Abstract: The memorandum is a report produced for the Inter-Departmental Committee on Eastern Unrest, which includes intelligence covering the period October 1922 to March 1923. It provides an overview of Russian-Persian relations and of changes made to Russian official representation at Tabriz, Tehran, and Kermanshah. It also reports on Bolshevik intrigue (and anti-British activities) in Persia, and to a lesser extent Iraq and India. This includes a brief report of anti-British articles produced by the Persian Press and efforts to suppress them, as well as reports on the Persian Communist Party.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 31; 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 relates to possible Russian commercial activities in Bahrain (also spelled Bahrein).The main correspondents are the Political Agent, Bahrain (Captain Charles Geoffrey Prior) and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. There is also correspondence with Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain; and A W Davis, British Consul, Shiraz.The papers cover: the attitude of the British Government to the possibility of Russian ships landing goods in Bahrain; the desire of the British Government to avoid the risk of Russian commercial activities being used as a means of introducing political propaganda to Bahrain; reports of interest by Russians, including staff of the [Soviet-Iranian] Sharq Company, in Bahrain, Kuwait and Dubai; the offer to a Bahrain merchant to be exclusive agent for the Sharq Company in Bahrain; correspondence with the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain concerning the decision of Shaikh Hamed [Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah] to prohibit the landing of Russian goods, passengers, and crew at Bahrain, and the need to issue a relevant proclamation bearing an Arab rather than a British signature; and reports of Russian ships in the Persian Gulf.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 15; 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in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.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 volume contains correspondence sent and received by the Political Agent at Bahrain, regarding the German firm Federico Unduetsch & Co, which is seeking to open a branch in Bahrain, and the feelings of the Political Agent and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf against German trade in the Gulf.The file also contains a letter from Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, Ruler of Bahrain, in favour of foreign nationals trading in Bahrain, as long as the businesses are run by British and Bahraini subjects, plus a manuscript report by the Political Resident on 'Anti British and pro German propaganda in Bahrain'.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover 58; 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 incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-57; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This file contains a Foreign Office memorandum (No. 246 Intel of 17 June 1948) entitled 'Renewal of Atheist Propaganda in the U.S.S.R.'.The document was sent to the British Political Agents in Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat. It contains reports of 'Atheist Propaganda' in the USSR which is said to have criticised unscientific explanations of natural and social phenomena.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover 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.
Abstract: The memorandum consists of a report on information obtained by the British since October 1922 regarding Turkish efforts to spread Pan-Islamic, pro-Turkish, and anti-British propaganda in Iraq and Persia. This includes information on Turco-Persian relations.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 15; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This bundle consists of summaries, and partial transcripts, of secret letters received from HM Consul at Tehran, Richard W Stevens (30 April and 1 May 1856, Numbers 23-25). The amount of detail for each entry therefore varies.The subject matter is primarily the Persian siege of Herat, though the publication of accusations against the British Government by the Persian Government in a Bombay newspaper is also discussed.Physical description: 1 item (2 folios)
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to the shipment from Basra to Bahrain of a Dodge truck for use by the Public Relations Office in Bahrain, and the shipment in the opposite direction of a Hudson saloon car. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Public Relations Officer in Basra (Major E C Becher; D A Denbigh); the Public Relations Officer in Bahrain (Cornelius James Pelly).The file contains:correspondence relating to arrangements to ship the truck, with associated equipment, from Bahrain to Basra. The truck was intended for use by the Public Relations office to transport a generator and film projector, and be used for radio broadcasts;correspondence relating to arrangements to ship the Hudson saloon, with associated equipment, from Bahrain to Basra. The correspondence documents the difficulties encountered in finding passage for the car, the appointment of a farrash to accompany the car to discourage pilfering of its components and equipment while en route, and the failure of the farrash to protect the car, leading it to arrive in Basra, in the words of the Public Relations Officer at Basra, ‘in a very bad condition’ (f 29);correspondence relating to equipment requirements for the truck in Bahrain;correspondence relating to an incident in which the driver of the truck was stopped by the police authorities in Bahrain, who had assumed that the truck was stolen property.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 53; 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 2-36; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The volume contains a chronological list of brief summaries of papers relating to the activities of the Indian Expeditionary Force D (also known as the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force) between 16 and 31 May 1918. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: telegrams, memoranda, and tables.An index to the contents of this volume and a summary of the contents can be found in IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3299.The volume concerns:Military personnel issues, including reinforcements, recruitment, and leaveArrivals to and departures from the port of BasraRailway construction in MesopotamiaSupply of animals, food, tents, construction materials, vehicles, and other items to Force DBritish propaganda in MesopotamiaDiscussion of the potential for recruiting Assyrians and Nestorians in Persia [Iran] for military serviceMatters relating to Dunsterforce, including: Dunsterforce’s movements; recruitment of Persian levies; and operations to suppress anti-British forces in PersiaBritish interactions with Russian officers in Persia, including payment of money to maintain Russian troops, and attempts to prevent a Russian general returning to PersiaAerial bombardment of Fathah [Al Fathah] and Humr [Al Humr]The creation of a Directorate for Irrigation in MesopotamiaIntelligence concerning the movement of Turkish units in Mesopotamia and PersiaIntelligence concerning the arrival of German soldiers, vehicles, and weapons at Constantinople [Istanbul]Intelligence concerning Turkish and German intelligence operations, including the German role in inciting the ‘rebellion’ in NajafBritish financial support for pro-British Persian politiciansActivities of the South Persia RiflesDiscussions of British military strategy in the Middle East, including the shift in focus away from Mesopotamia and towards PersiaRailway traffic in MesopotamiaForce D’s withdrawal from Kerkouk [Kirkuk]A summary of recent bombing raids and aerial combat, written for the Press AssociationText of a speech given by General William Marshall in Baghdad to mark Empire Day (f 266).The volume also contains:Strength returns of Force D dated 30 March 1918 (ff 14-22, ff 45-66), 6 April 1918 (ff 89-102), 13 April 1918 (ff 236-246), 20 April 1918 (ff 23-24), and 27 April 1918 (ff 126-128)Distribution of Force D including details of lines of communication, 27 April 1918 (ff 141-150)Ration strength of Force D on 27 April 1918 (ff 67-69) and 4 May 1918 (ff 134-137)Detailed statements of ration strength of Force D on 13 April 1918 (ff 103-107) and 20 April 1918 (ff 179-183)Report of number of pilots and aircraft available for service in Mesopotamia, 16 May 1918 (ff 35-36), 23 May 1918 (f 154), and 30 May 1918 (f 274)Weekly return of sick and wounded for the week ending 27 April 1918 (f 84)Distribution of the Turkish Army, 21 May 1918 (ff 112-113) and 28 May 1918 (ff 215-223)Ammunition held and used by Force D, 17 May 1918 (ff 128-129) and 24 May (f 250)Lists of captured food supplies (ff 231-232).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 279; 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 3-277; these numbers are printed and are located in the bottom centre of the recto side of each folio.Dimensions: 21 x 33cm
Abstract: The volume contains a chronological list of brief summaries of papers relating to the activities of the Indian Expeditionary Force D (also known as the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force) between 1 and 31 July 1919. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: telegrams, memoranda, and tables.An index to the contents of this volume can be found at folios 3-7.The volume concerns:Supply of food, weaponry, construction materials, and other items to Force DMilitary personnel issues, including reinforcements, demobilisation, and travel and accommodation arrangements for families of soldiersRailway construction in MesopotamiaIntelligence concerning a planned ‘Pan-Islamic upheaval after Ramzan [Ramaḍān]’Discussion of the activities of the King-Crane CommissionDiscussion of propaganda produced by ‘Feisal’ [Fayṣal Al-Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] calling for the ‘complete Independence of Arabia’British censorship of telegrams, photographs, and newspapersDisposal of surplus weaponry by Force DReport on the conditions in South Kurdistan following the defeat and capture of ‘Sheikh Mahmud’ [Shaikh Maḥmūd Barzanjī]Financial administration of MesopotamiaMatters relating to the government of Mesopotamia, including: requests by Arab officers for a ‘purely national Civil Government in Mesopotamia’; British opposition to greater involvement of local populations in government; and the usefulness of Mesopotamia for British policy in the wider Middle EastAssessment by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf of the conditions in Basrah [Basra] and Nasiriyeh [Nasiriyah] (ff 54-55)Discussion of violence in Central Kurdistan, including: the killing of administrative officials by ‘local Gendarmerie’; reports of Kurds near Amadia [Amadiya] ‘attacking Christian villages’; and British preparations for ‘quietening the district’The appointment of Colonel William Nafew Haskell as the Allied High Commissioner in ArmeniaEvents in Persia [Iran], including: the surrender of high profile rebels: the activities of Bakhtiari [Bakhtiyārī] tribes; and British attempts to recruit Persian Kurds to fight ‘in case of incursion by Bolsheviks’.The volume also contains:Weekly returns of sick and wounded for the weeks ending 24 May 1919 (ff 9-10), 31 May 1919 (ff 16-17), 7 June 1919 (ff 39-41), 14 June 1919 (ff 67-68), 21 June 1919 (ff 77-78), and 28 June 1919 (ff 92-94)Ration strength of Force D on 10 May 1919 (ff 36-38), 5 July 1919 (ff 43-44), 12 July 1919 (f 58), 19 July 1919 (f 81), and 26 July 1919 (f 109)Distribution of Force D including details of lines of communication, 1 July 1919 (ff 110-122).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 124; 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 3-122; these numbers are printed and are located in the bottom centre of the recto side of each folio.Dimensions: 21 x 33cm
Abstract: The file deals with the dissemination in Bahrain of publicity and propaganda material in support of the British and allied cause at the start of the Second World War (1939-45). Most of the information originated with the Ministry of Information in London. The file also contains information on the response of British officials to broadcasts in the region by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and the support given to the allied side by the Ruler and people of Bahrain.The principal correspondents are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (principally, Major Charles Geoffrey Prior); the Political Agent, Bahrain (Hugh Weightman); the Ministry of Information (which is often referred to in the correspondence as MINIF or MINIFORM); the Information Office, Aden; the India Office; and the Government of India.The papers cover: the selection of Bahrain as the publicity distributing centre for the Arab side of the Gulf, and the appointment of a publicity interpreter at Bahrain, who would also undertake intelligence duties (folios 2-6); India Office telegram explaining the principles adopted as the basis of British publicity abroad (folios 8-9); Arabic broadcasts by the BBC, including comments on the service, many of them critical, by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Prior), and the Political Agent, Bahrain; discussion of the format and publication of the Arabic language
Al Bahrainnewspaper (e.g. folios 29-30); numerous reports from the Ministry of Information on political, military and economic developments in the war (including contradictions of German propaganda), which were then recast in Bahrain and translated for publication in the newspaper
Al Bahrain; the suggested use of loudspeakers to broadcast a daily Arabic news bulletin (e.g. folios 36-37); official reports forwarded to Bahrain by the India Office (e.g.
Papers concerning the Treatment of German Nationals in Germany, 1938-1939(London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1939) (folios 221-238); covering letters for pamphlets of war interest sent by the Political Agency, Bahrain to the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) for the use of employees of the company (e.g. folio 266); the support of the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Hamad [Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah], for the allied cause (e.g. folios 251, 253); the assessment of public opinion on the war in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast (e.g. folios 279, 281, and 348); and newspaper cuttings used for publicity purposes (folios 313-319).The Arabic language content of the papers consists of approximately fifteen folios of publicity material and correspondence.The date range gives the covering dates of the correspondence; the last dated additions to the file are notes on a couple of the documents dated 29 November 1939.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 405; 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 2-395; 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: The file begins with a confidential circular memorandum (reference No.279-S of 1939) from Trenchard Craven William Fowle (Political Resident in the Persian Gulf), dated 30 March 1939 at the British Residency and Consulate-General, Bushire. It is addressed to the Political Agents for Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat and asks them to send him weekly summaries of any news items relating to their area, made in Arabic broadcasts by foreign radio stations.The file consists almost entirely of several English summaries of Arabic news broadcasts, transmitted to radio listeners in the Gulf States by European and Middle Eastern radio stations and expressing mainly anti-British views. Most summaries are from Berlin Radio and include news of Jewish immigration into British controlled Palestine and President Roosevelt’s peace telegram to Hitler on14 April 1939. There are also two short news summaries about Palestine from the British viewpoint, broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation (B.B.C.) Empire Service (known as Daventry Radio) in England.The reference number ‘1.a/25’ appears on two telegrams in the file (ff.17-18). This is a related file in the same series. There is also a cross-reference to a particular file part in a handwritten note on the file cover which says:‘Please see file 1.a/25-III for future correspondence’. This file part appears not to have survived.Physical description: Foliation: numbered 1A, 1B, and then 2 to 34, in pencil in the top right hand corner. The numbering starts at the front of the file, on the file cover (f.1A) and ends on the inside cover at the back of the file (f.34).
Abstract: The file is about a change in administrative arrangements, following receipt of a general instruction in 1939, to send all future intelligence summaries to the new Middle East Intelligence Centre (M.E.I.C.) at Cairo.The file contains confidential, secret and most secret copy letters and telegrams, mainly from Trenchard Craven William Fowle (Political Resident in the Persian Gulf) to the Political Agent, Bahrain. The correspondence begins with a request from Fowle, asking the Political Agent, Bahrain to start sending copies of his fortnightly intelligence summaries to the newly opened M.E.I.C. Both this request and subsequent correspondence contains detailed instructions about the secure communication of intelligence reports and summaries between British officials in the Arab Gulf States and the Intelligence Centre at Cairo, including the use of cyphers and code words. The copy correspondence includes a secret telegram (T. No. 9276 dated 19 April 1941) and a most secret memorandum ( M.E.I.C./1/59 dated 21 April 1941) from the Intelligence Centre, containing instructions about the use of the code word ‘Steel’ in messages to indicate that information has been supplied by a most secret source (ff.13-17).The file also includes copies of six printed distribution lists with the security classification ‘Most Secret’, for the circulation of intelligence summaries compiled by the Political Intelligence Centre Middle East, May-June 1943.Physical description: Foliation: numbered 1 to 26 in the top right hand corner. The numbering starts at the front of the file, on the first file enclosure (f.1) and ends on the inside cover at the back of the file (f.26). The front file cover is not foliated.