Abstract: This file concerns a proposed and actual visits to the Persian Gulf by the writer Lady Dorothy Mills to countries in the Middle East in 1932 for the purpose of collecting suitable material for her literary work, with permission granted to her to travel to Muscat, Bahrain and Kuwait, but not the Trucial Coast (ff 7-11); and Lady Stokes, widow of Sir Wilfred Stokes, and Miss Hastings, daughter of Colonel Sir George Hastings, to Bahrain in 1937 (ff 12-14).Correspondents in this file include: Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven Fowle, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire; Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, Political Agent at Bahrain; and Sir Courtenay Latimer, the British Resident at Rajkot.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 also present in parallel between ff 7-13; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of letters, telegrams and other papers relating to the attempted visit to Bahrain and Kuwait by Winifred Howard-Clitty, a writer of children’s books, in the winter of 1933/34. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle; the Political Agent at Bahrain, Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch; the Political Agent at Kuwait, Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson.The file includes:correspondence relating to Howard-Clitty’s application to the authorities to visit the Persian Gulf; her particular interests in collecting material for her books (including Bedouin and pearl diving stories); her intentions to travel to Kuwait in order to meet a man named Muhammad Yatim and write a book with him; her intentions to travel to Bahrain to meet with Yūsuf bin Aḥmad Kanoo;correspondence relating the circumstances leading up to the 1933 trip, specifically Howard-Clitty’s previous trip to Bahrain in 1931, where she first became acquainted with Yatim and Kanoo, and copies of correspondence exchanged between Howard-Clitty and Kanoo during the intervening period (ff 5-12);concern amongst British officials at Howard-Clitty’s intentions: relating to Yatim’s poor reputation, the prospects of a European woman visiting and intending to stay at the homes of Yatim in Kuwait and Kanoo in Bahrain (which Kanoo himself is equally uncomfortable about); reported concern of the Sheikhs of Kuwait and Bahrain at the presence of a unaccompanied European woman in their territories;continued updates from British officials in Basra during the period December 1934 to February 1934, where Howard-Clitty resided while awaiting the opportunity to meet her contacts, up until 26 February 1934, when the Bahrain Political Agent reports that Howard-Clitty has left Basra, ‘hysterical and possibly consumptive’, and angry at British officials efforts to obstruction her travel arrangements (ff 45-46). A complete account of Howard-Clitty’s stay in the region is also provided by the Bahrain Political Agent (ff 54-57);reports of Howard-Clitty’s manuscripts having been stolen while en route to Baghdad, her attempts to rewrite her manuscripts from memory, and British officials’ fears that Howard-Clitty may write a book or series of articles that are critical of the British authorities in the Gulf (ff 59-60);recommendations from India Office and Foreign Office staff in London that, in future, all women wishing to travel to the Persian Gulf be made to apply to the Political Resident (f 50).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 72; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 2-64 and ff 65-67 respectively; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the top centre of the recto side of each folio or in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The correspondence in the volume is primarily concerned with the ongoing negotiations between the Kuwait Oil Company (led by Frank Holmes and Archibald Chisholm) and the Shaikh of Kuwait, Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, which were suspended in June 1934 following disagreements between the parties over certain financial remunerations and the question of the appointment of a Chief Local Representative in Kuwait, before being resumed in September 1934 and concluded in December 1934 with the signing of the concession agreement. Copies of the final draft concession agreement can be found at folios 82-97 and 247-283. Other correspondents in these negotiations are the Political Agent at Kuwait (Harold Dickson, with Ralph Ponsonby Watts acting) and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle, with Percy Gordon Loch acting).Also included in the file is correspondence relating to a company called Traders Limited who submitted a draft oil concession agreement to the Shaikh of Kuwait in September 1934, potentially breaching the agreement made by the Shaikh with the Kuwait Oil Company not to consider any other oil concession application during the period June to September 1934.The question of the oil concession for the Kuwait-Nejd neutral zone is also discussed, with corespondence between the Foreign Office, HM Minister in Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan), the Secretaries of State for India and Foreign Affairs, representatives of the Arabian Development Syndicate, and the Deputy Saudi Minister for Foreign Affairs (Fuad Bey Hamza). The correspondence focuses on attempts to understand how the Saudi Arabian Government is handling their share of the concession, and how this might affect Kuwait.The volume also includes confidential records of meetings held at the Foreign Office with Fuad Bey Hamza (Foreign Minister for Saudi Arabia) in which the possibility of dividing the neutral zone are discussed. The Political Agent, Harold Dickson is consulted about these proposals and provides background information on the establishment of the neutral zone, the potential detrimental effects that disbanding it could have on the nomadic tribes living in the zone, and observations on the possible oil locations which would be most likely end up in the Saudi Arabian half under any division of the zone and the detrimental effect that might have on Kuwait.Other correspondence in the file includes discussions between the Secretary of State for India, Gilbert Laithwaite (India Office), Wilfred Ashton McClaughry (Air Ministry) and Charles Stuart Burnett (Air Vice-Marshall in Iraq) regarding the possible future need for a site at Shuwaikh as an airbase, and an agreement with the Shaikh of Kuwait for mooring buoys to be placed in Shuwaikh Harbour.Physical description: Foliation: The volume has been foliated in the top right hand corner of the recto of each folio using a pencil number enclosed in a circle. The sequence commences on the title page and concludes on the last folio.A second incomplete sequence is present between folios 115-316, these numbers are also written in pencil but are not circled and can be found in the same position as the main sequence. Circled index numbers, in red or blue ink, are also present throughout the volume.Foliation errors: 1, 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D; 85 and 85A; 145 and 145A; 156A; 176 and 176A; 182 and 182A; 190A; 240 and 240A; 247 and 257B; 267 and 267A; 283 and 283A; 285 and 285AFoliation omission: 24The following folios will need to be unfolded to be read: 249-267; 269-283; 319-320
Abstract: The file primarily contains correspondence between the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ), the Political Agent at Kuwait (Harold Dickson and Gerald Simpson DeGaury), the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle and Percy Gordon Loch), the India Office (John Charles Walton, Gilbert Laithwaite and Maurice Clausen) and the Kuwait Oil Company (abbreviated as KOC).Correspondence discusses the commencement of oil drilling operations in Kuwait following the signing of the Kuwait Oil Concession, in particular the appointment of Harold Dickson as Chief Local Officer, the need for a Customs and Passport Post, and the decision to move drilling operations from Bahra to the South of Kuwait due to the former having insufficient quantities of oil for production.Also discussed in the file is clause three of the political agreement between KOC and His Majesty's Government which relates to the appointment of non British or Kuwaiti personnel in Kuwait. Matters discussed include the process of applying for special permission for such individuals and applications for two specialist American personnel to be employed there. Further correspondence relates to the KOC's wish to send a team of sixteen American geophysical surveyors to Kuwait for six months to undertake Seismic, Magnetic and Gravimetric surveys.The file also contains correspondence between HM's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan), Foreign Office (Sir John Simon, George Rendel), India Office (Gilbert Laithwaite) and the Arabian Development Syndicate (Rex Jansen, Mr Ydlibi) on the question of the Kuwait-Nejd neutral zone and the two companies vying for the Saudi Arabian share of it, the Standard Oil Company of California and the Arabian Development Syndicate.Other correspondence of note in the file includes:A request by Paul Heath Boots, head of the geophysical survey for the KOC, to undertake terrestrial magnetic observations in Kuwait, Bahrain and surrounding countries as the last observations in these areas were made in 1909-1910. The correspondence includes detailed descriptions of the observations to be taken, the instruments to be used and how they hope to re-observe the magnitude and direction of the earth's magnetic field in order to determine in what way and direction the magnetic field had varied since the last observations were completed (Folios 166-167, 202-203);A letter from Traders Ltd to the Shaikh of Kuwait informing him that they are not willing to accept his decision to sign with the KOC and that they were referring the matter to their legal adviser;A request from the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (later the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) for special authorisation to land their planes at Kuwait and undertake aerial surveys there;A request by the KOC to use part of the land at the Shuwaikh site, which had previously been earmarked by the RAF as a potential future airbase site, and the British Government's decision that the site was no longer required by them;The lighting of the oil derrick at Bahra for night-time work and the need to inform Imperial Airways and the Port Director at Basra as the derrick was under the air route and near the sea;Arrangements for accommodation of European women in Bahrain and Kuwait and reminders that no European women were permitted in Qatar or the Trucial coast;Assurances from the Shaikh of Kuwait to His Majesty's Government in regards to the granting of future oil concessions, following his dealings with Traders Ltd;A discussion of the use of private wireless stations by the KOC, whether these contravened international conventions and whether they would impact future post office services in Kuwait. Further correspondence relates to the need to register the wireless stations and obtain Indian telegraph service call signs for them;A request by the KOC to place temporary buoys in the Ras Khadama [Ra’s Kāz̧imah] channel and costs involved for the Port Director at Basra to arrange for the work to be done.The correspondence from the Shaikh of Kuwait is in Arabic, with English translations, and the correspondence from the Anglo-Persian Oil Company includes letterheads in Persian and English.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences on the title page with 1 and terminated on the last folio with 232. The numbers used for this sequence are located in the top right hand corner of the recto of each folio and are indicated by a pencil number enclosed in a circle. Folio 180 has been omitted from the sequence.Foliation anomalies: 1A, 1B, 18A, 115A, 174AThe following folios need to be folded out to be read: 4, 6A former referencing system, using red crayon numbers enclosed in a circle can also be found throughout the file.
Abstract: The correspondence in the volume relates primarily to the cessation of the operations of the Kuwait Oil Company during World War Two, and their plans for post-war development once peace is declared. These plans included the development of tanker anchorages, pipe-lines for both oil and water, the construction of a refinery, and the development of the production of oil from the Burgan Oil Field. Also considered in the correspondence are the potential local repercussions, both positive and negative that such rapid development might have in Kuwait (also given as Koweit), some of the correspondence between the Company and the Shaikh is given in both English and Arabic. Also discussed is work undertaken by the Kuwait Oil Company for the British Army from 1942-1943 to provide Bitumen, and the Company's desire to use the leftover Bitumen to asphalt roads in Kuwait. Correspondence relating to the services provided by the Kuwait Landing Company, who are responsible for the loading and unloading of all cargo in Kuwait, is also included and discussion centres around the rights of the Kuwait Oil Company to unload their own cargo and their need of special steel barges to do so, which they acquire from Gray, Mackenzie and Company.Also recorded are visits made by representatives of both the Kuwait Oil Company, and its parent companies the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and the Gulf Oil Company to Kuwait which were made to discuss operational matters, attempt to secure further concessions from the Shaikh, and to settle disputes amongst the staff there. Visits were also made by Major Frank Holmes, the London Representative of the Shaikh of Kuwait to the Kuwait Oil Company, and his Indian Interpreter, Ashraf Ali Shamsuddin.Other matters discussed include the Kuwait Oil Company's proposal to acquire a concession from the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) for an area outside Kuwait territorial waters, and the US Government's proclamation in 1946 which extended their jurisdiction to the subsoil adjacent to the American Coast on the Continental Shelf. Included in the volume are the minutes of a meeting held 16 January 1946 to discuss what the British Government's response to the proclamation should be. The outcomes of the meeting were to make a public statement supporting the American Government's proclamation and to commence an investigation into how the proclamation could be applied by the British Government, focusing particularly on the case of the Persian Gulf where the Continental Shelf was so shallow any rights would have to be shared by all adjacent states on an equitable basis, taking into account ownership of pearl fisheries too.Other matters of note within the volume are:Rumours that the American Oil Companies intend to construct a pipeline from the Mediterranean to Kuwait as part of their ongoing development of oil production in Saudi Arabia;The reactions against the proposal in the United States and conversations between the US and British Goverments over future worldwide oil expansion, focusing particularly on the Middle East and considering questions such as the quantities of oil to be produced, the challenges of transporting it, and matters such as concession rights and marketing policies;Ibn Saud's alleged attempts to influence the Shaikh of Kuwait in his choice of recipient of his share of the Neutral Zone Concession, specifically nominating the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company.A memorandum written by W S Gregor, General Manager for BAPCO at Busreh [Basra], regarding complaints about the handling of cargo in Bahrain and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO)'s desire to make their own lighterage arrangements. The complaints related to the lack of experienced staff and supervisors at delivery points which was resulting in stowing, smuggling and pilfering.The correspondence in the file is primarily between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Secretary of State for India, the Shaikh of Kuwait, the India Office, the Ministry of Fuel and Power, the Kuwait Oil Company and Major Frank Holmes.Physical description: Foliation: The principal foliation sequence consists of a pencil number enclosed in a circle located in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. Foliation anomalies: 1, 1A, 1B, 53, 53A, 63, 63A, 67, 67A, 103, 103A, 144, 144A, 188, 188A, 188B. Foliation omissions: 3, 5, 10, 23, 25, 27, 102, 118, 151, 182, 186, 200, 203, 205.There is also a second incomplete sequence of foliation using circled numbers in red and blue crayon.
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: The file primarily focuses on the progress being made by the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) in drilling for oil in Kuwait, including establishing drills at new sites and the discovery of oil at the Burgan site in February 1938. Later correspondence relates to various topics, as follows: the work and tests required on the oil before announcements relating to the discovery of oil in commercial quantities can be made; discussions with the India Office over the difference between 'commercial quantities' of oil and 'commercial conditions' for oil, the latter requiring the company to discuss the establishment of a refinery with the British Government; the decision by the KOC to cease their activities in Kuwait, other than drilling for water, owing to the outbreak of war, along with their actions in safeguarding the wells against potential enemy action; the negotiations with the Shaikh of Kuwait regarding the payment of royalties for the discovery of oil and advances on those royalties. The primary correspondents are the Kuwait Oil Company; Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ); the Political Agent at Kuwait (Gerald Simpson de Gaury, Andrew Charles Stewart); the Political Resident at Bushire (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Charles Geoffrey Prior); the Secretary of State for India (Lawrence Dundas, the 2nd Marquess of Zetland) and India Office staff (J P Gibson, Alexander Symon, Roland Tennyson Peel)Also discussed in the file is the question of a concession for an area outside of the territorial waters of Kuwait and numerous correspondence between the Kuwait Oil Company, India Office, Admiralty (Clifford George Jarrett) and Petroleum Department (Frederick Charles Starling) that debate what the jurisdictions might be in such an area, the exact nature of the territorial waters surrounding Kuwait, and potential boundary and frontier issues that might arise from such a concesssion. The correspondence is cut short owing to the outbreak of World War II as the various departments no longer have the time to discuss such matters and an agreement is reached with the Company and the Shaikh of Kuwait to suspend the matter until the war is over.Other matters discussed in the volume include:An article which appeared in
Al Sijilmagazine which criticises the Kuwait Oil Company for failing to find oil in Kuwait and the Shaikh of Kuwait for keeping the concession negotiations and signed agreement secret from his own people. A translated copy of the article is included at folios 8-9;The commencement by the Kuwait Oil Company of the construction of a jetty at Bandar Shuwaikh, and the potential defensive benefits such a jetty could have in war-time;A proposed visit by Colonel Harold Dickson, Chief Local Representative of the Kuwait Oil Company, to Ibn Sa'ud over Christmas 1938 that was eventually cancelled due to objections from the Shaikh of Kuwait;Arrangements with the American Mission in Kuwait for the provision of medical and hospital facilities for Company employees and the decision to employ another American nurse who would attend to the hospital needs of the company but would also assist with the work of the Mission's Women's hospital (folios 76-80);Correspondence between the Kuwait Oil Company, Secretary of State for India and the India Office regarding the appointment of American personnel in Kuwait and obtaining the British Government's permission for their appointments;Correspondence between the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and His Majesty's Vice-Consul at Khorramshar (Albert Napier) regarding a Kuwait Oil Company employee of non-British or Kuwaiti status who was granted a visa to travel to Kuwait for work without permission from the British Government and discussing the correct passport and visa procedures for non-British subjects travelling throughout the region.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation has been written in pencil and can be found in the top right hand corner of the recto side of each folio. The sequence begins with the first item of correspondence and ends on the inside back cover.Foliations anomalies: 1, 1A and 1B. Foliation errors: 173 and 176 have been omitted.
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence between the India Office (John P Gibson, Maurice Clauson, Roland T Peel, John C Walton); the Foreign Office (George Rendel, Lacy Bagallay); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard C Fowle); the Political Agent at Kuwait (Gerald S de Gaury); His Majesty’s Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, Sir Reader Bullard); Secretary of State for India (Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Anthony Eden); and Petroleum Concessions Limited (John Skliros, Stephen H Longrigg, Frank Holmes) regarding the Kuwait Neutral Zone and Petroleum Concessions Limited’s interest in attempting to secure an option or concession from the Shaikh of Kuwait and the Government of Saudi Arabia for their shares in the zone.The volume consists of general correspondence regarding Petroleum Concessions Limited’s interest in and work towards various concessions in the Persian Gulf and various possibilities for approaching the Saudi Arabian Government regarding their share of the Neutral Zone concession. Also discussed are attempts to ascertain the exact nature and extent of the Standard Oil Company of California’s preference rights for both the zone and the remainder of the territory of Saudi Arabia.Further discussion surrounds His Majesty’s Government’s concerns over the financial situation in Saudi Arabia and their desire where possible to provide assistance and support, along with the challenges of balancing this desire with their own policies and interests in the Persian Gulf.The main focus of the discussion in the volume centres on the possibility of a buy-out clause relating to the neutral zone concession existing in the Standard Oil Company of California (SOCAL)’s option agreement with the Saudi Arabian Government and the subsequent discovery that SOCAL’s preference rights were much more extensive. The exact nature of the preference rights are identified by the Foreign Office being supplied copies of the relevant concession articles by Mahmood Riyad Zada of the Royal Legation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in London.The correspondence concludes with PCL deciding to make an offer to the Saudi Arabian Government, via their representation in London, for a concession covering central and western Saudi Arabia and the Kuwait Neutral Zone to be worked by Petroleum Development (Western Arabia) Limited. Separate correspondence documents discussion between Hamilton Ballantyne of the Standard Oil Company of California and the India Office about SOCAL's potential interest in the neutral zone concession now that oil has been discovered in Hasa and Kuwait.Also included in the volume is the memorandum prepared in the Petroleum Department, June 1938, looking at areas where petroleum concessions were mostly likely to be, or had been already been obtained, on the Arabian Peninsula.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 224-230.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 235; 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 24-223; 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 file contains correspondence between the Political
Resident in the Persian Gulf (William Rupert Hay); the Political Agent at Kuwait (Gordon
Noel Jackson, Maurice O’Connor Tandy); the India Office (later the Commonwealth
Relations Office, Eion Pelly Donaldson, Adrian Harbottle Reed, Ralph Ingham Hallows);
the Foreign Office (Lancelot Frank Lee Pyman); the Ministry of Fuel and Power (William
Dunmore Monsell-Davies); His Majesty’s Minister at Jedda (Alan Charles Trott); the
Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) and various oil companies in relation
to the auction process instituted by the Shaikh of Kuwait for his share in the
Kuwait-Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone oil concession.The companies which expressed an interest in bidding for the
Kuwait neutral zone concession included Petroleum Concessions Limited, the Burmah Oil
Company, the Eastern Gulf Company, the Amerada Petroleum Company, the American
Independent Petroleum Corporation, the Superior Oil Company of California and the
Canadian Eagle Oil Company. However owing to the Shaikh's requirement that
financial backing and resources to undertake exploitation of an oil concession are
proven by each potential bidder only four companies were permitted to continue and
submit final bids on 1 June 1948 – Petroleum Concessions Limited, the Burmah Oil
Company, the Eastern Gulf Company and the American Independent Petroleum
Corporation.Other matters discussed in the file include:the question of the political agreement between His
Majesty’s Government and successful Oil Company and discussing whether such an
agreement could be made with an American Company and also what changes and special
requirements would have to be made owing to the concession only being for the Shaikh
of Kuwait’s share of the neutral zone.a visit paid by the Shaikh of Kuwait to Ibn Saud (‘Abd
al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd)and the question of whether or not
the neutral zone was discussed by them.debate around the possibility of a geographic division
of the neutral zone in order to make administration of the zone easier, and the
conclusion that negotiations for such a division could take years and would not
perhaps be in the best interests of the Oil Companies exploiting an oil concession
there.a hydrographic survey of the coast-line of the neutral
zone to locate a suitable landing site for heavy equipment.a new air service instituted by Iraq Airways in 1947
that would fly from Basra to Kuwait and Bahrain.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of
the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 272-299.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for
referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with
302; 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 2-99 and ff 113-300; these numbers are also written in pencil,
but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The volume contains correspondence between the Colonial Office and the Secretary of State at the India Office in London, the Embassy of the United States of America at London, the Political Resident at Bushire, the Political Agent at Kuwait and Anglo Persian Oil Company (APOC) representatives. Main subject is the negotiation for the oil concession in Kuwait between APOC and the competitor Eastern and General Syndicate Limited.The volume includes a draft of the Kuwait Oil Concession, dated 1st December 1932 (folios 54-60) and a letter to Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, ruler of Kuwait, in English and Arabic.Physical description: The foliation is written in pencil, not circled, and can be mainly found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio, with a minority in the top centre. The numbering commences at the title page with 1A, 1B and 1C; then 2 and 2A and it carries on until at f. 184, which is a loose polyester sheet at the end of the volume.
Abstract: A memoir written by Major Maurice Patrick O'Connor Tandy recounting his career in the Royal Artillery, Rajputana, Sialkot, Persia, North West Frontier Province, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, and Kuwait.Typescript with manuscript corrections.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 124; 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.
Abstract: The file is concerned with an agreement between His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom and the Eastern Gulf Oil Company Limited, which relates to the exploitation of sulphur in Kuwait agreed between the Shaik of Kuwait and the Eastern Gulf Oil Company Limited. This agreement outlines the terms and conditions, laid down by the British Government, regulating the operation of the company in Kuwait. The document includes a 'pre-emption' clause which is relevant in the event of a state of national emergency or war.The agreement is signed by Roland Tennyson Peel (Assistant Secretary, India Office) on behalf of the British Government, and witnessed by H S Painter from the India Office.Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 2; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.