1. ‘File 41/1 Licences for Arms carried by Nakhudas’

Description:

The file comprises correspondence relating to licences for arms carried by the nakhudas of boats on the Arab coast of the Gulf. Correspondents in the file include the Political Agent at Bahrain, and the Rulers of Abu Dhabi, Kalba, Qatar, Ra’s al-Khaymah and Umm al-Qaywayn.The file includes:a request from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Crawshaw Galloway, to his Political Agents, dated October 1945, that the rulers on the Arab coast of the Gulf be requested to instruct their subjects to obtain permits for the carrying of arms at sea (ff 2-3);correspondence between the Officiating Political Agent and the Acting Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, relating to the policy for arms licences in Bahrain (ff 4-5), and including a copy of the Arms Ordinance for Bahrain, dated 29 December 1936 (f 21);copies of letters (English and Arabic) from the Political Agent at Bahrain, Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Crawshaw Galloway, dated 23 December 1945, to the Sheikhs of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, Ra’s al-Khaymah and Umm al-Qaywayn, and the Regent of Kalba, making the formal request for arms licences to be carried by nakhudas (ff 6-15);replies to the Political Agent’s letter from: Sheikh Khalid bin Aḥmad Āl Qāsimī, Regent of Kalba (ff 16-17); Sheikh Sulṭān bin Sālim Āl Qāsimī, Ruler of Ra’s al-Khaymah (f 18); Sheikh Aḥmad bin Rashid Al Mu’alla, Ruler of Umm al-Qaywayn (ff 19-20); Sheikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī, Ruler of Qatar (ff 24-25);further letters from the Political Agent at Bahrain to the various rulers along the Arab coast, dated 4 September 1946, reminding them of their obligations under the Prohibition of Traffic of Arms Act of 1902 (ff 27-33) and, in the case of the Ruler of Qatar, the 1916 Treaty with Great Britain (f 35); replies from Sheikh Shakhbūṭ bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān, Ruler of Abu Dhabi (ff 36-37), the Regent of Kalba (ff 38-39), the Sheikhs of Qatar (ff 40-41) and Umm al-Qaywayn (ff 42-43) are also included;correspondence relating to an instance of arms dealing reported at Doha, Qatar, in October 1946 (ff 44-46);correspondence, dated 1949, relating to proposals for an arms permit system in the Gulf (ff 47-50).1 file (53 folios)The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 51-54) mirror the chronological arrangement.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 56; 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 2-35; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

2. 'File 13/6 Arms Traffic General'

Description:

The file contains correspondence, telegrams, statements and notes regarding incidents of arms and ammunition smuggling incidents in Kuwait.The file includes:accounts from the Commander of the Persian Gulf Division regarding rifles carried by pearling dhows;request for all vessels leaving the port of Kuwait to be provided with a permission to carry arms, countersigned by the local rulers and the Political Agent (several copies of the form in Arabic on folios 15-20);correspondence on weapons owned by Ibn Saud and confiscated near Sharjah;smuggling of American rifles in the Persian Gulf;arrest and deportation of an arms smuggler from Muscat;the establishment of a role of Informer at Kuwait, to update the Intelligence Officer for the Persian Gulf, and extracts from the Intelligence Officer's Arms Traffic Diary;price list for French arms for sale at Muscat.The principal correspondents are: British India Steam Navigation Company, the Amir of Nejd, Abdul Aziz bin Saud (Āl Sa‘ūd, ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal); the Rulers of Kuwait: Mubarak us Subah (Shaikh Mubarak bin Ṣabāḥ Āl Ṣabāḥ) and his successor, Shaikh Salim bin Mubarak Al Sabah; the Foreign Office; the Commander of the Persian Gulf Division; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Percy Cox; the Political Agent at Muscat; the Political Agents in Kuwait, Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, followed by William George Grey.There are letters in Arabic within the file, mostly with English translation.1 file (246 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 248; 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 3-247; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence between ff 1-82, which was also written in pencil and circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

3. ‘Chart of the Gulf of Persia. Constructed from the Trigonometrical Surveys Made by Order of The Hon.ble the Court of Directors of the United English East India Company; by George Barnes Brucks, Commander H.C. Marine. 1830. Engraved by R. Bateman, 85 Long Acre’

Description:

Imprint:Published by James Horsburgh, Hydrographer to the East India Company.Distinctive Features:Relief shown by hachures. Depth shown by soundings.Nautical chart of the Persian Gulf compiled from the surveys carried out by the Bombay Marine’s officers between 1820 and 1829, with place names inserted in both English and Arabic.Includes an engraved note on the survey with dates and names of the officers responsible for surveying respective parts of the coast.Contains dedication to the Court of Directors of the United East India Company from George Barnes Brucks.Inscriptions:On verso of the western portion of the map, in pencil, extensive annotations on discrepancies in latitude and longitude values.1 map on 2 sheetsDimensions:1460 x 1160 mm, on sheets 863 x 673 mm

4. 'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol. I. Geneaological Tables-Maps. Part III. J G Lorimer. 1915'

Description:

This volume is Part III of Volume 1 of the Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, ’Omān and Central Arabia(Government of India: 1915) compiled John Gordon Lorimer. The contents are divided into two sections and contain genealogical tables of Persian Gulf and Arabian ruling families, and one map, housed in pockets.Genealogical Trees:'Table of the ruling Āl Bū Sa’īdī families of ’Omān and Zanzibar' (folio 2A, inside 'Pocket No. 1');'Table of the ruling Qasimi family of Shārjah in Trucial ’Omān' (folio 4, inside 'Pocket No. 2');'Table of the ruling Āl Bū Falāh (Bani Yās) family of Abu Dhabi in Trucial ’Omān' (folio 5, inside 'Pocket No. 3');'Table of the ruling Āl Bū Falāsah (Bani Yās) family of Dibai in Trucial ’Omān' (folio 6A, inside 'Pocket No. 4);'Table of ruling Āl ’Alī family of Umm-al-Qaiwain in Trucial ’Omān' (folio 7, inside 'Pocket No. 5');'Table of the ruling Āl Bū Kharaibān (Na’īm) family of ’Ajmān in Trucial ’Omān' (folio 8A, inside 'Pocket No. 6');'Table of Qāsimi family formerly ruling Lingeh' (folio 9, 'Pocket No. 7');'Table of the ruling Āl Tānī (Ma’ādhīd) family of Dōhah in Qatar' (folio 10A, 'Pocket No. 8');'Table of the ruling Āl Khalīfah (’Atbi) family of Bahrain (Sheet No. 1)'. (folio 11, 'Pocket No. 9');'Table of the ruling Āl Khalīfah (’Atbi) family of Bahrain (Sheets Nos. 2 and 3)' (folios 12A and 12B, 'Pocket 10');'Table of the ruling Āl Subah (’Atbi) family of Kuwait' (folio 13, 'Pocket No. 11');'Table of the ruling (Wahhābi) Āl Sa’ūd (’Anizah) family of Southern Najd (Sheets Nos. 1,2 and 3)' (folios 14, 15 and 16, 'Pocket No. 12');'Table of the ruling (Wahhābi) Āl Sa’ūd (Anizah) family of Souther Najd (Sheets Nos. 4 and 5)' (folios 17 and 18, 'Pocket No. 13');'Table of the ruling Āl Rashid (Shammar) family of Jabal Shammar' (folio 19, 'Pocket No. 14');'Table of the ruling Abul Khail (’Anizah) family of Buraidah in Qāsim' (folio 20, 'Pocket No. 15');'Table of the ruling Salaimi (Sabai) family of ’Anaizah in Qāsim' (folio 21, 'Pocket No. 16');'Table of the Qādirīyah (Saiyid) family of the Naqībis of Baghdād in Turkish Irāq' (folio 22, 'Pocket No. 17').There is also one map:'Chart Showing the Pearl Banks along the Arabian Shore of the Persian Gulf between Ras Tanurah and Diba, vide Page 2253 of Part II' (folio 27, 'Pocket No. 25').The geneaological tables were compiled by Lorimer in 1906 and 1907 and some were based on information provided by John Calcott Gaskin, Francis Beville Prideaux, and Stuart George Knox, Political Agents at Bahrain and Kuwait, as well as a number of native informants. The tables typically contain named (in Arabic and English) and unnamed individuals, chronological lists of rulers, and notes on the compilation and arrangement of the tables, and references to other parts of the Gazetteer.The volume is labelled on the spine as 'For Official Use'.1 volume, 22 items (45 folios)Pockets Nos. 1-17. Most pockets house one geneaological table, while pokcets No. 10 houses two, No. 12 houses three, and No. 13 houses two. Pocket No. 25 houses a map. Pockets Nos. 18-24 and 26-30 are empty.Foliation: The foliation sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio with text, on number 1, and ends on the last folio with text, on number 30.Foliation anomalies: folio 2 is followed by folio 2A; f. 6 is followed by folio 6A; folio 8 is followed by folio 8A; folio 10 is followed by folio 10A; folio 12 is followed by folio 12A and folio 12B; folio 13 is followed by folio 13A; folio 18 is followed by folio 18A; folio 20 is followed by folio 20A.

5. 'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol. II. Geographical and Statistical. J G Lorimer. 1908'

Description:

This volume is Volume II of the Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, ’Omān and Central Arabia(Government of India: 1908) compiled by John Gordon Lorimer. The volume is a geographical dictionary with a series of alphabetically arranged articles relating to the physical and political conditions of the Persian Gulf and its surrounding areas.Pages i-iv are an 'Introduction' to the volume written by John Gordon Lorimer at Strathmartine, Dundee, on 24 December 1908. Details are given within the introduction concerning the content and arrangement of principal and subordinate articles and explanations of estimates of distance and time and other statistical information.Lorimer's introduction identifies the principal articles as:'’Omān Sultanate' (pages 1382-1425);'’Omān (Trucial)' [Trucial Oman] (pages 1425-1451);'Qatar' (pages 1505-1535);'Bahrain Principality' (pages 233-253);'Hasa Sanjāq' (pages 657-679);'Kuwait Principality' (pages 1058-1077);'Najd' (pages 1313-1351), supplemented by articles on 'Najd (Southern)' (pages 1351-1359), 'Qasīm' (pages 1485-1503) and 'Shammar (Jabal)' (pages 1732-1748);'’Irāq (Turkish)' (pages 759-882);'’Arabistān' (pages 115-151), suppplemented by articles on '’Arabistān (Northern)' (pages 151-157) and '’Arabistān (Southern)' (pages 157-165);'Persian Coast' (pages 1455-1468);'Makrān (Coast of Persian)' (pages 1130-1155).All articles have a similar form. The English and Arabic place or tribe name appears in the right or left margin, followed by the text of the article split into sub-sections and with topographical information arranged in tables. Arabic words are given in the text next to their equivalent transliterated into Latin script, with the transliteration system employed appearing in 'Appendix S' in Volume I, Part II (IOR/L/PS/20/C91/2, pages 2737-2741).Topics of information contained within the articles include: boundaries and sub-divisions; physical character and main features (for example, mountains and rivers); climate and seasons; natural products (vegetable, animal and mineral); agriculture and crops; livestock, including transport animals; inhabitants, with reference to racial and tribal distinctions, religious differences, mode of life, character, language, customs, dress and arms, and estimates of populations; trade (internal and external), with notice to currency, weights and measures, shipping, manufactures and industries, and miscellaneous occupations; communications by land and water, with descriptions of routes and estimates of transport; administration and government, especially police, justice, military resources, taxation and finance, and political constitution; and, international position and foreign interests, especially British and their representation in the country. Lorimer refers readers to the Appendices of Volume I, Part II (IOR/L/PS/20/C91/2, pages 2205-2741) for fuller details concerning: meteorology, health, date cultivation, transport animals and livestock, religions and sects, trade, sailing vessels, fisheries, pearl fisheries, and postal and telegraphic communications.There are fifty-six folios lacking page numbers that contain illustrations. The images are labelled as follows:'Wādi Bani Habīb in Jabal Akhdar'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'A Creek near Basrah from the Shatt=al=’Arab'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'Bridge of Boats, Baghdād'. Photographer: Major G Arbuthnot;'The Hanaini well, Bahrain Island'. Photographer: John Calcott Gaskin;'Ancient Tumuli, Bahrain Island'. Photographer: John Calcott Gaskin;'Village of Qatārah Baraimi Oasis'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'The ’Ashshār creek in Basrah Town'. Photographer: Mr Albert Charles Wratislaw;'The British Consulate. Basrah, from the Shatt=al=’Arab. (Consulate building on the right of picture)'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'Parade of British and Persian troops at Rīshehr, 1905';'Part of the town of Būshehr';'The Sea Front, Būshehr Town';'The British Political Residency, Būshehr';'Bridge at Buziyeh'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'The Fort [Qasr al-Ḥuṣn] of the Shaikh at Abu Dhabi'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;'The Shaikh of Sharjah's Fort at Dhaid, Trucial Oman'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'Dizfūl Town'. Photographer: Major G Arbuthnot;'Dohah in Qatar'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;'A Canal in the Fallāhiyeh District'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'A Creek at Fāo'. Photographer: Mr W D Cumming;'Muti at the head of Wādi Halfain'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'Near the village of Qārah in the Hasa Oasis'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;'The village of Qārah in the Hasa Oasis'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;'Desert bewteen the Hasa Oasis and Qatar'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;'The Imāmzādeh of Haidar Karār at the place of formation of the Hindiyān River'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'The Hindyān River near Zaidān'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'General View of Hofūf'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;'The Na’āthil Quarter, Hofūf'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;'Hormuz - View from the old Fort'. Photographer: Raja Deen Dayal & Sons;'Crowd at Rās=al-Khaimah'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'Rās=al-Khaimah, looking towards Ruūs=al=Jibāl'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'Kumzār'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;'The foreshore Kuwait, showing boat harbour'. Photographer: John Calcott Gaskin;'Camel riders of the Shaikh of Kuwait'. Photographer: Raja Deen Dayal & Sons;'Lingeh';'The Tīs Valley in Persian Makrān'. Photographer: Mr R H New;'Country between the Bīr and Kair Rivers in Persian Makrān'. Photographer: Mr R H New;'Mouth of the Tīs valley looking seawards'. Photographer: Mr R H New;'The British Agency, Manāmah, Bahrain'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'An Arab of the Manāsīr tribe'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;'The Cemetery, Maqlab. (From A Photograph in the Possession of H Gabler, Esq, I E T D)';'Eastern end of Masqat Town, British Consulate on the left, Sultan's palace on the right'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'West end of Masqat Town from Sultan's Palace. & Fort Mīrāni'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'Centre and Western end of Masqat Town with part of the Harbour'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'View of Wādi Mi’aidin from Sharaijah'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'River Scene Muhammareh'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'Two Views of Muhammareh Town'. Photographer: John Calcott Gaskin;'Persian Battery at Muhammareh'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'View at Haz’=Dhabi, Trucial Oman'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'’Oqair Port'. Photographer: Herr Hermann Burchardt;'Salt Rocks on Qishm Island near Namakdān'. Photographer: Raja Deen Dayal & Sons;'The "Earl Canning" lying in Elphinstone inlet, Ruus=al=Jibal 1868. [Head of Inlet.] From A Photograph in the Possession of H Gabler, Esq, I E T D)';'Wadi Samail near Hisn Samail'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'Eastern Face of Jabal=ash=Sham';'The port of Sur'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'Bilād=as=Sur'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox;'The Fort of Wakrah, Qatar'. Photographer: Major Percy Zachariah Cox.1 volume (1952 pages)Following the title pages and 'Introduction', entries are arranged in alphabetical order from '’Abādilah' to 'Zubair Town'.Foliation: The foliation sequence is circled in pencil in the top right corner of the recto of each folio. It begins on the first folio with text, on number 1, and ends on the last folio with text, on number 1034. It should be noted that f. 192 is followed by f. 192A.

6. ‘Miscellaneous 16/15 Correspondence with and from the Director of Customs, Bahrain’

Description:

Correspondence, chiefly received from but also sent to, the Director of Customs in Bahrain (Claud Cranbrook Lewis DeGrenier). The majority of the correspondence is official, and relates to miscellaneous trade and customs matters in Bahrain. Aside from general correspondence, memoranda and notices (for example, announcing trade regulations, customs house opening hours), other correspondence in the file includes:a letter from the French pearl merchant David Bienenfeld, dated 1928, requesting permission to bring a wireless radio into Bahrain (ff 7-8);a letter and statement on rice imports into Bahrain for the period May 1927 to May 1928 (ff 15-16);correspondence dated 1929, with a copy of an invoice in German, relating to the import into Bahrain of matches from the Berlin branch of the Handelsvertretung der Udssr in Deutschland (Mercantile Department of the Soviet Government in Germany, ff 23-27);statistical tables detailing the numbers and total tonnage of steamers entering and leaving the port of Bahrain for the years 1928 and 1929 (ff 37-39);a summary of the numbers of packages landed at various Persian Gulf ports for the months August to November 1931 (f 52) and November 1931 to January 1932 (f 61);correspondence dated 1932 relating to changes to the system for khanchia(a customs tax collected on imports), including a petition signed by many of Bahrain’s merchants, objecting to these changes (ff 54-56, f 63);details of the British India Steam Navigation Company’s ‘engagements’ at various ports in the Persian Gulf for the months February to June 1932 (expressed in numbers of packages discharged, ff 65-69, f 74);a 1932 letter (in Arabic with English translation) from prominent Njdy [Nejdi] merchants in Bahrain, requesting a definition of the territorial limits of Bahrain Port (ff 70-72).1 file (76 folios)The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end.Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 80; 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 4-78; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

7. 'File 2/7 II Correspondence re precautions etc against malaria'

Description:

The file contains correspondence regarding precautions against malaria, statistics, graphics, surveys and reports on the diffusion of malaria in the Persian Gulf countries.The principal correspondents are the Medical Officer at the Victoria Memorial Hospital, the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the Political Agent at Bahrain. Also, the construction of drainage systems around Manama to stop the disease is the subject of correspondence exchanges with the Manama Municipality.The file contains posters and leaflets in Arabic; and several documents in Arabic with English translation: notices from the Government of Bahrain, posters and leaflets on malaria, correspondence with the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsa Āl Khalīfah.The file also contains a blueprint on folio 87: 'Chart I Showing fortnightly figures of malaria cases treated at Victoria Memorial Hospital, Manama, and average mean temperature during the year 1933-1937'.1 file (146 folios)The papers in the file are arranged chronologically. There are file notes at the end, on folios 127-147. The notes are arranged chronologically and refer to documents within the file.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 148; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-125; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

8. 'File 2/7 Infectious diseases: plague, cholera, smallpox etc, outbreak of. Quarantine imposed on passengers'

Description:

The file contains circulars, notices, telegrams, cyphers and correspondence regarding outbreaks of infectious diseases, precautions against them, and quarantine restrictions imposed on passengers travelling to and from various places in the Persian Gulf.The principal correspondents are the Medical Officer at the Victoria Memorial Hospital, the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, the Manamah Municipality, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Political Agent at Muscat, and the Political Agent at Bahrain.The file contains documents in Arabic with English translation: notices and proclamations of quarantine from the Government of Bahrain, and notes on the creation of an anti-malaria Advisory Committee in Bahrain.1 file (180 folios)The papers in the file are arranged chronologically. There are file notes at the end, on folios 179-181. The notes are arranged chronologically and refer to documents within the file.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 182; 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 5-178; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

9. 'File 8/43 Persian Gulf Newsletter'

Description:

The file contains correspondence relating to the collation and submission by the British Government of a monthly Persian Gulf newsletter to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) for the latter's Arabic Service. The correspondence is between: the Political Agents at Bahrain, Kuwait, and Muscat; the Political Officer or Residency Agent at Sharjah; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bahrain; the India Office; the Foreign Office; the Commonwealth Relations Office; Eastern Bank Limited; Violet Dickson, wife of Harold Dickson, the Political Agent at Kuwait; Charles Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain; and the BBC.The correspondence includes the newsletters themselves (in English and Arabic), as enclosures, covering the period January 1947 to October 1948. The newsletters brought together brief news updates from Muscat, Kuwait, the Trucial Coast, and Bahrain, and covered various subjects, but with an emphasis on the activities of the region's ruling families and the visits of British and foreign dignitaries. They were to be included in the BBC's Arabic Service broadcasts.The file contains correspondence relating to the payment by the BBC for the work entailed.The Kuwait newsletter was compiled and written by Violet Dickson.Folios 261-284 are internal office notes.1 file (283 folios)The file is arranged chronologically.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 285; 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 3-171; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

10. ‘File 12/5 II Accidents involving country craft’

Description:

The file comprises correspondence and other papers relating to incidents involving local cargo vessels, frequently referred to as country craft, travelling through the Persian Gulf, usually between ports in Iraq, Iran and India. The incidents referred to include the sinking and running aground of vessels during bad weather (and the subsequent repatriation of crews), the failure of vessels to arrive in ports, and the seizure of cargo. The file’s principal correspondents are the Political Agent at Bahrain and the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast.The most significant incidents referred to in the file (those constituting the most paperwork) are:an incident occurring in December 1945 in which the cargo vessel Parisran aground near the RAF aerodrome at Jīwani near Gwādar, and subsequently had its cargo confiscated. Correspondence covers the incident, statements from the vessel’s nakhuda (Jasim bin Rashid bin Hamadeh) and owner (Haji Ali bin Moosa Al Omran), and the pursuit of a case by the vessel’s owner through the Court of Kalat State (ff 12-37, ff 44-52, f 55, f 58, ff 66-70, ff 76-80);an incident occurring in July 1946 concerning the disappearance of the Samahan, a vessel carrying rice from Karachi to Marmagao, which was believed to have landed in a Persian Gulf port. The correspondence concerns efforts to trace the whereabouts of the vessels, its cargo and tindal (or native officer) (ff 59-61, f 65, ff 72-75, ff 84-93);incidents occurring in 1950 in which Iranian customs officials boarded vessels belonging to the Trucial Coast, and confiscated their cargo. The correspondence chiefly concerns the payment of compensation by the Iranian authorities to claimants from the Trucial Coast, via the British authorities at Tehran and Bahrain (ff 113-142, ff 145-154).1 file (153 folios)The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. There are no file notes at the end of the file.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside 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 present in parallel between ff 2-83; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

11. 'File 17/1-II Posts and Telegraphs. Radio Station Bahrain.'

Description:

The volume comprises correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman, Reginald George Alban, Edward Birkbeck Wakefield, Tom Hickinbotham), Political Resident in Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven William Fowle, Charles Geoffrey Prior), Officer-in-Charge of the Bahrain Branch of Cable & Wireless (Norman Luke Penfold, George William Watson, Cecil Edward Gahan, John William Millest), other Cable & Wireless representatives (Sir Edward Wilshaw, Fred W Humphrey, Harold Aubrey Merchant), HM Minister Tehran (Sir Reader Bullard), and the India Office (Roland Tennyson Peel, John Percival Gibson) regarding provision of telegram services to and from Bahrain and the wider region.The main subject of the correspondence is the work of Cable and Wireless in Bahrain, including work to replace the aerial lines that connected Bahrain’s wireless service to the submarine cables; notifications from the Bahrain telegraph station regarding interruptions to cable services in the Persian Gulf; the Company’s desire to obtain formal concessions for telegraph services both in Bahrain and Kuwait which had to be postponed for the duration of the Second World War; and discussions around the potential implementation of a dislocation scheme issued by the Army to prevent enemy forces taking control of wireless services in any territory they were successful in capturing.Also included in the volume are discussions regarding a Parliamentary white paper titled the ‘Empire Scheme’ which was a proposal to introduce a flat rate of charges for telegrams between any two points in the Empire. The discussion relates to the question raised by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf of whether Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat could be included in such a proposed scheme and the response from Cable and Wireless Limited that it would result in considerable loss to them given the cost of maintaining and operating the strategic cables located in the Persian Gulf.Correspondence also relates to the presence of the Army and Royal Navy in Bahrain and their need for wireless services. Included are the decision by naval authorities to establish a wireless station at the Jufair [Al Jufayr] Naval base and the Royal Air Force (RAF) to establish a wireless station on Muharraq Island. Subsequent correspondence related to the unsuitability of the Royal Navy’s wireless service at Jufair and the need for a new plot of land to establish a better service. The correspondence includes negotiations relating to the potential purchase of land at Ummul Hassan and the Shaikh of Bahrain (Salmān bin Ḥamad)’s decision to offer the land for free in exchange for part of a plot of land at Qozaibia owned by the RAF.The final matter discussed in the volume is the decision taken by the Iranian Government in 1938 to cease transmitting telegrams from Iran to Bahrain and subsequent discussions and negotiations with the Iranian Government from 1941 onwards to resume the service, including the need to settle the rate charged for telegrams so that they could be shared equally by Cable and Wireless and the Iranian Government.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 300-325.1 volume (330 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file. Circled serial numbers (red for received correspondence; blue/black for issued correspondence) refer to entries in the notes at the rear of the file. A small amount of correspondence has been placed after the file notes at the rear of the file and covers folios 326-329.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 332; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 5-298 and between ff 300-329; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

12. 'File 21/20 Airways, Private Aviators'

Description:

The volume contains correspondence relating to the traffic of private aircraft through the Persian Gulf region. The correspondents include:Political Agent at Bahrain;Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire;British Consulate at Mohammerah [Khorramshahr];Government of India, Political and Foreign Departments;British Embassy at Baghdad;Air Officer Commanding, Hinaidi, Iraq;Foreign Office;Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf;Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain;Political Agent, Muscat.Also included as enclosures are letters from Shaikh Hamad bin Isa al Khalifah [Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah], the British Embassy at Alexandria, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo, and the French Embassy in London.The papers cover the British effort to get a general ban on private aircraft flying over or landing in Bahrain and Muscat. Also included are the papers relating to permission for specific flights, including those of the following people:Maurice Wilson (British), travelling to India and then Mount Everest;R N Chawla (Indian), travelling around the world;Lord Sempill (British), travelling to Baghdad;Hassan Anis Pasha (Egyptian), travelling around the Arabian Peninsula;Amelia Earhart (American), travelling from Karachi to Aden;M and Mme Genin (French), travelling to Saigon;André Gueit and Jean Laurent (French), travelling to Saigon.Folios 134-41 are internal office notes.1 volume (142 folios)The volume is arranged in chronological order.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 144; 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 5-133 and between ff 134-141; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.