Abstract: This file contains correspondence related to the development of education in Bahrain. In particular, the correspondence discusses a proposal by C.R.L Adrian-Vallance to establish a college of higher education in Bahrain for students from all of the Arab states of the Gulf.Adrian-Vallance proposed this idea as a means to combat Pan-Arab/anti-British sentiment and foster a sense of Gulf identity distinct from a broader Arab identity. A letter (from Adrian-Vallance to Charles Belgrave, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa's adviser) that outlines his plan for the college is contained on ff. 7 - 15.The file also includes a detailed report on government education in Bahrain with proposals for reform (written by Adrian-Vallance in 1939) contained on ff. 52b - 126, a report on technical education in Bahrain (written by Geoffrey E. Hutchings in 1940) contained on ff. 160 - 192 and a report written by Adrian-Vallance in May 1940 that gives an update on the progress made in education in Bahrain since his appointment as Director of Education in the country in November 1939.The file also contains correspondence regarding Adrian-Vallance's appointment as Director of Education in Bahrain, including a copy of his contract with Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.Physical description: A bound correspondence volume. The main foliation sequence starts at the titlepage and terminates at the 4th sheet from the back of the volume; these numbers are written in pencil and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.An incomplete second foliation sequence (53-119) runs between ff 53-225 with a gap between ff 86-87; these numbers are also written in pencil and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.Foliation errors: 1A, 1B and 1C; 52a and 52b.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence relating to the islands of Bahrain, Tanb (also written as Tamb) [Greater and Lesser Tumb] and Abu Musa in the context of the Persian claim to these islands. The main correspondents are Senior Naval Officer Persian Gulf; Political Resident Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle); H.M. Minister, Tehran (Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen); Under Secretary of State, Foreign Office (John Charles Walton); Sheikh Sultan bin Salim, ruler of Ras al Khaimah Topics of letters include:The attitude of Shaikh Sultan bin Salim, the ruler of Ras al Khaimah.The British approach to a possible Persian claim over Bahrain at the Council of League of Nations.Interception of letters from the Persian Governement to the local shaikh at Tanb.Account of a conversation between a French Admiral (Contre-Amiral Rivet) and the Shaikh of Ras al Khaimah.A firman contained in a envelope (folio 179a).The removal and replacement of the Ras al Khaimah flag on Tanb.Physical description: Foliation. The foliation sequences runs from the front cover to last folio, and consists of small circled numbers, located in the top right corner of the recto of each folio.
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman), the India Office (Roland Tennyson Peel, John Percival Gibson), the Secretary to the Government of India, External Affairs Department (Sir Aubrey Metcalfe), the Shaikh of Bahrain (Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah), Bahrain Petroleum Company (Hamilton R Ballantyne, Fred A Davies, Max W Thornburg), and Petroleum Concessions Limited (Frank Holmes, John Skliros) regarding the Shaikh of Bahrain’s proposal to grant a concession for the whole of the unallotted area, including the Hawar Islands, to the Bahrain Petroleum Company and His Majesty’s Government’s approval of the proposal.Following on from the approval of the proposal to grant a concession to the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) the correspondence focuses on discussion around the proposed agreement, to take the form of a deed of modification to BAPCO’s 1934 lease and the political agreement which would accompany the concession. The main areas of discussion including the definition of the area the concession would cover, and the need to include a pre-emption clause in the political agreement. Copies, in Arabic and English, of the draft deed of modification (ff 146-161, 170-180, 218-227) and draft political agreement (ff 133-139) are included in the volume.Also discussed in the volume is the conclusion of the sovereignty question relating to the Hawar Islands following the submission by the Shaikh of Qatar (Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī) of a response to the counter-claims made by the Shaikh of Bahrain. On reviewing both claims and supporting evidence His Majesty’s Government's final decision was that islands belonged to Bahrain and not Qatar.Also included in the volume are copies of draft concession agreements put forward by Petroleum Concessions Limited including one for the Hawar Islands (ff 8-26) and one for the waters and islands of Bahrain, described as the shoal area (ff 44-65).A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 242-248Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 253; 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 6-241; 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 volume contains correspondence and telegrams between the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India and the Secretary of State for the Colonies in London, the Political Resident at Bushire, the Political Agent at Kuwait and and Eastern and General Syndicate Limited (E.&G.S.) representatives. The main subject is the negotiations for oil concessions in Kuwait between APOC and Eastern and General Syndicate Limited, represented by Major Frank Holmes.The volume also includes some letters, in Arabic and in translation, from and to the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, and correspondence regarging him being invited to visit London as guest of the Eastern and General Syndicate (folios 73-74). On folios 155A-166 'Final Record of a Meeting held at the Colonial Office on the 26th of April, 1933, to discuss various questions relating to Oil in the Persian Gulf', regarding Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.Physical description: The foliation is written in pencil, not circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The numbering commences at the title page with 1, 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D; then 2-23; 24 and 24A; 25-45; 46 and 46A; 47-110; 111, 111A and 111B; 112-154; 155 and 155A; 156-176; 177-178 are missing or skipped; 179-185; 186 and 186A; 187-215; 216 and 216A and then it carries on until 245, which is the fifth folio from the back of the volume.
Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:View of a steamship, ‘British Sailor’, moored alongside a quay at Mina [Mina Salman Port], Bahrain.Inscriptions:Below image, in pen: 'British Sailor at Mina'Below image, in pencil: ‘506’Physical description: Dimensions:54 x 78 mmCondition:The image is in good condition.Foliation:‘506’Process:Silver gelatin print
Abstract: The file comprises maps and notes prepared in anticipation of the stopping off at Bahrain of Indian Army regiments that were part of Indian Expeditionary Force D, which travelled from Bombay to Basra in October 1914, and went on to fight in the Mesopotamian campaign of the First World War. The regiments stopped at Bahrain between 23 and 30 October 1914. However, in spite of the preparations made, no troops or livestock left the Expeditionary Force ships which moored off the Bahrain coast.The file contains:three hand drawn maps (one original and two tracings) showing the proposed sites for camps, and planned routes for infantry and animals from the selected disembarkation points in Manama, to the camps (ff 4-5, ff 6-8, ff 9-11);a carbon-copied sketch map of a camp, located one mile south of Manama, with allocated plots within the camp for different regiments, many of which were part of the 6th (Poona) Division (f 3);a general note entitled ‘camping grounds in Bahrain Island’ (f 2);disembarkation notes, identifying the customs jetty, Political Agency jetty, and the Gray Paul & Company jetty, as the three points where disembarkation could take place (ff 12-13);a note on the availability of drinking water in Bahrain, including surface wells, deep wells, sea springs and island springs (ff 14-15);further notes on the two possible camping grounds identified (ff 16-18);a note on supplies, with brief details of fuel and fodder (f 19);notes for the ADMS [Assistant Director of Medical Services] on the climate and sanitary situation at Bahrain (f 20);duties of various people who would be involved in the disembarkation and supply of provisions (f 21).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 22; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:Image of a Canadair DC-4M
Argonauton a runway strip in Bahrain.Inscriptions:Below image, in pen: ‘Aurora (Argonaut) Bahrein’Below image, in pencil: ‘491’Physical description: Dimensions:54 x 78 mmCondition:The image is in good condition.Foliation:‘491’Process:Silver gelatin print
Abstract: This volume contains originals and copies of correspondence between Major Adelbert Cecil Talbot, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and Her British Majesty's Consul General for Fars; Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, Secretary to the Government of India; Muḥammad Amīn bin Badr, temporary Residency Agent at Bahrain; ‘Abd al-Laṭīf bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān, Residency Agent at Sharjah; Commander Hart Dyke, Senior Naval Officer Persian Gulf Division, Bushire; and Shaikh Rāshid bin Maktūm Āl Maktūm.The correspondence in this volume concerns the drafting, signing and ratification of the Exclusive Treaty (1892) with the shaikhs of the Trucial Coast and the Shaikh of Bahrain. The treaty bound themselves, their heirs and successors to the following conditions: (1) On no account shall any agreement or correspondence be entered into with any power other than the British Government; (2) Without the assent of the British Government, they shall not consent to the residence within their territories of the Agent of any other Government; and (3) On no account shall they cede, sell, mortgage or otherwise give for occupation any part of their territory save to the British Government. The treaty came in response to the intrigues of Hyacinthe-Alexandre Chapuy, a French merchant, with the chief of Umm al-Qaywayn, in 1891, and a period of Persian activity on the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf between 1887 and 1888, and the subsequent signing of an agreement between Edward Charles Ross, Political Resident and the Trucial Coast chiefs in August 1888.Copies of the ratified treaty in Arabic and English appear signed as follows: Ḥumayd bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Qāsimī, ruler of Ras-el-Khymah [Ras al-Khaymah], dated 9 Sha‘bān 1309 and 8 March 1892 (folios 15-16); Aḥmad bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Mu‘allā, ruler of Um-el-Kawain, dated 9 Sha‘bān 1309 and 8 March 1892 [Umm al-Qaywayn] (folios 17-18); Ḥumayd bin Rāshid Āl Nu‘aymī, ruler of Ajman, dated 8 Sha‘bān 1309 and 7 March 1892 (folios 19-20); Ṣaqr bin Khālid Āl Qāsimī, ruler of Shargah [Sharjah], dated 8 Sha‘bān 1309 and 7 March 1892 (folios 21-22); Rāshid bin Maktūm Āl Maktūm, ruler of Debai [Dubai], dated 8 Sha‘bān 1309 and 7 March 1892 (folios 23-24); Zāyid bin Khalīfah Āl Nahyān, ruler of Abu Dhabi, dated 6 Sha‘bān 1309 and 5 March 1892 (folios 25-26); and ‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah, ruler of Bahrain, dated 14 Sha‘bān 1309 and 14 March 1892 (folios 27-28).The correspondence includes: a letter from Talbot to Durand, dated 29 September 1891, with information concerning the intrigues of Chapuy (folios 3-4); letter from Talbot to Durand, dated 19 October 1891, concerning the agreement of 1888, the intrigues of Chapuy and the suggestion for a treaty with the chiefs of the Trucial coast (folios 6-7); approval for the treaty given by the Government of India (folio 10); copies sent for ratification (folio 12); suggestions for minor adaptations to the wording (folio 29); copies of the ratified treaty sent to the chiefs of the Trucial Coast and Bahrain with Commander Hart Dyke (folios 31-38); letter from the Shaikh of Bahrain to the Talbot confirming receipt (folios 39-40); and correspondence with the ShAikh of Dubai acknowledging receipt, questioning the ratification and criticising the Native Agent (folios 47-59).Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second foliation sequence is present between folios 3-66; these numbers are written in pencil & red crayon, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence. Foliation errors: 9, and 9A; 62, and 62A; 65, and 65A. Foliation omissions: folio 2.
Abstract: The volume comprises orders made by the Political Agent at Bahrain, pertaining to the administration of the Agency, and in some cases to the administration of the Victoria Memorial Hospital. The file is a direct chronological continuation of the file ‘Office Orders. Vol.1 (Closed)’ (IOR/R/15/2/1984). Orders are numbered, dated, and in most cases signed by or on behalf of the Political Agent.The volume includes:orders registering the appointment, discharge, dismissal, resignation, and leave (including sick leave) of various individuals employed in the Agency (or Victoria Memorial Hospital), including sweepers, peons, doorkeepers, farashes, clerks, munshis, and those associated with the Agency’s motor launch;orders relating to the salaries of Agency staff, including salary increases and allocation of dearness allowance, to offset the increased cost of living during the Second World War;an order, dated 14 March 1942, relating to remittances to the Residency Agent at Sharjah (f 48);orders, dated 1945, outlining important points of office procedure for clerks in the Agency’s English and Vernacular Offices (f 71, f 73);an order detailing the summer and winter ‘liveries’ (clothing) to be issued to ‘inferior staff’ (i.e. menial establishment staff) at the Agency for summer and winter (ff 77-78);orders relating to judicial and court procedures.A large portion of the volume has been left blank (ff 95-185). The last dated entry, dated 18 September 1949 (f 93) is followed by a number of further orders, which refer to dates in December 1949 and February 1950, but which are themselves undated.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 185; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the volume also contains a handwritten pagination sequence.
Abstract: The volume comprises orders made by the Political Agent at Bahrain, pertaining to the administration of the Agency, and in some cases to the administration of the Victoria Memorial Hospital. Orders are numbered, dated, and signed by the Political Agent.The volume includes:orders registering the appointment, discharge, dismissal, resignation, and leave of various individuals employed in the ‘menial establishment’ of the Agency, including sweepers, peons, doorkeepers, khalasis (dock workers) and tindals, and of other employees, including clerks, munshis, accountants, passport writers, and those associated with the Agency’s motor launch;orders relating to the salaries of Agency staff, and terms of sick leave;orders relating to fines charged against Agency staff for unauthorised absence, neglect of duty, and disobedience;orders relating to the operation of the Agency, including changes to Agency opening hours, definition of the duties and interactions of staff (including interpreters, Vernacular Office clerks, head clerk, medical officers), security arrangements covering the Agency buildings and other Agency property, including case files, financial arrangements, judicial procedure;two orders, both dated 1936, detailing how correspondence between the Residency Agent at Sharjah and the Political Agency in Bahrain should be handled (f 121, f 125);two orders, dated 1936 and 1937, outlining the distribution of work for individuals employed in the Agency’s English Office (f 122, f 130);Gaps in the dates of the orders suggest that the order book was, at certain times, used intermittently. For example, a note written by the new Political Agent Major Arthur Prescott Trevor in December 1912 states that the previous Political Agent (Captain David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer) did not use the order book (f 43). The order book was also used only sporadically during the period 1917-1921.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 139; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the volume also contains a handwritten pagination sequence.
Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:General view of the sea front in Bahrain, possibly at Manama. The horizon line is punctuated by various built structures before which a variety of dhows and other craft are moored, at anchor or pulled up along the shoreline.A large group of figures can be seen standing alongside a white-washed wall right of the centre of the image.A gravelly area to the left in the foreground indicates that the photograph was taken from land, not from on board ship.Inscriptions:Upper right, in pencil alongside image: 'b', '38'Below image, in pen: 'Bahrein'Physical description: Dimensions:106 x 206 mmFormat:Albumen print on paperCondition:The print is in good condition with staining and light creasing in the sky area in the upper left corner and minor surface dirt throughout.Foliation:‘b’ (crossed out); ‘38’Process:Albumen print
Abstract: A printed memorandum written and compiled by Adolphus Warburton Moore for the Political and Secret Department of the India Office, and dated 2 December 1881.The document is a continuation of 'Persian Gulf - Turkish jurisdiction along the Arabian coast (Part II)' (IOR/L/PS/18/B19/2) and broadly addresses the same issues, namely, how to respond toTurkish claims to sovereignty along the southern coast of the Gulf that could potentially impinge on Britain's commitments with local rulers (in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast) and their security responsibilities at sea (the suppression of piracy).The document summarises correspondence from the previous two years (1879-1881) that had dealt with the matter, beginning with an outline of the opinions of officials from the main departments and institutions involved: the Foreign Office, the Government of India, and the India Office (whose opinion Warburton represents). Other correspondents include officials from the Residencies and Agencies in both the Persian Gulf and Turkish Arabia, as well as the Ambassador at Constantinople.The documents cover several topics, including:The threat to Bahrain from the Beni Hajir tribe and Ottoman ambitions to extend their sovereignty to the island, including the Turkish plan to build a coal depot on the island as a pretext to further political involvement;Questions of how to police the waters under Turkish authority;How Britain should deal with Shaikh Jasim [Jāsim bin Muḥammad Āl Thāni] of El Bidaa [Doha];Turkish claims to parts of the coast of Guttur [Qatar].The document concludes with the perceived outcomes of the discussions, including closer ties with the ruler of Bahrain, who, in December 1880, agreed not to open relations with any foreign power other than Britain.The author quotes extensively from the correspondence and other sources, notes on which are to be found in the margin throughout.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation for this description commences at folio 4 and terminates at folio 18, as it is part of a larger physical volume; 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 folios 4-197; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the bottom right corner of each folio.Pagination: the document also has an original printed pagination sequence.