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File 3360/1916 Pt 1 'Persian correspondence (1916-17)' [83r] (170/804)
The record is made up of 1 volume (398 folios). It was created in 1916-1917. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
5
34
No. C.-22, dated Meshed, the Ilth May (received 8th June) 1917 (Confidential).
From-W RN ANT.CoLON E L W. G. Grey, His Britannic Majesty's Consul-
General and Agent of the Government of India in Khorasan,
To—-The Hon'ble Mr A H. Grant, C.S.I., C.I.E., Foreign Secretary to the
Government of India in the Foreign and Political Department.
In continuation of my telegram No. 33-C., dated 5th May 1917, I have
the honour to submit the following report in connection with the German
messengers and their secret agent in Meshed who have recently been captured.
The two letters carried by one of the messengers, and a statement made by
Abd-ul-Wahab, the agent referred to, forms enclosures (i) and (ii) to this
despatch.
2. As mentioned in my diary No. 18, Saiyid Husain bin Saiyid Bahira»
the first messenger, was arrested at Karez and sent in to Meshed by our
agent there. He was in the employ of Haji Ghulam Husain, the Herat
chemist, spoken of in my letter to His Majesty’s Minister at Tehran, a copy
of which was sent to you with my letter No. C.-12, dated 22nd March last,
and had been procured by him for this mission at the request of Wagner’s
servants. Whether the Haji intended to help the German party or to help
us according to his promise, or both, is doubtful; but it is certain that from
personal experience and knowledge of the fate which befell Ahmad
Barbari on his last venture he must have been perfectly well assured that
Baiyid Husain’s chances of escaping detection on the Karez route were very
small, and that travelling without a passport would not help him. It is also
significant that Saiyid Hussain declined to travel with Ahmad Barbari, the
second messenger.
3. Saiyid Husain on arrival here handed over £ 10 in gold which
had been entrusted to him by the German party for delivery to the agent
Abd-ul-Wahab to whom Ahmad Barbari, the second messenger, was to
introduce him; and informed us of the approximate date and hour at which
he was to meet Ahmad, who was coming by another route, in the Meshed
Shrine. Arrangements were made to arrest Ahmad, and this was done with
out difficulty at the proposed rendezvous. He denied having brought letters,
but admitted having met Abd-ul-Wahab, the man to whom he was to intro
duce Saiyid Husain, earlier in the day. Abd-ul-Wahab was duly arrested in
the
caravanserai
A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers).
indicated by Ahmad as his residence and brought to this
office where his effects were examined.
4. Among them letter No. 1 was found. Abd-ul-Wahab at first denied
that any other had been given to him, but after some persuasion admitted
that a second letter from the same
writer
The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping.
had been handed over by Ahmad
Barbari which he had concealed in the flooring of his room at the
caravanserai
A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers).
.
This having been unearthed proved to be the attached letter No. 2 ; and the
reason for particular care having been shewn in guarding it, with that for the
despatch ot cash for Abd-ul-Wahab, are eTident from its contents. I he
arrest of Ahmad Barbari and Abd-ul-Wahab, and the discovery of the letters,
reflect credit upon Jamadar Sharbat Ali Khan and Barash Murad Ah, the
assistants of Lieutenant-Colonel Redl, General Staff Officer, Intelligence, who
were charged with these duties.
5. Ahmad Barhari appears on this occasion to have travelled by rail
via Merv and Kahka, and thence to Meshed on foot; and his 0l!0U P' e
about the same time as that of Saiyid Husain / h ®f c 1 ‘ e0 ^ 0U t t h e e -
It was not expected by us for several reasons, not the least of which was
fni - lnrA hie Hof mission, that Ahmad would return to Herat, and it came
a m prise o fl nd that he had done so. He did not give Wagner any m orm-
a sm prise to nna • bl se to him and would scarcely be able to do
ation that could be ot appreciate use uu . remaining
so now, but I think that he had better be sent to ^ tbe
period of the war, and will refer this question to you by telegraph.
About this item
- Content
The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, and memoranda, comprising miscellaneous correspondence on British involvement in Persia in the period 1916-17.
Topics discussed include:
- the activities of the German Vice-Consul, Bushire, Wilhelm Wassmuss, including reports of an attack on him (folio 312)
- an account of the escape of German and Austrian prisoners (folio 281)
- translations of letters from German prisoners transferred from Shiraz to Russia (ff 43-48) including a translation of Dr Zugmeyer's diary
- discussion of German and Russian activities in Persia
- tables, statistics and reports on troop numbers and weaponry, deployments, military engagements and casualties
- British relations with local chiefs and their dealings with the Germans and Russians
- transcripts of local newspaper articles on various topics including the Russian Revolution (folio 136v)
- discussion of money required to pay to tribes
- miscellaneous Army Department memoranda
- general reports on the political and military situation in Persia including the 'Bakhtiari country' (ff 320-321)
The file is mainly divided into sections on events by weekly date period. Correspondents include: the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign and Political Department; HBM Minister, Tehran (Sir Charles Marling); HBM Consul, Bundar Abbas [Bandar Abbas]; HBM Consul, Shiraz; HM Consul-General, Meshed; HM Consul for Kerman and Persian Baluchistan, (David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer); HBM Vice-Consul, Ahwaz (Captain Edward Noel); HM Consul-General, Isfahan; General Officer Commanding, Sistan Field Force; The General Staff, South Persia Rifles, Shiraz; the Inspector-General, South Persia Rifles (Brigadier-General Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes); Chief of the General Staff, Simla; Chief of the Imperial General Staff, London; 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. , Bushire; and the Deputy 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. , Bushire.
Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (398 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file. The subject 3360 (Persian Correspondence) consists of three volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/612-614. The volumes are divided into three parts, with each part comprising 1 volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 400; 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 View the complete information for this record
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File 3360/1916 Pt 1 'Persian correspondence (1916-17)' [83r] (170/804), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/612, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100044323281.0x0000ab> [accessed 19 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/612
- Title
- File 3360/1916 Pt 1 'Persian correspondence (1916-17)'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:76r, 78r:106r, 114r:121r, 122r, 123v:124r, 126r:129v, 131r:146v, 148v:178r, 179v:208v, 211r:214r, 216r:244r, 246v:300v, 306v:309v, 313v:321r, 324r:326v, 328r:339v, 341r:399v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence