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'File 61/11 X (D 170) Nejd-Hejaz Miscellaneous' [19r] (50/554)
The record is made up of 1 volume (270 folios). It was created in 20 Jan 1942-26 Jun 1945. It was written in English. 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.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANN|jCHS!tAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
ic
ARABIA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
December 26, 1941.
S ection 1.
\ v
[E 8551/8551/25]
Copy No. 107
.
Mr. Stonehewer-Bird to i ¥r. Eden.—{Received December 26.)
(No. 47.)
HIS Majesty's Minister at Jedda presents his compliments to His Majesty's
Principal Secretary of State and has the honour to transmit to him a copy of
reports dated the 12th, 13th and 14th November, 1941, by Colonel De Gaury on
his interviews with King Saud.
Jedda, December 6. 1941.
ioSHIR E
RESIDENCY
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
.
'our No -y'r
Me :
Enclosure 1.
"Colonel De Gaury to Mr. Stonehewer-Bird.
Sir, Riyadh, November 12, 1941.
I ARRIVED in Riyadh in the mid-afternoon of the 12th November. The
King at once sent to ask whether I would prefer to be received immediately or
after darl I told the Chamberlain, Tabaishi, that I would prefer the later
audience.
I was therefore biddeuto come at 3 o'clock Arab time (about 8.30 p.m .). We
were lodged in the Murabba Palace and so only had a few yards to walk. On
the way through the corridors of the Palace some of the soldiers were brushed
aside by a chamberlain to reveal the brightly painted gates of His Majesty's
new lift.
The King looked extremely well, unchanged since 1939, and received me
cordially. After the usual exchange of compliments, I told him that it had been
thought that he might like to discuss with me our management of tribal affairs in
Syria. His Majesty immediately showed that he had been made fully aware, by
you, of the objects of my visit and that he much appreciated the courtesy of
sending someone au courant with affairs in the north to visit him.
He said, making use, for the first time with me, of the expression akhui (my
brother), that he would like to discuss this and also affairs in Iraq when we
were alone : at audiences which would begin to-morrow.
Nevertheless, he began to discuss Iraq immediately, giving me a number of
details about the events leading up to the debacle of May 1941, and describing
the arrival here in Riyadh of Naji Suwaidi and his own attitude in regard to
the latter. This is, no doubt, well known to His Majesty's Legation in Jedda,
and to the embassy in Bagdad, and in any case is not of much consequence now;
but the fact that Ibn Saud, immediately on my arrival, embarked on this now
old history made me think that he is still perturbed at what His Majesty's
Government may think of his having painted Rashid Ali less blackly than that
odious Iraqi deserves.
This audience was, of course, intended to be merely a formal one on arrival,
and we reverted for a short time to non-political subjects—the lift and the
King's health; the latter being extremely good, the former out of order! It was
not, however, for long that the King could keep off politics and within a few
minutes he was discussing the movements of Jemal al Hussaini and he said that
he would show me to-morrow a letter to him from Jemal, which I would find
very interesting. From this he went lightly off to the heavy subject of Arab
Federation, saying that, as he had often pointed out to Arab politicians, the fact
that there had not been spontantaneous concerting of plans, either in regard to
the Jews or in regard to this war—the two greatest problems with which living
Arabs were ever likely to be faced^—showed how little real hope there was for a
[25-12] B
About this item
- Content
The volume consists of telegrams, letters, and reports relating to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Most of the correspondence is between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in Bushire, the Political Agencies in Bahrain and Kuwait, the 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. and the Foreign Office in London, and the Government of India.
Much of the volume covers Saudi-US relations, including:
- US financial assistance to Saudi Arabia;
- the report (ff 146-147) of a medical tour of the country made by the American Mission to Bahrain;
- a trip to Kuwait made by Colonel Hoskins, President Roosevelt's Personal Envoy to Ibn Sa'ud in August 1943;
- the opening of a US Consulate in Dhahran;
- a secret report (ff 223-224) on 'America and Arabia' from the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in Bushire.
Other subjects covered are:
- the report (ff 79-99) of a trip to Riyadh made by Tom Hickinbotham, 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 Kuwait;
- the wartime supply situation in the region;
- the financial situation in Saudi Arabia;
- Ibn Sa'ud's relationship with Sa'ud bin 'Abdullah bin Jiluwi, the Amir of Hasa;
- telegraphic communications in the country;
- meteorology, including a report (f 181) on the British Meterological Party's tour of Saudi Arabia;
- Ibn Sa'ud's request for British military and financial assistance.
Also notable within the volume are:
- Gerald De Gaury's interview with Ibn Sa'ud (ff 19-22);
- annual summary reports on Saudi Arabia produced by the British Legation in Jeddah for the years 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1944;
- a letter (152-154C) from Bertram Thomas to the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in Bushire following his trip across Arabia, detailing anything he thought might be useful for the British Government to know;
- a report (f 175) on the Saudi Arabian royal family by the British Legation in Jeddah.
At the end of the volume (ff 249-264) are internal office notes.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (270 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged chronologically. There is an alphabetical subject index to the contents, at the front of the volume (folio 2).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the sequence starts on the first folio and continues through to the inside back cover. The numbering is written in pencil, circled and 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. There are the following irregularities: 1A, 1B, and 1C; 28A and 28B; 154A, 154B, and 154C; 216A and 216B.
Condition: the broken spine cover is detached from the volume and enclosed in a plastic sleeve numbered folio 265, at the back of the volume. The plastic sleeve may cause some loss of sharpness to the digital image of the spine cover.
There is a second sequence that is inconsistent. It is also written in pencil but is not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'File 61/11 X (D 170) Nejd-Hejaz Miscellaneous' [19r] (50/554), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/573, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023505691.0x000031> [accessed 24 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/573
- Title
- 'File 61/11 X (D 170) Nejd-Hejaz Miscellaneous'
- Pages
- front, back, spine-a:spine-c, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1ar:1cv, 2r:153v, 154ar:154cv, 155r:185r, 186r:215v, 216ar:216bv, 217r:229v, 231r:232v, 238r:267v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence