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73. ‘File 28/16 I Defence measures in the Gulf – Bahrain’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises correspondence and other papers relating to plans for the defence of Bahrain and the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf in general, in the event of a global war. Much of the correspondence deals specifically with the defence of the Bahrain Petroleum Company’s (BAPCO) refinery and facilities in Bahrain. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle; Hugh Weightman as Acting Political Resident); the Political Agent at Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch; Hugh Weightman); the India Office, London (Roland Tennyson Peel).The file includes:correspondence dated 1937 and 1938, exchanged between the Political Resident, the Political Agent at Bahrain, the Adviser to the Bahrain Government, Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Government of India and British Government officials, on the strategic importance of Bahrain and the Gulf (oil reserves; RAF and naval base; air route); existing defensive measures (security forces; armaments; proposals for defence schemes);wartime capacity and production of fuel, including aviation fuel, at Bahrain (ff 79-81);arrangements for the extinguishing of port lights and buoys in the event of enemy invasion (ff 90-91, f 96);public notification by the Government of Bahrain (f 94), 4 September 1939, and the Political Agency (f 95), 18 September 1939, on the designation of the BAPCO oil refinery, oil field, terminal and tanks, as protected areas;copies of various instructions for the defence of the BAPCO oil refinery: ‘Detailed Orders for Police and Naturs’: guards’ duties; searching of local and Indian employees; mobile patrols; guarding of Sitrah terminal and tanks, Sitrah pier and wharf; oil field defence; refinery defence (ff 99-114); ‘Special instructions to staff men to be followed throughout the present state of emergency for internal defence of the Bahrain refinery’ (ff 120-121); ‘Precautions taken to ensure the safe operation of the BAPCO refinery’ (ff 122-123); ‘Orders for the officer in charge of the field’ (ff 124-135);a letter from the Political Agent at Bahrain to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, dated 14 October 1939, outlining progress made to date on Bahrain’s defence scheme since the beginning of the war: progress of the oil company defence plan; personnel difficulties at BAPCO (employee opinion of war, employees wishing to cut short their contracts); other protective points in Manama; letters to the Shaikhs of Qatar and the Trucial Coast demanding their cooperation; the arrival of the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast, Captain John Baron Howes, and his visit to the Trucial Coast; imposition of food controls by the Government of Bahrain; opening of censorship office and censoring activities; preparations for Bahrain Volunteer Defence Force (ff 138-142).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 156; 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 3-155; 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.
74. ‘File 28/16 Jurisdiction over neutral ships in Bahrain & Kuwait’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence, instructions and other papers relating to questions of jurisdiction over foreign (neutral) vessels in Bahrain and Kuwait waters, and British officials’ legal powers over the crew of such vessels. The correspondence was provoked by a specific incident in which a German national was found to be amongst the crew of a Scandinavian tanker, the Aase Maersk, due to call at Bahrain. The file’s principal correspondents include: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior); Admiralty officials; and officials at the India Office, including the India Office’s legal adviser.The file includes:a copy of signals from the Admiralty, dated 13 October 1939, outlining the action that can be taken against ‘enemy aliens’ on board foreign vessels, travelling as either passengers or crew members (ff 21-22);secret instructions, issued by the Foreign Office in July 1940, regarding the circumstances under which enemy subjects may be removed from neutral ships (ff 30-31);a copy of amended paragraphs (numbers 42 and 43) of the Detaining Officers’ War Instructions (India), 1935 (ff 34-35).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 38; 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 2-37; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
75. ‘File 28/17-A Action to be taken in the event of entry into the war by Spain’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises correspondence received from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Government of India, relating to the prospects of Spain entering the war against the Allies. A Government of India telegram, dated 29 June 1940, sets out the immediate actions to be taken in the event of Spain entering the war: detention of Spanish ships; suspension of export licenses for all goods to Spain and Spanish territory; detention of goods of Spanish origin (ff 4-5). Another Government of India telegram, dated 28 August 1941, states that should war appear inevitable, ships and cargoes destined for Portugal and the Portuguese Atlantic, as well as those bound for Spain an Spanish territories, should be delayed.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 11; 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 2-7; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
76. ‘File 28/17-B Action to be taken in the event of an entry into the war by Japan’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence and papers relating both to Japan’s anticipated entry into the Second World War, and eventual entry in the wake of the Japanese Navy’s attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Correspondents in the file include the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior), and representatives from the Commerce and Foreign Departments of the Government of India.The file includes:correspondence dated 1940, prompted by the prospect of war with Japan, including: a telegram from the Foreign Department of the Government of India, dated 17 August 1940, making preparations for the possibility of war with Japan, with instructions for what action should be taken in relation to Japanese commercial interests and merchant shipping (f 3); a draft letter from the Political Agent at Bahrain to the rulers of the Trucial Coast states and Qatar (f 9);correspondence from December 1941 onwards, relating to the declaration of war on Japan, including: a telegram from the Secretary of State for India, originally dated 10 April 1941, containing instructions for the replacement of ‘precautionary plans’ with relation to Japan, in the event of war (ff 19-21); a copy of a letter (English and Arabic) to the rulers of the states of the Trucial Coast and Japan, dated 10 December 1941, informing them of the state of war now existing between Japan and Britain, and instructing them to cooperate in the same manner as undertaken with regard to German interests (ff 25-26); correspondence between the Political Agent, Eastern Bank and Director of Customs at Bahrain, ascertaining what Japanese goods are currently held in Bahrain (ff 31-33, f 40); letters (forwarded by the Residency Agent at Sharjah) in Arabic original and English translation from: Shaikh Shakbut bin Sultan bin Zaid [Shakhbūṭ bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān], Ruler of Abu Dhabi; Shaikh Sa’id bin Maktum [Sa‘id bin Maktum Āl Maktum], Ruler of Dubai; Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr [Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsimī], Ruler of Sharjah; Shaikh Rashid bin Humaid [Rashid bin Humayd Al Nu’aymi], Ruler of Ajman; Shaikh Ahmad bin Rashid [Aḥmad bin Rashid Al Mu’alla], Ruler of Umm al Qaiwain [Umm al-Qaywayn]; Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmad, Regent of Kalba; Shaikh Sultan bin Salim [Sulṭān bin Sālim Āl Qāsimī], Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah [Ra’s al-Khaymah], all of which are responses to the Political Agent’s earlier letter (ff 42-59); a copy of a Government of Bahrain notice, dated 14 December 1941, announcing the entry into the war of Japan, and controls on Japanese goods and trade (f 63).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the 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 also present in parallel between ff 2-15; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
77. ‘File 28/17-C Action to be taken in the event of entry into the war of France’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises copies of Government of India correspondence relating to actions to be taken or followed in the event of war with France, including: treatment of French colonies in Africa as enemy territory; detention of ships with French goods; French goods placed in prize (f 2). A copy of a telegram from the Secretary of State for India, dated 5 October 1940, lists those French territories that have declared for General Charles de Gaulle, and should not be treated as enemy territory (f 5). A telegram from the Principal Officer of the Mercantile Marine Department, dated 29 October 1940, states that France’s possessions in India have also declared for de Gaulle (f 6).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 11; 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 2-8; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
78. ‘File 28/17-D Action to be taken in the event of entry into war of Bulgaria’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises: a piece Government of India correspondence, dated 29 December 1940, containing instructions to be followed by Government officials in the event of Bulgaria’s entry into the Second World War. The instructions state that Bulgarian vessels, or vessels carrying cargo consigned to or originating from Bulgaria, should be detained in port (f 4). Also included in the file is an extract from the Gazette of India, dated 9 October 1947, containing notification that the state of war between India and Italy ceased to exist on 15 September 1947, and that the state of war between India and Hungary, Roumania [Romania], Bulgaria and Finland, ceased to exist on 19 September 1947 (f 5).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 8; 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 3-5; these numbers are also written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
79. ‘File 28/20 Movements of enemy airliners’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains a single item of correspondence, a naval telegram dated 29 November 1940 from the Admiralty (f 2), forwarded by the Political Agency to the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf (f 3). The telegraph states that reporting officers in neutral countries should telegraph the movements of enemy airliners (civil aeroplanes, either freight or passenger) to both London and their intelligence centres.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 5; 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.
80. ‘File 28/21 Landing of enemy agents, war materials, etc.’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to the undertaking of controls to ensure that enemy agents or war materials cannot be landed at British ports. A letter from the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf (Commodore Cosmo Moray Graham) to the Political Agent at Bahrain, dated 22 January 1941 (f 2) encloses a letter from the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station, dated 27 December 1940 (f 3), relating to port security and the resources required to check ships entering British ports. In his letter, Graham writes that the supervision of the landing of cargo at Bahrain should ensure there is no possibility of enemy persons or material being landed, to which the Political Agent, in a letter dated 26 January 1941, concurs (f 4).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 7; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corners of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-5; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
81. ‘File 28/23 American Naval Observer at Bahrain’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the initial proposals for, and subsequent appointment and activities of, United States Naval Observers in Bahrain. Correspondents include: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior); the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban and Major Tom Hickinbotham); and various representatives of the Government of India, India Office, Foreign Office, and Combined Intelligence Service Iraq (CICI).The file includes:correspondence dated between December 1940 and March 1941, in response to an application from the United States Chargé d’Affaires in London to Anthony Eden (then at the Foreign Office), dated 27 December 1940 (f 29) for the presence of a US Naval Observer at Bahrain. Subsequent correspondence records discussion of the application (and its consent) between officials in the British Government and the Government of India, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agent at Bahrain. Points discussed include: the status of the Naval Observer in Bahrain; censorship and access to cypher facilities; British jurisdiction over the Naval Observer; the consent of the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, to the application (ff 3-32);telegrams and correspondence, dated June 1941, relating to the loss with no survivors of an aircraft, travelling between Baghdad and Basra, on which the US Naval Observer at Bahrain, Lieutenant Commander George W Grove, was travelling, to take up his post in Bahrain (ff 34-39);correspondence dated between August and November 1941, relating to Grove’s replacement, Lieutenant (J.G.) [Junior Grade] Derwood W Lockard: his appointment, arrival in Bahrain, and the US Naval Department’s desire to transfer his post to Basra, and possibly later on to Khorramshahr in Iran (ff 40-52);correspondence dated October 1943 and September 1944, relating to British naval officials’ observations and reports on the presence and activities of US Naval Observers in Bahrain, including a report marked Top Secret, prepared by the Security officer at Bahrain (Captain A C Campbell) dated 3 August 1944, on American intelligence activities at Bahrain, and their primary interest in oil production (ff 61-62), and a letter from the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf (Commodore John Montagu Howson) to the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Fleet, dated 27 September 1944, commenting on the American presence in the Gulf, its apparent commercial as well as military nature, with profiles of a number of US individuals encountered by the Senior Naval Officer (ff 64-66).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 71; 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, intermittent foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-68; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
82. ‘File 28/27 Disturbances in Iraq’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises telegrams, letters and other papers responding to the military operations carried out by British forces against Iraqi forces in Iraq between 2 and 31 May 1941, as part of the campaign widely referred to as the Anglo-Iraqi War, and the political aftermath of the War, concluding with Iraq’s declaration of war against Germany and the other Axis powers. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior), and the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield).The file includes:telegraphic updates sent by the Political Resident and Political Agent on developments in Iraq (f 7, f 13, f 28);correspondence concerning changing spheres of British military command (land and air) during the conflict (f 3, f 6);correspondence concerning the reception of propaganda at Bahrain from Baghdad and Berlin; BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) broadcasts as a source of information on developments in Iraq; British counter-propaganda; anti-British sentiment in Bahrain (f 4, f 10, f 12, f 21, f 27);correspondence relating to concerns over Iraqis at Bahrain, including those employed as NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officers) for the Bahrain Defence Force, and Iraqi Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) employees (f 8, ff 14-16);a translated copy of a statement addressed to ‘His Royal Highness The Regent Prince Abdul Ilah Amman [‘Abd al-llah]’ by the ‘Iraqi Community of Bahrain’, dated 20 May 1941 (f 26);a telegraphic message of support for ‘His Royal Highness Abdulilah’ from ‘Hamad AlKhalifah’ [Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah], undated (ff 35-36);correspondence dated 1943, referring to the state of war existing between Iraq and Germany, Italy and Japan as of 17 January 1943 (ff 39-43);a copy of a booklet entitled Documents relating to the adherence of Iraq to the Declaration of the United Nations, signed at Washington on 2nd January 1942, printed by the Government Press at Baghdad, 1943 (ff 45-55).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 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 foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-44; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
83. ‘File 28/28-(i) Military requirements (purchases etc. for the army)’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file contains copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the acquisition of oil industry equipment and supplies from the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC) and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), for use by British military headquarters at Basra, Iraq (later referred to as PAIFORCE: Persia and Iraq Force), the Defence Department of the Government of India, or by other oil interests, including the Office of the Petroleum Division at the British Embassy in Baghdad (represented by H S Bowlby), and the Assam Oil Company in India. Principal correspondents in the file include: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield); representatives of CASOC (chiefly Floyd William Ohliger and Charles E Davis); the Chief Local Representative of BAPCO (chiefly Milton H Lipp and Ward P Anderson).The file includes:correspondence dated May 1942 relating to the arrival in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia of Major W H C Travers of the Royal Engineers, who is charged with inspecting, and has the authorisation to purchase, any oil industry equipment required for military operations at Basra (ff 2-7);subsequent correspondence relating to requests for specific equipment, such as motor vehicles, tractors, cranes, wagons, motor spares, piping, welding machines, etc.;correspondence relating to the purchase or rent of such equipment, including: copies of statements of order; purchase orders; invoices from either CASOC and BAPCO; requests for money transfer, requisition; conditions of sale;correspondence relating to the movement of purchased or hired equipment, including: arrangements for collection, including correspondence relating to the permission required from the Saudi Arabian Government to export equipment belonging to CASOC, in use in Saudi Arabia; arrangements for shipping; confirmation of receipt;correspondence dated January 1942 relating to an enquiry made by Major S Hill of the Royal Engineers, of the practicalities of constructing fifty pontoons at the BAPCO facilities in Bahrain (ff 72-74);an assessment, written by Major S Hills, dated June 1942, of the practicalities of extracting 10,000 tonnes of coral at Bahrain for export to Basra (f 81-83).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 307; 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 2-306; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
84. ‘File 28/33 Compensation & war risk insurance’
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises correspondence and other papers related to questions concerning: a) the liability of oil companies (specifically the Bahrain Petroleum Company, or BAPCO) to pay compensation to employees injured by enemy action or while undertaking war service, and b) the risks to oil company property at Bahrain from enemy action. Correspondents in the file include: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield); the Chief Local Representative of BAPCO (Ward P Anderson); the BAPCO representative in London (Hamilton R Ballantyne); and the India Office, London (Roland Tennyson Peel).The file includes:discussion throughout 1942 and 1943, between BAPCO and India Office officials, regarding liability for injuries and death caused by enemy action, including compensation and war risk insurance, and the applicability of the India Workmen’s Compensation Act for Injury in Bahrain. The discussion chiefly centres on the status of British Indian subjects employed by BAPCO, and the provision by the Government of India of a war injuries scheme. Included in the discussion is a representation made by an Indian BAPCO employee, dated 16 July 1942 (f 39) which concerns the status of British Indians employed at BAPCO during time of war, and where liability lies for war injuries sustained by British Indians while employed at BAPCO;a copy of a Foreign Service Agreement, used for the employment of emigrants (chiefly from India) at BAPCO (ff 42-44);a copy of booklet, published by the Government of India Press, containing The War Injuries Ordinance, 1941, The War Injuries Scheme, 1942, and The War Injuries Regulations, 1942(ff 71-92).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 101; 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, ff 54-63, and ff 93-96; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file notes at the back (ff 97-100) have been paginated using pencil.