Abstract: This file consists of a single memorandum, produced by the Political Intelligence Department of the Foreign Office. The memorandum provides, in great detail, a British perspective on Turco-German relations between March and October 1918, regarding their respective interests in the recently dissolved Russian Empire in the Caucasus. It is divided into sections as follows:1. the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk;2. the negotiations at Trebizond [Trabzon];3. protests to Germany against Turkish atrocities;4. the negotiations at Batum [Batumi, Georgia];5. the Georgian mission to Berlin;6. the German press campaign against Turkish policy in the Caucasus;7. the Turkish treaties of Batum and German intervention in Georgia;8. the (abortive) conference at Constantinople [Istanbul];9. Turkish and German intrigues with the three nationalities (referred to in the memorandum as the Armenian Republic of Erivan [Yerevan], the Republic of Georgia, and the Tatar Republic of Azerbaijan);10. the frustration of Turkish policy by Germany.The memorandum opines that Turkey's [the Ottoman Empire's] aim of dominating Trans-Caucasia [Transcausasia] has been frustrated by German intervention; Germany's gains, according to the Foreign Office, are largely illusory, and come at the price of a feud with Turkey.An addendum to the memorandum quotes from a note from the Director of Military Intelligence [William Thwaites], dated 3 October 1918, which suggests that the Turks have latterly been gaining the upper hand in the Caucasus over the Germans.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 166, and terminates at f 171, 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence relating to the Sheikh of Fujairah’s [Muḥammad bin Ḥamad Āl Sharqi] desire to enter into a treaty agreement with the British Government, thus putting his territory on a footing similar to those of the other Trucial Coast states. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast (sometimes referred to as the British Agency at Sharjah: H D Michell; Arthur John Wilton); the Political Agent at Bahrain (Cornelius James Pelly); and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay).The file includes: correspondence between the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast and the Political Agent at Bahrain, relating to the Sheikh’s repeated requests for a treaty with and recognition from the British Government (ff 20-22); the Political Resident’s referral of the matter to Geoffrey Warren Furlonge of the Foreign Office in London (f 18), and Furlonge’s reply that the British Government would be willing to conclude an agreement with the Sheikh of Fujairah, provided the Sultan of Muscat was informed out of courtesy (ff 16-17); further correspondence relating to: the Political Officer’s attempt to make contact with the Sheikh of Fujairah, who, it transpires, cannot be reached by sea without ‘a walk through five or six miles through hostile or at least potentially hostile (Kalba) territory’ (f 2), and an offer received by the Sheikh of Fujairah from the Peter Pan Philatelic Company, to set up postal services in his territory (f 5).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 23; 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 2-22; 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: Enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 46 of 1846, dated 15 April 1846. The enclosures are dated and contain correspondence relating to subjects not reported separately in other despatches. Contents mainly relate to affairs in the Punjaub [Punjab], including: relations between the British Government of India and the [Sikh] State of Lahore; the recognition of the independence of Maharajah Goolab Sing [Mahārājah Gulāb Singh] as the Ruler of Jammoo [Jammu State]; and fears of the Government of Bombay for the defencelessness of Bombay [Mumbai] harbour. There is a note in red ink on folio 616 indicating despatches 16-19 are missing, dated 29 October 1906. This item commences with an abstract of contents (folios 614-617). Correspondence from the Government of Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (26 folios)
Abstract: The file contains correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, the Adviser to the Bahrain Government, and the Eastern Bank Limited regarding which currency they should use in Bahrain after the independence of India and Pakistan.The file also contains correspondence which denies rumours about the Political Agency banning Pakistan currency from Bahrain, and discusses the introduction of a Gulf currency and the devaluation of the Indian rupee.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 137; 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 1-136; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: Papers and correspondence dated 1949, relating to a petition to amend the charter of the Imperial Bank of Iran, submitted to the Treasury of the British Government by the solicitors Coward, Chance & Company. The amendments to the charter include a change of name, from Imperial Bank of Iran to the British Bank of Iran and the Middle East, and are requested by the Bank in response to the territorial and constitutional changes to India and Pakistan resulting from the Indian Independence Act of 1947.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 23; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Following on from an earlier file (IOR/L/PS/12/2166), this file concerns British policy relating to Syria, following the success of the British-Free French military campaign in Syria [Operation Exporter]. (The abbreviation 'Incl.' in the title stands for 'Including').The date range of this file is 1941-44; however, most of the material dates from 1941.Notable correspondents include the following: His Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo (Miles Wedderburn Lampson); Minister of State, Cairo (Oliver Lyttelton); His Majesty's Ambassador in Bagdad [Baghdad] (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis); His Majesty's Ambassador in Washington (Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, referred to in the correspondence as Viscount Halifax); the Secretary of State for India (Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence); General Charles de Gaulle; General Georges Catroux; officials of the Foreign Office, the War Office, and the Government of India's External Affairs Department.The file includes discussion of the following:The British Government's relationship with Free France in Syria (particularly with General Charles de Gaulle) and the possibility that the Free French authorities are suspicious of Britain's interest in Syria.Concerns expressed by the Government of India (and to a lesser degree, by the War Office) that the Free French authorities intend to take the place of the Vichy administration in Syria and renege on promises of imminent independence.Arrangements for the repatriation of Vichy French officers and the return of British prisoners of war.The wording of a Free French declaration (a translated draft of which is included) announcing Syria's independence and the formation of a Syrian Government, with Sheikh Taj ed Din el Hassani [Taj al-Din al-Hasani] as President, issued on 27 September 1941.Britain's formal recognition of Syrian independence on 28 October 1941.Reports of unrest in the Deir es Zor [Deir ez-Zor] region during October 1941.The wording of a Free French declaration announcing Lebanon's independence (particularly the wording of paragraph 16, which makes reference to Lebanon as 'an indivisible unit'), issued on 26 November 1941 (a translated draft of the declaration is included).Whether the proclamations of Syrian and Lebanese independence constitute the termination of the French Mandate.Whether treaty negotiations should be initiated following the declarations of independence, or delayed until the end of the war.The appointment of Major General Sir Edward Spears as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Governments of Syria and Lebanon.Also included are copies of daily summaries produced by the Middle East Intelligence Centre (MEIC) in Cairo, covering early July 1941.There is a small amount of French language material, consisting of extracts from drafts of both of the aforementioned declarations, as well as a copy of the full text of the declaration of Lebanese independence.The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2-3).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 312; 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: Memoirs of Meredith Worth (1905-93), beginning with a brief account of his education and his time in the Indian Civil Service in Bengal (1927-33), before going on to focus mainly on his career in the Indian Political Service (1933-47). The memoirs are typewritten with corrections and annotations in ink.Worth recounts posts held in Gyantse [Gyangze], Bahrain, Baluchistan [Balochistān], Gujerat [Gujarat], Kathiawar, Rajputana, Orissa [Odisha], and Quetta. He states his preference for the Indian Civil Service over the Indian Political Service, and also gives his views on the partition of India.Worth concludes his memoirs with an account of his career after 1947 in Australia, most notably in the Department of External Affairs, where he was involved in assisting Indian and Pakistani students in Victoria and Tasmania.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 6; 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 pagination sequence.
Abstract: This volume contains papers concerning the situation at Sur in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The papers mainly relate to ‘difficulties’ which had arisen between the tribes of Sur and the Government of Muscat, inter-tribal and inter-factional rivalries, the question of what action the British Government should take to support the authority of the Muscat Government at Sur, and the general question of future British policy in Muscat.It includes papers relating to the following:The claim to independence of Ali bin Abdullah, Shaikh of the Bani Bu Ali (also spelled Beni Bu Ali) tribe and Amir of Jaalan [Emir of Ja‘alān, also spelled Jalan and Jallan]The bombardment of the fort of Said bin Abdullah (also spelled Saeed bin Abdullah) by the Muscat gunboat, and the shelling and destruction of the fort by HMS
CyclamenAn incident in which a Hinawi caravan was stopped at Sur by the Amirs of Jaalan, who hoisted a flag in their fort at Aiqa (also spelled Aigah in the volume) which was reportedly the flag of King Ibn Saud, but which the Amirs of Jaalan subsequently stated was their own flagThe Government of India’s recommendation that a regiment be sent to hold SurTribal conflict and rivalries, including the feud between the two main sections of the Jenebeh [al-Janabah] tribe, the Makhanah and the Aramah, which the British Government viewed as being encouraged by Ali bin Abdullah, and the feud between the Beni Bu Ali and the Beni Bu Hassan tribesProposed air operations by aircraft supported by HM Ships against the Bani Bu Ali at Sur.The papers mainly consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, and India Office Political Department minute papers.The main correspondents are as follows: the India Office; the Political Agent and HBM Consul, Muscat; Mahomed bin Nasir Ali Hamud, Amir of Jalan; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Government of India Foreign and Political Department; the Admiralty; the Foreign Office; the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies; and the Air Ministry.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 392; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: This volume contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, telegrams and minutes regarding the administration of and situation in Mesopotamia [Iraq] after the Agreement of 1916 between the French and British governments and the self-determination of Mesopotamia.The papers notably cover:The argument for establishing Mesopotamia as a British ProtectorateDescription of the general situation in MesopotamiaRelations between British officers and those in MesopotamiaResolution on Mesopotamia, Mosul, Baghdad and BasraThe statutes for the independence of Iraq (ff 127-130)Conversations regarding self-determination in MesopotamiaMention of British troops movements in MesopotamiaMilitary reports regarding disturbances around Mesopotamia.The principal correspondents are: Political Department, India Office, London; Viceroy and Governor-General of India in Council; Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; Military Governor, Baghdad; Military Department, India Office.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 256; 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 intermittent foliation sequences are also present between ff 15-256 and ff 32-57; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. The sequence contains one foliation anomaly: f 196a.