‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [43r] (90/490)
The record is made up of 1 volume (243 folios). It was created in 1905-1908. 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.
.afcrfl'!
55
near Nobat Dukem, and their temper was somewhat uncertain. A strong
supporting column was left by the General Officer Commanding, at Muse
um- in the Haushabi country, and a further column consisting of 600
British and Native Infantry with 2 guns, despatched to Khatibia in
i934 the Subehi country to await the Commis
sion. The Shekhs were, however, uni
formly friendly. Some shots were fired on the first day of entering
the country at a well-piquet, by some irresponsible tribesmen, who
were put to flight by fire from the Commission escort, and the
passage of the Am Fidna pass near Am Farsha by the Boundary
Commission was contested by a small unruly section of the Ahl Heh,
numbering about 40 men. Some delay was caused in dislodging them,
and a certain amount of powder burnt with no casualties to the British and
about 5 to the Arabs. The villages of Dar Ibrahim and Dar Imad were
destroyed the following day. With the exception of not infrequent snip
ing on a small scale into the Commission, and supporting column, camps
in the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Ma’din, and some shots fired by the Mifyahi section at a party
of British soldiers, w hich necessitated the destruction of their towers, no
further hostilities occurred.
Captain Warneford, Political Officer, when on his way to join the
supporting troops was treacherously murdered at Am Rija by an Arab
police Naik in Government employ.
During April, the British troops who w r ere beginning to feel the severe
heat, returned to Aden mi Ras al 'Ara, a wing of the 94th Russell’s
Infantry remaining in support of the Commission. On the 23rd May, the
Commission reached the coast at Ras al 'Ara, on the termination of their
field work. The escort and supporting troops returned to Aden by sea,
the Commissioners proceeding to Perim to complete matters with the
Turkish Commissioners at Shekh Said.
A force of British and Native Infantry with a section of guns remained
at Dala at which place a political officer remained.
In July, the Kotaibi were again reported to be inclined to give trouble.
A force w'as immediately despatched from Aden by the General Officer
Commanding, but no hostile measu/es w r ere neces. ary.
Wastage in men .—Representative figures are in this case somewhat
hard to arrive at as of the troops employed during the operations, two
British Regiments went home in toto and 1 British and 1 Native Mountain
batteries returned to India. The number of men invalided was therefore
probably much less than it wmuld have been, had these units remained in
Aden.
Losses in action —
Killed ... ... ... ... 16
Wounded ... ... ... ... 39
(includes casualties at Addareja, 1901.)
Invalided —
Officers ... ... ... ... 26
British troofs ... ... ... j 0 o
Native troops ... ... ... ...
The attached statement compiled in the Statistical Office, Simla,
shews the percentage of sickness and deaths among British troops during
1903.
About this item
- Content
The volume, a military report compiled in the Intelligence Branch of the QMG’s [Quartermaster General’s] Department and published at the Government Central Printing Office, Simla, is comprised of several sections, as follows:
- section I, a Military Report on the British Protectorate of Aden , prepared by Captain Ernest Arthur Frederick Redl (ff 10-52), and including chapters on: geography; ethnography, with details of the different tribes living in the Protectorate; climate and health; natural resources; harbours and anchorages; communications; fortresses; history; native inhabitants’ administration; the military organisation and strength of native inhabitants; and political relations. A handwritten note is included in the report (f 49), and concerns the entitlements of Protectorate Chiefs to salutes, and issue to them of arms and ammunition, 1906;
- section II, a Report on the Amir of Dala’s [Ad Dali’] Territories , prepared by Major J K Tod (ff 54-118), and including chapters on: geography; ethnography; climate and health; resources; communications; forts and fortified posts; history; administration, and military. Following the report is a gazetteer providing greater detail of the sixteen districts in Dala, including: topography; ruling families and allegiances; villages and population figures, including numbers of fighting men; water resources; agricultural and industrial activities;
- section III, Reports on Haushabi, Subehi and Yafa’i Tribes, Turkish and North Western Border Districts and the River Tiban , divided into chapters, all prepared by Captain Redl unless otherwise specified, on: 1) the Haushabi [al-Ḥawshabī] (ff 120-130), and including a handwritten note, dated December 1905 (f 122), noting that the Sultan of Haushabi has agreed to abide by an agreement of 1895; 2) the Subehi tribes near the Turkish border (ff 130-144); 3) the districts of Turkish Yemen adjoining the British boundary (ff 144-165); 4) Tribes of the north-west frontier Region of British India bordering Afghanistan. (ff 165-172); 5) a memorandum of the Yafa’i [Yāfi‘] tribe, prepared by Captain Gonville W Warneford (ff 172-183); 6) The Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Tiban (ff 184-185);
- section IV, Routes (ff 186-228), detailing numerous routes between key points in Aden province, noting: distances; stages; nature of the terrain and its suitability for different modes of transport; available resources en route; territories crossed. A (duplicated) confidential memorandum, written by Captain G A F Sanders of the Aden Brigade, dated 24 August 1905, containing additional information for stages 5 and 6 of route 5 has been added to the volume (ff 195-198);
- appendix I, a brief statement on inland trade between Aden and the Arabian mainland, 1903 (ff 229-230).
The volume is extensively illustrated throughout with fold-out maps, plans and illustrations, prepared by the Intelligence Branch (I.B.) and all of which describe the topography and terrain of the region. There are three maps included in a pocket at the end of the volume: a map of the Aden Protectorate (f 242); a view from the ruined village of Lakmat Magharam about one-and-a-half miles west of Sanah [Ṣanʻā'] (f 240); and a road sketch from Khalla through Awabil [‘Awābil] to the upper plateau of the Rubiatein [Ar Rubay‘atayn] tribe (f 241).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (243 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in four sections (numbered I-IV), with a single appendix. Sections I-III are arranged in numbered chapters while section IV is arranged in twenty-three numbered routes. The volume’s contents page (ff 6-8) lists the sections and their respective chapters/routes, with page numbers referring to the volume’s printed pagination system. A general index (ff 231-238) lists placenames referred to in the volume in alphabetically ascending order, also with page numbers referring to the volume’s printed pagination.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 243; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are 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.
Pagination: the file contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [43r] (90/490), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/59, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034845247.0x00005b> [accessed 10 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100034845247.0x00005b
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100034845247.0x00005b">‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [‎43r] (90/490)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100034845247.0x00005b"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x0003b8/IOR_L_PS_20_59_0098.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x0003b8/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/59
- Title
- ‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:11v, 13r:14v, 16r:28v, 30r:30v, 32r:35r, 36r:36v, 38r:56v, 58r:67r, 68r:69r, 70r:79r, 80r:85v, 87r:88r, 89r:89v, 91r:95v, 97r:98v, 100r:101r, 102r:105v, 107r:108r, 109r:113r, 114r:116v, 118r:120v, 122r:124v, 126r:126v, 128r:130v, 132r:132v, 134r:135r, 136r:136v, 138r:157v, 159r:161v, 163r:163v, 165r:165v, 167r:182v, 184r:188v, 190r:190v, 192r:239v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence
![‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [‎43r] (90/490) ‘Military report on the British Protectorate of Aden and the Amir of Dala’s territories, with special reports on certain other tribes and adjoining border districts’ [‎43r] (90/490)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x0003b8/IOR_L_PS_20_59_0098.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg)