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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [381r] (766/898)
The record is made up of 1 volume (445 folios). It was created in 13 Mar 1924-18 Mar 1931. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic
Majesty's Government.]
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
[February 13, 1925.]
Section 1 .
[E 883/10/91]
No. 1.
Consul Bullard to Mr. Auston Chamborlaiu.—(yRocoivcd Fsbrunry 13 )
(No. 6. Secret.)
^ r ’ Jeddah, January 1^, 1^2^.
I HAVE the honour to enclose a report on the situation covering: the period the
9th to 19th January.
2. Copies of this despatch and of its enclosure are being sent to India, Egypt
Khartum (through Port Sudan), Jerusalem, Bagdad, Beirut'’X^OTmafShs), Aden,
Singapore, Bushire, Koweit, Bahrein and Muskat.
I have, &c.
R. W. BULLARD.
(Secret.)
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
Report for the Period January 9-19, 1925.
IT is expected that Ibn Saud will make a night attack within the next few days,
towards the time of the new moon. His forces have raided to within a mile or two
of Jeddah, without encountering any resistance from the Hedjaz tribes, and are
now encamped at places some 6 or 8 miles from the town. The Jeddah defences
consist of a semi-circular barbed-wire ifence (it can hardly be described as an
entanglement), which must be about 3 miles in length. To defend this, there are—
apart from orderlies, stretcher-bearers, &e.—about 700 men. These are armed with
at least four different kinds of rifle : British, German, Russian and Austrian; and
there is so little ammunition for the British rifles (some 200 in number) that they
would soon be useless. Few of the officers and still fewer of the men are Hedjazis,
and the officers are by no means united; the Arabs hate the Turks, the Turks despise
the Arabs, and of the Arabs many are politicians rather than fighting men. Some
200 men (said to be Druses, most of them) arrived from Akaba a few days ago, but
it is too late for them to be turned into an integral part of the Hedjaz army. The
artillery will be useless against a night attack by scattered forces, and even in
daylight it is ineffective, as the gunners have not yet learned how to prevent the shell
from bursting high in the air.
2. It would seem that even if the Hedjaz Government were not defeated in
battle, they must collapse very soon for lack of funds. They have been trying to
V recover from General Sir Foster Newland at least part of the sums paid to him for
the purchase of munitions in England, but so far without success. King Hussein is
known to have large sums put aside, but he supplies his son with nothing but advice
not to give Ibn Saud an exaggerated sense of his importance by condescending to
negotiate with him. Meanwhile, the Hedjaz Government seems to exist precariously
on forced loans, which produce £10,000 or so every few weeks. The troops—mostly
Palestinians, to whom the attraction offered was good pay—have not been paid for
the Arabic month, which ended over three weeks ago.
3. The six Germans whose arrival was reported, left on the 9th January. They
seem to have been engaged on silly orders from the Amir Abdullah, and to have been
promised salary at a rate far beyond the Hedjaz Government’s power to pay. They
refused to be beaten down, and left in a body. One was an officer, the others n.c.o.’s;
two were for armoured cars, two for artillery and two for infantry. It appears
that armoured cars and munitions were ordered in Germany, but the export was
forbidden by the German Government because the buyers tried to get them out
under a false name. After this, attempts seem to have been made, through an Arab
in Trieste, to purchase armoured cars and aeroplane bombs in Italy, with what
success is not known.
4. For several days two aeroplanes went up every day. They dropped 1 bombs
on several occasions, but the main effect of their flights has been to make the Hedjaz
[864 n—1]
B
About this item
- Content
The volume mostly contains printed copies of despatches from HM Agent and Consul, Jeddah, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, enclosing reports on the situation in the Hejaz (also spelled Hedjaz in the file) [now a region of Saudi Arabia], from January 1924 to December 1930, and related enclosures to the reports. These despatches were sent to the Under-Secretary of State for India by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The volume also includes 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. Political and Secret Department minute papers, which include comments on the reports, and indicate that the reports had been seen by the Under-Secretary of State for India and the Political Committee of the Council of India.
The reports are monthly for January to August 1924, May 1925, September 1925 to March 1927, June 1927 to June 1930, and December 1930. Reports between these dates cover shorter periods, except July and August 1930, which are both covered by one report, and September, October and November 1930, which are also covered by one report.
The reports discuss matters including the actions of King Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi of the Hejaz, including his attempts to gain recognition as Caliph, and the military and financial situation in the Hejaz during the war between the Hejaz and the Saudi Sultanate of Nejd [Najd]. They report on events of the Hedjaz-Nejd war including: the capture of Taif (September 1924) and Mecca (October 1924) by Nejd; the departure of the ex-King Hussein from Jeddah; the fall of Medina and Jeddah and the surrender of the Hejaz to Sultan Abdul Aziz of Nejd [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, also known as Ibn Saud] (December 1925); and the formal assumption of the title of King of the Hejaz and Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies by Ibn Saud (8 January 1925).
The reports following the annexation of the Hejaz by Nejd cover internal affairs, including prohibitions introduced for religious reasons, the Hejaz Railway, the financial situation of the Hejaz-Nejd Government, and the Hejaz Air Force. They also report on foreign relations, including: the publication of an agreement, dated 21 October 1926, between Ibn Saud and Sayyid Hassan-el-Idrisi, establishing the suzerainty of Ibn Saud over Asir; relations between Ibn Saud and Imam Yahya of the Yemen; the situation on the frontiers between Nejd and Iraq, and Nejd and 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 ; and the Treaty of Jeddah between Hejaz-Nejd and Great Britain (20 May 1927). They also report Ibn Saud being proclaimed King of the Hejaz, Nejd and its Dependencies (4 April 1927).
In addition, other frequently occurring topics in the reports are: the Pilgrimage [Hajj], including the arrival of pilgrims in the Hejaz, from India, Java and elsewhere, arrangements for the pilgrimage, the welfare of pilgrims, and the repatriation of pilgrims; and the slave trade and slavery in the Hejaz, including the manumission and repatriation of slaves.
The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (445 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 1707 (Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)) consists of one volume only.
- 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 447; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-444; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [381r] (766/898), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084998362.0x0000a7> [accessed 20 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/1115
- Title
- File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:88v, 90r:104v, 106r:108v, 110r:124v, 126r:128v, 129v:132v, 133v, 134v:137v, 139r:145r, 146r:161v, 162v:180v, 183r:205v, 206v:267r, 269r:271v, 273r:288v, 291r:308v, 309v, 310v, 311v, 312v, 313v, 314v, 315v, 316v, 317v:321r, 324r:335r, 337r:378v, 379v:381v, 383v:389v, 391r:393v, 395v:397v, 399r:400r, 402r:446v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence