"ملف 8/16 ملخصات استخباراتية بشأن البحرين" [و‎‎١‎٦‎١] (٣٣٠/٣٢١)

/218.
with the theft of 2,000 rounds of R.A.F. ammunition i. ,.i
from the Royal Air Force Lines at Sharjah. Flight Lieu
tenant Frankland was in fact more concerned about the
theft of 30,000 rounds of R.A.F. ammunition here,which he
had hadthat day reported to him. It seems that this
ammunition was stolen from the R.A.F. magazine at Maharraq
and indications are that the Levies are seriously involved
in the theft. Todate the civil police have been able to
recover 8,000 rounds which include 1,000 rounds of revolver
ammunition. It is strongly suspected that the major
portion of the ammunition has already gone overseas and
agents f reports from Qatar indicate that possibly 7,000 to
8,000 rounds are secreted at Rueis and Al Khor. The Shaikh
of Qatar has been asked to co-operate in our endeavours
to recover the ammunition and the Political Agent has sent
a special messenger to Qatar to consult v/ith the Shaikh and
is also having enquiries made through confidential channels.
T ravel facilities for civilian families from the United Kingdom.
Unlike the wives of officials of the Government of India
the wives of employees of the Bahrain Petroleum Company do not
appear to be encountering any very serious obstacles to their
leaving England for the East. Sixteen ladies have already
arrived in Cairo from the United Kingdom. Two of these
ladies are accompanying their husbands who are coming out to
Bahrain for the first time. It was not until they reached
Port Said that transport difficulties were encountered but
the situation has somewhat eased and quite a number are
expected to arrive in Bahrain in the near future.
The Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited
(i) On the 12th three American employees of the Berchtel
McCone Corporation, having consumed a quantity of spirituous
liquor, paid a visit to Manama town. They assaulted several
beggars who were annoying them and later*took refuge from the
crowd which had collected in a local coffee shop. The
Military Police from Awali were on their way to Manama to
deal with the situation when Mr. C.A. Rodstrom, the local
representative of the Arabian American Oil Company, succeeded
in persuading the men to leave the coffee shop where they
were then engaged in throv/ing pieces of furniture at various
members of the crowd and return to the Oil Company's premises
at Awali. The following day the men were dismissed by the
Company for cause and left Bahrain by air.
(ii) The Drum Plant.
Preparations are now being made to ship a maximum of
44,000 drums a month of high octane fuel from Bahrain. The
loading and stevedoring is being done by the military autho
rities who are sending petroleum experts with 300 Indian
troops to cope with the situation. At the moment however
the plant for making the drums is not working satisfactorily
as could be expected as it is only turning out 18,000 drums
a month. Additional machinery is however on the way and it
is hoped before long to increase the production to the
required figure of 44,000.
The Arabian American Oil Company, Dhahran.
Reference paragraph No.204 of Intelligence Summary
No.22 of 1944.
Passages have been secured for 33 of the Indians and
they left Bahrain on the 14th and 15th.