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37. ‘File 15/9 Vol 2 Rules and Regulations Circulars received from the Defence Department, Government of India, Industries Deptt, Land Health & Education Deptt., Postal Telegraph Deptt, Commerce Deptt & Labour Department’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains Government of India circular letters, memoranda and notices issued by several departments. These were regularly forwarded by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire to the Political Agent, Bahrain and others for information and guidance. The circulars contain rules, procedures and instructions and relate mainly to Government of India personnel and wartime measures. Typical file contents are:Army Department notice about assistance for mechanical transport driver reservists in the Indian Army, seeking civil employment, 1936;List, of demobilised Medical Service officers seeking civil employment, compiled by the Indian Medical service, 1937;Notices issued in 1939 and 1944 by the Department of Education, Health and Lands, regarding The Secretary of State’s Services (Medical Attendance) Rules 1938 and the Central Services (Medical Attendance) Rules 1944;Defence Co-ordination Department notices, 1941 imposing restrictions on the photographing or drawing of any object by travellers, aboard vessels within the territorial waters of British India, under the Defence of India Rules;Department of Commerce notices, 1946 about enemy trading and the settlement of claims against enemies.The file also contains correspondence in 1940 between the Political Agent, Bahrain and the Educational Commissioner with the Government of India, about the provision of educational facilities for European children remaining in India instead of attending schools in England, owing to wartime conditions.Physical description: Foliation: numbered 1A-1C, 2-28, 29A, 29B, 30-55, 62-79, 80A, 80B, 81-103, 105-161, 163, 165, 167, 169, 171-173, 175-181, 184-193, 195-216, 218-232, 234-248. The numbers 56-61, 182, 183, 217 and 233 have been omitted. The numbering is written in pencil in the top right corner of the folio, starting at the front of the file, on the file cover (f.1A) and ending on the inside cover at the back of the file (f.248). Folios 103, 161, 163, 165, 167, 169, 173, 193 have been additionally numbered 104, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170, 174, 194 on the verso.
38. ‘File 15/36 I Departmental Examination of officers of the I.M.D.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains one main document: a letter from the Government of India, Defence Department, Army Branch, New Delhi, 23 December 1939, to the Director General, Indian Medical Service (IMS). The letter notifies the Director General of the Government’s decision to suspend departmental examinations for the promotion of Assistant and Sub-Assistant Surgeons of the Indian Medical Department (IMD), for the duration of the Second World War (1939-1945). The letter was copied to The Political Agent, Bahrain and the Medical Officer, Trucial Coast, at Dubai.Physical description: Foliation is written in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio after the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the last folio of writing, on number 5.
39. 'File 17/1-II Posts and Telegraphs. Radio Station Bahrain.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman, Reginald George Alban, Edward Birkbeck Wakefield, Tom Hickinbotham), Political Resident in Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven William Fowle, Charles Geoffrey Prior), Officer-in-Charge of the Bahrain Branch of Cable & Wireless (Norman Luke Penfold, George William Watson, Cecil Edward Gahan, John William Millest), other Cable & Wireless representatives (Sir Edward Wilshaw, Fred W Humphrey, Harold Aubrey Merchant), HM Minister Tehran (Sir Reader Bullard), and the India Office (Roland Tennyson Peel, John Percival Gibson) regarding provision of telegram services to and from Bahrain and the wider region.The main subject of the correspondence is the work of Cable and Wireless in Bahrain, including work to replace the aerial lines that connected Bahrain’s wireless service to the submarine cables; notifications from the Bahrain telegraph station regarding interruptions to cable services in the Persian Gulf; the Company’s desire to obtain formal concessions for telegraph services both in Bahrain and Kuwait which had to be postponed for the duration of the Second World War; and discussions around the potential implementation of a dislocation scheme issued by the Army to prevent enemy forces taking control of wireless services in any territory they were successful in capturing.Also included in the volume are discussions regarding a Parliamentary white paper titled the ‘Empire Scheme’ which was a proposal to introduce a flat rate of charges for telegrams between any two points in the Empire. The discussion relates to the question raised by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf of whether Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat could be included in such a proposed scheme and the response from Cable and Wireless Limited that it would result in considerable loss to them given the cost of maintaining and operating the strategic cables located in the Persian Gulf.Correspondence also relates to the presence of the Army and Royal Navy in Bahrain and their need for wireless services. Included are the decision by naval authorities to establish a wireless station at the Jufair [Al Jufayr] Naval base and the Royal Air Force (RAF) to establish a wireless station on Muharraq Island. Subsequent correspondence related to the unsuitability of the Royal Navy’s wireless service at Jufair and the need for a new plot of land to establish a better service. The correspondence includes negotiations relating to the potential purchase of land at Ummul Hassan and the Shaikh of Bahrain (Salmān bin Ḥamad)’s decision to offer the land for free in exchange for part of a plot of land at Qozaibia owned by the RAF.The final matter discussed in the volume is the decision taken by the Iranian Government in 1938 to cease transmitting telegrams from Iran to Bahrain and subsequent discussions and negotiations with the Iranian Government from 1941 onwards to resume the service, including the need to settle the rate charged for telegrams so that they could be shared equally by Cable and Wireless and the Iranian Government.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 300-325.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 332; 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 mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 5-298 and between ff 300-329; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
40. 'File 17/8 WIRELESS COMMUNICATION BETWEEN RIYADH AND GERMANY'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain (Tom Hickinbotham), Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf (SNOPG) (Cosmo Moray Graham), the Chief Local Representative of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) (Roger Anthony Kennedy) and the General Manager of the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC) (Floyd William Ohliger) regarding wireless transmissions between Riyadh and Germany which had been intercepted by the CASOC station at Dhahran [Aẓ-Ẓahrān]. The correspondence includes attempts by the British authorities to ascertain where the transmissions were originating and the possible content of them.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 38-39.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 40; 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 2-37; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. An additional mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 38-39.
41. ‘File 25/4 Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of Alliance, 1930’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains papers relating to press and parliamentary demands in Iraq, emerging during June 1945, for a renegotiation of the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of Alliance of 1930. These papers are as follows:a printed copy of the ‘Treaty of Alliance between the United Kingdom and ‘Iraq, with Exchanges of Notes’, signed in Baghdad on 30 June 1930 (ff 3-11);a white paper (ff 13-16) entitled ‘Parliamentary and Press Campaign for the Revision of the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of Alliance of 1930’, prepared by the Combined Intelligence Centre Iraq (CICI) and dated 5 July 1945, outlining: recent agitation in the Iraqi press for a change to the status quo in relations between Britain and Iraq; recent parliamentary debate in Iraq regarding the treaty; the start of an ‘anti-imperialist’ campaign in Iraq, in response to British intervention in Syria; news reports of Iraqi demands for a revision of the Treaty, and the subsequent response in the Iraqi press; a list of points of issue in the Treaty, as defined by Nur ud-Din Dawud of the an-Nidanewspaper. A distribution list for the paper (f 12) is included in the file;an appendix to the above CICI paper, also dated 5 July 1945 (f 18), stating that American dissatisfaction with Britain’s ambassadorial arrangements with Iraq – in comparison to the United States’ own, inferior diplomatic status – is a reason for the need to amend the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty. The distribution list for the appendix (f 17) is much smaller than that for the main paper (f 12), indicating its secret, rather than confidential nature.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 20; 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 12-18; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
42. ‘File 25/5 Charter of the United Nations and Statute of the International Court of Justice’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains a copy of the Charter of the United Nations (ff 5-10), signed on 26 June 1945, on the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organisation, held in San Francisco. Also included in the file, as part of the Charter, is a printed copy of the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ff 11-13).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 16; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Two printed pagination sequences also appear in the file, running from 2 to 12 (ff 5-10) and 2 to 6 (ff 11-13).
43. ‘File 28/1 A Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited – standing orders for their guards’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises letters sent by representatives of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), generally the Chief Local Representative, John S Black, to the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman), enclosing copies of standing orders issued to their guards and security personnel for the defence of the Company’s refinery, oil fields and other installations, in the wake of the advent of hostilities in Europe.Several revisions of the standing orders are included in the file (ff 6-7, ff 9-24, ff 25-36 ff 38-68), dated October to November 1939. The orders cover a range of roles and aspects of BAPCO’s operations: instructions for sentries at refinery gates; checks on motor and goods vehicles coming into and out of the refinery; instructions for motor patrols; instructions for motorcycle patrols (left blank as a result of a lack of motorcycles); orders for the officer-in-charge of the field, including checks for sabotage of wells, pipelines and tanks; standing orders for the officer-in-charge of the refinery; orders for naturguards; orders for the second shift foreman; instructions for security personnel at Sitrah terminal, Sitrah pier, Sitrah wharf. Some pages of the standing orders are heavily annotated in pencil, presumably by Agency staff or by the Agent himself, with comments and questions relating to specific aspects of the standing orders.Also in the file is a letter (ff 2-4) from the Secretary of the Committee of Internal Refinery Defence, dated 25 September 1939, containing twelve proposals to improve security and reduce the need for labourers (referred to as ‘coolies’) to move around the refinery site unattended, and a letter (ff 69-71) from Max Weston Thornberg, Vice President of BAPCO, to Weightman, setting out BAPCO’s company policy towards the defence of its sites in Bahrain during ‘the existing state of emergency’.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 72; 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 2-71; these numbers are written in a combination of pencil and blue ink, but they are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
44. ‘File 28/1 B 1. Gift of £30,000 of Shaikh of Bahrain to the British Government; 2. Purchase of fighter aircraft; 3. Persian Gulf Fighter Fund’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence relating to a financial gift made to the British Government by the Ruler of Bahrain, and a fund set up for the purchase of fighter plans for the Persian Gulf:correspondence relating to the receipt and cashing of a gift of £30,000 made by the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, to the British Government towards the costs of the war. In a letter to the Secretary of State for India, dated 23 February 1941 (f 10) the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior) notes that the Italian radio station at Bari has announced that the Shaikh would ‘receive another visit from Italian bombers in return for his gift’;correspondence from the Political Resident to the India Office, dated 18 February 1941 (f 8), remitting a sum of £10,000 from the Persian Gulf Fighter Fund towards the purchase of two fighters, which the Resident requests be named Bahrainand Kuwaitrespectively. The Resident writes that the presentation of the first of the fighters is to be broadcast from Bahrain in Arabic on 20 February 1941, and requests a suitable mention on the BBC’s Arabic broadcast. The Resident also states that though British subjects on the Persian side of the Gulf have contributed ‘considerable sums’, he has not publicised this fact, and suggests that mention only be made of contributions from ‘Arab population British subjects and other communities 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 back cover with 12; 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 between ff 2-10; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
45. ‘File 28/1 C Ammunition for Bahrain Government’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence relating to a consignment of 100,000 rounds of ammunition given to the Government of Bahrain as a gift by the Government of India. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Agent in Bahrain (Hugh Weightman); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior).The file begins with a letter from the Political Agent to the Resident, dated 5 November 1939 (f 2), expressing concern that the Government of Bahrain’s recently acquired ammunition supplies are of First-World-War vintage, and not suitable for modern guns. The Political Agent asks if India might be persuaded to make a present of 100,000 rounds to Bahrain, given that ‘Muscat is getting rifles and ammunition for nothing’ and with the Government of Bahrain having given £30,000 to the British Government as a contribution towards the costs of the war. The remaining correspondence relates to this gift of 100,000 rounds, sent during 1940 in two consignments of 15,000 rounds and 85,000 rounds, in June and July respectively. A letter from the Political Agent to the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, dated 1 April 1940, informing him of the gift (f 19), and Shaikh Ḥamad’s reply, dated 3 April 1940 (f 20) are included in the file.The file notes (f 44) indicate that the file contained correspondence up to October 1945, however the items of correspondence from 1945, as indicated in a note written in the margin of the file notes, were moved to file 4/25. As a result, the latest date of correspondence in the file is 25 January 1941.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; 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 2-43; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
46. ‘File 28/1 D Local Volunteer Defence Force. British N.C.O. Instructors for Defence Force’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the institution, running and disbandment of the Bahrain Local Defence Volunteers (LDV), as well as Air Raid Precautions (ARP) being taken in Bahrain. Key correspondents in the file include the Political Agent in Bahrain (Hugh Weightman; Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban), the Defence Officer for the Persian Gulf (Major A C Byard; Major H T Hewitt), and the Air Vice Marshal Commanding British Forces in Iraq (Harry George Smart).Topics covered in the file include:British officials’ efforts to recruit an NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) qualified in the use of Vickers Berthier guns to train a Bahrain local defence force;recruitment of an LDV Force in Bahrain. The file includes a copy of the public notice issued by the Political Agency asking for volunteers, dated 17 June 1940 (f 33), replies (ff 35-49) from individuals and groups volunteering to the LDV, and a document entitled ‘Formation of the Bahrain Local Volunteer Defence Force’, dated 15 August 1940 (f 54) containing details of training, penalties for breach of rules, medical examination, discharge;correspondence regarding the organisation of searchlight crews, and arrangements for searchlights and other equipment to be dispatched from Iraq to Bahrain;a letter from the Air Vice Marshal Commanding British Forces in Iraq, to the Political Resident, dated 8 November 1940 (ff 64-65), concerning the lack of available anti-aircraft defence equipment for Bahrain; the despatch of a searchlight to Bahrain; and acknowledgement of the ‘serious difficulties’ in the use of British guards recruited by the Company (Bahrain Petroleum Company, or BAPCO) – ‘the use of British Forces at the expense of a foreign company, for the protection of private property’;the disbandment of the LDV as a result of an apparent lack of enthusiasm, and a BAPCO announcement stating that the ‘Company will not be liable for staff employees taking part in Military or Defence duties’ and ‘bonuses will not be paid to them while on such duty’. In a letter to the Political Resident dated 20 November 1941 the Joint Secretary to the Government of India (Hugh Weightman, formerly the Political Agent at Bahrain) expresses surprise at the disbandment of the Bahrain LDV, noting an ‘apparent spirit of apathy and helplessness now obtaining in Bahrain’ (f 82). A response from the Bahrain Defence Officer (Hewitt) to Weightman’s observations, dated 28 December 1941, is also in the file (ff 84-86);in response to Japan’s entry into the war in December 1941, a renewed discussion of Bahrain’s defences, with emphasis on a ‘Passive Air Defence scheme’. A letter from Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, to the Political Agent (Alban), dated 2 January 1942 (ff 87-92) describes the air-raid precautions being taken in Bahrain, including black-outs in Manama and Muharraq, the use of trenches as air-raid shelters, fire-fighting plans, and medical emergency planning.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 106; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Three additional mixed foliation/pagination sequence are also present in parallel between ff 2-104, ff 2-32, and ff 34-71; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. These are located in the same position as the main sequence, except for some instances which are located on the verso. The following foliation error occurs: two f 53.
47. ‘File 28/1 E Defence Officer, Persian Gulf. Station Commander Bahrain’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the recruitment, particulars and activities of a Defence Officer for the Persian Gulf. Key correspondents in the file include the Political Agent in Bahrain (Hugh Weightman; Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban) and the Defence Officer for the Persian Gulf (Major A C Byard until early 1941, succeeded by Major H T Hewitt in April 1941).The file includes:correspondence between the Political Resident, Political Agent in Bahrain, Air Officer Commanding in Iraq, and others, on the recruitment of Captain A C Byard as Defence Officer for the Persian Gulf (under the command of the Air Ministry), and further discussion on Byard’s pay and rank, with differences of opinion between the Political Agent and Air Ministry representatives, on Byard’s emoluments in relation to his rank and role at Bahrain;proposals made in February 1940, for the recruitment of a force of fifty Bahrainis to guard the Bahrain oil field and refinery, and the recruitment of a levy from Iraq to work as an intermediary between the Defence Officer and force (ff 14-15);an outline, in a letter sent from Air Headquarters in Iraq, dated 21 November 1940, of the duties of the Defence Officer in the Persian Gulf (ff 62-63);the recruitment of Major H T Hewitt as Defence Officer in Bahrain from April 1941, as a replacement for Byard (ff 65-66);the settlement of outstanding bills and expenses incurred by Byard while he was stationed in Bahrain;in July 1941, the transfer of control for the Defence Officer in the Persian Gulf from the Air Ministry to the Indian Army (ff 94-97);operation records prepared by the Defence Officer for July 1941 (ff 100-102), September 1941 (ff 105-106), October 1941 (ff 107-108), November 1941 (ff 110-111) and December 1941 (f 119);correspondence relating to an injury suffered by Hewitt in December 1941 (a broken leg), including a medical note (f 122) that Hewitt should seek travel to Bombay for surgery, and correspondence relating to a second medical opinion noting that further treatment would not be necessary;correspondence between the Political Agent in Bahrain, Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay), and the Commander-in-Chief PAIFORCE (Persia and Iraq Force), General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, December 1942, on Hewitt’s promotion from the rank of Major to Lieutenant-Colonel, in response to his increased responsibilities (ff 133-139);an announcement of a Change of Designation, dated 30 November 1943, stating that the title Defence Officer in the Persian Gulf has changed to Station Commander Bahrain (f 141);station Routine Orders covering the period 29 March to 10 May 1944, prepared by the Defence Officer (ff 142-145).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 150; 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 2-145; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. Pagination: a short pagination sequence is also present between ff 146-149; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top outermost corners of each page.
48. ‘File 28/1 G Bahrain Special Police’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence relating to the day-to-day organisation of the Bahrain Special Police, occasionally referred to as the Bahrain Defence Force, including arrangements for recruitment, training, pay, provisions, expenses, etc. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Agent in Bahrain (Hugh Weightman); the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave); the Defence Officer in the Persian Gulf (Major A C Byard; Major H T Hewitt); Royal Air Force (RAF) officials at Air Headquarters Iraq, Habbaniyah, Iraq.Subjects covered in the file include:in late 1939, enquiries by the Political Agent in Bahrain into the prospect of recruiting men from Baluchistan into a Special Police Force in Bahrain, with mention of the Sheikh of Bahrain’s preference for an Arab levy force;in October 1940, proposals to increase the numbers of the Bahrain Special Police up to circa 150 men, along with correspondence relating to additional defence measures for Bahrain in the wake of an Italian bombing raid over Bahrain and Dhahran;in late 1940, the recruitment of four junior Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) from the Iraq Levies, to train the Bahrain Special Police, including arrangements for payment of levies’ travel, accommodation, expenses and salaries;separate concerns from Belgrave: a) of the effectiveness of the Special Police with 150 men (November 1940, ff 29-35); and b) the costs of maintaining the Special Police (July 1942, ff 61-69);in October 1943, discontent amongst the ranks of and the threat of strike by the Special Police, who demand transport allowances and pay increases, leading to Hewitt’s concession that the Special Police are not an effective fighting force;from mid-1944, concerns that the numbers of men in the Special Police will drastically reduce as their four-year contracts, signed in late 1940, expire towards the end of 1944. Recommendations to solve the problem include: replacement of the Special Police by an Indian Garrison Company, rejected on the grounds of an overall lack of manpower in the Indian Army; that a one-year contract extension with pay rise be offered to Special Police officers; a transfer scheme to enable Bahrain State Police to transfer to the Special Police (copy of police order announcing the transfer scheme, ff 107-110);in August 1945, correspondence relating to the disbandment of the Bahrain Special Police, including confirmation from the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), dated 12 September 1945 (f 120) that the Company has no objection to the discontinuation of the Special Police.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 132; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Three additional mixed foliation/pagination sequences are also present between ff 2-7, ff 112-123, and ff 124-131 respectively; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. They are located in the same position as the main sequence, except for some instances which are located on the verso.