'File 13/2 VII Air facilities in Arab shaikhdoms' [‎3r] (5/430)

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The file contains correspondence related to the negotiation of new or continuing civil air agreements between British Government representatives and the Sheikhs of Bahrain, Qatar and the Trucial States A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. . 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. in Bahrain (Major Arnold Crawshaw Galloway until July 1946, thereafter Hugh Rance), and 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. of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Sir Geoffrey Prior until November 1945, Sir Rupert Hay thereafter).

The file begins with correspondence related to negotiations for the continuance of the Civil Air Agreement already in place between the British Government/British Overseas Air Corporation (BOAC) and the Government of Bahrain (see 'File 13/1 I Aerodrome at Bahrain' IOR/R/15/2/505 for the original agreement). Notes from a meeting that took place at 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. in London on 9 October 1945, outline the British Government's reasons for wishing to extend the Agreement by seven years (folio 9).

Subsequent correspondence in the file relates to a number of new air routes proposed between Europe and India/Asia, which would entail increasing numbers of international aircraft passing over or refuelling on the Arab Gulf coast. These airlines included Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA), Air France, Morton Air Services Limited, and Dalmia Jain Airways. The Chicago Convention, an international code intended to coordinate and regulate international air travel, had been signed on 7 December 1944. Amongst its provisions was the need to accord equal rights to all aircraft flying over foreign territories. In response to the convention, the British Government had to seek the Arab coast sheikhs' agreement to conform to the Chicago code, in order to permit airlines such as TWA and Air France the right to fly over or land in the dominions. Copies of the letters sent by Galloway to the various sheikhs are included in the file (folios 41-48), along with the sheikhs' replies (folios 61-66, 70-71, 73-80). The file also includes a printed copy of an agreement between the British and French Governments relating to air transport between British and French territories, issued on 28 February 1946 (folios 129-140), and reports of TWA's plans to fly to Bombay via Saudi Arabia (folio 184).

Extent and format

1 file (212 folios)

Arrangement

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

There is a set of office notes at the end of the file (folios 199-213) which mirrors the chronological arrangement. The office notes comprise a numbered list of items contained in the volume. Each item is written in red or blue/black ink, dependent on whether it refers to an incoming (red) or outgoing (blue/black) piece of correspondence. The list references items in the file, marked either with corresponding red or blue numbers.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The main foliation system starts on the front cover of the file, and runs to the inside back cover. It uses 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 a second foliation system which uses uncircled numbers, also in the top-right corner of each folio. This foliation system runs through most of the volume, merging occasionally with the main foliation system. Some items in the file are marked with circled red or blue crayon numbers, which constitute part of the original filing arrangement. Blue numbers are used for outgoing correspondence, red numbers for incoming correspondence.

Folio 66 is a fold-out.

Written in

English, Arabic and French in Latin and Arabic script

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