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‘File 7/2 III Landing grounds and seaplane anchorages’ [‎153r] (324/522)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (251 folios). It was created in 24 Mar 1935-19 Dec 1935. 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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(a
No facilities for these requirements exist at UMAL6UAIWAIN
except in the imnediate neighbourhood of the village, where
the smells are more intense and more aggressive than at any
other village I know on that part of the coast, which is
saying a good deal. The natives live on fish which is
supposed to be dried in the sun but which to Western noses
is in the last stages of putrefaction. As the only obvious
sites for a Rest House are in the neighbourhood of the village
itself, they are on this account unsuitable.
These difficulties could, no doubt, be got over at considerable
expense, but I do not recommend the place.
4« The best of these creeks is that at DIBAI, near
3HARJAH* This was the creek which I strongly recommended
should be used by Imperial Airways when they first opened the
route# There is plenty of water and the bends in the creek
give adequate directional facilities. The banks are firm
and clearly defined and the deep water extends right up to
them, A certain amount of buoying and lighting is
recomnended.
There are good sites for buildings, slipways, jetties, or
anything else required. The sites are clean and some
distance from the town which is vastly superior in every way
to UMALQUAIWAIN, It is the place at which B, I, liners call
and is relatively rich and civilised,
5, Next to DIBAI, I would reccmnend RAS-AIrKHAIMAR
which has been largely used by H,A,F, flying boats,
lUS-AL-KHAIMAH has an excellent creek, but it is practically
one directional only. Fortunately it lies into the
prevalent wind but at times aircraft can only use the creek
by alighting or getting off across wind, #iich is not desirable
There is plenty of water and the banks are firm and well
defined. There are excellent sites for buildings, slipways,
jetties, or anything else required.
The chief difficulty at RAS-AL-KHAIMAR, which 1 regarded as
suitable from a technical point of view, was the obstinate
refusal of the Sheik of RAS-AL-KHAIMAR to allow the establish
ment of a civil air station in his creek,
6, I would strongly recommend that Imperial Airways
should use the creek at DIBAI, and as I am sure it is
suitable from the technical point of view, I do not know what
their objections to it are.
Failing

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Content

The volume is a continuation of correspondence from ‘File 7/2 II Landing grounds and seaplane anchorages’ (IOR/R/15/2/264), its contents relating to ongoing negotiations between Arab rulers and the British Government, Royal Air Force, and Imperial Airways, on the installation and maintenance of air facilities along the Arab coast, between Qatar and Ra’s al-Khaymah. The principal correspondents in the file are Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven Fowle, 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, 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, and Captain A Cole, Officiating 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.

The main issues raised in the volume are:

1. Disagreements between British officials and Shaikh Shakbut bin Sultan of Abu Dhabi, over the installation of a petrol store at Abu Dhabi, not officially mentioned in the agreement signed between the two parties on 13 February 1935, and only verbally agreed upon. In a letter addressed to the Shaikh, dated 5 June 1935, Fowle threatened action against Abu Dhabi’s pearling fleet, should he continue to raise objections to the expansion of air facilities in his domains (folios 64-66). Fowle’s letter led to an angry exchange between Shaikh Shakbut and British officials aboard HMS Fowey (reported in a letter from Cole to Fowle, folios 93-97), which in turn led to protracted mediations prior to Shaikh Shakbut issuing a formal apology over his outburst (folios 122-23).

2. Proposals for a seaplane anchorage at Umm al-Qaywayn (folios 138-40a), including a visit to the Arab coast by Mr B Cross, Manager of the Near East Area for Imperial Airways Limited, in order to ascertain the best site for such a facility (folios 185-87).

The volume also contains a number of revised schedules of air facilities required along the Arab coast of the Gulf, listing facilities by both location and by RAF or civil aviation function (folios 68-72, 173-75a, 196-200).

Extent and format
1 volume (251 folios)
Arrangement

The volume’s correspondence is arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest items at the front of the volume to the latest at the end. Some items in the volume are marked with red or blue crayon numbers (for incoming or outgoing items respectively), and are prefixed by the letters S.No [Serial number]. This numbering system constitutes part of the original filing arrangement, and is referred to in the office notes at the end of the file (folios 230-44).

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'. . An earlier foliation system, which uses uncircled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of rectos, runs through the volume. The following anomalies occur in the main foliation system: 1a-1e, 79a, 140a, 167a, 195a, 241a. The following folios are fold-outs: 7, 11, 13, 20, 64, 76.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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‘File 7/2 III Landing grounds and seaplane anchorages’ [‎153r] (324/522), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/265, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023625741.0x00007d> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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