Abstract: The file contains correspondence mainly relating to visas for countries in the Persian Gulf for employees and wives of employees of oil companies, mostly the Kuwait Oil Company, Limited (for Kuwait), but also other oil companies including: the Iraq Petroleum Company, Limited (for Bahrain and Qatar); the Standard Oil Company (for Kuwait and Oman); the Bahrain Petroleum Company (for Bahrain); the Superior Oil Company (for Kuwait); and Petroleum Concessions Limited (for Bahrein and Qatar). It also includes correspondence concerning visas for Bahrain for employees of the British Overseas Airways Corporation.The correspondence is largely between the India Office (and the Commonwealth Relations Office after the abolition of the India Office in 1947) and the following: the (Foreign Office) Passport Control Department; the Kuwait Oil Company, Limited; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Iraq Petroleum Company, Limited; the Political Agent, Bahrain; and the Bahrein Petroleum Company, Limited.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 469; 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 civil aviation matters in Kuwait (also spelt Koweit in the file). The primary focus is the negotiation of a Civil Air Agreement between the British Government and the Shaikh of Kuwait, Shaikh Sir Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] in 1934, its subsequent renewal in 1938, 1945, and discussion related to its possible further renewal in 1948. Draft and final copies of each agreement can be found within the file; a 1934 copy contains both English and Arabic versions of the document (see folio 185-187). Correspondence related to occasional amendments has also been included.Also discussed in the correspondence is the granting of permission for Imperial Airways (later the British Overseas Airways Corporation - BOAC) to land in Kuwait in September 1932 for a period of six months, and the establishment of an airmail service in 1948. It also contains some correspondence relating to British military requirements in Kuwait, and the transfer of the maintenance of the Kuwait Aerodrome from the Royal Air Force (RAF) to the Kuwait Oil Company.The file also contains proposals from the Kuwait Oil Company for the construction of a new aerodrome in 1948, including two plans for the proposed airstrip (see folios 20-21).In addition to the copy of the Kuwait Civil Air Agreement (1934), the file contains a limited amount of correspondence with both English and Arabic translation.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agent at Kuwait. The file also contains correspondence with the following departments of the British Government: the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, the India Office (the Commonwealth Relations Office from August 1947), and the Ministry for Civil Aviation.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 273; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and notes related to air facilities required by Imperial Airways (from 1940 the British Overseas Airways Corporation - BOAC) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) along the Arabian Coast. The file therefore contains a number of lists (some of which are categorised by priority) prepared by the Air Ministry outlining British requirements for navigation beacons, wireless transmissions sets, direction finding sets, moorings for flying boats etc; the lists prepared by the Air Ministry are revised over time to reflect changing requirements, for example the introduction of night flying. Also covered in the file is the establishment of a petrol dhow at Dubai in 1934 (see folio 402 for a copy of the agreement), and consideration in 1938 of arrangements for the provision of fuel at Ras al Khaimah [Ra's al-Khaymah] for Imperial Airways in cases of emergency.Another topic featured in the file is the introduction of a flying boat service by Imperial Airways in 1937, and the selection of a suitable stopping point along the Arabian Coast. The selection process is covered, which includes consideration of Dubai (also spelt Debai and Dabai), Ras al Khaimah, and Umm al Qaiwain [Umm al-Qaywayn] as potential sites. This process culminates in the Dubai Commercial Air Agreement (1937): see folios 223-226 for a copy of the agreement with both Arabic and English translation. This includes an agreement respecting security arrangements for passengers transferred between the alighting area at Dubai and their accommodation at Sharjah: see folio 199 for an English translation of the agreement. Further correspondence relating to its renewal in 1943 can also be found in the file. The prospects for the future use of Dubai and Sharjah, as of 1946, are also briefly discussed at the end of the correspondence.Material related to a survey of Sharjah Creek in 1939 and Dubai Creek by Bernard Whitteron in 1941 can be found between folios 36-57. This includes sketch maps the two creeks: Dubai (folio 48) and Sharjah (folios 53, and 55-56). It has been included in consideration of possible engineering work to enhance their navigability and hence their utility for flying boats.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent at Bahrain (Tom Hickinbotham, Hugh Weightman, and Reginald George Alban), officials of the Air Ministry, and officials of the India Office.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 466; 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 2-465; these numbers are also written in pencil but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence and notes related to negotiations between the British Government and the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd, for a new Civil Air Agreement; Britain's aviation rights in Oman during the Second World War (1939-1945) had depended on a War Subsidy agreement with the Sultan, which expired at the end of 1946. It therefore contains supplementary correspondence determining British civil and military aviation requirements in Oman; the focus of discussion being the airfields at Gwadur [Gwadar], Masirah, Riyan, and Salalah. In the process the file documents a decision to use the Civil Air Agreement as cover for Royal Air Force (RAF) requirements, British civil requirements being minimal. Draft copies of the Muscat Civil Air Agreement can be found on folios 196-212 and 344-362, while the text of the final agreement – signed in 1947 – can be found on folios 158-176.Two copies of the
International Civil Aviation Conference: Final Actwith appendices have been included in the file as a result of discussion over the extent that the Muscat Civil Air Agreement should be along the lines of the Chicago Air Convention.Two additional topics are covered as a result of commitments made to the Sultan of Muscat as part of negotiations for the Civil Air Agreement: the supply of weapons and ammunition to the Sultan by the British Government, and the procurement of motor vehicles (lorries and tractors) of British manufacture for purchase by the Sultan. The latter commitment was in lieu of supplying the Sultan with US dollars for purchasing vehicles directly from the United States. Some correspondence with the Ford Motor Company Limited at Dagenham, Essex, has been included in relation to the purchase of tractors. Details of vehicle specifications can be found amongst the correspondence.The file also includes communications between Air Headquarters (Iraq), Air Headquarters (Aden), and the Air Ministry, in December 1946 discussing the feasibility of measures suggested by the latter to reduce the maintenance costs of local airfields: Masirah, Riyan, and Salalah.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffry Prior, William Rupert Hay, and Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat (Andrew Charles Stewart), officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the India Office (the Commonwealth Relations Office from August 1947), officials of the Ministry for Civil Aviation (M W Low), officials of the Ministry of Supply, officials of the War Office, and officials of the External Affairs Department for the Government of India.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 544; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file is concerned with proposals for the development of civil aviation services connecting Iran (frequently referred to as Persia) with Iraq and India. It therefore includes correspondence related to proposed aerial surveys of possible routes. The question of whether three airfields at Zahidan, Mirjarah, and Kerman – built in consequence of the Anglo-Soviet occupation of Iran – should be retained for future civil use is also addressed by some of the correspondence.Some of the material in the file examines the interest of the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States in Iranian civil aviation.A report titled ‘Air Transport in Persia – 1944 and afterwards’ by Walter Leslie Runciman, Air Attaché at Tehran, has been included: see folios 119-129. An accompanying map illustrating proposed and existing air routes can be found on folio 130. The file also includes a couple of sketch maps: see folios 103 and 143.The most recent correspondence in the file is concerned with the re-establishment of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) services in 1946 between the United Kingdom (UK) and Tehran.The main correspondents are as follows: HM Ambassador to Iran (Sir Reader William Bullard), officials of the Air Ministry, officials of the Foreign Office, officials of the India Office, and representatives of the External Affairs Department of the Government of India.There is a gap in the file for the years 1942-43 for which no papers have been included.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 182; 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 papers related to the renewal of the Sharjah Commercial Air Agreement in 1943, and subsequent increases to the subsidy paid to the Shaikh of Sharjah under the agreement and changes to accommodation requirements for both the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and the Royal Air Force (RAF). It also contains correspondence related to the withdrawal of BOAC services from Sharjah in 1947, and discussion as to whether to amend or abandon the agreement as a result. The decision to renew the agreement in 1948 is documented by minutes of an inter-departmental meeting held on 16 March 1948: see folios 11-12.A number of statements of payments made to the Shaikh of Sharjah under the Air Agreement for the periods April 1945 to August 1946 and December 1946 to November 1947 were submitted to the India Office by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf: see folios 15, 18, 21, 39, 64, 75, 92, and 107. A list of buildings required at Sharjah by the RAF as of 1947 can be found on folios 24-28.The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior and William Rupert Hay), officials of the Air Ministry (M W Low), officials of the India Office (from August 1947 the Commonwealth Relations Office; Roland Tennyson Peel, Eion Pelly Donaldson, Francis Anthony Kitchener Harrison), officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (H Jones and R C Bloodworth), and representatives of the External Affairs Department of the Government of India.The title of the file contains an error: the British Overseas Airways Corporation is mistakenly referred to as BAOC instead of BOAC.The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 128; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.