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'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [63r] (125/336)
The record is made up of 1 volume (168 folios). It was created in 1982?. 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.
61 -
We had waited for the moon to set so that we could take advantage of this
very phosphorescence to track the shoals of fish below the surface. At
that time of the year a cold current from the Antarctic flowed up the
African Coast, rounded Cape Guardafui and struck the Arabian Coast just
west of Aden. It teemed with life and carried with it millions and milli
ons of plankton, a minute primitive organism which, when startled, liter
ally glows with alarm. The greater the fright these creatures get, the
brighter the light. Any sudden movemont which disturbs the water such as
that of a fish brings a tell-tale reaction immediately. Where a shoal of
fish had collected deep down below us, there was a dull glow like a light
behind ground-glass, which brightened and faded as the shoal rose nearer
to the surface or sunk deeper in the water. A sudden flash under the boat
indicated that a large fish had fled in alarm at our approach. What a
mercy it is that the air does not become filled with millions and millions
of minute fire-flies all suffering from the same nervous peculiarity. The
more a shy individual fled from the public gaze, the more would he be sur
rounded by a positive halo of alarm.
The crew of the canoe suddenly decided to race us. They gave no challenge
but stole quietly up on our quarter and then suddenly spurted ahead. Our
crew reacted automatically as one man and for a time we drove through the
flaming water at a great pace. It was over as suddenly as it had begun.
The stroke of the canoe slackened, we followe suit, and were back again at
our normal steady paee. As we neared the headland I was directed to keep
close In and Said stood balanced on the net watching the water intently,
both immediately ahead and to each side for the tell-tale glow. When we
were less than a hundred yards from where the swell was breaking over the
rocks, I was ordered to steer closer in still and Said called urgently to
Had! and the canoe dashed alongside. Had! took the thick rope of the net
from Said and quickly tied it around a cross-member in the canoe. This
done, he seized his paddle and called sharply to his men. The canoe swung
round and they paddled as hard as they could away from the n Sambuk ,T and
the rope ran swiftly out over the side. By this time we were less than
fifty yards from the rocks. Our own men were pulling steadily and I
listened carefully to my orders and obeyed them implicitly. If I made a
mistake, there would be a disaster and at best the fish would escape, at
worst we should be broken on the rocks and lose the "Saubuk". As we swung
round in a great circle, I caught sight of the canoe. Hadi and his men
About this item
- Content
This volume is a set of typewritten memoirs by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, a retired officer of the British Indian Army and the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. . Hickinbotham held various positions in India and in the Middle East, and these memoirs recount stories from his time in Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Quetta, Persia [Iran], Aden, Audhali, Bahrain and North Waziristan.
The memoirs were most likely completed in 1982-83; they cover the period 1927-1982, although most of the chapters relate to events from the 1930s and 1940s.
Hickinbotham writes not only about his official duties but also about various trips taken during periods of leave. Below is a list of the chapters, with a short summary of each:
- 'No Medals This Time' (ff 3-6) – details of an incident in Kuwait involving a dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. that caught fire off the foreshore at Shuwaik [Ash Shuwaykh]
- 'The Silver Coin' (ff 7-10) – thoughts on the use of the Maria Theresa thaler in Arabia
- 'The Golden Dagger' (ff 11-36) – an account of Hickinbotham's unofficial visit to Riyadh to meet Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in May 1942
- 'The Brass Pencase' (ff 37-53) – memories of a journey undertaken from Quetta to Europe via north Persia in 1927, travelling in a Fiat Tourer with Colonel T Nisbet (also referred to as the 'purple emperor'), on what Hickinbotham claims to have been the first trip taken by car from India to the Mediterranean
- 'The Bronze Boy' (ff 54-72) – reminiscences of weekends spent in 'Little Aden' (a rocky peninsula seven miles west of Aden), in 1938, and a later visit, in December 1961
- 'The Silver Letter Case' (ff 73-118) – details of a ten-day trip on the Audhali plateau in the summer of 1938, and a return visit, in December 1960 (the chapter ends with remarks on the situation in Yemen generally from the late sixties to the time of writing, i.e. 1982)
- 'The Agate Ring' (ff 119-144) – memories of travelling in Oman during the summer of 1940 and how this compared with Hickinbotham's last visit to the country in 1980
- 'The Pearl Tie Pin' (ff 145-151) – thoughts and anecdotes on the pearl trade in Bahrain
- 'A Point of View' (ff 152-157) – a story told to Hickinbotham, possibly fictional, of a pearl trader in the Gulf who lost his fortune and livelihood, and eventually his sanity
- 'Snakes Alive!!' (ff 158-161) – an account of a near-fatal encounter with a krite [krait] in Waziristan
- 'The Queen's Visit' (ff 162-168) – memories of the Queen's visit to the Aden Protectorate in 1954, where Hickinbotham was serving as Governor.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (168 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume contains an index of chapter headings on folio 2, which includes some handwritten corrections and annotations.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 168; 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 mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-168.
Condition: The original plastic comb binding ring has been replaced with a wider one to facilitate flat opening of the volume. Polyester film covers have been added to protect the first and last folios.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [63r] (125/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/13, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100094411638.0x00007e> [accessed 10 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F226/13
- Title
- '"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE'
- Pages
- 1r:168v
- Author
- Hickinbotham, Sir Tom
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.