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'File 61/11 X (D 170) Nejd-Hejaz Miscellaneous' [154br] (322/554)
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.
Bey Yasin as his intermediary. Faisal is the most
sophisticated of Ibn Sa'ud^ sons, takes a keen interest
in all the battle fronts and can talk volubly about them.
His outlook is less narrow than the Nejdis 1 , his manner
of life more like that of the Hijazis, and he appears to
have built up a position for himself in the Hijaz. The
influential families in the Hijaz who used to get pick
ings from the pilgrim traffic have, in principle,resented
Nejdi domination but are well disposed to the Amir Faisal,
The pilgrim traffic revenues have sensibly diminished
on account of the war, but the subsidy now given by
H.B.M.'s Government enables the King to offset the Hijaz^
loss. The subsidy greatly exceeds of course the royalties
now given by American gold and oil concessionaires and
Ibn Sa'ud's financial position is probably stronger today
than it has ever been. He is using the gold, the coins
and the supplies which he is receiving from us to keep
the hungry desert in check and is well maintaining his
regime. His own life is an austere one and he is known
to give away all that he gets, and as this is so consider
able he continues to be an object of veneration throughout
the whole of his country. In Riyadh I saw hundreds of
men and women drawn up outside the city walls receiving
the King's bounty. The Paymaster who is the head of the
City Police came along on a motor-bicycle carrying bags
of coins. He dismounted and walked along the ranks of
those assembled, placing a coin or two into the hand of
each person. This is a daily feature in the life of
Riyadh. Similarly any tribes in want are the object of
the King's benevolence.
There is quite a considerable Government motor
transport system in Riyadh and this is used to take
supplies to the areas where they are most needed. Three
out of every four toapks and lorries met on the road -
and we passed^dozen^ each day - were painted red, the
sign that they were Government vehicles. An M.E.S.C.
Officer, Major Roberts, is Technical Adviser to the
Sa'udi Government in Jedda and has a workshop there. He
was a fellow passenger of mine on the way to Cairo where
he was going on a hunt for 'spare parts 1 . Transport is
a department under Najib As Salih.
5. The route I took across Arabia and the dates
of my nightly halts are shown in the following table;
Distance run
(Kilometres)
Night halts
Left DHAHRAN by
15th March.
car, Monday,
DHAHRAN
to
HINAT
179
HINlT
ti
MU'AQALA
16?
MIT'AQALA
tl
RAMAH
125
RAMAH
rt
RIYADH
150
RIYADH
it
JUBAIIA
47
JUBAILA
ti
AL UWAINID
63
AL WAIN ID
tt
MARAT
49
MARAT
it
Beginning of
sandy NAFUD
52
16th March. , <
17th March. | ^
l8th /21st Marchu^ •
■ifj
22nd March
jj
,.3-5
/Distance
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' [154br] (322/554), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/573, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023505692.0x000079> [accessed 30 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