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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎142r] (288/1062)

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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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dance with the authority contained in Colonial a, * xt ™
30th May 1029. 010mal office despatch, No. 22, dated the
(46)
(Received by Air Mail under No. P. Z.- 2603 \ 34 .)
Enclosure m Foreign Office covering letter, dated 18th April 1934
I™ ili0M THE * Office, to J. H. E. Woods, Esq., M.Y.,,.. No E -21041
7z|2o, DATED the 17th Apeil 1934.
We have sent you officially in our letter No. E.-2104[72-25 of the 17th Anril
a copy of Kyan s confidential despatch No. 76 (7371124 18) of the 20th Marc
regarding a project for a bank in Saudi-Arabia which has been started bv a
certain Mr Abdul Gham Ydlibi Ydlibi is a British subject of Syrian origin
who is head of a small company m Manchester. We had some dealings with him
in 1932 when he was attempting to form a syndicate in order to prospect in oU
and minerals m the Hejaz. His prospects were thought by the Department of
Overseas 1 rade to be poor and he himself did not inspire confidence. Beside
Lie banK project referred to in Evan’s despatch, he is now attempting to secure
from 1 bn baud an oil concession in the neutral zone between Koweit and Saudi-
Arabia on behalf of a syndicate, some at any rate of the members of which are
also connected with the Eastern and General syndicate.
2. He apparently expects to obtain the support of a British bank for his own
bank scheme. If yon should learn anything' of any moves in this country con
nected with the latter project, we should be glad to know of them and we should
of course welcome any observations you may wish to offer on Byan’s despatch.
3. 1 am sending copies of this letter to Farrer at the Department of Overseas
Trade, Blaxter at the Colonial Office and Laithwaite at 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. .
(47)
Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter, dated 17th April 1934.
(Received on 5th May 1934, with Political Secretary’s letter No. 16, dated
19th April 1934.)
Lei ter from His Majesty’s Minister, Jedda, to the Foreign Office, No. 67
(666|124jl6), dated the 13th March 1934.
With reference to my despatch No. 56 of February 27 [Serial No. (33) j,
I have the honour to state that I had occasion to call on the Saudi Minister of
Finance on March 11 and took the opportunity of speaking to him further about
the Hejaz Development Corporation/Ltd. I said that the further informa
tion 1 had received since onr last interview added little that was material to
what I had then told him, but that it certainly confirmed the view that the com
position of the Corporation was not such as to inspire much confidence. I then
explained that the registration of a company in England was a mere formality,
by which any group of persons could invest themselves with a corporate exist
ence, and meant nothing more.
2. Sheykh ’Abdullah Suleyman said that the Government had not wished
to leave the telegram, which he had shown me on February 11, unanswered.
They had, therefore, expressed readiness to receive proposals from any properly
authorised person. ’Abdul Hamid Bey Shedid had not been able to get any
thing definite from the Corporation before he left Jedda, but had since telegraphed
that they were sending a representative who was expected lo arrive in Egypt
on March 12 or 13. The Saudi Government had not replied to this telegram.
3. The Minister of Finance mentioned that, apart from their information
from His Majesty’s Government, the Saudi Government had had anfavouiable
accounts of the persons concerned in the Corporation from ^ ier 3 ? 1 } rces ' A;
gave me the impression of being quite wary. I gather from 1 i. hi w, w 0
doubtless one of the other sources mentioned in the fiist sen eioe o ls j - na '
graph, if not the only one, that the reason for not answering the latest ele. ram
from ’Abdul Hamid Shedid is that the Government do not ccmsidei Aat -
complies with the terms on which they had expressed rear mess (■
posals.
Enclosure 1 to Serial No. (47). n ^ \Ta 76
Letter prom His Majesty’s Minister, Jedda. to the Foreign Office, x
(7371124116), dated the 20th March L 34. _
With reference to my despatch No. >>7 of Htn Marc j ^ erea te
relative to the Hejaz Development Corporation, Ltd., am 1 l
LclOGFD

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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.' [‎142r] (288/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765164.0x000059> [accessed 13 June 2026]

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