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‘File 16/37A-I Anti-Locust Measures’ [244r] (487/900)
The record is made up of 1 file (448 folios). It was created in 31 Aug 1942-18 May 1943. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
- 2 -
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Dificuseion then centred around the poeoibilitiee of Mr. Lean
contacting Brig. Douglas and the O.C., C.I.H. at Ahiraz, also the Officer
Pilot who would control the aircraft. It was eventually decided that
Mr. Lean should be flown to Ahwaz on Sunday, 24th Jamtry, and discuss
the plan of campaign with the O.C., C.I.H. and that, if possible, he
would contact the H.A.F. Officer in Tehran later. tfiilst at Ahwaz Mr. Lean
would keep the British consul there informed, also the A.I.O.C. Mr. LEAN
pointed out that, whereas field operations would begin approximately 15th
February, the preliminary arrangements should begin forthwith.
Gp.-Capt. PYNE then asked where it was intended that the five
Persian aircraft should be operating. Mr. LEAN replied that he hoped to
have them under his direct control in the Khuzistan area, but afr ould they
not agree, it would be advisable to allow them to operate on their own in
another district.
The quettion of insecticides was then raised. It was pointed
out by Mr. LEAN that the bran and sodium arsenite would be provided by
the Persians, but that the dusting powders ere under the control of a
Dr. Kennedy, now in India, who had been sent out there to make experiments
with them. Mr. LEAN and Major HO ODER then suggested that, subject to
his agreement, Dr. Kennedy be recalled to Persia where conditions might
prove favourable to such experiments.
Mr. LEAN then asked whether there would be any objection to
inviting the Publicity Department to partake in the campaign, as it was
felt that good propaganda could be achieved. THE CHAIRMAN said that
he cculd see no objections, and it was agreed that Mr. Lean should
contact the Publicity Department in Tehran.
Major GATOR then pointed out that any publicity ohou _
restrained until the campaign was assured of success, otherwise it might
well provide a weapon for Axis propaganda. This was agreed.
Brig. BKDDINGTON then raised the question of providing vehicles
for the Persian campaign in Ears. Should the Persians be short he
thought it possible that, say, twelve from an Iraqi pool of some fifty
vehicles could well be made available. No action would be taken in
this direction until Mr. Lean had reviewed the situation in Tehran, when
he would indicate whether vehicles were required or not.
The Meeting then adjourned.
w.H.K.
No. -16/37A
Political
Agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
,
Bahrain,
The 171 tFebruary 1943
Copy forwarded to R.C.Maxwell-Darling, Esqr.,
Chief Locust Officer, Sharjah, for information.
Bahrain.
About this item
- Content
Correspondence, reports and other papers relating to efforts, undertaken by representatives of the Middle East Anti-Locust Unit (MEALU), to control desert locusts (first reported in western India in August 1942 (f 3)) along the Arab coast between Bahrain and Oman. The principal correspondents include: 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. at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield); the Chief Locust Officer (Reginald Charles Maxwell-Darling) and Locust Officer (Leslie Desmond Edward Foster Vesey-Fitzgerald) of MEALU, who arrived in Bahrain to carry out their work in October 1942; the Defence Officer for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel H T Hewitt); representatives of the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC); and representatives of the Bahrain shipping agent Gray, Mackenzie & Company.
The file includes:
- reports from Maxwell-Darling and Vesey-Fitzgerald, as well as from numerous other British officials from across the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. region, including the British Minister at Tehran, Sir Reader William Bullard, on locust observations. The observations include estimations of the size of swarms, movement and direction of insects, age and colour of animals;
- correspondence relating to arrangements for the shipment of locust poison bait from the Sudan Government in Khartoum, to Bahrain;
- correspondence relating to the arrangements of facilities for the MEALU team on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , chiefly arrangements for suitable vehicles (arranged with the assistance of CASOC and the Defence Officer for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ), experienced drivers and motor mechanics, finances, and rations;
- papers issued by MEALU, including instructions on reporting locust swarms (ff 136-137), and notes on locust campaigns in sparsely inhabited countries (ff 194-195, ff 385-386);
- a copy of a booklet entitled Methods of Locust Control , produced by the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research and published by the Government of India Press, Calcutta [Kolkota], 1941 (ff 226-236);
- a reprint of an academic journal article entitled Some results of studies of the Desert Locust (Schistocerca Gregaria, Forsk.) in India , by Rao Bahadur Y Ramchandra Rao (ff 266-278). The article is a reprint from the Bulletin of Entomological Research , volume 33, part 3, published December 1942;
- some papers relating to anti-locust activities in southern Iran.
The file contains a single letter in Arabic, a letter to 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. from the Ruler of Qatar, Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī (f 334).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (448 folios)
- Arrangement
The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 424-449) mirror the chronological arrangement.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 450; 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.
An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-423; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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‘File 16/37A-I Anti-Locust Measures’ [244r] (487/900), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/1544, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100034852387.0x000058> [accessed 23 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/1544
- Title
- ‘File 16/37A-I Anti-Locust Measures’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:5v, 7r:8v, 10r:12v, 16r:16v, 18r:20v, 22r:33v, 35r:36v, 38r:46v, 48r:60v, 63r:81v, 83r:88v, 91r:103v, 106r:118v, 120r:124v, 127r:131v, 134r:134v, 137r:147v, 149r:151v, 153r:156v, 158r:159v, 161r:167v, 169r:174v, 177r:177v, 184r:185v, 187r:187v, 189r:189v, 191r:193v, 195r:197v, 200r:201v, 203r:208v, 210r:211v, 213r:215v, 220r:225v, 238r:241v, 243r:246v, 255r:263v, 279r:280v, 286r:288v, 291r:291v, 293r:298v, 303r:303v, 308r:312v, 316r:318v, 320r:323v, 325r:332v, 336r:336v, 338r:339v, 342r:343v, 347r:349v, 351r:351v, 358r:359v, 363r:363v, 365r:369v, 372r:372v, 376r:384v, 388r:388v, 390r:392v, 397r:397v, 399r:402v, 405r:405v, 409r:412v, 415r:415v, 418r:449v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence