Abstract: Intelligence report by Major Norman Napier Evelyn Bray, Political Intelligence Officer attached to the India Office, on Soviet activities and influence in the Middle East and the implications for British interests in the region.The document was prepared as a departmental minute. It discusses several matters, including: the Soviet alliance with Turkish and Arab nationalists across the region, but with a particular reference to Mesopotamia; Italian support (in money and arms) of Turkish nationalists; the need for the British and the French to work together closely to protect their interests; the military strength of all parties.The report contains two appendices, as follows:I - Suggested measures for dealing with the Bolshevist Menace in Mesopotamia and Persia;II - A. Conditions proposed by the Bolsheviks for acceptance of Turkish Nationalists; B. Terms of agreement concluded by Bolsheviks with Mustafa Kemal Pasha.There are extensive notes in the left hand margin throughout the report with details on sources and other comments.Physical description: Foliation: the sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A second foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-15; this sequence is written in ink, and is located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: Note on demobilisation by Arnold Talbot Wilson, Civil Commissioner, Baghdad (enclosed in letter to the India Office, No 20517, dated 28 September 1918).The note gives details on the two areas that demobilisation would need to cover, namely the repatriation of the fighting force and the transference to Civil Government of those parts of the military administration that could be used for national benefit.The note is broken down into a number of sub-headings:Strategical and Political Considerations: Including the proposal of the need for a mobile military force, comprised wholly of British troops, that could react to any instability or disturbances caused by the previous decade of war, and which could protect India and support reforms in other countries.Maintenance in Baghdad of Troops and War Material: outlining proposals for the use of horses, mules, skilled individuals within British units, and mechanical transport for the civil administration of the country.Directorate of Telegraphs: regarding the question of whether or not to amalgamate it with the Indo-European Telegraph Department.Inland Water Transport: regarding the current usage of water transport for military purposes and the likelihood that once railways have been established it would only be required for fuel supplies and building materials.Medical Services: The need to evacuate the medical building established during war-time; the ongoing need for some of the temporary services during demobilisation; and those buildings that might be of use to the civil administration including sanitary and water installations and hospitals.Works Department: Effect of the department's work on the civil population, including electric lighting and water installations and the need for it to be taken over by the civil department.Remounts; Veterinary Services; Irrigation and Agriculture; Surveys; Stationary Department; Graves RegistrationRoyal Air Force: The need to maintain a wing of the Air Force in Baghdad; and regarding the other supplementary activities that could be developed including surveys and postal services.Royal Navy: That there would be no need for a naval detachment after the warRepatriation of Prisoners of War now interned in India: 25,000 turkish prisoners of war in India, with about 5,000 being inhabitants of Iraq, and a further 5,000 expected to wish to be repatriated to Iraq. The likelihood of many working for the labour corps, and arrangements with the civil administration for security of those who cannot be realised without guarantees.Indian Immigration: Need for a definite policy regarding the question as there may be a number of requests to remain in Iraq as cultivators.The Appendix (folio 4) lists includes summaries of a number of related documents to be consulted:Memorandum by the Civil Commissioner Baghdad (Arnold Talbot Wilson) to the Chief of General Staff, General Headquarters, Mesopotamia, No. 18791, 8 September 1918Memorandum No. A/2120/31, 26 September 1918, from the Deputy Adjutant-General, General Headquarters to the Civil Commissioner, BaghdadObservations by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (undated)Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The copy of the note marked '46' is the one which has been foliated.Pagination: The booklet also contains an original typed pagination sequence.
Abstract: This printed memorandum by Sir Leonard Day Wakely (signed L D W), Political Department, India Office, dated 3 February 1921, provides an overview of antiquities in Mesopotamia [Iraq].The memorandum detail:the Ottoman administration of archaeology;German archaeological expeditions during the First World War;the declaration of a proclamation by the General Officer Commanding, dated 22 May 1917, declaring all antiquities are property of the Administration and questions;a request from the British Museum in November 1917 to the War Office to attach an archaeologist to the army in Mesopotamia, with Dr Henry Reginald Holland Hall dispatched in November 1918;preservation of certain important monuments, such as the ruins of Ctesiphon;Dr Hall and Reginald Campbell Thompson undertaking their own excavations and shipping the resulting collections to the British Museum, and a resulting ban on removing archaeological artefacts from Mesopotamia on 23 May 1919;general questions arising from this concerning requests for expeditions from the University of Philadelphia, Professor Stephen Herbert Langdon of the University of Oxford, and Professor James Henry Breasted of the University of Chicago;the question of establishing an Archaeological Department and Professor Albert Tobias Clay's suggestion of establishing a School of Archaeological Research in 1920;the Archaeological Joint Committee formed in 1918 and chaired by Sir Frederic George Kenyon; and the disposal of Samarra [Sāmarrā’];and other German collections stored in Mesopotamia and antiquities (the Lisbon Collection) seized by Portuguese authorities during the War.Physical description: Foliation: 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.Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence, minutes, memoranda, and reports concerning the administration of Mesopotamia and other Middle Eastern territories and the transfer of responsibility for Middle Eastern Affairs to a new department within the Colonial Office. Authors and correspondents include Curzon himself, members of the Cabinet, officials from the India Office, Foreign Office, Colonial Office, Air Staff, Imperial General Staff, and High Commission in Baghdad.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 68; 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 1-68; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: This is a printed memorandum comprising of a note by the India Office, dated 28 October 1918, concerning the disposal of conquered territories in relation to Mesopotamia [Iraq] and German East Africa [modern-day Burundi, Rwanda and Tanganyika] in the context of the First World War. The memorandum is divided into two sections as follows: 'Mesopotamia' (folios 118-121) which discusses the political, religious, cultural and trade connections between India and the Government of India and Mesopotamia (also referred to as Turkish Arabia), as well as Britain's strategic interests in relation to the Persian Gulf; and 'German East Africa' (folio 121) which discusses the Government of India's interest in the region and the advantages offered by the colony for Indian immigration.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 118 and terminates at folio 121, 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 11-158; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This memorandum is a note by John Evelyn Shuckburgh, Political Department of the India Office, dated 21 Oct 1918, concerning the British administration of Mesopotamia, the status of the vilayets of Basra and Baghdad, and the establishment of a commission from London to research administrative problems and future arrangements.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 95 and terminates at folio 96, 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 folio 11-158; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This printed memorandum is a fortnightly administrative report (No 17) submitted by Arnold Talbot Wilson, Civil Commissioner in Baghdad, covering the period 1 to 15 July 1918. The report is split into four sections: (I) Administrative, which includes District Organisation, Revenue Board, Irrigation and Agricultural Departments, Blockade and Customs; (II) Judicial Department; (III) Civil Police; and (IV) Finance Branch, which includes details of the Control of Expenditure, Separation of Sanctioning and Audit Functions, Organisation of a Cadre of Accountants, Pay of Officers, Revenue Accounts, Pensions Office, and Local Inpsection of Accounts. The report also includes an appendix (folio 94v) concerning the 'Organization of Civil Administration in Baghdad Vilayet', listing divisions and districts.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation for this description commences at folio 92, and terminates at folio 94, 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 11-158; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence
Abstract: This item consists of copies of correspondence, minutes, and memoranda cited in, or enclosed with, political letters from the Government of Bombay. The correspondents are the Government of Bombay and Commander Stephen Lushington, Commander in Chief of the Indian Navy.The item concerns zoological specimens collected by Commander Felix Jones in Mesopotamia and Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq] and forwarded the East India Company museum in London. The item contains lists of the specimens (primarily birds), including:When they were killed or capturedWhere they were foundTheir English and Arabic names (in both Latin and Arabic script)Their dietTheir weightSupplementary remarks.The item contains a contents page and the title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Draft No 772/52’ and ‘Collection No 66’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with f 369, and terminates at f 384, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file contains copies of various telegrams on railways between the Director of Military Intelligence, the Commander-in-Chief India, the General Officer Commanding Mesopotamia, and the Caucasus Military Agent during the period July-November 1917.Principal subjects of discussion are: the extension of the Baghdad railway east of Nisibin [Nusaybin] towards Mosul; reports of the process of construction and the transportation of material, with some concerns raised as to the accuracy of the reports; cities on the railway’s route; the movements of Turkish [Ottoman] troops; the movements of Falkenhayn’s [General Erich von Falkenhayn] army; and reports of attacks on trains.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 30; 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 2-29.
Abstract: This printed report consists of a note prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Talbot Wilson, Officiating Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, concerning the use of aeroplanes in Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf. The note consists of two parts: the first covers South-West Persia and the second Mesopotamia.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence for this file commences at folio 39, and terminates at folio 40, 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 7-153; 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 consists of a memorandum addressed to the War Cabinet by the Political Department of the India Office on the question of the employment of Japanese troops in Mesopotamia. It summarises the Government of India's views given in a telegram dated 21 November 1917, with military and political grounds for objecting to Japanese assistance. It also includes extracts from the Report of the Trade Commissioners who visited Mesopotamia earlier in 1917, and raises the concern that Japanese commercial influence will lead to political claims.Written by John Evelyn Shuckburgh, 13 December 1917, with an introduction dated 18 December 1917.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 24, and terminates at f 26, 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 present in parallel between ff 24-26; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Narrative report on surveys conducted in Mesopotamia [Iraq], North-West Persia [Iran] and Luristan [Lorestān]. The preface provides the following information:'The object was to explore various tracts of little known country through which roads lead north from the head of the Persian Gulf to the Waliat of Van and North-West Persia near Urmia. To accomplish this, two routes through Luristan from the Tigris valley were travelled. In southern Kurdistan the roads from Kifri to Sulaimaniah, from there to Rawanduz, and Rawanduz to Amadiyeh, were gone over in Turkey, and Suj-Bulak to Karmanshah through Sakiz and Sihna in Persia. The country south of lake Van to Mosul was traversed in the routes Amadiyeh to Mosul, Mosul to Jazirah, Jazirah to Bashkala, Bashkala to Urmia, and Urmia to Suj Bulak through Ushnu.'The report contains the following illustrations:Tak-i-Girra, looking east (f 42).Sketch showing the Town of Rawanduz [Rāwāndūz], (f 63).Sketch showing the bridge at Rawanduz. (f 66).Sketch showing Amadiyeh [Al 'Amādīyah] from the north-east, (f 76).Sketch showing the bridge of Mosul (f 85).The report contains the following maps:Pass of Tak-i-Girra, on the Baghdad-Kermanshah Route, December 1889 (f 41).Country in vicinity of Rawanduz, May 1889 (f 64).Plateau of Amadiyeh and surrounding country, June 1888 (f 74).Plan of Mosul and surrounding country, corrected from Jones' survey, August 1889, (f 87).Country between Feishkhabur [Fīsh Khābūr] and Zakho, June 1888, (f 101).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 154; 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.