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File 2879/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA KURDISTAN The AQRAH Incident: Murder of Messrs Bill & Scott’ [70r] (27/170)
The record is made up of 1 item (86 folios). It was created in 14 Aug 1919-10 Apr 1920. 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.
FUHfSRAL OF THE LATE J.H.J3ILL, I.C.S.
and
CAPTAIN A.R.SCOTT, M.C., 31st PUNJALIS.
iiie funeral took place on the 20th December 1919
at the ..osul Cemetery.
At 3.50 p.m. the two Gun carriages bearing the coffins
left the 30th C.C.S., the order of march being as follows
1st. Gun Carriage
2nd. Gun Carriage
Representatives of the Political
and military Authorities.
1 Troop of the 11th Lancers.
The procession as above followed the Circular road
outside the town on the Southern, Western and north Western
sides. The beginning of the route was lined on both siaee by
the 39th Gharwalis with their band. At intervals the route
was lined by the Royal Held Artillery and Royal Engineers.
All guards turned out and saluted as the procession passed.
On arriving at a point on the Circular Road near where
it is joined by the Lisibin fioad, all Officers dismounted
and & snort halt was made. From this point on and down the
Lisibin Road as far as the Cemetery the 2nd battalion -
Northumberland Fusiliers lined both sides of the road, the
procession then moving in the following order at the '’Slow-.
march ,, , the band playing the ’’Read March”:-
Land - 2nd battalion - N. F. Regiment.
d
200 men of Northumberland Fusiliers with reverse^
arms
1st Gun Carriage
2nd Gun Carriage
Political Mourners
Military Mourners
300 Local people
At 150 yards from the Cemetery the Gun Carriages halted
and the coffins were carried by bearing parties of six -
Officers to each coffin who bore both of them into the
About this item
- Content
This item relates to a violent incident during which two individuals, J H Bill, Indian Civil Service, Political Officer, Mosul, and Captain K R Scott, 31st Punjabis, Indian Army, Assistant Political Officer, Aqrah [also spelled Akra and Aqra in this item], were killed ‘near Birza Kapra in Zab Valley north east of Aqrah’ (f 135), allegedly by members of the Zibar [Zebari] tribe. The papers notably cover and include:
- Drafting of the official communiqué regarding the incident, and the general coordination of communications regarding Kurdish affairs to the public in India
- Investigations into: the course of events and the political situation leading up to the deaths; possible Turkish nationalist influences; details of the murders; and locating of the bodies. Included are three reports, dated 4 November and 11 December 1919, to the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad, by staff of the Office of the Political Officer, Mosul (ff 92-98 and 74-79), and a report of the funeral of Bill and Scott held on 20 December 1919 at Mosul (ff 70-71)
- The India Office’s correspondence with: Sir John Horner concerning the latter’s enquiries, on behalf of the relatives of J H Bill, into the circumstances of the deaths; and also with the father of J H Bill
- Details of the military operations and punitive measures undertaken by British forces in the Aqrah area in December 1919
- The connection of the incident with opposition to British negotiations and plans for repatriation of exiled Assyrian Christian refugees to the Amadia [Amadiya] Valley and the vicinity.
The primary correspondents are: 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. and Secretary of State for India; Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; and Major C F Bill.
- Extent and format
- 1 item (86 folios)
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 2879/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA KURDISTAN The AQRAH Incident: Murder of Messrs Bill & Scott’ [70r] (27/170), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/833/3, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100126901398.0x000095> [accessed 22 July 2026]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/833/3
- Title
- File 2879/1919 Pt 3 ‘MESOPOTAMIA KURDISTAN The AQRAH Incident: Murder of Messrs Bill & Scott’
- Pages
- 57r:57v, 59r:59v, 60v:61v, 63r:79v, 80v:88v, 90r:105v, 107v:110v, 112r:137v, 138v:142v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence