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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎57v] (119/1062)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (527 folios). It was created in 6 Jan 1929-15 Jan 1938. It was written in English and French. 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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Letter from the British Legation, Jedda, to the Foreign Office,
No. 267, dated 12th September 1936.
I have the honour to refer to your printed despatch No. 215 of the
20th August transmitting the record of Mr. Sterndale-Bennett’s interview
with Lord Castle Stewart and Mr. K. S. Twitchell of the 5th August, ana
in accordance with your instructinons to furnish my observations on the
various questions touched on during the conversation.
2. It is interesting to observe that the Saudi Arabian Mining
Syndicate's London officials were apparently welLsatisfied with the pro
gress made so faT in this country and that they had hitherto encountered
no serious difficulties. The claim that the prospects at Wejh are en
couraging is made here with some confidence, but as regards the Mahd-
ad-Dhahab I have for some time derived the impression from certain
members of the Syndicate’s personnel that the future of these workings
depends entirely on whether an adequate water supply can be assured,
that the London Board regard the question as one of great importance
von id appear from the fa^r that since I reported on this subject in
despatch No. 225 of the 28th July last [S. No. (67)], they have sent out,
(Signed) J. C. STERNDALE BENNETT.
The 10th August 1936.
, a -mPTipan companies in Saudi-Arabia were not likely
in the operation of American co p ^ to gee Hig Maj /
to take any active steps and he f^his ^ SaJldi _ Arabia . ^ ^
Government increasing th eed ^ jf probab ly would not do to give any
and Lord Castle btewa g Saudis and they disclaimed any suggestion
appearance of runn j? ment should enter into competition with the
that His Majesty s senting aeroplanes to the Saudis. What
Italians and the F w | s that the Italians might at some
futu're^sSge t^ t'o g " hole! of the landing grounds which the Saudi-
'Arabian hf'nin y Syndicate is making for its own use within its concession
Arabian Mini y ^ ^ would bg well worth whll for Hls Majesty’s
area. They s“gg whether the Saudis could not be attracted to this
Government to co facilities for training air pilots in the United
HSTl said that I thought there might be difficulties about this as
His Majesty’s Government’s own hands were pretty full at present with
air force expansion. However. I said that we would certainly consider
whether anything on the lines suggested was feasible.
Lord Castle Stewart said that the company had met with a certain
amount of difficulty from the health point of view. A number of their
employees had suffered from undefined illnesses and one or two had d,ed.
The company were therefore taking steps to engage the services of an
expert from the London School of Tropical Medicine to make a special study
which would last for some months. They would propose to present the
results of this study to the Saudi Government and it occurred to Lord
Castle Stewart that one way of extending our influence would be m the
field of medicine in Saudi Arabia. He seemed to have some idea of estab
lishing a permanent medical adviser to the company who would also give
the benefit of his advice to the Saudi authorities. I said that the idea of
communicating to the Saudi Government the results of any expert investi
gation which the company might undertake seemed to me a useful one.
As to the establishment of any permanent medical advisers I advised
Lord Castle Stewart to keep in the closest touch with His Majesty s
Legation at Jedda in view of the difficulties which the Saudis seemed in
clined to place in the way of foreign practitioners at the moment. I
advised him to look very closely into the regulations which had recently
been issued in regard to medical practitioners and foreign dispensaries
anrl tn makA nnitp, sure of keening within the law of such regulations.

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Content

This volume compiles printed copies of letters, telegrams, memoranda and newspaper extracts relating to Britain's involvement across the Arabian Peninsula during the period 1929-1938. Whilst the correspondence encompasses all matters concerning British interests in the region, much of it relates to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia). Matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:

  • Reports of unrest in the Hejaz.
  • Relations between Imam Yeha Hamid-Ud-Din [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn, Imam of Yemen] and Ibn Saud.
  • Reports of raids and arms trafficking on the Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan -Nejd frontier.
  • Reports of the proceedings of British naval ships in the Red Sea.
  • Details of the Akhwan [Ikhwan] revolt against Ibn Saud, including the movements of one of the revolt's leaders, Faisal Dawish [Fayṣal bin Sulṭān al-Dawīsh], and his surrender to the British in Kuwait.
  • Relations between Kuwait and Nejd.
  • Relations between Iraq and Nejd, including a proposed meeting between Ibn Saud and King Faisal [Fayṣal] of Iraq, and reports of a treaty of alliance between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
  • Objections from the Hejaz Government to Royal Air Force aircraft flying over Nejd territory.
  • The purchase of arms by the Hejaz Government from Poland.
  • Ibn Saud's annexation of Asir.
  • The death of King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī].
  • Harry St John Bridger Philby's conversion to Islam, his mapping of Rub-al-Khali, and his reported spreading of Saudi propaganda in the Aden Protectorate.
  • The currency exchange crisis in the Hejaz-Nejd and the financial situation in the kingdom generally.
  • Reports on a survey of the water and mineral content of the Hejaz coastal area.
  • Relations between Soviet Russia and Saudi Arabia.
  • The emigration of Jews from Yemen to Palestine, via Aden.
  • British fears that Italy might harbour ambitions to annex Yemen.
  • Saudi oil concessions.
  • Italian-Saudi relations.

Prominent correspondents include the following: the British Agent (later His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires) at Jeddah; His Majesty's Minister at Jeddah; the High Commissioner for Egypt; the High Commissioner for Iraq; the High Commissioner for Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan ; 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. , Kuwait; 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. (later Chief Commissioner, and later still, Governor), Aden; 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. ; His Majesty's Ambassador to Iraq; His Majesty's Ambassador to Italy; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Minister (and Acting Minister) for Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia); Ibn Saud; King Feisal of Iraq; the Prime Minister of Iraq; various officials of the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office, the Air Ministry, and the Admiralty.

The French material in the volume consists of several items of correspondence and a copy of a treaty between France and Yemen, which was signed in April 1936.

The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (527 folios)
Arrangement

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

The items of correspondence are divided (roughly) into various sections. Each extract or item of correspondence within these sections has its own number, which is enclosed in brackets. These numbers proceed in ascending (and approximate chronological) order from left to right; however, the sections themselves proceed in reverse, from the rear to the front of the volume, in distinct groups (e.g. for 1929 numbers 1-23, which are located at folios 517-526, are followed by numbers 24-49 at folios 509-516, which are then followed by numbers 50-89 at folios 494-508, and so on).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 529; 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.

Pagination: each section of correspondence within the volume (as described in the arrangement field) has its own pagination sequence.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎57v] (119/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765163.0x000078> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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