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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎184r] (372/1062)

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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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conscription or taxation, there is widespread doubt as to whether it is ^ 4
declare oneself a Hejazi and put oneself at the mercv of thl “ fer to
to claim foreign nationality and risk their vindictiveness^ TW 6 ™™^*
other arrests, including that of a clerk in the now vacant Te™ ' S tal ^ 0t
who is said to be a Turkish subject. 4 Germa n consulate,
UUi)
»««,„•. «„ «,
P.Z.-5159|32.
Enclosure m Foreign Office covering letter dated 24th August 1932.
Despatch from His Majesty’s Minister, Jedda, to the Foreign Office, London
JMos 3ol, dated the 2nd August 1932. ’
With reference to your despatch No. 149 (E.-22o8|156|25) of May 17 I have
the honour to state that Mr. van Leeuwen, the financial adviser of the HeS
Government, left Jedda for Europe on July 29th on three months leave of absence!
2. Mr. van LeeuweH, who has suffered a good deal from fever of late told
me that he was leaving under imperative doctor’s orders. He has found Me
very trying m the quarters placed at his disposal by the Heiazi
Government, as he has had no modem amenities and no separate office a.vmnmo
dation. He appears to have every intention of returning three months hence •
none of remaining in this country longer than his contract binds him to stay.
,. u , 3 - 14r ’ X an , Leeu , wei1 is not communicative regarding his work here.
Although he has been kept pretty busy, I do not think he finds his position very
satisfactory or is given much scope for real financial reorganization. He
speaks well of the Director General of Finance but says that Sheykh Abdullah
buieyman has far too much to do. He himself complains as we all do of the
lack ot contact with governing circles ; and he appears to have no staff’to help
mm, except a Syrian clerk who left the service of Messrs. Gellatly Hankey and
Company under a heavy cloud a couple of years ago.
( 102 )
{Received &n 17th September 1932, ivith Political Secretary’s letter No. 35,
dated 1st September 1932.)
P.Z.-5220|32. >'■ •
Demi-official letter from Gr. W. Render, Esq., Foreign Office, to T. L. Renton,
> Esq.J Department of Overseas Trade, No. E.-3884|3802|91, dated the
25th August 1932.
On the 17th August Warner sent you a copy of our official letter
Ao. E.-8884j3802|91 of the 10th August, to Mr. J. P. Mitchell [Enclosure 3 to
kenal No. (97)] about that gentleman’s scheme for obtaining a mining con
cession in the Yemen.
. 2. In spite of our request in paragraph 3 of that letter that he should write
h he had any new points to raise, Mr. Mitchell, accompanied by Mr. Boucher,
called here again on August 22nd. They had nothing new to say regarding the
concession although they made no effort to conceal their disappointment at what
they considered our unhelpful attitude and contrasted it unfavourably with the
policy of the Italian Government who—they alleged—were doing their utmost
to further Italian penetration in the Yemen (though, I believe, with very meagre
results).
3. They then revealed the real object of their visit. Mr. Mitchell has
apparently made up his mind to send Mr. Sakaf once more to the Yemen, in the
hope of securing a revision of the draft concession, and he thinks that it wifi be
pecessary for him to be accompanied by a qualified engineer such as Mr. Boucher.
Pus suggestion was that this engineer might be useful to His Majesty’s Gov
ernment as a negotiator with the Imam or alternatively that His Majesty’s
Government should pay Mr. Sakaf’s expenses in return for his supplying them
with any information which he may obtain during his stay in the Yemen.

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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.' [‎184r] (372/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/mirador/81055/vdc_100061765164.0x0000ad> [accessed 13 June 2026]

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