Coll 5/25 ‘Air Route to India (Arab Coast): Landing ground at Bahrain; Bahrain Civil Air Agreement’ [‎273r] (545/1088)

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Content

The file contains correspondence related to negotiations surrounding the Bahrain Civil Air Agreement (1934) between the British Government and the Government of Bahrain, along with subsequent amendments and renewals, and issues arising from the implementation of the agreement. Occasional reference is made to similar agreements with Kuwait, Muscat, and Sharjah. It also covers the preliminary negotiations in 1933 between Imperial Airways and the Government of Bahrain, and the file contains three draft versions of this agreement: see folios 489-495, 516-518, and 533-539. The latter negotiations are superseded by negotiations for the Civil Air Agreement, following a decision to standardise civil aviation procedures across the Arab Shaikhdoms.

Issues related to Muharraq Aerodrome and the Manama Flying Boat base are also covered in the file, which includes the application of a legal definition of an aerodrome to Bahrain, and efforts to define the geographical extent of these air bases. This includes negotiations with the Government of Bahrain for the purchase of additional land round the Muharraq Airfield for the Royal Air Force (RAF), and the extension of facilities such as the pier at Manama. A sketch map produced by the Government of Bahrain in 1944 can be found on folio 133 in relation to a proposal from the British Government to acquire an area – referred to as area 'C' – adjacent to the Muharraq Aerodrome for the RAF.

A map can be found on folio 245 showing the approaches to Bahrain harbour, which is included as a result of negotiations to establish a flying boat service through Bahrain in 1937.

The Arabic language content is limited to a copy of the Bahrain Civil Air Agreement (1934), which contains both Arabic and English translations (see folios 332-348), and a few items of additional correspondence with the Shaikh of Bahrain, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah [Shaikh, Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah].

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. (Trenchard Craven William Fowle, Hugh Weightman, and 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, officials of the Air Ministry, and 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. . Occasional reference is made to the Government of Bahrain via Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Government of Bahrain.

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 (542 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 543; 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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