'File 8/15 Arab Series - 1933-1939' [‎211r] (421/434)

Letter from H. M.’s Minister, Jedda, No. 89 (951/391/10), dated the
3rd May 1938.
It is now possible to complete the story of the death of the Amir Khalid,
nephew to Ibn Sand, which I had the honour to report to you in my despatch
No. 64 (715/391/8), dated April 4th. The details given in the Kuwait
Intelligence Summary for March 16th to 31st bear out the information
obtained from Shaikh Hafiz Wehba, who was in Nejd at the time. A
violent check to the car which he was driving at high speed flung the Amir
against the wind-screen with such force that he died of his injuries a few
days later, but he lived long enough to be seen alive by an American Mission
ary doctor who had been sent for from Kuwait.
2. The Hejazi malcontent whose complaints I reported in my despatch
No 78 (875/287/14), dated April 24th declared that the death of the Amir
Khalid was not due to an accident, but had been planned long beforehand.
The death of the chief rival to the Heir Apparent might well appear to hostile
Arab eyes too fortunate to be accidental, and the fact that the cause of death
was not mentioned in the reports in the Mecca press could be quoted as addi
tional evidence. I do not think that any unprejudiced person here would
accept the theory of a planned murder, but with persons so closely protect
ed by armed guards as Ibn Saud or the Amir Saud, a hasty gesture of anger
by a known enemy might possibly be misinterpreted by an armed slave and
provoke a fatal shot or dagger-thrust. However, there is no question of this
m the present case..
I ( 28 )
Foreign Office,
E.-2829/150/91.
Reference demi-official letter P. Z.-2887/38, May 3rd.
With Mr. Baxter’s compliments.
J. P. Gibson, Esq.
June 24th, 1938.
Copy to Bushire and Bahrein.
P. Z.-4417/1938.
Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter, No. E.-2829/150/91 dated
June, 24th, 1938.
Demi-official letter from Sir R. W. Bullard, H. M.’s Minister, Jedda
to C. W. Baxter, Esq., M.C., Foreign Office London No pf '
2829/150/91), dated the 12th April 1938. ’ ^ [E -‘
In my last conversation with Shaikh Hafiz Wahba before his departure
for England j spoke of the various questions on which we were trying to
give Ibn Saud advice or assistance. Shaikh Hafiz said that the Kine still
telt very sore about the Qatar boundary, and unable to reconcile our attitude
with our profesmons. The King, according to Shaikh Hafiz aUr bu^s the
attitude of H. M. Government on this point entirely to the fact that the oil
company operating in Hasa is American, and feels this all the more uniust
in that he repeatedly tried to get British oil interests to put in for a conces
sion there I said that our attitude was based on historical considerations
going back long before the days of oil, and spoke highly of the California
Arabian Standard Oil Company., ^ ^ alitornia
The final decision will probably have been taken before this letter reaches
jou, but I send the information nevertheless “to complete the record”