‘File 16/37A-I Anti-Locust Measures’ [5r] (9/900)
The record is made up of 1 file (448 folios). It was created in 31 Aug 1942-18 May 1943. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Telegram
from
To
Repeated.
No.15759.
Town*
S.
Inaia ornce, Loiia^n.
Governm oat of India, New Delhi.
Minister 01 ' 5tate, Cairo.
Political Resiolent, at Bahrain.
Political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
, Muscat.
Dated Bth received 9th September 19
His Majesty’s Govornmont consider that
undisturbed breeding of desert locust in Art oia during
next winter and spring would constitute grave danger to
next year’s grain harvests in Kiudle East and fast Africa.
They have therefore decided to ascertain as iar as possible
whether locust concentrations can be attached in Arabia
and if so to establish necessary organisation. Plan of
campaign for destruction on largest possible seal, \,ill
be worked out and directed by Chief Locust Oilleer
attached to Middle East Supply Centre. It is contemplated
that alter rapid survey of situation anu establishment
of observers, bases should be set up whence mobile* anti-
locust units can Operate immediately wh>re necessary*
2. Campaign will cover Arab States where
necessary, especiaxxy Muscat; and Bahrain has been
sug t >sted as one possible base of attack. In these
circumstances, and in view of your interest in tne destruc
tion or swarms which might invade India His Majesty’s
Government hope that Government Ox Incia (omission) to
fullest possible extent with practical assistance! and
that political authorities will render fullest possible
aid to Chief Locust Officer and his staff. Chief Locust
Officer has been instructed to contact Imperial Entomologist.
Governiix nts of Egypt and Saudi Arabia ana all others
concerned are being similariy approached.
- ft&TAXANDUM -
About this item
- Content
Correspondence, reports and other papers relating to efforts, undertaken by representatives of the Middle East Anti-Locust Unit (MEALU), to control desert locusts (first reported in western India in August 1942 (f 3)) along the Arab coast between Bahrain and Oman. The principal correspondents include: the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield); the Chief Locust Officer (Reginald Charles Maxwell-Darling) and Locust Officer (Leslie Desmond Edward Foster Vesey-Fitzgerald) of MEALU, who arrived in Bahrain to carry out their work in October 1942; the Defence Officer for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel H T Hewitt); representatives of the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC); and representatives of the Bahrain shipping agent Gray, Mackenzie & Company.
The file includes:
- reports from Maxwell-Darling and Vesey-Fitzgerald, as well as from numerous other British officials from across the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. region, including the British Minister at Tehran, Sir Reader William Bullard, on locust observations. The observations include estimations of the size of swarms, movement and direction of insects, age and colour of animals;
- correspondence relating to arrangements for the shipment of locust poison bait from the Sudan Government in Khartoum, to Bahrain;
- correspondence relating to the arrangements of facilities for the MEALU team on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , chiefly arrangements for suitable vehicles (arranged with the assistance of CASOC and the Defence Officer for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ), experienced drivers and motor mechanics, finances, and rations;
- papers issued by MEALU, including instructions on reporting locust swarms (ff 136-137), and notes on locust campaigns in sparsely inhabited countries (ff 194-195, ff 385-386);
- a copy of a booklet entitled Methods of Locust Control , produced by the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research and published by the Government of India Press, Calcutta [Kolkota], 1941 (ff 226-236);
- a reprint of an academic journal article entitled Some results of studies of the Desert Locust (Schistocerca Gregaria, Forsk.) in India , by Rao Bahadur Y Ramchandra Rao (ff 266-278). The article is a reprint from the Bulletin of Entomological Research , volume 33, part 3, published December 1942;
- some papers relating to anti-locust activities in southern Iran.
The file contains a single letter in Arabic, a letter to the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. from the Ruler of Qatar, Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī (f 334).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (448 folios)
- Arrangement
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 424-449) mirror the chronological arrangement.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 450; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-423; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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‘File 16/37A-I Anti-Locust Measures’ [5r] (9/900), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/1544, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/mirador/81055/vdc_100034852385.0x00000a> [accessed 19 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/1544
- Title
- ‘File 16/37A-I Anti-Locust Measures’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:5v, 7r:8v, 10r:12v, 16r:16v, 18r:20v, 22r:33v, 35r:36v, 38r:46v, 48r:60v, 63r:81v, 83r:88v, 91r:103v, 106r:118v, 120r:124v, 127r:131v, 134r:134v, 137r:147v, 149r:151v, 153r:156v, 158r:159v, 161r:167v, 169r:174v, 177r:177v, 184r:185v, 187r:187v, 189r:189v, 191r:193v, 195r:197v, 200r:201v, 203r:208v, 210r:211v, 213r:215v, 220r:225v, 238r:241v, 243r:246v, 255r:263v, 279r:280v, 286r:288v, 291r:291v, 293r:298v, 303r:303v, 308r:312v, 316r:318v, 320r:323v, 325r:332v, 336r:336v, 338r:339v, 342r:343v, 347r:349v, 351r:351v, 358r:359v, 363r:363v, 365r:369v, 372r:372v, 376r:384v, 388r:388v, 390r:392v, 397r:397v, 399r:402v, 405r:405v, 409r:412v, 415r:415v, 418r:449v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence
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