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Coll 5/81 ‘Facilities for U.S. Air Transport Corps at Bahrein and Sharjah’ [‎135r] (269/291)

The record is made up of 1 file (144 folios). It was created in 30 Nov 1943-9 Jul 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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- ii -
wety to kltth£».rra.q aeroGroiufc a-bout 3 p«Bi# on the 17 th and agtin
met him the same evening. i underetano that neither meeting
was by appointment but Doth appear to have been completely
accicental. The Air Liaison Officer mentioned that he had
telephoned to ^a w or Rice alter his conversations with &r.
Bel grave and that he had told him that he had sounded the
Bahrain Government unofficially and die not expect that
they would have any objection to the proposals.
4 . l iniormea the Air Liaison Officer that it ?^s clearly
wrong oi him to have had any cirect coniTsunication whatsoever
with the Bahrain Govemrr.ent on an important matter like this,
and that he most uncoubtecly should have approaches me in
the first instance. i pointec out to him that by going
direct to the Aoviser anc then ini ormeng JLa^or Rice of the
result ol his conversation, however un-oiiicinl it might have
been, he may have ver> seriously hanaicappec us in our future
dealings with the United States authorities in reg&rc to the
present proposal•
The Air liaison Officer said that he was extremely
sorry for what had occurred and that it had been bis inten
tion to see me first but the purely chance meetings with the
Aoviser had seemed to offer a good opportunity of ment/
the subject there sne then. y
b. in regard to our attitude towards this propoe
can •invasion* I told the Air Liaison Officer that#
to confirmation by Sir Geoffrey Prior the n or. ’ bib the a a*
ticai Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , it was my opinion tnat
there should be no cirect dealin 0 between the Bahrain
Government ana the American Ari^y authorities or if possible
between them and the Politico! Agent. 1 wo Id prefer to
see them essentially a part of the Royal Air Force organiza^rl
tion in much the same position as the present "Staging i'Oat’ 5
on Kaharraq Island, for they will merely be a staging post
for American aircraXt. i also saic that i would prefer that b
their dealings with the Political Authorities should be
through the Senior Royal Air iorce Officer on the station
who would presumably be the Station Commbnder anc that there
should nd>t be any question of lane being leased to the
American Arty authorities but that they should be^scev Ja-—
dated on lane already leased or to be leasee tx? th» voyai
Air iorce.
The Air Liaison Officer said that he *4ulc convey my
views to Air-Vice-karsha 11 R.P. Willock, C.B#po was
expected to arrive on the lai th Poveiiiber, en-youte to - dtn
where he was to conier with the A ii Officer Jomcaiic ing
Ceylon anc the Air Off icer Commanding Aden./ 6
6. On his arrival A ir-Vice-f arshall i?l° c k who vas
accompanied by Group Captain Alexander, Grdiijp.^^hipta^in Brown,
Colonel Clements anc v ing Comraander Kirk, asked me tgp^gh't.
the Air Liaison Officer to go round in the evening anc
him. Ttiere was no mention of any official meeting $
i was somewhat surprised on my arrival at the Air L^
Officer’s house to line what amounted to a serion
in progress anc Kr. Lloyd Taylor tne Regional
British Overseas Airways Corporation in attend;/

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Content

The file contains papers related to the provision of facilities for the United States Air Transport Command at both Bahrain and Sharjah. This includes policy and strategy discussions over how best to maintain British control of the Arabian Coast Air Route; British planners feared that the United States might use facilities, built using American personnel and finance, as a lever for post-war concessions in civil aviation. It therefore includes correspondence related to the leasing of land, and the construction of buildings, by the Royal Air Force (RAF) for the use of the United States.

A map showing Bahrain Oil Company (BAPCO) establishments in Bahrain can be found on folio 127, and a table showing the facilities required by the United States can be found on folio 102.

The main correspondents are as follows: 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Charles Geoffrey Prior), 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 (Tom Hickinbotham), officials of the Air Ministry, officials of 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. (Roland Tennyson Peel, Francis Anthony Kitchener Harrison, and Dennis Mackrow Cleary), officers of Air Headquarters in Iraq, and representatives of the External Affairs Department of the Government of India.

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 (144 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 for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 145; 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.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 5/81 ‘Facilities for U.S. Air Transport Corps at Bahrein and Sharjah’ [‎135r] (269/291), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2043, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100041295915.0x000048> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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