Sultan of Muscat and Oman: see folio 87 for a record of the negotiations. This includes discussion surrounding the post-war disposal of stone buildings built by the Americans at these sites.The main correspondents in the file are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (William Rupert Hay and Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat (Cornelius James Pelly), HM Ambassador to the United States (Edward Wood, Viscount, later Earl of Halifax), HM Ambassador to Iraq (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis) the Minister of State Resident in the Middle East (Walter Guiness), officials of the Foreign Office, officials of the India Office, and representatives of the Government of India.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 commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 207; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.