Abstract: The file comprises three items:a copy of a telegram (f 2) from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel William Rupert Hay) to the Political Agent in Bahrain (Hugh Weightman) dated 28 May 1940. The Resident states that he is considering requesting a company of Indian infantry to be stationed in Bahrain, pending the formation of a local defence force, and asks the Political Agent if any local objection might be raised;the Political Agent’s reply to the Resident (f 3), dated 29 May 1940, in which the Agent suggests that the presence of such a force ‘may do more harm than good’, adding that careful explanation to the Shaikh and to the public would be required, and that mistrust and alarm might be the result;a typed list (f 4) of files in the War subject series (File 28). The list is similar to that given in Penelope Tuson,
The records of the British Residency and agencies in the Persian Gulf(London: India Office Library & Records, 1979), with the exception that the list includes those files subsequently destroyed and thus not listed in Tuson. Some files in the list have pencil annotations in the margin reading ‘With P.A. [Political Agent] S.’ It is unclear why this file list is included in the file.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 2; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An addition foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-3; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and memoranda containing guidance relating to the perceived threat of enemy troops parachuting into British-Indian territory. Though the threat is most strongly perceived in the north-western provinces of India and Baluchistan, the guidance was distributed to Britain’s political agencies in the Persian Gulf, including Bahrain.The file includes: a copy of a Government of India letter, dated 5 July 1940, discussing the vulnerability of stations on the northwest frontier of India, with suggestions for passive air defence measures, and precautions to be taken against parachutists (paratroopers) (ff 3-4); a note from the General Staff, dated 1 June 1940, outlining the nature of parachute attacks (f 5); a note outlining active defence measures to be taken against paratroopers, including permanent guards and the placement of obstructions on landing grounds (f 6); a copy of a secret memorandum from the Government of India, dated 30 July 1940, stating that no landing grounds should be obstructed without prior reference to the Government of India External Affairs Department (f 8); copies of telegrams relating to difficulties encountered in ascertaining the identities of air crews at some landing grounds (f10), with proposals for photograph identity cards to be carried by aircrews, a specimen of which is included (f 11); a copy of a letter from the Under Secretary to the Government of India, dated 18 December 1942, drawing attention to the success of ‘fifth column’ exercises in Northern Command, and requesting that ‘provincial governments’ assess their arrangements for weaknesses that may leave them prone to fifth column activities (ff 18-19).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 foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-19; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and notes containing guidance, issued in response to reports from the War Office, of German plans to sabotage oil fields and refineries and blow up shipping.The file includes: a copy of a telegram from MICE (Middle East Intelligence Centre) in Cairo, dated 3 December 1939, reporting that Germany ‘may have started a campaign to damage oil wells, refineries, etc.’ (f 3); a letter from the Political Agent in Bahrain to John S Black, Chief Local Representative for the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), dated 6 December 1939, forwarding information of the reports regarding German sabotage of oil installations, and advising vigilance (f 5); a copy of a letter from Alexander Cadogan of the Foreign Office, dated 10 September 1940, enclosing two sets of precautions, entitled ‘Anti-sabotage precautions’ (f 11) and ‘Additional Precautions’ (f 12). The first set of precautions relates to the planting of explosives with delayed-action fuses in ship’s cargoes, with a list of the types of objects and containers in which explosives might be hidden, and what such explosive devices might look like. The second set of precautions describes measures taken to ensure security in relation to ship’s passengers, pilots, ship's stores, ventilators and portholes, loading/unloading at night.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 13; 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 2-12; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises two secret telegrams, sent by the C-in-C (Commander-in-Chief), E.I. (East Indies Station), both dated 29 April 1940. The first (f 2) states that ‘All Swedish, Finnish, Latvian and Estonian ships in British Ports and bound for Scandinavian, Danish or Baltic Ports should by some pretext be prevented from sailing until further orders.’ The second telegram (f 3) states that ‘All Norwegian and Danish shipping is to be taken under British protection and is to be detained in British harbours or sent there from High Seas.’Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 4; 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 2-3; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and other papers relating to an air raid carried out by Italian bombers over the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) refinery in Bahrain and the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC) refinery at Dhahran [al-Ẓahrān] in Saudi Arabia, on the night of 19 October 1940. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent in Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior); the British Minister in Jedda (Hugh Stonehewer-Bird).The file includes:initial reports of the raid (ff 2-3);an order from the Government of Bahrain (f 4, copy at f 30) dated 19 October 1940, announcing the raid and the British Government’s intentions to take all measures in the defence of Bahrain. The order also calls for calm amongst the islands’ inhabitants;a draft letter written by the Political Agent to the Political Resident, dated 20 October 1940 (ff 10-12, copy at ff 27-29) giving details of: the number of planes taking part in the raid and their altitude; the number of bombs dropped; damage (of lack of damage) caused; and precautions being taken against further raids: placement of light machine gun posts, blackout measures, the preparation of air raid shelters, increased refinery patrols);correspondence from the British Minister at Jedda (ff 13-14, ff 15-16, f 32), giving an account of the Italian minister to Saudi Arabia’s initial denial of the raid over Dhahran, his response to the official announcement from the Italian Government of the raid over Bahrain, and his subsequent apology to the Amir Faisal [Fayṣal]. The British Minister at Jedda also reports on the official apology to Saudi Arabia from the Italian Government, and speculation that the refinery at Dhahran was mistaken for the BAPCO refinery at Bahrain by the Italian bombers;correspondence between Air Ministry and India Office officials in London (ff 41-42) discussing if such a raid could be repeated in future, and whether further air raid protection measures should be taken at Bahrain.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 46; 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.
Abstract: The first part of the file (ff 2-6), containing correspondence dated 1940, chiefly from the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Station Superintendent at Bahrain, concerns the provision of armed guards as an anti-sabotage measure for BOAC aircraft on night stops at Bahrain. The correspondence includes: details of the provision of an armed guard for aircraft; a request that BOAC staff be lent a revolver by the Agency; BOAC liaison on the matter of protection with the Defence Office in the Persian Gulf (Major A C Byard); provision of guards according to the winter 1940 BOAC schedule; elimination of BOAC night stops at Bahrain.The second part of the file (ff 7-19) contains correspondence dated 1943, chiefly from Norman Luke Penfold, Officer-in-Charge for the Bahrain branch of Cable & Wireless (C&W), who requests the provision of an armed guard for Bahrain’s new C&W office and the equipment and instruments it contains. Correspondence between Penfold and the Political Agency relates to the assessment of the nature of the function of the new office and its equipment, and if this justifies the provision of an armed guard from the Bahrain State Police. A note written by Agency staff in the file notes (ff 20-21) states that ‘the turn the war has taken has convinced all Arabs & Persians that there is no longer any possibility of German forces arriving in these parts’.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 22; 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 2-19; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. Pagination: the file notes at the back of the file (ff 20-21) have been paginated using pencil.
Abstract: The file’s contents relate to an enquiry made by the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC), dated 27 October 1940, to the Political Agency in Bahrain, asking if British aircraft were flown over the company’s refinery at Dhahran [al-Ẓahrān] in Saudi Arabia on the night of 25/26 October 1940. A telegram from the Political Resident, dated 29 October 1940, states that the Royal Air Force (RAF) have orders not to fly over Saudi territory. A letter from Floyd William Ohliger of CASOC to R T Hallowes at the Bahrain Political Agency, dated 29 October 1940 (ff 6-7) describes CASOC’s response to the bombing of the Dhahran refinery by Italian aircraft on 19 October 1940, with details of: air raid precautions (ARP) taken, including blackout measures; cessation of regular operations at the refinery; the intention to resume operations at the refinery with measures to restrict lighting; a description of the sighting of planes on 19 October 1940, with times, location and directions.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 10; 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 2-9; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to visits by senior military officials to Bahrain, principally arrangements for the visit of Brigadier F E C Hughes (ff 6-50), referred to in the file as both Commander-Designate of Forces, and head of Persian Gulf Defence Mission, in late June/early July 1941, for the purposes of carrying out a reconnaissance mission. Correspondence concerning Hughes’s visit includes: arrangements for his arrival and departure, including onward travel to Khorramshahr in Iran; permission/arrangements for Hughes to travel to Zekrit [Zikrīt] (Qatar) and Dhahran [[al-Ẓahrān] (Saudi Arabia); the loaning of maps (none included in the file); assessment of land south of Zellaq in Bahrain for a proposed landing strip.Other correspondence in the file relates to: a visit to Bahrain by the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Iraq in October 1940 (ff 2-5); various visits in 1942, with details of the officers and visit dates (ff 51-55); correspondence in July 1944 relating to the proposed visit to Bahrain of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) in Charge of Paiforce (Persia and India Force), and the subsequent delay and cancellation of the visit (ff 56-59); correspondence relating to visits by the GOC in Charge of the Persian Gulf (ff 64-65), and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) in October 1945 (f 65).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 68; 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 2-65; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: The file contains copies of correspondence on a range of subjects associated both directly and indirectly with events and the impact of the Second World War. Key correspondents in the file include: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman; Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban; Edward Birkbeck Wakefield), the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave); the Defence Officer in the Persian Gulf (Major H T Hewitt).Subjects in the file include:correspondence dated October 1939 from officials in the Government of India, on the institution of a War Purposes fund by the Governor-General and Viceroy of India, Victor Alexander John Hope (ff 6-11);the detention in June 1940 of Italian prisoners of war on board HMS
Falmouthat Jubail, Bahrain (ff 17-19);enquiries made by the Government of India in 1940 into desert vehicles used by the Californian Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC), with detailed information supplied by CASOC, including: diagrams of tyre profiles; photographs of trucks manufactured by US companies Marmon Herrington and the Autocar Company; statistical data and measurements for trucks (ff 20-25, ff 28-36, ff 41-65);enquiries made by the Government of India Supply Development Committee in 1942 into the prevalence in the Gulf of large sharks, as part of an investigation into the possibility of using shark skin in lieu of leather as a wartime measure (ff 80-86);preparations against the prospect of enemy attack undertaken in Bahrain during 1942, including: the appropriation of sites for the construction of defensive posts and anti-aircraft batteries (f 88, f 99, f 100, ff 122-125, f 141); the arrival in Bahrain of the No. 57 Indian Garrison Company; the removal of signposts in Bahrain (f 98); camel and horse patrols; artillery practice and manoeuvres (f 116, ff 118-120); protection of cable communications on the island (ff 139-140). A letter from the Political Resident, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior, to the Secretary to the Government of India, dated 23 December 1942, gives an overview of the preparations made for the defence of Bahrain (ff 149-151);Troop movements in the Gulf in 1942 (ff 103-104);1942 Ministry of State proposals to standardise time in the Middle East and East African Commands (ff 112-113, ff 134-135).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 187; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Between ff 47-52 these numbers have also been underlined. An additional incomplete foliation sequence is also present between ff 2-167; 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. The exceptions being ff 47-52 where the previous sequence was not crossed out, as these folios consist of photographic prints.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of official notices and correspondence relating to prize jurisdiction in the Persian Gulf (the capture of enemy vessels and cargo) during the Second World War, based on the understanding, as described in a letter from the Political Resident to his Agents, dated 16 November 1939, that, ‘as Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the Trucial States are on the side of Great Britain the Crown has the right to exercise prize jurisdiction in these States’ (ff 2-3).The file includes:two printed copies of a booklet entitled
Provisional Rules and Orders, 1939: Prize Courts: Order in Council dated September 2, 1939. Made under Section 3 of the Prize Courts Act, 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. C. 39)(ff 6-59, ff 61-114);a printed copy of an Order in Council entitled
Reprisals for restricting German Commerce, dated 27 November 1939 (ff 117-118), and a press statement, issued by the Press Section of the Ministry of Economic Warfare, dated 28 November 1939, relating to the issue of the Order in Council (f 120);correspondence relating to a Danish tanker, the
Eleonora Maersk(also spelt
Elonora Maerskand
Eleanora Mearsk) which arrived in Bahrain from Iran, in April 1940. In a letter to the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior) the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman) stated that the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf has received instructions from the East Indies Commander-in-Chief that the vessel should be sent to Karachi, presumably as prize (ff 121-124);a Department of Commerce notification, dated 31 August 1940, stating that measures taken against German shipping can now be applied to Italian shipping (f 131);communications relating to prize procedure in respect of Finland, Hungary, Rumania [Romania] and Japan (ff 139-142).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 146; 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 2-6, f 60, and ff 119-143, the intermediate folios being skipped; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: two printed booklets are present in the file (see ff 6-59 and ff 61-114); these booklets each have their own original printed pagination sequence. The file notes at the back of the file (144-145) have also been paginated using pencil.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of printed circulars and notices issued by the British Government, memoranda and letters issued by the Government of India, and copies of correspondence to and from the Political Agency in Bahrain, relating to trade with countries and territories regarded as the enemy, or the trade in goods from countries regarded as the enemy, during the Second World War.The British Government circulars and notices include: multiple copies of the Statutory Rules and Orders booklet, produced by the Board of Trade, entitled
Trading with the Enemy: Specified Persons, each copy being an expanded and updated version of its predecessor; the escalating nature of war in Europe throughout 1940 meaning the list of countries regarded as being the enemy (either through joining the war as an Axis power or by being occupied by an Axis power) was continually in need of update. The booklets list, alphabetically by country and by name, those persons (or companies) and their address, regarded as being an enemy. Some booklets record amendments to the list, under the headings of additions, deletions and modifications. The last copy of the booklet in the volume (ff 379-416) details seventy-five pages of companies deemed by the Trading with the Enemy Act (1939) as an enemy (ff 15-17, 71-77, 258); circulars from the Ministry of Economic Warfare, relating to Statutory, Black List and Suspect List policy; a circular from the Ministry of Warfare, February 1940, concerning the Trading with the Enemy Act (1939) in relation to insurance, insurance with enemy companies, and including a list of enemy marine insurance companies (ff 428-438).Government of India memoranda and correspondence includes: an order, dated 17 June 1940, for the detention of ships bound for ports in the Red Sea (f 144); a notice, dated 21 June 1940, on exports to the Dutch East Indies (f 147); a prohibition, dated 30 June 1940, on all exports to French territory (f 169); a notice, dated 17 April 1940, that goods from Denmark be regarded as of enemy origin (f 175); a warning, dated 21 June 1940, on possible channels used to transport goods to Germany, in particular raw materials, including through the Persian Gulf (ff 177-179); a memorandum, dated 4 July 1941, announcing the creation of the Persian Gulf War Trade Bureau, attached to the Commerce Department of the Government of India (ff 480-481).Correspondence to and from the Political Agency in Bahrain includes: a letter from the Political Agent to the Ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, dated 13 December 1939, announcing the prohibition in Bahrain of trade with German companies or German goods (ff 10-11); the appointment of the Political Agent at Bahrain, in December 1939, as Custodian of Enemy Property, under the Bahrain Order in Council of 1913 (ff 14, 24); a printed copy of a notice by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior, dated 16 November 1939, entitled
Trading with the Enemy Regulations made under the Persian Gulf States (Emergency) Order in Council 1939(ff 41-42); in April 1940, correspondence and official notices concerning trade with Denmark or in Danish goods (ff 80-85, 91-94, 110); in June 1940, correspondence and official notices concerning trade with Italy or in Italian goods (ff 139-140, 148); letters from several merchants in Bahrain, enquiring after the status and whereabouts of Italian goods ordered before Italy’s entry into the war; correspondence and notices relating to trade with French Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, Rumania [Romania], Bulgaria, Hungary and Greece; and general enquiries relating to trade at Bahrain, made by the Political Agent to the Director of Customs at Bahrain, Claud Cranbrook Lewis deGrenier.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 500; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two envelopes which have been attached to f 5 have been labelled f 5A and f 5B respectively. An additional mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 6-481; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.Pagination: the file notes at the back (ff 482-496) have been paginated using pencil. A number of booklets contained within the file also have original printed pagination sequences.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence, memoranda and statistical data relating to the monitoring of imports and exports of important commodities into and out of Bahrain and the states of the Trucial Coast, as part of the wider export license controls and Navicert system of trade and contraband control during the Second World War. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban), the Residency Agent at Sharjah (Khan Sahib Saiyid ‘Abd al-Razzaq), and the Director of Customs at Bahrain (Claud Cranbrook Lewis DeGrenier).The file includes:copies of correspondence exchanged between the India Office in London, the Government of India, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior), relating to proposals for the extension of export control licenses and the Navicert system to the states of the Persian Gulf. The correspondence includes a request for an estimate of annual imports and consumption of commodities in the Persian Gulf, and details of the decision to monitor on an ongoing monthly basis, imports and exports of important commodities, and commodities important to war purposes, at Bahrain and the Trucial Coast (ff 50-51);following a request from the Political Agent at Bahrain (f 53), dated 11 June 1941, monthly submissions from the Customs Director at Bahrain of imports and exports of commodities at Bahrain, starting July 1941 and running through to December 1942;following an identical request from the Political Agent at Bahrain (f 54), dated 11 June 1941, monthly submissions from the Residency Agent at Sharjah for imports and exports of commodities at Sharjah and Dubai, starting July 1941 and running through to February 1943;statistics for the import and export of commodities at Bahrain, Sharjah and Dubai, collated from the reports received by the Customs Director at Bahrain and from the Residency Agent at Sharjah, forwarded to His Majesty’s Secretary of State for India at the India Office, the Secretary to the Government of India in the External Affairs Department, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf;correspondence and file notes (ff 355-356) relating to the need for an additional clerk at the Political Agency in Bahrain, to handle the increased volume of work created at the Agency by the War, including correspondence between the Political Agent in Bahrain, the Political Resident, and representatives of the Customs House at Karachi, over the employment of one of latter’s own clerks at Bahrain (ff 112-113, ff 131-136);correspondence relating to a request from the Foreign Department, Delhi, for statistics on the amount of rice, wheat and wheat flour imported from India into the Persian Gulf for the six-month period June to December 1942 (ff 304-310).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 375; 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 355-370 and a mixed/foliation/pagination is in the file notes at the back between ff 355-370; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.