Number of results to display per page
Search Results
25. ‘Transport requirements; Truck for office’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to the shipment from Basra to Bahrain of a Dodge truck for use by the Public Relations Office in Bahrain, and the shipment in the opposite direction of a Hudson saloon car. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Public Relations Officer in Basra (Major E C Becher; D A Denbigh); the Public Relations Officer in Bahrain (Cornelius James Pelly).The file contains:correspondence relating to arrangements to ship the truck, with associated equipment, from Bahrain to Basra. The truck was intended for use by the Public Relations office to transport a generator and film projector, and be used for radio broadcasts;correspondence relating to arrangements to ship the Hudson saloon, with associated equipment, from Bahrain to Basra. The correspondence documents the difficulties encountered in finding passage for the car, the appointment of a farrash to accompany the car to discourage pilfering of its components and equipment while en route, and the failure of the farrash to protect the car, leading it to arrive in Basra, in the words of the Public Relations Officer at Basra, ‘in a very bad condition’ (f 29);correspondence relating to equipment requirements for the truck in Bahrain;correspondence relating to an incident in which the driver of the truck was stopped by the police authorities in Bahrain, who had assumed that the truck was stolen property.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 53; 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 2-36; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
26. ‘Notes and private telegram from the Viceroy regarding the future settlement of Eastern Turkey in Asia and Arabia.’
- Description:
- Abstract: The papers comprise as follows:A note by Sir (Frederic) Arthur Hirtzel, Secretary, Political and Secret Department, India Office, dated 14 March 1915, indicating factors to be considered in ensuring Basra’s future immunity from Turkish authority, organised under a number of subheadings: geography; ethnology; communications, including roads, railways, and waterways; irrigation; administrative reorganisation; the geographical area to be detached from Turkish authority; the nature of the new administration; protected area; and Persia (folios 77-83);A note by General Sir Edmund George Barrow, Military Secretary, India Office, dated 16 March 1915, on the defence of Mesopotamia [Iraq], written in response to Hirtzel’s note, and considering the military implications of defending Mesopotamia (folios 83-84);Comments on Barrow’s note by Hirtzel, dated 17 March 1915, chiefly concerned with Turkish influence in the Arab world (folios 84-85);A telegram from the Viceroy (Charles Hardinge) to the Marquess of Crewe, Secretary of State for India, dated 15 March 1915, regarding the importance of British administration of the vilayets (administrative regions) of Basra and Bagdad [Baghdad], and ownership of the Baghdad railway (folio 85);A map entitled ‘Eastern Turkey in Asia’, indicating the Baghdad railway (completed and projected sections), the Hejaz railway, Aleppo Mezerib line, and the Turko-Persian frontier (folio 86).Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at f 77, and terminates at f 86, 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 ff 77-86; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and won't be found in the same position as the main sequence.Folio 86 is a fold-out map, extending by more than 3cm beyond the edge of the volume.
27. 'A note on communications and irrigation in the Persian province of Arabistan'
- Description:
- Abstract: This note on communications and irrigation in Arabistan was written by Sir George Cunningham Buchanan and was printed in Simla at the Government Monotype Press. The information in the note is divided using sub-headings which include:general descriptioncommunicationsthe Karun Riverirrigation (in Shushter and Ahwaz)navigationproposals for improved communicationsFolios 8-9 contain photo illustrations of the Karun River and Ahwaz Rapids.Four maps are enclosed at the back of the file (folios 11-14).The file was previously marked confidential.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside 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.Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence between ff 4-7.
28. 'Correspondence relating primarily to individual Forces, and not (with some exceptions) of general interest. Force 'D' '
- Description:
- Abstract: This file is labelled as the 'September 1918 Supplement to Volume III' (Volume III was issued in May 1917), and contains copies of correspondence relating to military expenditure and Basra administration by Expeditionary Force D. A contents page at the front of the file (folios 202-204) details the date, sender, recipient and subject of each letter. The correspondence is then arranged chronologically within two categories: 'Military Expenditure' (folios 205-215) and 'Basra Administration' (folios 215-221.) The most frequent correspondents in the file are the India Office, the War Office, the Controller of War Accounts and the Viceroy.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 201, and terminates at f 221, 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.Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
29. 'Mosque and Minaret of coloured tiles at Basra'. Photographer: Wilfrid Malleson
- Description:
- Abstract: Genre/Subject Matter:View of a mosque and minaret in Basra. A colonnade at the right of the image leads towards the minaret left of centre, which is decorated with coloured tiles. Four figures stand at the base of the minaret while a palm grows in the courtyard in the foreground.Inscriptions:Pencil, longside image, to the right: '25'Ink, to the right of image: 'Mosque and Minaret of coloured tiles at Basra'Physical description: Dimensions:189 x 140 mmCondition:The print is in good condition throughout.Foliation:‘25’
30. 'Field notes: Mesopotamia. General Staff, India. February, 1917.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file consists of a printed volume regarding the field notes on Mesopotamia. The volume was prepared on behalf of the General Staff, India and printed by the Superintendent Government Printing, India.The volume is divided into the following chapters:I. History.II. Geography.III. Population.IV. Resources.V. Notes on the Turkish Army.VI. Maritime.VII. Administration.VIII Communications; Routes in Mesopotamia.The volume also contains a number of appendices: A. Important personages; B. Table of Distances (in miles); C. Weights, Measures, Currency, Chronology; D. Some notes for officers proceeding to Mesopotamia; Glossary of Terms.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 169; 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 file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
31. 'Summary of correspondence relative to the administration of the Port of Basrah and measures for the control of the shipping traffic in Mesopotamia.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This secret summary was compiled by the Army Department, War Section Case and printed in Simla in September 1919. It contains letters and telegrams sent from 11 December 1915 to 14 August 1916 between the officers of the Government of India and the Director-General of Port Administration and River Conservancy on the administration of the Port of Basrah [Basra].The summary also contains 'Report of Major-General G F MacMunn's Committee on the Organization of the River Service in Mesopotamia' (folios 58-66), with recommendations for the Royal India Marine Services, on the method of employing existing and forthcoming vessels, and measures for the control of the shipping traffic on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.Physical description: The foliation sequence 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. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
32. 'Summary of correspondence relative to surveying operations and river conservancy in Mesopotamia'
- Description:
- Abstract: This secret summary was compiled by the Army Department, War Section Case and printed in Simla in September 1916.It contains letters and telegrams sent from 10 February 1915 to 16 May 1916 between the officers of the Government of India, the Director of the Royal India Marine and the Director-General of Port Administration and River Conservancy, Basra. The main subject is a Survey of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by the Royal Marine and other surveys, to determine river conservancy work.Physical description: The foliation sequence 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. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
33. ‘File 13/23 Survey of P.G. [Persian Gulf] Aerodromes’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the arrival in Bahrain in January 1947, of a survey party, who are touring the head of the Persian Gulf to assess the region’s aerodromes. The principal correspondents in the file are the Bahrain Political Agent, Captain Hugh Dunstan Lance, the Political Resident, Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay, Ludovic James Dunnett of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and Eion Pelly Donaldson of the India Office.The first part of the file (ff 3-19) contains correspondence relating to arrangements for the arrival of the survey party, including notices of estimated arrival, and the arrangement of taxis for transportation, made between 12 December 1946, when notification was received of the survey party visit (f 1) and the arrival of the party around 29 January 1947. The second part of the file (ff 20-49) is a copy of the report, entitled ‘Ministry of Civil Aviation Technical Survey Party, Report on Baghdad, Basra, Shaibah [Sha’iba], Dhahran, Abadan and Bahrain’, issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation Planning Secretariat and dated 27 February 1947. The report focusses on each aerodrome in turn, with sections and appendices on: runway orientation and size; suitability of runways for aircraft of certain size; passenger accommodation; engineering (drainage, subsoil, bearing strength); meteorological departments; air traffic control; and radio communications. At the front of the report (f 21) is a summary of conclusions and recommendations for the route between Palestine and India, chiefly concerning an extension of the runway at Shaibah and long-term planning for a new civil aviation airport at Bahrain. The last part of the file (ff 50-55) contains correspondence sent after the issue of the report, and a meeting, held in London on 1 April 1947, to assess the report’s recommendations. A letter from the Donaldson to Hay, dated 17 April 1947 (f 50), discusses the case for a new airport at Hamala, south of Manama, Bahrain, with a suggestion that the Bahrain Government might contribute to the scheme by investing in approach roads and a hotel.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 60; 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 3-53; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. They are located in the same position as the main sequence, except for some instances which are located in the verso.
34. ‘File 28/12 Establishment of Contraband Control Centre’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises correspondence and other papers relating to the transport and trade in contraband goods through the Gulf during the Second World War, with particular reference to the trade in goods of enemy origin or destination. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior); the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban; Edward Birkbeck Wakefield; Major Tom Hickinbotham) and the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf (including Commodore Cosmo Moray Graham).The file includes:correspondence dated late 1939, relating to a request from the Government of India for information on the trade in wool in the Persian Gulf, the reply from the Residency Agent at Sharjah being that there is no export trade, only a small import trade of goat hair from Persia (ff 3-7);correspondence dated 1940, relating to a proposal from the Admiralty for the institution of a Contraband Intelligence Centre in the Gulf, based at Bahrain, and intended to monitor trade outside the Shatt-al-Arab. The proposal is made in response to the completion of the railway line from Istanbul to Basra, and fears that goods could be shipped from the Far East, through the Persian Gulf, and onwards overland into Europe (ff 14-30);correspondence relating to a number of separate intelligence reports suggesting that various goods, including German dyestuffs and parachute silk, were being traded through the Persian Gulf for enemy purposes (ff 27-33);detention and release in January 1941 of the vessel Puerto Ricanat Bahrain (ff 42-49);in 1941, correspondence relating to the use of Gulf ports, including Kuwait and Dubai, to re-forward goods to Iraq, Syria and Beirut (ff 51-55);in 1942, correspondence marked most secret relating to intercepted messages instructing an increase in rug exports from Dubai, and British suspicions that rugs, not actually exported from Dubai, may be a code for tea, sugar or textiles (ff 57-60);correspondence (ff 62-90) relating to intelligence reports that German agents are shipping drugs and other contraband on dhows travelling from Goa to Basra, including reports of specific vessels to be stopped and searched. A copy of a report from the Collector of Salt Revenue at Bombay, dated 5 February 1943 (ff 89-90) provides details of the nature and methods allegedly being used to smuggle contraband through the Persian Gulf;in 1945, correspondence relating to instructions from the Naval Officer-in-Charge at Karachi to stop and search vessels at Gwadar (ff 92-105).The file notes (ff 116-127) reference correspondence, some of which relates to the import of tea, which is no longer included in the file, having been moved to other files (File 29 War: Food Supplies, IOR/R/15/2/766-794).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 128; 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 incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-111 and a mixed foliation/pagination sequence is present in the file notes at the back (ff 116-127); these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
35. ‘File 28/27 Disturbances in Iraq’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises telegrams, letters and other papers responding to the military operations carried out by British forces against Iraqi forces in Iraq between 2 and 31 May 1941, as part of the campaign widely referred to as the Anglo-Iraqi War, and the political aftermath of the War, concluding with Iraq’s declaration of war against Germany and the other Axis powers. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior), and the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield).The file includes:telegraphic updates sent by the Political Resident and Political Agent on developments in Iraq (f 7, f 13, f 28);correspondence concerning changing spheres of British military command (land and air) during the conflict (f 3, f 6);correspondence concerning the reception of propaganda at Bahrain from Baghdad and Berlin; BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) broadcasts as a source of information on developments in Iraq; British counter-propaganda; anti-British sentiment in Bahrain (f 4, f 10, f 12, f 21, f 27);correspondence relating to concerns over Iraqis at Bahrain, including those employed as NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officers) for the Bahrain Defence Force, and Iraqi Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) employees (f 8, ff 14-16);a translated copy of a statement addressed to ‘His Royal Highness The Regent Prince Abdul Ilah Amman [‘Abd al-llah]’ by the ‘Iraqi Community of Bahrain’, dated 20 May 1941 (f 26);a telegraphic message of support for ‘His Royal Highness Abdulilah’ from ‘Hamad AlKhalifah’ [Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah], undated (ff 35-36);correspondence dated 1943, referring to the state of war existing between Iraq and Germany, Italy and Japan as of 17 January 1943 (ff 39-43);a copy of a booklet entitled Documents relating to the adherence of Iraq to the Declaration of the United Nations, signed at Washington on 2nd January 1942, printed by the Government Press at Baghdad, 1943 (ff 45-55).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 58; 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 2-44; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
36. ‘File 28/32 I Recruitment in Persian Gulf states’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains copies of correspondence and other papers relating to investigations into the prospect of recruiting large numbers of labourers from the Persian Gulf, for non-combatant military work in Basra, and later on, civilian (oil refinery) labour at Abadan. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior, and Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay as Officiating Political Resident); and Colonel Charles Marriot of the 3rd Auxiliary Pioneers, PAIFORCE [Persia and Iraq Force].The file includes:correspondence dated May 1942, relating to an initial proposal from the War Council for the recruitment of men from the Persian Gulf states for (chiefly) non-combatant service, and enquiries made to the Political Agents in the Persian Gulf as to whether there would be any objection from the rulers in the region (ff 2-9);correspondence dated July to August 1942, relating to arrangements made by the Tenth Army for a recruitment tour to the Persian Gulf, and enquiries made to the Political Agents as the degree of success that such a tour might have (ff 10-14);correspondence relating to Colonel Charles Marriot’s visit in January 1943 to Bahrain to assess the prospects of recruitment in the Persian Gulf region (ff 16-18), his subsequent report on his visit (ff 30-31), and his subsequent correspondence with the Political Agent at Bahrain over the delays and increasing unlikelihood of the recruitment scheme taking place (ff 34-36, ff 40-41);a copy of a secret memorandum, dated 12 November 1942 entitled ‘Recruiting in the Persian Gulf’ (ff 20). Following the memorandum are several annexes: copies of letters from the Political Agents at Kuwait, Bahrain, and Muscat, offering assessments of the recruitment prospects in their respective areas (ff 21-22); copies of documents indicating rates of pay and allowances for recruits, clothing and equipment lists, field service ration schedules, and rates for permanent partial disability compensation for Iraq (ff 23-29);correspondence relating to assessments that up to 2,000 Bahrain subjects could be recruited to work in Basra or elsewhere, in light of the depressed economic situation and unemployment in Bahrain (f 33, ff-38-39, f 42);correspondence relating to a request from PAIFORCE, made in April 1943, for civilian labour to work at the oil refinery at Abadan, and the Political Agent at Bahrain’s response that there is now no surplus labour available at Bahrain, due to construction work at the Royal Naval and Royal Air Force bases in Bahrain, and the extension of the Bahrain Petroleum Company’s (BAPCO) refinery facilities (ff 44-57).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 66; 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 2-41; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file notes at the back (ff 61-65) have been paginated using pencil.