Abstract: The file contains copies of correspondence, chiefly sent from either the Government of India or the Ministry of Economic Warfare, including: official circulars, notices, instructions, and other papers, relating to the implementation of the Navicert system to Iraqi and Iranian ports in the Gulf, the ports of the Gulf littoral, and the wider region, as a means of controlling sea-borne trade during the war. The changing geopolitical circumstances of the Second World War, in particular the occupation of countries by others, and entry into and exit from the War by various countries, resulted in the frequent issue of revisions to the circulars, notices and instructions produced by the Government.The file includes:correspondence dated 1940 relating to the compulsory implementation of the Navicert system for all shipping approaching Europe (ff 9-11);correspondence dated March 1941 relating to the introduction of the Navicert system in the Persian Gulf (ff 18-35);various copies of Government circulars and notices throughout the file: ships war trade lists; insurance with enemy companies; enemy trading;copies of instructions on the operation of the Navicert system for ships sailing to and from the Persian Gulf (ff 60-63, ff 242-245);copies of instructions to consular officers for operating the Navicert system (ff 69-75, ff 90-110);copies of ship Navicert regulations (ff 238-240, ff 254-267);in the file notes, discussion between the Political Agent and Agency staff on the application of Navicert regulations in Bahrain and the Persian Gulf (ff 293-305).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 306; 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 2-292 and between ff 293-304; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence and other papers relating to the implementation of the Navicert system in the Persian Gulf, which was intended to regulate and control shipping in and out of the Persian Gulf during wartime. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban; Edward Birkbeck Wakefield; Major Tom Hickinbotham; Cornelius James Pelly) and representatives of the shipping agency Gray, Mackenzie & Company Limited, who had offices in Bahrain, as well as in other Gulf ports.The file includes:correspondence and notices relating to the introduction of the Navicert system for steamships and dhows sailing into or out of the Persian Gulf from 15 May 1941 (f 7, f 10, f 18);correspondence relating to enquiries and concerns regarding the implementation of the Navicert system in the Persian Gulf, including: fears voiced by representatives of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) that the system would duplicate the existing system of oil export licensing (ff 13-17); the use of Bandar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] as a port for the issue for Navicerts for outgoing vessels; vessels from Dubai and Sharjah having to stop at Bandar Abbas to obtain Navicerts (ff 21-22); confusion over the Muscat Political Agency’s failure or refusal to issue Navicerts (ff 80-82);several letters from the Collector of Customs at Karachi, informing the Political Agent at Bahrain of vessels arriving in Karachi from the Persian Gulf with no Navicert (examples at ff 44-46), and the subsequent investigations by the Political Agent, enquiring as to why Navicerts were not issued;a sample of a blank Navicert application form (f 17), and two completed application forms (f 71, f 93);an enquiry made by the United States Consulate at Dhahran, in December 1944, concerning applications for Navicerts for oil shipments from Dhahran (f 108, ff 112-113);correspondence concerning two oil tankers, the
Empire Bronzeand the
San Vito, that left Bahrain without Navicerts (ff 118-124, ff 126-135);correspondence between the Political Agents at Bahrain and Kuwait over the applicability of the British Government’s Oil in Navigable Waters Act (1922) to the Persian Gulf (ff 159-160);a letter from the Political Resident to the Political Agent at Bahrain, dated 30 November 1946, enclosing an extract from
The Times, dated 25 September 1945, announcing that Navicerts would no longer be required by ships from 30 September 1946 (ff 162-163).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 184; 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 2-97, and a mixed incomplete foliation/pagination sequence between ff 98-166; these numbers are written in pencil, but are not circled. Pagination: the file notes at the back are paginated between ff 166-179 in pencil.
Abstract: The file comprises copies of correspondence concerning arrangements for wireless radio communications at Bahrain during wartime. Correspondents include: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); representatives of the India Office (John Percival Gibson), the Admiralty (N J Margetts), the Air Ministry (M H Ely), and the Foreign Office (H M Eyres); the Chairman of Cable & Wireless Limited.The file includes:correspondence concerning the provision of a twenty-four-hour radio watch by the Cable & Wireless office at Bahrain in the event of war, including: correspondence between the India Office, Admiralty, Air Ministry, the Foreign Office, and Cable & Wireless head office in London, concerning the costs and requirements for emergency radio watches at Bahrain (ff 2-31, ff 41-44);correspondence relating to the practicalities of communication between Jedda and the outside world during war, including: a demi-official letter written by His Majesty’s Minister at Jedda, Reader William Bullard, on the technical practicalities of communications, including the use of wireless transmissions inside Saudi Arabia, and possible use of the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company’s (CASOC) wireless telephone network (ff 33-39);a letter from the India Office to the British Consul (meaning Political Agent) at Bahrain, dated 11 September 1939, asking whether Bahrain can receive BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) short wave bulletins, and Reuter transmissions either on short wave or by cable (f 45).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 50; 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 2-26; 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, extracts of Government reports and other papers relating to the drawing up of defence policies for the various states in the Persian Gulf, in anticipation of the start of a global war. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman); representatives of RAF Air Headquarters at Habbaniyah in Iraq (including Air Officer Commanding, Air Vice Marshal John Hugh Samuel Tyssen); various representatives of the Government of India and India Office.The file includes:a letter from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf to the India Office, dated 18 January 1938 enclosing a ‘Note on the Defence of the Persian Gulf in the Event of a Major War’, which contains: the Resident’s assessments of the strategic importance of the Gulf; details of communications and the air route in the Gulf; hypothetical war situations (attacks, hostile countries); British interests in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the Trucial Coast and Muscat (ff 13-36);correspondence dated December 1938 to January 1939 relating to a visit to the Persian Gulf of military officials, for the assessment of the region’s defence requirements and proposed defence schemes, including recommendations from a Major Price of the need for a volunteer defence force at Bahrain, and the posting of a permanent adjutant to Bahrain (ff 68-73);correspondence dated December 1938 to March 1939 concerning an assessment of maritime trade in the Gulf during wartime, including a copy of a questionnaire issued by the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station (ff 81-82), with a reply and completed questionnaire from the Political Agent at Bahrain (ff 90-94);correspondence dated April to July 1939 concerning ‘Appreciations’ of defence schemes for Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Sharjah and Dibai [Dubai], including: extracts from a report issued by the Oversea Defence Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence (ff 112-115); and approval from the Government of India of the Persian Gulf defence schemes, subject to remarks made in an enclosed note from the Chief of the General Staff of India (ff 117-118).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 126; 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 2-125; 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 relating to proposals, initially raised by the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman) to retain in Bahrain a stock of spare parts used by the region’s oil industries (in particular the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC)), should a major war lead to difficulties in obtaining supplies from elsewhere. Correspondents in the file include the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle), and representatives of the India Office (Roland Tennyson Peel; John Percival Gibson), Admiralty (C Wallworth), and Petroleum Division (F C Starling). The letters include detail of the value and extent of spare stocks kept at Bahrain by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), and reference to the AIOC having already made their own provision for a store of spare parts in case of a restriction on supplies due to war.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 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 present in parallel between ff 3-17; 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 includes letters, telegrams and other papers relating to messages of support received by British Government officials in the Gulf, from the Rulers of Bahrain, Dubai and Sharjah, and from the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), in response to events in Europe that resulted in Britain’s declaration of war against Germany on 1 September 1939. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman); the Ruler of Bahrain (Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah).The file includes:correspondence between the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle) and Political Agent at Bahrain over the possibility of the Ruler of Bahrain making a gift to the British Government towards the defence of the empire, referred to by the Resident as the ‘Imperial Defence’ (ff 2-5);correspondence dated 29 August 1939, exchanged between the British Government and BAPCO officials, the former giving thanks for the latter’s offer of support and cooperation towards the British Government (ff 7-8);messages from various Persian Gulf rulers, made to British officials from 1 September 1939 onwards, offering both moral and material support at the start of the war, including: a telegram and letters from the Ruler of Bahrain, Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, the last of these letters offering a sum of £30,000 to the British Government towards the costs of war (ff 9-10, f 30, ff 32-33); a telegram and a letter from the Ruler of Dubai [Shaikh Sa‘id bin Maktūm Āl Maktūm] (f 17, ff 19-20); a telegram and a letter from the Ruler of Sharjah [Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr Āl Qāsim] (f 24, ff 28-29);letters of thanks sent by British Government officials to the various rulers of the Persian Gulf, in response to their offers of support, including a telegram from the Viceroy of India (Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow) giving personal thanks to the Ruler of Bahrain for his gift of £30,000 to the British Government (f 45).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 50; 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 1-47; 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 volume consists of letters, telegrams, and reports relating to the affairs of Saudi Arabia. Most of the correspondence is between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Political Residency in Bushire, the Foreign Office in London, the Political Agencies in Kuwait and Bahrain, the India Office in London, and the Government of India.The volume covers the build up to and outbreak of the Second World War and thus much of the correspondence focuses on this subject. Topics include:the activities of the Germans, Italians, and Japanese in the region;Ibn Sa'ud's allegiance to Britain and the Allies;Ibn Sa'ud's anxiety about Hashemite dominance in Syria and potential attack from hostile Arab nations;anti-Allied sentiment in the region;the financial and political contribution of the United States of America.Other subjects covered by the volume are:the maintenance of law and order in the Kingdom;the presence of community feeling and national identity;Captain De Gaury's journeys in Saudi Arabia, including a report on agricultural development at Kharj, and the objection to his proposed tour of all of Arabia;Amir Sa'ud's trip to India for medical treatment;the anti-British activities of St John Philby and his subsequent arrest in India.At the back of the volume (folios 177-186) are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: The sequence starts on the first folio and continues through to the inside back cover. The numbering is written in pencil, circled, and located in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. The first three folios are marked 1A, 1B, and 1C respectively, then the sequence continues from 2 as normal. There is one other foliation system, written in pencil and inconsistent.
Abstract: The file comprises correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman, Reginald George Evelin Alban), Officer in Charge of the Bahrain Branch of Cable and Wireless (Cecil Edward Gahan), Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf (SNOPG) (Cosmo Moray Graham), Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), Secretary to the External Affairs Department of the Government of India (Olaf Kirkpatrick Caroe), India Office (Esmond Walter Rawson Lumby, Roland Tennyson Peel) and Foreign Office (Harry Maurice Eyres) discussing the practice by the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC) of using wireless transmitting equipment on launches at sea outside of territorial waters to communicate directly with the United States of America.The correspondence discusses the objectionable nature of such a practice from a wartime censorship and security perspective along with discussion regarding the lack of international law and regulation to prevent it.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 45; 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 2-42; 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 (ff 43-44) have been paginated using pencil.
Abstract: This volume contains correspondence concerning arrangements for the defence of Muscat (with occasional references to other locations in the Gulf more broadly, including Kuwait). Much of this correspondence relates to the details of a financial 'war subsidy' paid to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr], and how exactly it should be spent. Correspondence towards the rear of the volume discusses the compilation and distribution of 'Bombing Target Catalogues' (lists of potential targets) by British Forces in India.The majority of the correspondence in the volume is between the Political Agency in Muscat, the Political Residency in Bushire and Said bin Taimur. Most of the correspondence with the Sultan is in Arabic accompanied by English translations.In addition to this correspondence, the volume also contains the following related documents:'Note on an interview with His Highness the Sultan at the "Palace" at 9-30 a.m. on the 30th November 1939' (folio 34)'Copy of an extract from a note on an interview between His Highness the Sultan of Muscat and Oman and the Treasury Officer Muscat on February the 3rd, 1940' (folio 99)'Details of Training and Equipment of the Muscat Infantry, for the year 1940' (folios 158-163).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 188; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence between British officials - primarily from the Political Agency in Muscat and the Political Residency in Bushire - regarding defence arrangements in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman.Specifically, the correspondence discusses the following: plans for the potential deployment of troops in the Sultanate; details of how the 'war subsidy' provided by Britain was being spent by its ruler, Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr]; the possible appointment of a security officer on the 'Arab side of the Gulf'; and plans for the continuation of the 'war subsidy' being paid in spite of the end of the Second World War.The file contains a limited amount of correspondence between the Political Agency in Muscat and Said bin Taimur that is in Arabic (with English translation attached).In addition to correspondence, the file contains the following related documents:A draft intelligence report on Muscat (folios 4-29)'Notes for an Infantry Brigade and attached troops in the Muscat Area' (folios 41-42)'Muscat and Oman, including Khor Kuwai. Port Summary' (folios 64-73)'Note of a meeting at India Office on 12th February: Muscat War Subsidy' (folios 161-162).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 222; 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 2-203; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence between ff 94-221, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Correspondence, chiefly of a routine nature, exchanged between the Political Agency in Bahrain and the Bahrain branch of the Eastern Bank Limited. The file’s principal correspondents are the Political Agent and representatives (usually the manager) of the Bahrain branch of the Eastern Bank Limited (M Gunn; T J De La Mare; D Ham). The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘Miscellaneous 16/10 Eastern Bank Ltd: Correspondence with ––’ (IOR/R/15/2/1503).Covering the years of the Second World War, much of the correspondence relates to wartime circumstances and events:in December 1941, used stamp collections to raise funds for the air raid victims of German bombing raids on Portsmouth (ff 20-21);in October 1942, the introduction of cheque book charges, in response to the rising costs of paper and printing (f 37);in November 1942, an acute shortage of small coinage in India (f 38);in 1944, efforts to send money to the wife of a Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) employee who was resident in Beirut, in light of the Levant region no longer being part of the Sterling Bloc (ff 47-62).Other correspondence covers: in 1941, the efforts of three BAPCO employees to set up a private trading company; also in 1941, changes to rates for the purchase of Agency demand drafts in India; in 1949, issues arising from the redirection of mail from the Political Agency to the Political Residency (based in Bahrain from 1947). The file also contains copies of reports and annual accounts for the Eastern Bank Limited, dated May 1944 (f 65, duplicate at f 69) and March 1945 (f 73), and a copy, in English and Arabic, of the Eastern Bank Bahrain’s rules for savings deposit accounts (ff 23-28).Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 99; 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 2-81; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Correspondence to and from representatives of the Bahrain Sports Club, concerning aspects of the club’s administration, its accommodation, and fundraising activities. Some correspondence in the file alternatively refers to the Club as the Bahrain Recreation Club, and the Bahrain Cricket Club, though it is unclear from correspondence if the latter is a separate entity. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Political Agent at Bahrain; representatives of the Government of Bahrain, including the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave); various secretaries of the Bahrain Sports Club.The file includes:correspondence dated 1928 to 1929 relating to the provision of land or buildings for the Club’s facilities, including land adjacent to the Victoria Memorial Hospital for a cricket pavilion, tennis courts in the municipal gardens, and the rent of a building for use as a clubhouse;announcements and arrangements for sports events, including a tennis tournament, staged in 1929 (ff 25-27, f 39);invitations to the official opening of the new tennis courts in 1929, including letters (in Arabic) to and from various members of the Āl Khalīfah family (ff 28-38);two lists of members of the Bahrain Sports Club, the first forwarded to the Political Agent with a letter dated 8 April 1933 (ff 46-48), the second dated 31 October 1936 (f 50);a note marked private and confidential, dated 10 February 1937, detailing the Club’s increasing membership and stating the case for the Club having its own clubhouse. The note also outlines proposals for securing a long-term site for such a clubhouse (ff 53-58). No author for the note is given. Following the note are two sketch maps describing a proposed site for the Club (ff 59-60), and a list, with estimated costs, of equipment and furniture required for the clubhouse (f 61);correspondence concerning the leasing of land, in 1937, to the Bahrain Sports Club for new facilities, consented to by the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah (ff 63-65), including two copies of the lease agreement (ff 77-80);during the Second World War, correspondence relating to the organisation of a funfair, to raise funds for the maintenance of Club facilities (ff 92-93), war charity football and cricket matches (f 99), and a further funfair, in 1943, to raise funds for the Club and for the Persian Gulf Fighter Fund (f 111). A balance sheet showing receipts and expenditure of the 1943 funfair (f 114). Letters from the Indian Red Cross Society (f 119) and HE the Viceroy’s Distress Relief Fund (f 121), give thanks to the Club for its financial contributions, which are intended to help victims of the Bengal Famine.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 142; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 4-128, and ff 129-136; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.