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'File 9/8 Bahrain Levy Corps' [‎184r] (372/480)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (226 folios). It was created in 16 Dec 1923-5 Jul 1926. 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. .

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quit® im£©Bsibl« t@ judit® fr#m Chits' etc whicii I feund most
inf sledding.
Gc&lct mentions 'an eicmtnt danger 1 in the Polices job.
%
Tills refers t® a recant case in which ne was sent out with Shailc
who asked for him t^ g& with him <&
Abdulla, It some levies to arrest twe members ef the Shaikly family
accused of murder. There was not the remetest iiklihoed ef any treub
& he oerformed the di ty in his capacity @f Levy Cori)s Cenmander &
went with Levies,it had n©thin- to d© with tne police.He has ne
exeeutiv^ duties in connection with the peliee & it weuld he most
undesirahle that ht sheuld have any. The cemparison drawn between
his ewn pay & that of ©th®r ranks is als® silly- clerks up the Gulf
get many times mers pay than they de in Indians they are on ioreigr
service-en the same anals^y we might claim that our salaries ahould
be trebled. The point is ,ef ceurse # tkat ©ur salaries in India are
already "based on 1 foreign oervice' terms & wsx & xsixmX neither we
net Geake could expect a lar^e advance for serving in the Gulf in
lieu ®f India.
I have written a long & hasty screed,"because I think
it is a toid principl* te admit^ere.fsr ta« ShaiJcs State ©ffxeials
te bargain far mere pay after acospting appeiptment carrying out
th. duties f.r several nantha. If a yaung f.ilew Hit Geaic. v.tre
te draw Rs 1200 plus ptnsisn.-e oann.t expect Belgrava .a man mucii
his 8«ni»r « wHe will" liav« much Harder & more re .pansitole v.erK to
be esnttnt on Hs 800 plus K» 200 in a provident fund. Ai S0 witheut
doubt 3. Grenier.wbe is by ns means worth anything like the pay he
noi» draws, would similarly bee em. dissatisfied. C.uite apart from thi
the importance ef the work & the nature of the duties does not
justify such a high salary. It is not necessary for the Bahrain con
te have au officer with highn teehniwal tarining.Any ox Indian Army
of j ioor of throe or four years c.mmissioned service could do the w.j
The corps need not bo of such high efficeincy as the Muscat corps,f<
there is na liklihood whatever of its having to fight seriously.lt
would never have more t® de than quell a small local disturbance.
Geake is a nice youn ^i iellev/ socially,but Mallam iou.
Am diffisult to deal with. I have net yet found that,but it is quit
clear that he dislikes the Job intensely & regards it solely as a mt

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Content

The volume relates to the institution of a Levy Corps in Bahrain, and more specifically to the recruitment, training, equipment (military, non-military) and costs of maintaining the force. The main correspondents in the file are 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 (Major Clive Daly, or George Mallam as Acting Agent in Daly's absence), the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. (Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Trevor until April 1924, thereafter Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Prideaux), and Captains A. Campbell and T. H. Geake, Commanding Officers of the Bahrain Levy Corps for the first and second years respectively.

The institution of the Bahrain Levy Corps was set up with the assistance of 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. in Muscat, and the previously established Muscat Levy Corps, the intention being that the Commandant of the Muscat Levies, Captain Alban, would supervise the new Bahrain Levies, and that the first recruits for the Bahrain Levies be recruited from Muscat. However, the process of recruitment was hampered by Alban becoming ill, and a shortage of suitable men being found. Daly noted, in a letter dated 25 October 1924 that “the enlistment of men was mismanaged - many undesirables were enlisted and many unfit.” (folios 111-112). The main area of concern was the recruitment to the Levies of Persian Makranis. An express letter from Daly to Prideaux, dated 29 May 1925, noted that the Bahrain Levy Corps comprised 46 British subjects, 23 Persian subjects, 39 Muscat subjects, and 1 Yemeni subject (folio 127). This letter followed shortly after an incident, on 25 May 1925, in which one of the Persian Levies at Bahrain murdered two of his colleagues (folio 134). Continuous efforts were made afterwards to reduce the number of Persians in the Bahrain Levies (folios 187, 191).

An annual report for the Bahrain Levy Corps, written by Campbell at the end of his service (July 1925), gives detail on the challenges facing the institution of the Bahrain Levy Corps, its recruitment process, disciplinary record, as well as information on the Bahrain state prison (folios 153-68).

Extent and format
1 volume (226 folios)
Arrangement

The items in the volume have been arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest items at the front of the volume to the latest at the end.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . There is an earlier foliation system using blue pencil circled numbers in the top-right corner of rectos, which runs from folios 7 to 26. There are no foliation anomalies.

The following folios are fold-outs: 33, 52, 54, 87-89, 91, 92, 116, 117, 120, 146, 148, 149, 163-66, 208, 209, 219.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 9/8 Bahrain Levy Corps' [‎184r] (372/480), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/135, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023029788.0x0000ad> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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