Skip to item: of 1,154
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Coll 30/111 'British Naval Stations in: Establishments at Khor Quwai and Bahrain. Evacuation of Henjam and Basidu.' [‎397r] (798/1154)

The record is made up of 1 volume (572 folios). It was created in 24 Oct 1934-4 May 1937. It was written in English and Arabic. 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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

refuelling - oT - slbopa^reqJTFid careSrinveetfgatton: 8 " 1 ^
Khor Kuwai* at" any ^at^unru'so^ nedSelf eltabUstaent^nf
b arges t should X bo^transf erred' 3 ' to th6 tW ° eXlstin e
7. The oil barges at Henjam are at present kept filled
from two sources of supply. Firstly the small Anglo-Persian
Oil Company vqssqI Khuzistan visits Henjam on tier round of
the Gulf with oil and crated kerosine once in 3-4 weeks. As
she only carries about 70 tons of oil fuel this suffices
merely for topping up the barges and an Admiralty oiler is
directed to Henjam from time to time to fill them up.
8. The above arrangements can be followed at Bahrein,
but will be complicated by the fact that the large Admiralty
tankers cannot get into the Khor Kaliya and that there may be
difficulties in persuading the owners of the M Khuzistan n to
let her go in (though it would be quite practicable for her to
do so except at certain stages of the tide).
It will consequently be necessary when the oil barges
require to be filled by a large tanker for them to be towed to
the anchorage outside the Khor Kaliya by a sloop or a local
power boat and this may also be necessary when taking fuel from
"Khuzistan”•
Though inconvenient, this arrangement will be perfectly
practicable and the problem of fuel at Bahrein may be
simplified in the future either by the production of suitable
fuel by the Bahrein Oil Company or by the building of a small
Anglo-Persian Oil Company tanker for service in the Gulf #
which, I understand, is contemplated.
9. I anticipate that having oil fuel stocks at Bahrein
vill not entail any appreciable extra expenditure o- fue^.
:>ecause with the large endurance of the modern Sj-oop (Gw-j
niles at 10 knots) it is not usually necessary for ohem to
fuel during their normal period in the southern section o
the Gulf. (In actual practice sloops have refuel-©-, on an
average, every three weeks during the last year cm a
isually had over 50% of fuel remaining at the
10. Should, however, experience sh»w that an oll^stock
s necessary further east than Bahrein, - c j t !B f.
intainlng oil barges at Khor Kuwai ^ the custody
retaker of the small e^abixshment there might he^ ^
.A.P. fuel barges are maintained f 11 ""T be
ly local watchers) or alternative y ? ooa i contractor,
intained at tluscat under the care of^^l inf , orms me that he
The Honourable the 1 o:Lltl °^7 fl - n i tahment of a stock of
es not consider that .re-establishment^o ooal
val fuel at Muscat (oil m the p oomp iioation.
ock) could possibly lead to any political compu
T citronglv recommend that should
11. In any case, I s t r ° n S ^ t0 re fuel in the mouth
,al circumstances require a £ . th0 s Qn i 0 r Naval
le Gulf without returning t iged t0 arrange with
^er, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , should Abadan , for an Admiralty
•alty Inspector of Oil f^af or elsewhere in the
■ to be directed to Khor Kuwai or ei
lity to fuel the sloop direci.
n o

About this item

Content

The file concerns the evacuation of the British naval stations at Henjam [Jazīreh-ye Hengām] and Basidu [Bāsaʻīdū, Qeshm], in Iran (generally referred to in the papers as Persia), and the transfer of naval facilities to a new main station at Bahrain (also spelled Bahrein) and a subsidiary station at Khor Quwai (also spelled Khor Kuwai), Musandam, in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The British Government had become aware that the legal basis for their occupation of Basidu was very weak, and that it would probably be impossible to oppose a determined effort by the Iranian Government to assert their claims to Basidu. In addition, between 1932 and 1934 there had been a change in the relative importance to the United Kingdom of the Arab and Iranian coasts of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the Arab side was now viewed as being more important, as a result of (a) the transfer of the air route to the Arab Coast in 1932, and (b) the discovery of oil at Bahrain, and its probable existence in other parts of the Arab coast. For these reasons, it was felt desirable to move the base of British naval operations in the area (Foreign Office memorandum, folios 221-225).

The main correspondents are the Foreign Office; the Admiralty; senior British naval officers; HM Minister, Tehran (Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull Hugesson); and 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle).

The papers include: discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of establishing a naval station at Khor Quwai (folios 539-571); issues raised by Muscat's position as an independent state, and the Anglo-French Declaration of 1862 (folios 529-538); minutes of meetings at the Foreign Office and the Admiralty; the question of the reaction of the Iranian Government; discussion of the announcement of the withdrawal; negotiations with the Sultan of Muscat [Sa'īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa'īd] over Khor Quwai; the removal of stores from Henjam; the question of the protection of British cemeteries at Henjam and Basidu (e.g. Iranian assurances, folio 126); descriptions of the evacuation of Henjam and Basidu in April 1935 in intelligence reports and correspondence; and the expression of gratitude by British Government to the Ruler of Bahrain (Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah [Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah]) over the assistance given by the Government of Bahrain in construction work for the new station at Bahrain (folios 39-54).

The Arabic language content of the file consists of a single item of correspondence on folio 40.

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 volume (572 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 inside back cover with 574; 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 and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

Coll 30/111 'British Naval Stations in: Establishments at Khor Quwai and Bahrain. Evacuation of Henjam and Basidu.' [‎397r] (798/1154), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3840, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100080227755.0x0000c7> [accessed 7 June 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100080227755.0x0000c7">Coll 30/111 'British Naval Stations in: Establishments at Khor Quwai and Bahrain. Evacuation of Henjam and Basidu.' [&lrm;397r] (798/1154)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100080227755.0x0000c7">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000648.0x000198/IOR_L_PS_12_3840_0800.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000648.0x000198/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image