Skip to item: of 574
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

'File VII/1. Telegraphic Connection to Kuwait.' [‎265r] (559/574)

This item is part of

The record is made up of 1 file (270 folios). It was created in 13 Aug 1904-7 Feb 1930. It was written in English, Arabic and Hindi. 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.

Apply page layout

r
right The balances were always troublesome ; a section would get stopped for a
few hours, but now the staff had been able to synchronise the speed of the cable all
the way through by a system of relays. By means of this system of relays, as the
message came into the station it was automatically shot through and given another
boost on the line. Another important thing about it was that if there was an
error in any signal it was corrected at the succeeding station, and went on correct;
so that if it left London right it must get to Bombay correct.
The time taken telegraphically was, of course, infinitesimal. One of the first
sections dealt with in that way was the one between London and Cape Town, and
one of the tests applied was to press a button in London, and arrange for a man
at the Cape Town end to press another button when he saw the signal come through,
and the reply had come back in i£ seconds. That was practically instantaneous,
allowing for the time taken by the man to respond to the signal, which might
take half a second.
Before such an audience as that he was tempted to say a few words about the
importance of an enterprise which perhaps was not quite fully appreciated.
In the war it would have been impossible to carry on without the telegraphs. He
had been at the Admiralty as Director of Operations, and the communications
received by cable were a very big factor in winning the war. Once a submarine
got in near Lisbon, and cut a cable. Another incident which came to his notice was
when he had been in command of the fleet which was trying to hunt down the
“ Emden.” The crew of the “ Emden ” had landed at Cocos and smashed up
everything, but luckily the staff had buried all the spare instruments in the
sand, and as soon as the enemy went away the staff dug them up and restored
communication in a few hours. Then again in the Falkland Island the Pacific
cable was cut. Unfortunately the staff, though they had buried the instruments
in the sand, put up a placard in the office to say where they were, which was
rather silly, and therefore the enemy knew exactly where to find them.
The lecturer had mentioned the number of free messages that were carried.
He might add that the Eastern Telegraph Company carried millions of words
free for the soldiers of the Empire, and they were only too proud and thankful
to be able to do it.
Mr. H. L. M. Tritton (Chairman, Indo-European Telegraph Company, Ltd.,)
said Mr. Simpson had truly remarked that his Department was not very much
in the public eye, but for all that it, filled a role which was very important both
from a strategic and from a commercial point of view. The lecturer had referred to
the difficulties and dangers which were so successfully surmounted in the early
days, and that audience could not but be struck by the indomitable courage of those
pioneer officers of the Department. The foundations of that great undertaking
were indeed well and truly laid, and the same spirit which animated those pioneers
was very evident in their successors to-day. As Chairman of the Indo-European
Telegraph Company he wished to emphasise the close working which existed
between the Company and the Department, and also the Eastern Company, as
Admiral Grant had just explained. As had already been pointed out, since 1870
the Indo-European Telegraph Company had worked in the closest co-operation
with the Department, and, as a result, direct communication was obtained between
London and Teheran and Teheran and Karachi, and he might add that for about
the last twenty years instantaneous communication by means of the Company’s
and the Department’s lines had been achieved over a distance of 5,300 miles between
-

About this item

Content

The file contains correspondence related to the establishment of a wire connection between Kuwait and the Bushire-Fao cable. The correspondence is mainly about the site where the wireless telegraph station at Kuwait would be, the measurements, and the cost. In 1914 construction started, and in 1916 the wireless station opened at Kuwait. The file also contains correspondence about surveying work taking place around Kuwait, as well as correspondence about the recruitment of a surveyor to undertake the work.

The file includes an introductory booklet (folios 256-269) under the title, ‘The Indo-European Telegraph Department’, written by Maurice G Simpson, Director-in-Chief, Indo-European Telegraph Department, and published in 1928.

The main correspondence is between the following: the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , Kuwait; the Foreign Department for the Government of India; the British Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. and Consulate General, Bushire; 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. ; the Political Office, Basra; and the Basra Survey Party.

Extent and format
1 file (270 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 272; 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. Two additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 1-271 and ff 3-80; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English, Arabic and Hindi in Latin and Arabic script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

'File VII/1. Telegraphic Connection to Kuwait.' [‎265r] (559/574), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/16, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100041783545.0x0000a0> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

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_100041783545.0x0000a0">'File VII/1. Telegraphic Connection to Kuwait.' [&lrm;265r] (559/574)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100041783545.0x0000a0">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000831.0x0003ab/IOR_R_15_5_16_0559.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

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_100000000831.0x0003ab/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image