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Coll 5/83 ‘Re-Fuelling facilities for R.A.F and USATC at Bahrain’ [‎21r] (41/429)

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The record is made up of 1 file (213 folios). It was created in 14 Jan 1944-10 Oct 1947. 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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Mr»Donaldson■ fa/’ ( f>'-
Please see the Petroleum Division’s letter of 28th
August below.
In case a meeting is called on this subject while I am
away it may be worth while ray letting you have a note on it.
The trouble has arisen because the Bahrein Bstroleum Company
clairn^under Article ^^of their concession which gives them
’’the exclusive right to contract and operate the^ineries and
storage tanks within the Sheik’s Dominions", that nobody
except themselves has the right to erect and operate petrol
tanks for the refuelling of aircraft on the aerodromes. The
legal question is a complicated one and we are not disposed to
admit Bahrein Petroleum Company ’ s claim though we have wished
to avoid a dispute with them on the subject. The question is
discussed at length in the note flagged at 'X* and paragraph 3
of it represents the Legal Adviser’s views.
You will see from their letter 28th August that Petroleum
Division have now suggested that the time has come when we
should face the issue with the Bahrein Petroleum Company.
Prom 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. point of view it is desirable in peace
no less than in war that we should avoid unpleasantness with
the Bahrein Petroleum Company where possible, but if the other
departments consider we must have a showdown we cannot press
our point too far. 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. has advocated
that, if the legal position must be argued with the Bahrein
Petroleum Company, it should be done in London and not in
Bahrein. At the earlier stage when it was contemplated that a
communication should be made to the Bahrein Petroleum Company
merely reserving our rights on the position, we agreed with
the view of the Air Ministry that it would be better for the
coninunication to be made in Bahrein in the first instance in
order to avoid if possible a legal dispute developing. If,
however, it is now suggested that we should have a showdown
with the Bahrein Petroleum Company on the matter I think that
the communication should be made in London* (presumably by the
Air Ministry^ to the Bahrein Petroleum Ccmpary in the first
instance. /
. , ^ ■
^ Ptwkv~-

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Content

The file contains papers concerning refuelling arrangements for the Royal Air Force (RAF), the United States Army Transport Command (USATC), and the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), during the Second World War (1939-1945) and into the post-war period. In particular, the distribution of contracts for refuelling services between the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO). It therefore covers developments at the Manama Sea Plane Anchorage and the Muharraq Aerodrome. A great deal of correspondence in the file focuses on legal discussion over the extent of BAPCO's monopoly over the erection of bulk fuel storage tanks in Bahrain, and whether this overrules the right of the British Government to provide refuelling facilities at aerodromes granted under the Bahrain Civil Aviation Agreement.

A sketch map showing a proposed oil pipeline from Sitra Island to the landing ground on Murharraq Island can be found on folio 59.

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. (Sir Charles Geoffrey Prior and Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), 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. (Horace Algernon Fraser Rumbold, and Roland Tennyson Peel), officials of the Ministry of Fuel and Power (Eric Alfred Berthoud, Keith Lievesley Stock, and W D Mansell-Davis), and local RAF authorities.

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 (213 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 inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 214; 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.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 5/83 ‘Re-Fuelling facilities for R.A.F and USATC at Bahrain’ [‎21r] (41/429), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2045, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049676104.0x00002c> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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