Abstract: The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and reports relating to affairs between the British Mandate of Iraq and the Kingdom of Najd. The majority of the correspondence is between Leo Amery, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Austen Chamberlain, Foreign Secretary (both in London), Henry Dobbs, High Commissioner in Iraq, Lionel Haworth, Political Resident in Bushire, Cyril Barrett, Political Agent in Bahrain, James More, Political Agent in Kuwait, Ibn Sa'ud, King of Hejaz-Najd and its Dependencies, John Glubb, Administrative Inspector in Iraq, Gerald De Gaury, Special Service Officer in Kuwait, and the Government of India.The volume covers the period after a revolt by the Ikhwan during which there was a perceived threat of attacks against Iraq and Kuwait. The different opinions within the British Government on the size of the threat and how to respond to it is evident. Subjects included are:intelligence of tribal movements and activities, particularly those of the
Ikhwantribes of Mutair, 'Ajman, and 'Utaibah, and the threat and occurrence of cross-border raids, all gathered from reports by De Gaury and Glubb, as well as local rumour;issues concerning the defence of Kuwait (naval protection, air reconnaissance and bombing, a land force);the use of 'police posts' along the desert frontier;the first meeting (in May 1929) between Gilbert Clayton and Ibn Sa'ud in Jeddah to discuss the crisis;the thoughts, motivations, and capabilities of Ibn Sa'ud;a conference of Najd tribal leaders in Riyadh with Ibn Sa'ud to try and resolve the situation.Other subjects that are covered are:the concept of the 'jihad tax' levied by Ibn Sa'ud against non-combatants to help finance his wars;a rumour, dismissed by the British, that the Persians are encouraging the
Ikhwanrevolt (it is not clear which Persians are implicated);the loss of crops and grazing in Najd caused by a swarm of locusts and its effects on tribal migrations.At the end of the volume (folios 398-402) are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the sequence starts on the first folio and runs through to folio 404 on the inside back cover. The numbering is written in pencil, circled, and found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. There are the following irregularities: 1A and 1B; 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D; 118A; 285A; and 299A.
Abstract: Correspondence, reports and other papers relating to locust-control campaigns taking place on the Arabian peninsula and in southern Persia [Iran] between May 1943 and September 1944. The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 16/37A-I Anti-Locust Measures’ (IOR/R/15/2/1544). The principal correspondents are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield; Captain Michael Gray Dixon; Major Tom Hickinbotham); representatives of the Middle East Anti-Locust Unit (MEALU) including the Chief Locust Officer (Reginald Charles Maxwell-Darling; Leslie Desmond Edward Foster Vesey-Fitzgerald) and Administrative Officer (W H E Matthews); representatives of the Middle East Supply Centre (MESC) (Maxwell-Darling); and representatives of the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave; George William Reginald Smith).The correspondence covers:arrangements for the pay and expenses of men employed in the 1942/43 locust campaign;arrangements for the return of motor vehicles used in the 1942/43 locust campaign, and arrangements for repairs to and replacement of motor vehicles;arrangements, orders and instructions for the 1943/44 locust campaign, including arrangements for the provision of equipment, poison bait, medical supplies, transport and fuel, finances, Arabic interpreters, communications;MEALU reports on locust observations during the 1943/44 campaign.The file contains papers dated April 1952 relating to the repatriation of three destitute pilgrims from Bahrain to Pakistan, which were presumably added to the file in error (ff 161-164).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 442; 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 3-403; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Reports and papers relating to the occurrence of locust swarms on the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf. The file chiefly comprises copies of monthly reports of locust occurrences at Bahrain and on the Trucial Coast, submitted by the Political Agency in Bahrain, at the request of the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, Government of India. The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 16/37 Miscellaneous. Monthly reports of locust occurrences in Bahrain– Submission of–’ (IOR/R/15/2/1542). Most reports are marked ‘nil’, meaning no locust occurrences observed. Positive reports of locusts give the following details: the place they were observed; date when seen; direction of flight; colour of insects; the duration of their stay.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 48; 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 2-31; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Correspondence, reports and other papers relating to the occurrence of locust swarms on the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf. The file chiefly comprises copies of monthly reports of locust occurrences at Bahrain and on the Trucial Coast, submitted by the Political Agency in Bahrain, at the request of the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, Government of India. All reports are marked ‘nil’, meaning no locust occurrences observed, with the exception of those for April 1941 (f 200), August 1943 (f 253), and March 1944 (f 265).The file also includes:correspondence concerning the visit to the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf, between January and April 1937, of Reginald Charles Maxwell-Darling of the Imperial Institute of Entomology, London. Correspondence relates to Maxwell-Darling’s travel arrangements, notification of the Trucial Coast rulers of the visit, and difficulties likely to be experienced in travelling into Ibn Saud’s [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] territories (ff 55-136);correspondence dated 1937, relating to locust movements in Arabia, in connection to locust movements in India and Iran (ff 145-146, ff 150-152);correspondence dated 1943 making reference to the activities of the Anti-Locust Mission on the Trucial Coast.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 306; 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 12-281; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Correspondence, reports and other papers relating to efforts, undertaken by representatives of the Middle East Anti-Locust Unit (MEALU), to control desert locusts (first reported in western India in August 1942 (f 3)) along the Arab coast between Bahrain and Oman. The principal correspondents include: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield); the Chief Locust Officer (Reginald Charles Maxwell-Darling) and Locust Officer (Leslie Desmond Edward Foster Vesey-Fitzgerald) of MEALU, who arrived in Bahrain to carry out their work in October 1942; the Defence Officer for the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel H T Hewitt); representatives of the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC); and representatives of the Bahrain shipping agent Gray, Mackenzie & Company.The file includes:reports from Maxwell-Darling and Vesey-Fitzgerald, as well as from numerous other British officials from across the Persian Gulf region, including the British Minister at Tehran, Sir Reader William Bullard, on locust observations. The observations include estimations of the size of swarms, movement and direction of insects, age and colour of animals;correspondence relating to arrangements for the shipment of locust poison bait from the Sudan Government in Khartoum, to Bahrain;correspondence relating to the arrangements of facilities for the MEALU team on the Trucial Coast, chiefly arrangements for suitable vehicles (arranged with the assistance of CASOC and the Defence Officer for the Persian Gulf), experienced drivers and motor mechanics, finances, and rations;papers issued by MEALU, including instructions on reporting locust swarms (ff 136-137), and notes on locust campaigns in sparsely inhabited countries (ff 194-195, ff 385-386);a copy of a booklet entitled
Methods of Locust Control, produced by the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research and published by the Government of India Press, Calcutta [Kolkota], 1941 (ff 226-236);a reprint of an academic journal article entitled
Some results of studies of the Desert Locust (Schistocerca Gregaria, Forsk.) in India, by Rao Bahadur Y Ramchandra Rao (ff 266-278). The article is a reprint from the
Bulletin of Entomological Research, volume 33, part 3, published December 1942;some papers relating to anti-locust activities in southern Iran.The file contains a single letter in Arabic, a letter to the Political Agent from the Ruler of Qatar, Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī (f 334).Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 450; 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 2-423; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence related to assistance provided by the Political Agent, Kuwait, and other Government of India offices to the Shaikh of Kuwait. The correspondence is mostly between the Political Agent, Political Residency in the Persian Gulf, Government of India (Political Department), Political Offices in Basra and Baghdad, and the succeeding Shaikhs of Kuwait (Mobarak [Shaikh Mubarak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ], Jabir [Shaikh Jābir II al-Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ], Salim [Shaikh Sālim bin Mubārak Āl Ṣabāḥ], and Ahmed [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ]). Further correspondence is from the Revenue and Judicial Commissioner in Baluchistan, Office of the Comptroller at the India Treasuries, Basra Customs House, Civil Transport Officer at Basra, High Commissioner for Iraq, British Legation in Tehran, Political Agent, Bahrain, several Kuwaiti merchants, and a number of British firms wishing to sell their products to the Shaikh.The file contains the following:papers concerning the destruction of locusts, including 'Memorandum on the Destruction of Locusts', 12 June 1902, by Major J Ramsay, Political Agent and Deputy Commissioner, Quetta-Peshin (folios 6-9)papers connected to assistance given to the Shaikh for the manning, repairs, and purchase of parts for his boatspapers concerning the loan of vessels to people close to the Shaikhpapers related to the arrangements for loans from the Government of India to the Shaikhpapers connected to assistance given to the Shaikh for the purchase of a variety of things, such as hawks, motor cars, garden produce, and paintcorrespondence, customs receipts, and export statements connected to the regular check that imports from Fao were for the Shaikh's personal use (and thus exempt from duty) as declaredpapers connected to assistance given to Kuwaiti merchants in India and Persiapapers concerning the exemption from Indian custom duty given to the Sultan of Muscat and the Shaikhs of Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatarcatalogues from various British firms hoping to conduct business with the Shaikhpapers connected to the case of stolen camels and the effort to track them down.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 623; 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 2-355; these numbers are also written in pencil or crayon, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This file consists of several telegrams and a letter relating to the proposal and planning of locust reconnaissance trips in southern Arabia, as part of a wider Middle East Supply Centre (MESC) effort to prevent food shortages caused by locust swarms in the region. The correspondence is between Arnold Crawshaw Galloway, the Political Resident in Bushire, Ralph Ingham Hallows, the Political Agenct in Muscat, Miles Lampson, the British Ambassador in Cairo, the MESC in Cairo, and O. B. Lean, the chief anti-locust officer of the Middle East Anti-Locust Unit, based in Aden.The first part of the correspondence (folios 2-5) is concerned with the appointment of Wilfred Thesiger as leader of the expedition, obtaining permission from the authorities in Muscat and Salalah to venture into the areas to be surveyed, conditions set by those authorities for granting it, and details of how Thesiger wishes to carry out his task.The second part (folios 6-7) consists of summaries of political developments in Oman at the time, namely talks between the Ghafiri (Ġāfiri) sheikhs, Suliman Bin Hamiyar of Jabal Akhdhar and Ali Bin Abdullah of the Beni Bu Ali, and the Sultan of Muscat, Sa'id bin Taimur, regarding the election of a new Imam following the expected death of the incumbent, Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Khalili. Folio 6 relays the Sultan's desire to postpone a proposed trip into the north of Oman until the following year due to the delicate political situation. Folio 7, a letter from Bushire to the External Affairs Department of the Government of India in New Delhi, emphasises the importance of these developments for the chances of a proposed geological survey by Petroleum Concessions Limited in the Jabal Akhdhar area during the winter of 1945/6.Physical description: Foliation: The main, consistent foliation for this file is written in pencil in the top right of each page, enclosed in a circle, and runs from the front cover to the back cover inclusive. There is a former, inconsistent system that is also written in pencil in the top right corner, but not encircled.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence between the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (BAPCO) representatives, the Political Agents at Bahrain, Kuwait, Sharjah, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and various suppliers on arrangements and statement of accounts for a Desert Locust Survey. At the beginning of the file there are also some letters requesting a survey on BAPCO's labour conditions (folios 2-4).Physical description: The main foliation is written in pencil, circled, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. The numbering begins on the front cover of the file, on number 1, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 96. There is another foliation sequence, which is incomplete.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence between the Political Agents at Bahrain and Sharjah, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Government of India at New Delhi, Gray, Mackenzie & Co. Ltd. and other suppliers, on arrangements and expenditures for sending an anti-locust delegation from Karachi to Oman for four months in 1946 and on supplies requested for the anti locust campaigns in Oman and Kuwait.Physical description: The main foliation is written in pencil, circled, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. The numbering begins on the first folio after the front cover, on number 1; then 2-18; 19 and 19A; 20-150; 151 and 151A; 152-190; 191 and 191A; 192-199; 200 and 200A; and carries on until 268, which is the last number given, on the inside of the back cover. The following folios are missing or skipped: 6, 8, 21, 99, 167, 187. There are two other foliations sequences, which are incomplete.
Abstract: The file covers political, economic and general matters at Gwadar (which is referred to throughout as ‘Gwadur’). The file includes Annual Report of the British Agency, Gwadar for the year 1928, written by the British Agent, M Waris Ali, which includes sections on ancient history; area and population; main villages of the Gwadar territory; languages, religion and instruction; constitution, government and justice; British and state representatives; cases settled during the year under report; defence; passports and certificates of identity; frontier news in brief; shipping, communications and trade; foreign and inland commerce and the way in which both have contributed to bring about a destructive effect on Gwadar trade; fish trade; state customs, finance and baladiah; sanitation and doctor; climate, soil, rainfall and agriculture; production, industries and manufactures; mineralogy; slaves and their manumission; government buildings and their upkeep; government post office and telegraph office; meteorological and aeroplanes; banking and currency; weights and measures; the Anglo-Persian Oil Company; distinguished visitors to Gwadar during the year under report; archaeology; locusts; earthquakes; tides and tempests; and obituary for the late British agent, Raja Lal Khan, who had committed suicide after going insane one night as a result of ‘super abundance [sic] of passport drudgery and other work mixed with anxieties and cares’.The file also includes papers relating to communal disturbances at Gwadar between Khojas/Aga Khanis (who were British subjects) and Baluchis (subjects of the Sultan of Muscat). The troubles, which followed allegations of the defilement of a mosque with dung by Khojas, resulted in deaths of two members of the Khoja community, 1929-1932Physical description: Foliation: The foliation system in use is the sequence of numbers appearing in a circle in the top right hand corner of each page. There is also an old foliation system (not circled), numbered 1 (folio 6); then 98 (folio 103) - end of volume.
Abstract: The file contains letters, telegrams, drafts, extracts, and notes concerning efforts to control locust outbreaks in India, Iran, and parts of the Middle East.Included within the file:Monthly reports on locust outbreaks from the Political Agent, Muscat, sent to the Imperial Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi (later, following Indian independence, these were sent to the Plant Protection Adviser to the governments of India and Pakistan and the Director of Locust Control in India)Arrangements for and updates from anti-locust operations in Oman during the winter of 1945-46Reports from Hem Singh Pruthi, Director of Locust Control, India, on the locust situation in India and parts of the Middle EastExtracts from Bahrain and Muscat Intelligence Summaries regarding Wilfred Thesiger’s plans and preparations for anti-locust work in Oman and the work of the anti-locust delegation from IndiaArrangements for an International Locust Conference to be held in Cairo, including the question of which state representatives should be invitedDrafting of an International Convention for the creation of an International Desert Locust Security Service, with specific reference to the wording of Britain’s relationship to some of the Gulf states and including what financial contributions should be made by those statesCorrespondence regarding the vacant position of Director of the Entomological Bureau and the effort to secure O B Lean for the postCorrespondence regarding the drafting and signing of an anti-locust convention between India and IranA letter from R C Couldrey of the Emergency Economic Committee for Europe, to the Supply and Relief Department, Foreign Office, regarding arrangements for a conference to co-ordinate anti-locust work in European Mediterranean countries (folio 43).The correspondence is principally between Andrew Charles Stewart, Political Agent and Consul, Muscat, and officials at the India Office (later the Commonwealth Relations Office), Foreign Office, Colonial Office, British Middle East Office in Cairo, British Embassy in Cairo, Political Residency in Bushire (later Bahrain), and the External Affairs, Agriculture, and Communications and Overseas Departments of 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 (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 109; 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 relating to the organization of anti-locust controls in India, East Africa and the Middle East, especially Persia [Iran], where international conferences of locust experts were held. Support for scientific research and international cooperation between the Government of India, the British Government and the Government of the Soviet Union are also discussed. Included in the correspondence are the minutes and reports of the Interdepartmental Committee on Locust Control, which was run by the Colonial Office Research Department in London. There are also field and conference reports by prominent entomologists Dr Taskhir Ahmad of the Imperial Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and Dr Boris Petrovich of the Anti-Locust Centre at the Imperial Institute of Entomology, London.In addition, there is routine correspondence between officials about equipment, supplies and locust forecasts by geographical area. The main correspondents are: the India Office, the Colonial Office, the Agricultural Department and the External Affairs Department of the Government of India.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.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 531; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.