Abstract: The file comprises papers relating to the financial operation of the Political Agency in Bahrain, including the Public Relations Office (PRO) and, for most of the months represented in the file, contain the following:cash accounts for the Political Agency for each month, with a summary of the month’s receipts and payments, followed by lists of the particulars of receipts and payments;absentee statements, providing details of absentees, their rate of pay, nature of absence, and details of the officiating government servant;detailed pay bills, including those for the Public Relations Officer;fully vouched contingent bills, covering petroleum products, costs related to the running of the PRO (rent of the office, reading room electricity and coffee, salaries, cinema running costs), freight charges, Cable & Wireless cable charges;treasury vouchers, including advances for remittance to the Residency Agent in Sharjah, for costs incurred on the Trucial Coast, and other travel costs;travel allowance bills;details of payments on Indian military, family and uncovenanted pensions;vouchers relating to office allowances, motor launch grants and central contract grants.Included amongst the paperwork are numerous handwritten notes made by staff at the Political Agency, some correspondence discussing financial matters in the Agency, and some monthly lists, compiled by Cable & Wireless, indicating telegrams sent by the Bahrain Agency, including destination, class, word count and cost (ff 24-25, ff 117-121, ff 281-283, ff 480-482).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 546; 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 A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.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 relates to the appointment and service of holders of the post of Publicity Officer in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain (from 1942 known as Public Relations Officer in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain), including Bertram Sidney Thomas (served December 1941 to October 1943).The papers, which include correspondence, telegrams, memoranda, charge certificates (recording the handing-over of duties between officers), notifications, last pay certificates, letter of guarantee for a bill of lading; and other forms and certificates, cover the following topics: travel arrangements; correspondence concerning charge certificates and last pay certificates; appointment and transfer; pay and allowances; advances of pay; attendance at a conference of Publicity Officers in Cairo, Egypt, May 1940; transport of personal effects; recovery of sum paid to servants at Bushire, July 1940; Government of India confirmation of the continuance of the post of Publicity Officer for the duration of the War, August 1940; certificate confirming that the holder was a Government Servant; leave and leave salary; payment of Indian Income Tax; bill from merchant in Bahrain, December 1941; bill for transmitter hire, July 1946; and correspondence between Bertram Thomas and the Political Agency, Bahrain concerning the accounts of his service as Public Relations Officer, Bahrain, December 1946 to January 1947.The Arabic language content of this file consists of the bilingual letterhead of a Bahrain merchant.The correspondence (the main body of papers in the file) is dated 14 March 1940 to 11 July 1949. The closing date in the overall date range is provided by an entry in the notes at the rear of the file.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation system in use commences at 1 on the front cover, and continues through to 249 on the last folio before the back cover. The sequence is written in pencil, often underlined, and appears in the top right hand corner of the recto page of each folio. Foliation anomalies: ff. 1, 1A; ff. 24, 24A; ff. 46, 46A; ff. 88, 88A; ff. 153, 153D. The following numbers are omitted from the sequence: 12, 14, 16, 49, 51-59. The following pagination ranges occur: 179-180, 186-187.