Abstract: This file concerns plans in 1944-45 and 1949 to open bank branches on the mainland of Saudi Arabia. The file contains correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire; Ernest Vincent Packer, Petroleum Concessions Limited, Bahrain; the Assistant Secretary to the Government of India; D Ham, Manager of the Eastern Bank Limited, Bahrain; and the Chancery, British Embassy, Jedda. There are also copies of correspondence between the India Office, the Government of India and the Political Residency at Bushire, as well as between the Foreign Office and His Majesty's Government at Jedda. In addition, there is correspondence between Ham and N S Golder, General Manager of the Eastern Bank Limited, London, gathered through interception.The correspondence from 1944-45 concerns the possibility of opening a branch of the Eastern Bank Limited on the mainland of Saudi Arabia at Dhahran [al-Ẓahrān] or Al Khobar [al-Khubar], and possibly at Ras Tanura [Ra’s Tanūrah]. Folios 31-37 include a letter and diary with details of Ham's trip to the mainland of Saudi Arabia in July 1944, his meetings with officials from the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (later Aramco) and Saudi officials, as well as a dispute regarding his Jewish Head Clerk. In addition, the correspondence includes details of other banks making attempts to open branches on the mainland, including the Chase National Bank, the Imperial Bank of Iran, and the National City Bank of New York. There are details of conditions imposed on the National City Bank of New York for opening in Saudi Arabia (f 48) and of a visit by their representative, G Martel Hall (ff 57, 60, 65 and 67).The correspondence from 1945 (ff 71-72) concerns the possibility of the British Bank of Iran and the Middle East opening a branch at al-Khubar.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) 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. An additional foliation sequence is present between ff 3-72; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled. The volume also contains a pagination sequence between ff 73-75.
Abstract: This files concerns relations between the Political Agent at Bahrain and the Amir of Dhahran [al-Ẓahrān] on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. The correspondents in the file include Khalid Sidairi [Khālid al-Suayrī], Amir of al-Ẓahrān; the Political Agent at Bahrain; and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire.The correspondence of May 1945 (ff 2-5) concerns the appointment of Khālid al-Suayrī by Abdul-Aziz [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd (Ibn Saud)] to administer the Amirate [Emirate] of Dhahran [Imārat Muqāṭi‘at al-Ẓahrān]. The correspondence of April 1946 (f 6) concerns a visit of the Bahrain State Engineer to Hassa [al-Aḥsā’] 20-25 March 1946 at the request of the Amir of Hassa (perhaps also of the Amir of Dhahran?) to advise both on the electrification of the town of Hofuf [al-Hufūf], and on the question of whether equipment and infrastructure had been supplied by the United States of America or Britain.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the 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.
Abstract: This file concerns educational visits to Bahrain, including a visit of six Iraqi teachers to Bahrain in 1933 (ff 2-9); a visit of Kuwait teachers and twenty-seven schoolboys and their possible interest in visiting the California-Arabian Standard Oil (CASCO) camp at Dhahran [al-Ẓahrān] in February 1941 (ff 10-13); and a complaint concerning the behaviour of a party of boy scouts from Kuwait particularly concerning their singing of 'odes of an inflammatory nature' regarding Palestine (ff 14-17). Correspondence in this file is between the British Embassy at Baghdad; the Indian Assistant to the Political Agent at Bahrain; the Political Agent at Bahrain; the Political Agent at Kuwait; and F W Ohliger, Resident Manager, CASCO Camp, at Dhahran.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-17; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence (the exception being No. 16, which is located on the verso).
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence regarding applications from the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) and California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC), represented primarily by Hamilton R Ballantyne and Max Weston Thornburg, for permission to install wireless apparatus and operate wireless telegraphy between Dhahran [Aẓ-Ẓahrān] and Awali [ʻAwālī].The discussion, which is primarily between the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman, Reginald George Evelin Alban), the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, the India Office (Roland Tennyson peel, John Percival Gibson, Esmond Walter Rawson Lumby), and the Imperial Communications Advisory Committee (William Warren Shaw-Zambra) relates initially to the question of whether Cable and Wireless have a monopoly on international telegraphic communications in Bahrain, and whether therefore such a proposal would infringe on that.The later correspondence discusses the wartime implications of such a communication service, particularly in regards to the question of censorship, and its possibilities as an advance warning of enemy aircraft from Arabia, which arises following the air raid on CASOC’s facility at Dhahran in 1941.Also discussed in the volume is a proposal for an agreement between Cable and Wireless and BAPCO whereby Cable and Wireless would operate the services required by BAPCO for a fee, but it was ultimately abandoned owing to restrictions laid down by the Saudi Arab Government that wireless communication between the two companies would only be permitted provided the recipient wireless sets in Bahrain were on BAPCO sites only.Other matters discussed in the volume include:the discovery that CASOC were using wireless sets on board launches and tankers outside of the territorial waters of Saudi Arabia to communicate direct with the USA and whether or not this contravened international laws or regulations;the potential expansion of the Bahrain refinery to accommodate wartime needs, using crude oil shipped from Saudi Arabia;an agreement made in 1935 between the Saudi Government, Sudan Government, Eastern Telegraph Company and Cable and Wireless which granted Cable and Wireless a monopoly in Saudi Arabia;concerns over the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate and their lack of awareness and concern over the need for secrecy in wartime.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 186-193.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 197; 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 5-185; 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: This file concerns suspicions of foreign agent activity in Saudi Arabia. Folios 2-5 and 8 concern suspicions held by C S Freebury of Gray Mackenzie and Company Limited at Ras Tanura, with regards to Mr Jean de Kuharski and Mr Pixton (Polish and English citizens respectively, who are said to be making a documentary film about the life of Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]), and an American named William Frary. Folios 6-7 concern information received with regards to three men (two Palestinian Arabs and a Bulgarian) who have been trained in a Russian military intelligence school and who are seeking work in Aramco at Dhahran (al-Ẓahrān). The file contains correspondence between Cornelius James Pelly, Political Agent at Bahrain; Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bahrain; C S Freebury of Gray Mackenzie and Company Limited at Ras Tanura; His Majesty's Minister at Jedda; and Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Bahrain Government.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover on folio 1 and terminates at the back cover on folio 10; 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 comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield, Tom Hickinbotham, Cornelius James Pelly, Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), the India office (Roland Tennyson Peel, Francis Anthony Kitchener Harrison), the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) (Ward P Anderson, Hamilton R Ballantyne), and the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC), later the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) (Floyd Ohliger, Charles E Davis) regarding permission for direct radio-telephony communication between Bahrain and Dhahran [Aẓ-Ẓahrān] which could be used to oversee launches and barges moving oil between the two places.The correspondence includes discussions on the frequencies at which this service could operate, the wartime restrictions that were imposed on conversations, and the need for local authorities in Bahrain to be able to use the service for emergency communications to Dhahran. Later adjustments to the service included the right for the Resident Manager of CASOC at Dhahran to be able to send emergency messages too, the extension of conversations to include matters relating to the new pipeline being constructed, and the introduction of new modern equipment to improve the reliability of the service.The volume concludes with a request by BAPCO to extend the remit of their direct communication service to cover all business matters and an agreement reached with Cable and Wireless Limited to permit them to do so. Also included are copies of the orders issued by both companies regulating the use of the radio-telephone service between Awali [ʻAwālī] and Dhahran.Also included in the volume are copies of the notifications issued by the Political Agent at Bahrain to the India Office each time a request for an emergency transmission is made through the Bahrain to Dhahran radio-telephony service. These emergency transmissions related primarily to forced landings of RAF planes, searches for missing planes, and medical results for employees of CASOC at Dhahran suspected of having Typhoid or other contagious illnesses.Other matters discussed include:discussion regarding Cable and Wireless rights in relation to Bahrain, which were determined not to be exclusive rights, and a request by Sir Edward Wilshaw, Chairman of Cable and Wireless to negotiate concessions with the rulers of Bahrain and Kuwait, which was postponed until the conclusion of the war;negotiations between BAPCO, CASOC and Cable and Wireless regarding payment of a nominal annual fee to Cable and Wireless in acknowledgement of their permission for the oil companies to operate their direct communication service;a letter intercepted in wartime censorship which alluded to the continuation by CASOC of the practice of sending sea-going vessels out beyond territorial waters to transmit messages directly to the USA and considered what might be done to prevent such a practice from continuing;the possibility of direct communication with CASOC in Dhahran being established and operated by the Air Liaison Officer in Bahrain to reduce the amount of emergency requests having to be sent through BAPCO;list of rates charged by the Indo-European Telegraph Department, Persian Gulf Section for cables sent to various towns and cities in the United States of America.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 197-209.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 213; 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 5-194; 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 comprises correspondence and discussions regarding the economic and political situation in relation to oil in the Middle East during and immediately after the Second World War. At the centre of the discussions are talks which took place in Washington DC between US and UK government officials looking at the global importance of oil, which focused particularly on oil in the Middle East.The talks concluded with the production of a memorandum of understanding which was published 8 August 1944 as the Agreement on Petroleum between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, otherwise known as the Anglo-American Oil Agreement (1945).Also included in the volume is correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Secretary to the Government of India, External Affairs Department (Olaf Kirkpatrick Caroe), the India Office, and His Majesty’s Minister at Jeddah (Stanley Jordan) regarding two proposed pipelines. The first being the ‘trans-arabian pipeline’ which it was proposed would link the Middle East to the Mediterranean. The proposal was initially postponed owing to heavy criticism of it in the United States press but was later taken up by the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO). The second proposal from the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) and the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC, later renamed ARAMCO) was for a pipeline to take crude oil from Dhahran [Aẓ-Ẓahrān], Saudi Arabia to the BAPCO refinery at Bahrain.Also included is correspondence between the Chief Local Representative for BAPCO (Milton H Lipp, Ward P Anderson) and the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave) regarding possible sites for the pipeline and the reservation of required land. Further discussion centred on the question of the eastern frontier of Saudi Arabia, which was in dispute, and whether His Majesty’s Government should look to tackle the matter at that time with the Saudi Arab Government or wait until the progress of the oil companies required its resolution. Jabal Naksh and Khor-al-Odaid [Khawr al ‘Udayd], which were claimed by Qatar and Abu Dhabi respectively, and whose claims were supported by His Majesty’s Government but contested by Saudi Arabia were discussed as being key areas in the frontier dispute.Another matter discussed in the volume was a visit paid by the Mission of the Petroleum Reserves Corporation to the Middle East. The Mission’s purpose was to review resources of petroleum in the Middle East and its itinerary included visits to Kuwait, Dhahran, and Bahrain. The mission was headed by Everette Lee Degoyler and also included the eminent geologists and petroleum experts Dr George Martin Lees, William Embry Wrather, and John Herhold Murrell.Other matters touched on in the volume include a request by ARAMCO to undertake a hydrographic survey of the coast line of the Kuwait Neutral Zone; the possibility of resuming oil field production in Qatar and Kuwait provided the necessary equipment could be obtained from the USA; articles published in American journals and newspapers regarding the global oil situation and oil in the Middle East; and a visit paid by Major Frank Holmes to Kuwait in 1944.Also included in the volume are a number of notes and memorandums relating to oil in the Middle East:notes produced at an oil conference in Cairo in 1944 which described oil production in Bahrain and Kuwait, they contained a number of inaccuracies and were re-written by the Political Agents for Bahrain and Kuwait with assistance from the Chief Local Representatives of the Bahrain Petroleum Company and the Kuwait Oil Company;The future of oil in its relation to the Middle East; memorandum produced by Arthur Charles Hearn, Admiralty, 11 October 1940 (ff 9-21);Note on present oil position in Persian Gulfby Commodore John Montagu Howson, Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf (ff 103-104 );Memorandum on the oil concessions in the Arab Sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf,by the External Department, India Office, 13 Mar 1944 (ff 126-134);A survey of the oil resources in the Middle East(With map and graph), Research Department, Foreign Office, 28 Feb 1945 (ff 239-250);Iraq Oil(ff 257-267).A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 272-283.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 287; 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 7-270; 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: This file concerns the request by Reverend Father Gabriel [Fleming?], a Roman Catholic priest at Bahrain, to visit Dhahran [al-Ẓahrān] for religious services within the premises of the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco). The request is subsequently refused by the Saudi Government Representative. Correspondents include: Major Tom Hickinbotham, Political Agent at Bahrain; the Representative of the Saudi Government [Mumaththi al-Ḥakūmah] at Dhahran; and Reverend Father Gabriel.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-6; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This file concerns Aramco construction projects at Dammam [Dammām] and Dhahran [al-Ẓahrān], Saudi Arabia, including a proposal for a seven mile pier (folio 3) and 330 mile-long railway running from Dammām to Riyadh (folio 4). The file also includes 'Notes on visit to Dhahran - 26th/27th November, 1950' prepared by Meikle which provides details of infrastructure, shipping, cargo, oil industry and customs. Correspondence in the file is between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bahrain; the Political Agent at Bahrain; the India Office, London; and His Majesty's Minister at Jedda.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-19; 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 contains correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Government of India, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Adviser to the Government at Bahrain, the Medical Department of the Government of Bahrain, the Residency Surgeon & Chief Quarantine Medical Officer for the Arab Coast at Bushire, the American Consulate at Basra, and British Overseas Airways Corporation.The main subjects are:episodes of smallpox in Abadan, Bushire, Khorramshahr, and other places in the Gulf;cases of typhus in Abadan, and reports of the number of cases of the disease recorded in Bahrain in 1943 and 1944;yellow fever vaccines supply and lists of vaccinations given in Bahrain;quarantine regulations;suspected case of cerebrospinal fever;weekly health statements for Bahrain in 1950.The file also contain letters from Gray, Mackenzie & Co, requesting all passengers to produce smallpox vaccination certificates before leaving Bahrain; and a report from Arabian American Oil Company regarding a case of infantile paralysis in Dhahran.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 211; 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 2-156; these numbers are written in a combination of pencil and ink, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and telegrams between the Political Resident at Bahrain, the Political Agent at Bushire, Bahrain Petroleum Limited (BAPCO) and California Arabian Standard Oil Company (ARAMCO) on a new refinery to be built in Saudi Arabia and on an oil pipe line to be built from Dhahran in Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.The file contains maps and sketches of the route: 'Map of East Coast of Arabia showing Saudi Arabia-Bahrein [sic] Pipe Line.' (3 copies on folios 3, 37, 68); 'Map of Reservation for Crude Oil Pipe Line, Bahrain' (2 copies on folios 37B, 70).There is an index at the end of the file (folios 64-67).Physical description: The foliation is in pencil in the top right corner of recto, starting on the cover with 1, 1A, 1B; then 2-14, 14A; 15-22, 22A and ending with 70, which is the last number given to the last folio of the file (folios 43, 51 do not exist).
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence between the Office of the Secretary of State for India in London, the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Political Resident at Bushire, Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (BAPCO) and California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC) representatives.The bulk of the correspondence is about CASOC's proposal to install wireless apparatus in Bahrain for purposes of communication between the Company's office in Bahrain and Company representatives on Saudi Arabian mainland (Dhahran).The volume includes operating instructions for the telephone communications (folios 238-239).There is an index at the end of the volume (folios 289-308).Physical description: The main foliation is in pencil and can be found in the top right corner. This sequence inconsistantly switches to pagination when text is present on both sides of the folio, has a number of gaps and some folios slightly out of sequence. The numbering commences at the front cover with 1A; then 1B, 1C and 1D; and terminates at the back cover with 309.Foliation omissions: 241, 243, 271, 292-293, 297-299, 303, 305, 307-308, 312-313, 317-318, 324-325, 327, 329-333, 337-341, 344-345, 348-351, 362-363, 368-369, 372-373, 379-380 and 383.Pagination ranges: 47-46, 48-49, 95-96, 113-114, 122-123, 124-129, 132-137, 144-145, 147-150, 153-154, 250-251, 252-253, 254-255.