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Coll 6/70 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with Germany (Dr Grobba)' [‎20r] (39/179)

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The record is made up of 1 file (88 folios). It was created in 30 Nov 1928-8 Dec 1941. 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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S.W.l.
Downing Street,
3rd January, 1940.
SECPET.
My dear Lloyd,
I have now been able to consider more carefully
the very interesting meoioranduni about oil which you
sent me on the 13th December.
There is no need for me to comment on it in
detail, but it emphasises of course the strategic
importance to the Empire of the Middle East and of
ensuring that the activities of the oil companies
accord with the policy of His Majesty’s Government.
The memorandum only deals with mineral oil
and does not cover the possibility of the manufacture
of fuel oil and motor spirit from coal and vegetable
products. The technique of getting oil from coal
is now well established and I imagine that supplies
from this source might be a considerable supplement
to the world’s resources of mineral oil. As regards
oil from vegetable products, I am told by Dr.Aeizmann
that there have been very interesting developments
recently. We should perhaps be wise not to leave
these factors out of account in prognostications
about the more distant future.
Yours sincerely,
(Sgd.) LLOYD.
Geoffrey W. Lloyd, Esq., M.P.

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Content

This file concerns relations between the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia) and Germany. The material in the file dates from two periods: 1928-30 and 1939-41. Notable correspondents include the following: the British Agent at Jeddah (Herbert George Jakins); the High Commissioner, Egypt (George Ambrose Lloyd, Lord Lloyd); His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires to Jedda (Cecil Gervase Hope Gill); His Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo (Miles Wedderburn Lampson); His Majesty's Ambassador in Bagdad [Baghdad] (Sir Basil Cochrane Newton); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, Sir Reader William Bullard, and later, Hugh Stonehewer Bird); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Anthony Eden); officials of the Foreign Office.

The correspondence includes discussion of the following:

  • The conclusion of a treaty of friendship between Germany and the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd in April 1929.
  • The appointment of a German Consul in the Hejaz in 1931.
  • Anglo-Yemeni relations.
  • Reports in 1940 that Mussolini has been approached by Hitler with a request that the Italian Government should ask Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] to allow German diplomatic representative Dr Fritz Konrad Ferdinand Grobba to take residence Jedda.
  • Whether Ibn Saud should be urged by the British to refuse to receive Dr Grobba.
  • Italy's request for Saudi diplomatic representation in Rome.
  • Ibn Saud's requests for financial assistance from the British Government.
  • The reported arrival of eight German officers (in civilian disguise) in Iran, in late 1940.
  • Reports in 1940 of wireless communication between Riyadh and Germany.
  • Reports in November 1941 of pro-German Arabs having attempted to persuade Ibn Saud to call for an Arab congress to be held in Mecca or Medina during the pilgrimage.

In addition to correspondence the file includes a copy of an English translation of the aforementioned treaty.

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 (folio 2).

Extent and format
1 file (88 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 89; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 6/70 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with Germany (Dr Grobba)' [‎20r] (39/179), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2143, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100039503397.0x00002a> [accessed 18 April 2024]

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