Abstract: This is a printed report prepared by the India Office concerning an inter-departmental conference held on 8 April 1919 to discuss the question of oil policy in Mesopotamia, with those present including: Sir Thomas Holderness; Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Talbot Wilson, Civil Commissioner, Mesopotamia; Sir Frederick Black, Admiralty; Mr J C Clarke, Petroleum Executive; Captain A S Jelf, Petroleum Executive; Mr A P Waterfield, Treasury; Captain Hough, Department of Overseas Trade; Mr E Weakley, Foreign Office; Mr John Evelyn Shuckburgh, India Office; and Mr Nicols, Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC).Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence for this file commences at folio 52, and terminates at folio 52, 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: This printed memorandum, marked 'Secret' is a statement by Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel, Political Secretary, India Office, dated 30 August 1916, concerning the British campaign against Turkey in Mesopotamia [Iraq] in the context of the First World War, in particular British intentions to advance on Baghdad. The memorandum is divided into three sections titled as follows: 'The Political Reasons for the Expedition', 'The Importance of Bagdad [Baghdad]', and 'The Advance on Baghdad'. References are made in the text to correspondence between Sir Charles Murray Marling, British Minister at Tehran, and the Foreign Office in 1915.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 volume is
Who's Who in Mesopotamia, General Staff, India. The volume is marked confidential and was printed in Delhi by Superintendent Government Printing in 1916.The volume the is an abbreviated edition and consists of an alphabetical list of the 'more important persons' occurring in the files of the Intelligence Branch of the Indian Expeditionary Force 'D' between December 1914 and August 1916. It was compiled and issued by the Intelligence Branch itself. The list is mostly individuals, but includes some families.Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 138; 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 is
Who's Who in Mesopotamia, General Staff, India. The volume is marked confidential, is given the catalogue number A-131, and was printed in Simla by the Government Central Branch Press in 1915.The volume consists of an alphabetical list of subjects compiled by the Intelligence Branch of the Indian Expeditionary Force "D". Each entry includes information relevant to it taken from the Branch's files. The list includes individuals, groups of people (such as tribes or battalions), towns and villages, geographical features (such as rivers, mountainous areas, oil fields), ships, and sites of interest (such as religious shrines).At the back of the volume is a glossary of terms compiled by Major Charles Cecil Rowe Murphy of the 30th Punjabis (folios 214-218).Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 220; 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 file contains correspondence regarding the formation and provisioning of the 17 Indian Division of the British Indian Army for service in the Mesopotamia Campaign of the First World War.The primary correspondents are: the Commander-in-Chief, India; the General Officer Commanding, Mesopotamia; and the War Office.An index is attached to the inside front cover.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 52; 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 2-50; these numbers are written in coloured crayon and pencil. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The volume comprises annual reports and administration reports, submitted by Political Officers, for the following divisions in occupied Mesopotamia [Iraq]: Samara; Ba'qubah; Khaniqin [Khānaīqn]; Samawah; Shamiyah [Shāmīyah]; Hillah; Dulaim [Anbar]; Basrah; Qurnah; 'Amarah [Al 'Amārah]; Kut; Nasiriyah; Kirkuk; and the Kuwait Agency [Kuwayt].The administration reports often include details under the following headings: tribal and political boundaries; revenue; irrigation; agriculture; industry; municipalities; judicial; education; medical and sanitation; housing; police; jails; Shabanahs; labour; Waqf; establishment and personnel. They often contain appendices, providing statistical tables, special reports, notes on prominent personalities, lists of ruling Shaikhs, and details of court cases and prisoners.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 233; 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 (445pp, including maps and tables).
Abstract: This report, printed by the General Staff, India (Simla: Government Central Press, 1916), consists of a letter (No. 168-18-O) from Sir Percy Henry Noel Lake, General Officer Commanding, Indian Expeditionary Force D, to the Chief of the General Staff, Army Headquarters, India, dated 4 March 1916.It encloses three reports:Report A deals with an engagement during a reconnaissance between Butaniyah and Suwaij on 14 January 1916 (ff. 2v-3);Report B describes a rearguard action when the column was heavily attacked on 7 February 1916, on the occasion of the withdrawal from Nasiriyah [al-Nāṣirīyah] (ff. 5v-8);Report C gives an account of punitive operations undertaken by Brigadier-General H T Brooking on 9 February 1916 (f. 9).These reports give tables listing tribes, casualties and expenditure of small arm ammunition involved in various actions. The front cover is marked 'Confidential'. In addition, there are two maps (folios 10-11): 'Sketch Map of the Retirement from Butaniyeh Camp to Nasiriyah' and 'To Accompany Report on Operations Against Arab Tribesmen on Euphrates Line'.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 (except for the front cover where the folio number is on the verso).Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: This volume was produced for the General Staff of the British Forces in Iraq and was published in 1922. It covers the Northern Jazirah area of Iraq which is one of ten areas covered by the volumes produced in the same series. The various chapters of the book cover history, geography, climate, natural resources, ethnography, tribes, and personalities of the Northern Jazirah. The volume also covers the communications and strategic and tactical infrastructure of the area. All of the content is produced with the aim of providing basic military intelligence to forces operating in Iraq at the time.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 111; 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 volume is Sir George Buchanan KCIE:
Report on the Development of Mesopotamia with Special Reference to the Regeneration of the River Systems(Simla: Government Monotype Press, 1917).The report contains preliminary remarks, and sections on:Mesopotamia as it was;Mesopotamia as it is;Reasons for the deterioration of the country since ancient times;Description of the Tigris and Euphrates as they appear today;Sir William Willcocks's Irrigation Projects;Suggestions for river regeneration;Agriculture in Mesopotamia;Navigation on the Tigris and Euphrates;Conclusions and recommendations.The report is accompanied by seven illustrations consisting of photographs of the River Tigris at various points (folios 16-18); and five maps illustrating the courses, delta and country surrounding the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates, and proposed irrigation works (folios 20-24).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at 1 on the front cover and terminates at 25 on the pocket attached to the back cover. The numbers are written in pencil, are enclosed in a circle, and appear in the top right hand corner of the recto page of each folio. Folios 20-24 (maps) are contained within the pocket (folio 25) and need to be folded out in order to be examined.Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence, numbered 2-21 (folios 4-14).
Abstract: Correspondence consists of commentary by officials of the India Office on the Report of the Mesopotamia Commission under a range of topics including the placing of orders for river transport.Correspondents include the War Office; the Secretary of State for India; and the Director of Inland Water Transport, Basra.The file contains one item dated 9 December 1918, as well as copies of correspondence from 1915-16. The rest of the material covers the period June-July 1917.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 83; 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 typed foliation sequence is also present between ff 31-48.
Abstract: The volume consists of a report that was prepared for the Army Council by Sir John Prescott Hewett on the administration and finance of irrigation and agriculture schemes in Mesopotamia [Iraq]. The report is divided into three main sections:The Scheme for Agricultural Development in 1918.Agricultural Development in 1919.Undertakings of Permanent Value for Mesopotamia.The report also includes a number of appendices at the back of the volume, which include four maps located in a pocket on the inside back cover: folios 41-44.The report was published by the War Office in London in 1919.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 45; 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 volume contains an illustrated report, with maps, correspondence and statistical data included as appendices, for the Army Council on Mesopotamia [Iraq], prepared by Sir John Prescott Hewett for the War Office, dated 10 March 1919. The report focuses on: a) the administration and expenditure of agricultural and irrigation schemes put in place in Mesopotamia for 1918 and 1919, and administered by the Imperial Government; b) the extent to which expenditure on agriculture and irrigation schemes, charged against Imperial Army Funds, is necessary for the prosecution of war; c) infrastructure development in Mesopotamia (facilities at Basrah [Basra] port; railways; telegraphs, telephones and post; water supply; electrical and mechanical installations), and questions of their financial support through military and civil funds.The appendices include: maps illustrating the scope and geographical detail of the agricultural and irrigation schemes; correspondence providing context into the circumstances surrounding the need for and implementation of the schemes; statistical data, including: irrigation scheme expenditure; capacity at Basrah port; valuation of the dockyard; admission rates for Indian troops and followers with scurvy for the years 1916, 1917 and 1918; valuation of telegraph apparatus, telephone lines.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 57; 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 contains an original printed pagination sequence.