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Coll 35/6 'Arabia: Hejaz-Nejd; wireless stations; postal and telegraph communications with the outside world' [‎368r] (735/1031)

The record is made up of 1 file (514 folios). It was created in 21 Sep 1925-17 Mar 1948. 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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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
rs
[E 3298/1492/25]
ITz7"
4271
1933
TiTT
June 21, 1933.
Section 1.
Sir A. Ryan to Sir John Simon.—(Received June 21.)
(No. 156.)
Sir, Jedda, May 26, 1933.
I AM reporting in a separate despatch on the commercial position in regard
to the wireless installation supplied to the Saudi Government by the Marconi
Company in 1931—32. As there has been some confusion in earlier reports,
ending with Mr. Hope Gill s printed despatch No. 70 of the 3rd March, as to the
distribution of the wireless stations now in operation in this country, I take the
opportunity of giving an up-to-date statement. The previous confusion has been
due to departures from the plan made in 1931 and to a certain amount of
transference of the older sets which were already in existence when the Marconi
contract was concluded. Even now it is difficult to obtain exact information on
all points, but I believe the list given in the following paragraph to be as accurate
as possible subject to the observations in the subsequent paragraphs. It is based
on the Saudi Government’s list enclosed in Mr. Hope Gill s despatch No. 70 of
the 3rd March, on a list which appeared almost simultaneously in the l mm-al-
Qura of the 24th February and on information from other sources.
2. The following is my consolidated list: —
New Marconi Stations —
6 kilowatt: Mecca and Riyadh.
\ kilowatt, fixed : Buraida, Hail, Hasa (Hofuf), Jedda, Jubail. Qaf
(Qariyat), Qatif and Tabuk.
\ kilowatt, mobile : Uqayr, Dawadmi, Taif and one set to accom
pany the King.
Other stations, provided with old Telefunken sets, available for tele
graphy only, with the exception of one old Marconi set:—
Abha, Al-Ula, (?) Dhaba, Jizan, Lith, Medina, Qunfida, Rabigh.
(?) Sabya, Skaka (Jauf), Wejh and Yanbu.
3. The above list accounts for all the sets provided for in the Marconi
contract, with the exception of one \ kilowatt fixed set. Mr. Philby tells me that
this was erected at Riyadh before the large station was built and that it is still
there.
4. Mr. Philby also states that the set at Uqayr has been dismounted from
its lorry and thereby converted into a fixed set. The station at Dawadmi takes
the place of that which was contemplated at Shaara. Dawadmi is, according
to the Handbook of Arabia, 409 miles from Mecca on the road to Riyadh and
15 miles beyond Shaara.
5. In the list of older sets, I have marked Dhaba and Sabya as doubtful.
The former is included in the list enclosed in Mr. Hope Gill's despatch No. 70
of the 3rd March, but not in the list published at the same time in the llmm-al-
Qura. The former list makes no mention of Sabya, but it is included in the
Umm-al-Qura list.
6. The Umm-al-Qura list shows Lith as having a station available both for
telegraphy and telephony. This is probably the one old Marconi set, as Lith is
known to have been supplied from Qunfida, which was formerly credited with a
set of this type. There is, however, some obscurity as to the rearrangement since
1930 of the pre-existing stations.
7. Mr. Philby tells me that the station at Jizan was put out of action during
the rebellion in Asir last winter. He speaks of it as requiring a new engine, but
my own impression is that it must have been already repaired, as Jizan is a crucial
point.
[823 x—1]

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Content

The file concerns postal communications in the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd and, later, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The file covers:

  • Desire of Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] to establish wireless stations in Hejaz and Nejd, 1926-29
  • Proposed wireless communication between Riyadh and Baghdad, to be provided by the Marconi Company, 1929
  • Training of local subjects, 1931
  • Contract with the Marconi Company, 1931
  • Establishment of postal communications between Hasa [al-Aḥsā’] and foreign countries via Bahrain, 1933
  • New wireless stations in Saudi Arabia, 1933
  • Proposed establishment of wireless telecommunications between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia: negotiations between Cable and Wireless and the Saudi Government, 1934-35
  • Saudi regulations regarding importation and licensing of wireless sets, 1935
  • Proposed conference at Jedda regarding wireless communications in Saudi Arabia, 1935
  • Discussion with Governor-General of Sudan and Cables and Wireless regarding the Jedda - Port Sudan Cable agreement, 1935-40
  • Post and wireless experts required by Saudi Government, 1938
  • Communications between Saudi Arabia and the United States for use of the Arabian American Oil Company, proposed wireless station at Dhahran, 1944.

The file is composed of correspondence between: the British Legation to Jeddah; the Foreign Office; 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. ; the High Commissioner for Iraq; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Air Ministry; the General Post Office in London; the Legation of Hedjaz and Nejd to London; the Political 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Bahrain; the Viceroy and Governor-General of India in Council; Cable and Wireless, Limited (Imperial and International Communications Limited); the Committee of Imperial Defence; the Governor-General of Sudan; the British Embassy in Cairo; the Resident Minister in Cairo; the United States Embassy in London; the British Embassy in Washington DC; Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO); and the Commonwealth Relations Office.

There is a newspaper cutting from The Times, and extracts from Um al-Qura and Sawt al-Hijaz.

Extent and format
1 file (514 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 515; 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 35/6 'Arabia: Hejaz-Nejd; wireless stations; postal and telegraph communications with the outside world' [‎368r] (735/1031), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/4109, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100060950280.0x00008a> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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