Abstract: This file relates to the activities of Sir Sayid Taimur bin Faisal [Taymūr bin Fayṣal bin Turkī Āl Sa‘īd], former Sultan of Muscat and Oman.The correspondence reports on the ex-Sultan's business interests and on his travels under the alias T F T Al Said. Most of the correspondence covers the period 1943-1946 and concerns arrangements for Sayid Taimur bin Faisal's visits to Muscat. There is no material covering the period 1937-1939.Notable correspondents include the following: the Political Agent and Consul, Muscat; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd]; officials of the Government of India's Foreign and Political (later External Affairs) Department.The Arabic language material consists of correspondence received by the Political Agent from the Sultan (English translations are also present).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 65; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to arrangements for visits to Bahrain, or passages through Bahrain, by various individuals, including:Harbans Lal Jerath, Director of Posts and Telegraphs at Karachi, on an official visit in late 1946 and early 1947. Details of the visit, including a tour programme, discussions for a renewal of the mail contract, and a proposed new post office building in Bahrain, are included in the file (ff 43-44, ff 103-104);Ghulamali Khan Talpur, Minister for Food, Agriculture, Industries and Labour in Sind, visiting Bahrain while en route to Jeddah, Mecca and Medina in February 1947. Copies of a report of the visit, prepared by the Indian Assistant at the Agency, appear in the file (f 51, f 105);Mrs Audrey Farquhar, wife of the British Counsellor at Tehran, travelling in late 1945 from Spain via Bahrain to Iran;the Governor of Bushire, Dr Hisabi, travelling in late 1945 from Bushire to Bombay [Mumbai] via Bahrain;French journalist Jacques Kayser, visiting Bahrain in early 1947;Bertram Thomas, scheduled to visit in 1949, in his capacity as an adviser to the Shell Group.The file is a direct chronological continuation of ‘File 16/42 Visitors and guests of the Political Agent, Bahrain’ (IOR/R/15/2/1550).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 113; 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 2-64; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Correspondence, some of a demi-official nature, relating to visitors and guests at the Political Agency at Bahrain. Most of the correspondence is routine, and relates to enquires and arrangements for the arrival and departure of visitors, and in some cases the provision of accommodation and facilities (sports facilities, or dinner at the Agency). Many of the guests were British Government officials, Royal Air Force (RAF) or Royal Naval officers, who were either stopping off at Bahrain, or passing through the Gulf, either by air or steamship, between London and India.Notable visitors included: Sir Phillip Sassoon, Under Secretary of State for Air, in October 1934; Sir Andrew Ryan, HM’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, making an official visit while travelling en route to Riyadh in November 1935 (ff 90-117); C Adrianse, Dutch Chargé d’Affaires at Baghdad and Jeddah, in November 1936 (ff 162-186); Abdurahman Al Tibeishi, Grand Chamberlain, travelling from Saudi Arabia to Karachi via Bahrain, to make purchases on behalf of the King of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman al Faisal al Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in July 1937 (ff 241-249); His Highness, Agha Khan, arriving at Sharjah by aeroplane, en route to India in November 1937 (ff 250-253).A single note in the file (f 25) makes reference to a decision by Shaikh Isa [‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah] (r.1869-1932) to dismiss a cargo agent at Bahrain. The note is undated and not related to the rest of file’s contents. The note is likely of an earlier date than that indicated in the file’s date range, and has presumably been included in the file in error.Physical description: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 272; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Several additional foliation sequences run through the volume, between ff 3-268. Some of these previous foliation sequences are also circled, have been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file consists of correspondence relating to arrangements to facilitate travel by members of the ruling Al Khalifah family of Bahrain. Many of the papers are open letters of good offices, provided by the Political Agent, Bahrain, to assist family members in their journeys to places throughout the region, including India, Lingah, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Egypt. The reasons for travel are numerous: medical, hunting (particularly to Lingah), education (university in Beirut), change of climate, tours, visits, and pilgrimage. The letters often contain details of accompanying travellers and any weapons they may be carrying.The file also contains correspondence between the Political Agent, the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, and several Al Khalifah family members that deals with arrangements for visas, import licences, and guards of honour, as well as requests for letters of good offices.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 192; 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 4-191; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: This file concerns travel arrangements for a trip to Salalah by the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Basil Woods Ballard. Also discussed briefly towards the end of the correspondence are Woods Ballard's forthcoming summer recess and leave, and arrangements for handling matters in his absence. The correspondence is mainly between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 24; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Continuing on from the previous file (IOR/R/15/6/276), this file concerns the appointment of the Minister for Foreign Affairs for Muscat. The correspondence mainly concerns travel expenses for the newly appointed Basil Woods Ballard's journey from London to Muscat, via Bahrain. Also discussed is Woods Ballad's contract of employment. The file's principal correspondents are the following: the Political Agent and Consul, Muscat; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Foreign Office; the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 19; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence between ff 5-18, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to two cases of theft and stolen property, as follows:correspondence between the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, the Chief Local Representative of the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (BAPCO), Russell M Brown, and the Political Agency concerning the sale and restitution of stolen timber in Muharraq;correspondence between Belgrave, the Political Agency, and three residents of Muharraq concerning a burglary at the house belonging to the latter.Folios 17-18 are internal office notes.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 19; 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 3-16; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains descriptions of eleven routes in Muscat and Oman, and the Trucial Coast, drawing on various sources of information. The entry for each route gives a general description, the distance, and the number of stages/approximate travelling time. The routes are:Dibah to Ras al KhaimahAbu Dhabi to BaraimiMahot to MutiMinhah to 'IbriSur to MinhahUmm al Qawain to FujairahDibai [Dubai] to ShinasSharjah to MurairSib to MutiSohar to Baraimi.The sources of information include journeys undertaken and information collected by British officers (with dates), especially Major Percy Zachariah Cox and Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles; the
Persian Gulf Gazetteer(1908); and native information.The descriptions include details of settlements, inhabitants, topography, vegetation, caravan routes, water supply, fuel and fodder, forts and similar structures, and cultivation and livestock. Typescript, with occasional manuscript notes in red ink containing queries about the information provided.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 36; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The diary, written by Lieutenant-Colonel Wilfrid Malleson, comprises daily entries and accounts of his travels from 3 to 29 December 1906.The diary commences on his arrival at sea off Maskat [Muscat] before recounting the journey to Basra via Bushire and Koweit [Kuwait] and on to Baghdad, Babylon, Seleucia [Minţaqat as Salūqīyat al Atharīyah] and Ctesiphon.Each entry contains descriptions of places visited and notes on trade, climate and local customs along with accounts of conversations with people; in addition, there are observations on other matters such as quarantine arrangements, pilgrimages and local shortages of labour.Printed at the Government Monotype Press, Simla 1907.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 23; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Pagination: the volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: This volume is a set of typewritten memoirs by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, a retired officer of the British Indian Army and the Indian Political Service. Hickinbotham held various positions in India and in the Middle East, and these memoirs recount stories from his time in Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Quetta, Persia [Iran], Aden, Audhali, Bahrain and North Waziristan.The memoirs were most likely completed in 1982-83; they cover the period 1927-1982, although most of the chapters relate to events from the 1930s and 1940s.Hickinbotham writes not only about his official duties but also about various trips taken during periods of leave. Below is a list of the chapters, with a short summary of each:'No Medals This Time' (ff 3-6) – details of an incident in Kuwait involving a dhow that caught fire off the foreshore at Shuwaik [Ash Shuwaykh]'The Silver Coin' (ff 7-10) – thoughts on the use of the Maria Theresa thaler in Arabia'The Golden Dagger' (ff 11-36) – an account of Hickinbotham's unofficial visit to Riyadh to meet Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in May 1942'The Brass Pencase' (ff 37-53) – memories of a journey undertaken from Quetta to Europe via north Persia in 1927, travelling in a Fiat Tourer with Colonel T Nisbet (also referred to as the 'purple emperor'), on what Hickinbotham claims to have been the first trip taken by car from India to the Mediterranean'The Bronze Boy' (ff 54-72) – reminiscences of weekends spent in 'Little Aden' (a rocky peninsula seven miles west of Aden), in 1938, and a later visit, in December 1961'The Silver Letter Case' (ff 73-118) – details of a ten-day trip on the Audhali plateau in the summer of 1938, and a return visit, in December 1960 (the chapter ends with remarks on the situation in Yemen generally from the late sixties to the time of writing, i.e. 1982)'The Agate Ring' (ff 119-144) – memories of travelling in Oman during the summer of 1940 and how this compared with Hickinbotham's last visit to the country in 1980'The Pearl Tie Pin' (ff 145-151) – thoughts and anecdotes on the pearl trade in Bahrain'A Point of View' (ff 152-157) – a story told to Hickinbotham, possibly fictional, of a pearl trader in the Gulf who lost his fortune and livelihood, and eventually his sanity'Snakes Alive!!' (ff 158-161) – an account of a near-fatal encounter with a krite [krait] in Waziristan'The Queen's Visit' (ff 162-168) – memories of the Queen's visit to the Aden Protectorate in 1954, where Hickinbotham was serving as Governor.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 168; 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 3-168.Condition: The original plastic comb binding ring has been replaced with a wider one to facilitate flat opening of the volume. Polyester film covers have been added to protect the first and last folios.
Digitization for the Arab Image Foundation Photo Negatives collection was sponsored by an Emergency Grant from the Modern Endangered Archives Program with funding from Arcadia.
Digitization for the Arab Image Foundation Photo Negatives collection was sponsored by an Emergency Grant from the Modern Endangered Archives Program with funding from Arcadia.