Abstract: Correspondence and papers relating to incidents in which foreigners in Persia [Iran], specifically British subjects, were subjected to attacks or break-ins, and in some cases badly injured. The file’s principal correspondents are: HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran; the Foreign Office; Government of India. Incidents covered in the file are as follows:In 1933, an attack by three individuals described by British officials as ‘natives’, upon an employee of the Imperial and International Communications Company Limited at Henjam [Jazīreh-ye Hengām] (ff 133-147)In 1934, an attack and theft upon a car carrying the British Vice-Consul at Meshed [Mashhad], Collett William Hart, his wife and child, and two Persian servants, while travelling through Khorasan. Subsequent correspondence chiefly deals with attempts to extract compensation to cover medical costs from the Persian Government, for injuries sustained to Mrs Hart (ff 27-132)In 1935, insecurity on the Meshed to Zahidan [Zahedan] road (ff 19-26)In 1937, a break-in by an Iranian soldier into the Zahidan Vice-Consulate. Papers include an account of the break-in, with a plan of the Vice-Consulate and the intruder’s route through its rooms, prepared by J Campbell, HM’s Vice-Consul at Zahidan (ff 3-18).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 main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 148; 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 2-147; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The papers in this file relate to the Eastern Persia Cordon.The papers include: the telegram from the British Consul in Sistan on road-making (18 October 1918); The number of British officers in the Sistan and Khorasan Levy Corps (29 October 1918); the possibility of recruiting Hazara men for the Sistan Levy Corps (2 November 1918); the transfer of 100 men from the Sistan Levy Corps to the Khorasan Levy Corps (18 November 1918); the decision to halt and redeploy the six squadrons en route to Meshed [Mashhad] (8 November 1918); the original purpose of the East Persia Cordon and Turkey's 'secession' from the War (8 November 1918); the monthly report on the number of officers and men in the Khorasan Levy Corps (8 December 1918); a telegram from Sir Percy Cox on the Government of India's decision to take control of, and the Government of Persia's claim of ownership over the Sistan-Mashhad Telegraph Line (27 January 1919); the placement of all troops up to Mashhad (except those of General Wilfrid Malleson) under the command of the General Officer Commanding, 4th (Quetta) Division (23 September 1918); the Secretary of State for India's approval for the extension of the railway to Karegi Narwar (21 August 1918); the approval for the formation of an (Indian) Ford Motor Van Company in Sistan (7 June 1918); the plan for the maintenance of the extended British Cordon from Birjand to Mashhad (7 June 1918); the General Officer Commanding, Sistan, Birjand on the disposition of the Sistan Force (2 March 1918); a telegram from Sir Charles Marling on the death of a Russian merchant (20 April 1918); the departure of 1 Squadron Cavalry from Birjand and a clash with certain Baharlu 'raiders', the raids carried out by Isma’il Khan Qashqa’i, Sawlat al-Dawla and his followers in the environs of Lar, because of tensions between Sawlat and Habib Allah Khan Qavam al-Mulk Shirazi (2 March 1918); the departure of the Cossacks from Mashhad, arrival of British troops at Turbat-i Haydari, and confirmation of the existence of telephone communications as far as the latter location (1 March 1918); a telegram by Marling on the sanitary cordon between Kariz and Turbat-i Haydari (25 February 1918); the punitive measures taken against the tribesmen in Fars and the coastal districts of Persia, withdrawal of the regular garrison from Bandar ‘Abbas and its takeover by the South Persia Rifles, construction of the Bandar ‘Abbas-Kerman road, and the strength of the Sistan Levy Corps (14 February 1918); the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel G A Dale to the temporary rank of Brigadier-General (14 January 1918); the supply of sixty Ford vans from Egypt to Bombay for service in East Persia (21 January 1918); and a 'Note Regarding Eastern Persia' by R H Headley (25 December 1917).Physical description: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 38; 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 between ff 16-34; these numbers are written in coloured crayon.
Abstract: This file relates to the situation in East Persia and the Malleson Mission (1918-21). It includes papers on the following subjects:A collection of papers titled 'Expenditure on [the] Malleson Mission and Troops in East Persia', including: a memorandum from the India Office Political Department on planned politico-military missions to Kashgar [Qashqar] and Meshed [Mashhad] to 'work in allied interests [,] and combat German and Turkish propaganda' on the model of General Lionel Dunsterville's organisation Dunsterforce, previously deployed to the North Caucasus; a memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on which government department should bear the expenses for Malleson's Mission in countering 'German-Bolshevik developments in Central Asia', with reflections on the German promotion of Pan-Turanism and Pan-Islamism which, together with Bolshevism were perceived as posing a 'direct menace' to the security of India, since they could conceivably 'enlist the forces of religion in the armies of political and social discontent'; correspondence to date between the India Office, HM Treasury and the War Office (including from Secretary of State for War, Winston S Churchill) concerning the Chancellor's memorandum, together with thirty-two appendices on expenditures preceding the Chancellor's memorandum and the military and political telegrams referred to in the collection on 'Expenditures' (January 1921); the lack of financial resources to continue the Malleson Mission in Trans-Caspia (December 1918); the criticism by Lovat Fraser of expenditures on the Mission in the
Daily Mail(July 1920); the assumption of the Mission's current roles to 'encourage resistance in Persia to Pan-Islamic and Bolshevik influences' and offer 'moral support to Transcaspians by threatening [the] flank and rear of [the] Bolshevik advance towards Krasnovodsk [Turkmenbashi]' by a 'Persian Force to be raised under the terms of the recent agreement', together with the existing Seistan Levy Corps and Khorasan Levy Corps, and the 'intelligence work' to be carried out by a 'small organisation' based at Meshed (September 1919).Physical description: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 35; 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 volume contains information on the undemarcated portion of the frontier between Afghanistan and Persia (north of Siah Koh) during the period 1905-1912. The papers consist of copies of Government of India printed memoranda (with accompanying minute sheets of the Secret Department), dispatches, telegrams, minutes, and maps.The papers include: information relating to the frontier (reports, correspondence and map) compiled by Captain Terence Humphrey Keyes, His Britannic Majesty's Consul at Turbat-i-Haidari, 1905-06; reports by Major Roger Lloyd Kennion, His Britannic Majesty's Consul for Seistan [Sīstān] and Kain [Kūh-e Kā’īn], 1907-09, including genealogical tree entitled 'Haji Mir Muhtasham Gilani, Meshedi, Misri, Ulvi, and Husaini' (folio 60); papers concerning Afghan encroachments between Hashtadan and the Namaskar Lake, 1908-10, including report (folios 48-50) by Major William Frederick Travers O'Connor, His Britannic Majesty's Consul for Seistan and Kain; further papers on alleged Afghan encroachments, 1910-12, including correspondence between the Viceroy (Lord Hardinge) and the Foreign Secretary (Sir Edward Grey); and discussion of the occupation of Meshed by Russian troops, 1912.Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 115; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence discusses Russian activities in Meshed including:assessment of the Russian bombardment of a religious temple;relationship with the Nakhai tribe;complaints that the Russians were encouraging agitation to bring the back the ex-Shah which was unsettling the region.Correspondents include: Sir George William Buchanan; Major Percy Molesworth Sykes, H B M Consul in Sistan, Captain J B Hunter; Acting Consul for Sistan and Kain.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 199; 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 volume contains correspondence and notes by British officials about government expenditure on the Government of India post of Military Attaché at the British Consulate General at Meshed in Persia. The main correspondents are senior officials in London at the Foreign Office, India Office, War Office and Treasury. They discuss the joint funding of this post by the Government of India and the Home Government in London (also referred to as the Imperial Government), the continuance of the existing financial contribution to the salary for this post by the Foreign Office and an additional contribution by the War Department out of Army funds, 1910-1911. The correspondence includes representations in 1905 from Arthur Hardinge the Consul General at Tehran, Lieutenant Colonel C F Minchin the Consul General for the province of Khorasan at Meshed and his successor Major P Molesworth Sykes, to the Government of India and the Home Government in London, advocating the retention of Meshed as a centre of military intelligence about Russian Central Asia and the appointment there of a military intelligence officer, given the absence of a British Consular presence in Russian Turkestan and the value of such intelligence gathering to Government of India military authorities in particular.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 264; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence discusses the construction of telegraph lines in Persia. Issues discussed include the implications for Britain's relations with the Persian government and how influence could be achieved. Also discussed is the British strategy for negotiating with the Russians who held a sphere of influence in northern Persia, in order to secure British interests in their sphere of influence in southern Persia.The route, costs and staffing of a number of telegraph lines are discussed: Meshed-Seistan, Meshed-Tehran; Robat-Seistan; Nasratabad to Koh-i-Malik Siah, as well as the costs involved in upgrading the lines before their permanent transfer from the Indian Telegraph Department to the Indo-European Telegraph Department. A further isssue discussed is how to overcome a Russian monopoly on the cypress woods which were an essential material for a construction of a telegraph line. Arrangements for the dispatch of British signallers to staff the telegraph offices also features in the correspondence.The file contains a number of statistical tables as well as a technical drawing and a map showing the telegraph offices on the Meshed-Nasratabad (Seistan) line (ff 109-110).Correspondents include: Gilbert Elliot-Murray Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, Viceroy of India; Sir Arthur Nicholson; Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Secretary; Sir Cecil Arthur Spring-Rice; Mr Evelyn Grant Duff; John Evelyn Shuckburgh; H M Consul at Seistan; Sir Walter Beaupré Townley, Minister for Persia.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 422; 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 concerning the Anglo-Persian convention specifically as it related to telegraph lines in the Russian (northern) and British (southern) zones of influence:the transfer of the control of telegraph lines betwen Russia and Britain with reference to the zones of influence agreed in Anglo-Russian convention of 1907. The specific telegraphs lines discussed are Meshed-Tehran and Meshed-Seistan.Anglo-Russian negotiations concerning the procedure by which the transfer would take place.Correspondence discusses specific details such as whether British signallers would be allowed to continue operating in certain areas and the difficulty this would raise if Russia wanted similar arrangement. Also discussed is German interest in these matters.Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 382; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top write corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This volume contains copies of the weekly diary of the British Military Attaché in Meshed [Mashhad]; the weekly consular diary of Britain's Consul in Khorasan; and the weekly consular diary of the Consul for Sistan and Kain.The reports of the Military Attaché in Meshed are divided into the following sections: Communications, Telegraphs, Navigation, Ethnography, Administration, Geography, History, Military and Resources. The Consular diaries are less formulaic and more varied in content, but all contain a political summary.On folio 344, the volume contains a copy of an illustration that depicts the bombardment of the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad by Russian forces that took place in 1912. A translation of the Farsi poem that appears around the illustration is contained on folio 343.The volume includes a divider which gives the year that the subject file was opened and the subject heading. This divider is placed at the front of the volume.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 448; 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 volume contains copies of the weekly Meshed [Mashhad] Intelligence Summary, the weekly diary of the British Military Attaché in Meshed [Mashhad]; the weekly consular diary of Britain's Consul in Khorasan; and the weekly consular diary of the Consul for Sistan and Kain.These reports contain details related to regional political and military developments including the movement of Russian forces, news of the First World War, the movement of Austrian prisoners of war that have escaped from Russia, and Russian settlers in Persia. The reports also discuss local outbreaks of violence and crime and internal political developments in Persia including the appointment of government officials and their movements/activities.On folio 108, the volume contains a cutting from
The Daily Chronicleregarding Austrian prisoners of war in Southern Russia.The volume includes a divider which gives the year that the subject file was opened and the subject heading. This divider is placed at the front of the volume.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 603; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top centre of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 469-513 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front cover, nor does it include the two leading flyleaves. A small insert is attached to f 67 and has been labelled as 67A and counted as a fold-out.
Abstract: This volume contains copies of the weekly Meshed [Mashhad] Intelligence Summary; the weekly consular diary of Britain's Consul in Khorasan; and the weekly consular diary of the Consul for Sistan and Kain.These reports contain details related to regional political and military developments including the movement of Russian forces, news of the First World War, events in Afghanistan and 'Russian Turkistan' as well as the Russian Revolution of 1917.The reports also discuss local outbreaks of violence, crime, and internal political developments in Persia including the appointment of government officials and their movements/activities as well as news regarding an influenza epidemic in Persia.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 556; 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 two leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The volume comprises one part discussing the administration of the Persian telegraph lines.The volume contains correspondence, minutes, notes, and telegrams regarding the restoration of the 1913 agreements between the Telegraph Department of the British Government and the Persian Minister of Post and Telegraphs for the reorganization of the Arabistan Telegraph Lines.The volume also includes documents on the financial obligations of the British, Indian and Persian Government, correspondence on the Persian control over the telegraph line between Meshed [Mashhad, Iran] and Seistan [Sistan region, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan], and on the administration of the offices in Abadan and Mohammerah to be transferred to Persia.The principal correspondents are the Eastern Telegraph Company Limited, the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Colonial Office, the Indo-European Telegraph Department, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, His Majesty's Minister in Tehran, the British Legation in Tehran, and the High Commissioner for Iraq.The volume contains two copies of the 'Map to illustrate the telegraph lines of the Indo-European Telegraph Department and Connected System' (folios 199 and 312), and 'A collection of Conventions and Agreements relating to Telegraphs in Turkey in Asia, Persia, the Persian Gulf and Mekran', 1916 (folios 200-217).The final part of the volume contains telegrams mentioning incidents caused by 'Afghan raiders' to the Seistan-Meshed telegraph line, near to the borders with Afghanistan, in 1923.The volume comprises part 2. This includes a divider which gives the subject and part number, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.There is a document partly written in French within the volume, minutes of a meeting held at the British Legation in Gulhek [Tehran].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 407; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.