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Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎145v] (291/540)

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The record is made up of 1 file (268 folios). It was created in 18 Apr 1931-18 May 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. .

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34
n
& V
VI.— Aviation and Connected Matters.
Air Force.
162. The Saudi aircraft remained in the disused condition described in the
last report for the first five months of the year. On the 3rd June, however, two
“ White ” Russians, apparently a pilot and a mechanic, who had served in the
Hejaz in King Hussein’s time and whom the Saudi Government had engaged iii^^
Egypt, arrived in Jedda. They got to work quickly and found that three of the
Wapitis bought under the auspices of His Majesty’s Government—the fourth had
been ruined in the crash recorded in paragraph 164 of the report for 1931—needed
only tyres and spare parts to be made workable. They took the air on the 2nd July
and stuck to their job in spite of a bungled landing at Taif on the 5th July, which
did serious damage to one of the machines. Two further “ White ” Russians,
who came from Marseilles, and the wife of one of the first two arrived in Jedda
in November. The whole party was still there at the end of the year, but kept
very much to themselves.
163. Short flights were pretty frequent during the latter part of the year
and there were occasional flights between Jedda and Taif. Mention has been
made in paragraph 116 above of a longer outing, apparently connected with the
situation in the north. The machine which made that flight is stated to have
reached Wejh and Tebuk.
164. At the end of the year two Wapitis were definitely usable. It was not
certain whether the machine which crashed at Taif in July had ever been repaired
sufficiently to take the air again. The machine which crashed in 1931 and the
older aircraft inherited from the Hashimite regime may be written off as
completely useless.
165. The transfer of the air force from Jedda to a new base at Taif was
foreshadowed in an announcement in the Umm-al-Qura in July and seemed likely
to be effected in due course, although no definite action had been taken up to the
end of the year. The Minister of Finance, now also Deputy Minister of Defence,
displayed a good deal of interest in the whole subject of aerial development in
the latter part of the year and in the possibility of establishing an air service
between Mecca and Riyadh. A representative of Misr Airwork, who accom
panied Talaat Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. Harb’s party (see below) in November, attempted to interest
the Government in the products of that firm. The Minister of Finance was
thought to be considering also an American type of mass-produced aeroplane.
Other Aviation.
166. Talaat Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. Harb, who had flown from Egypt on the occasion of his
first visit in December 1933, flew again with his party in two aeroplanes in
November 1934; as already stated, he was apparently refused permission to go
by air to Riyadh, and he had to go by car from Yanbu to visit Medina on the
homeward journey. These and other indications show the caution of Ibn Saud
as regards flights by foreigners in the interior, but the two air voyages of Talaat
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. have familiarised at least some people in the Hejaz with the idea of civil
flying. The Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. may yet realise his dream of an air service for pilgrims. Such
an innovation, revolutionary as it seems, would be no more contrary to religious
principles than the many inventions the use of which Ibn Saud has generalised
in the face of opposition from Wahabi extremists.
Landing Grounds on the Hasa Coast.
167. No progress was made in 1934 towards an agreement with the Saudi
Government on this subject. As stated in paragraph 71, the matter was
mentioned tentatively in the September conversations with Fuad Bey in London.
Otherwise it remained in abeyance. Such incidents as occurred in the absence of
any understanding are mentioned in the following paragraph.
Alleged Violations of Saudi Territory.
168. The policy of spontaneously admitting and apologising for
unavoidable violations of Saudi territory by British aircraft continued to be
pursued with success during the year. It was followed in one case of accidental

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Content

This file contains copies of annual reports regarding the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia) during the years 1930-1938 and 1943-1944.

The reports were produced by the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard) and sent to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (and in the case of these copies, forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India), with the exception of the reports for 1943 and 1944, which appear to have been produced and sent by His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires at Jedda, Stanley R Jordan.

The reports covering 1930-1938 discuss the following subjects: foreign relations; internal affairs; financial, economic and commercial affairs; military organisation; aviation; legislation; press; education; the pilgrimage; slavery and the slave trade; naval matters. The reports for 1943 and 1944 are rather less substantial. The 1943 report discusses Arab affairs, Saudi relations with foreign powers, finance, supplies, and the pilgrimage, whilst the 1944 report covers these subjects in addition to the following: the activities of the United States in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East Supply Centre, and the Saudi royal family.

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (268 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 269; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at 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 present in parallel between ff 2-12 and ff 45-268; these numbers are also written in pencil but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎145v] (291/540), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2085, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036362871.0x00005c> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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