'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Reports' [82r] (163/432)
The record is made up of 1 file (214 folios). It was created in 20 Jan 1941-31 Dec 1942. 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.
Secret
No. 24 of 1941
Intelligence Summary of the
Political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
, Bahrain, for
the period 16th to 31st December
1941.
141. Shipping
(i) T.V. rt Marit M (Norwegian) arrived here on the 13th and
left on the 14th December 1941 with a cargo of 7872 tons of
Fuel Oil for Bombay.
(ii) T.V. "Nederland* (Dutch) arrived here on the 13th and
left ©n the 14th December 1941 for India with a cargo of 2276
tons of Gasoline and 9509 tons of Kerosene, after discharging
399 packages for Bahrain.
(iii) T.V. "India” (Norwegian) arrived here on the 17th
and left on the 18th December 1941 for Australian ports with
a cargo of 8600 tons of Gasoline and 4958 tons of Kerosene,
after discharging 1262 packages for Bahrain.
(iv) T.V. "Burope" (Norwegian) arrived here on the 16th
and left on the 17th December 1941 for Cape Town, South Africa,
with a cargo of 9052 tons of Fuel Oil, 3159 tons of Diesel Oil
and 1 box empty bottles.
(v) S.S. "Adria” (British) arrived here on the 19th and
left on the 20th December 1941 with 11 packages of general
cargo for Bunder Shahpour, after discharging 2668 packages
for Bahrain and 3836 packages for transhipment to the mainland.
(vi) T.V. "Noravind” (Norwegian) arrived here on the 2Qth
and left on the 21st December 1941 with a cargo of 11016 tons
of Gasolene for Mombasa, British East Africa.
(vii) T.V. ”South America" (Norwegian) arrived here on the
21st and left on the 22nd December 1941 with a cargo of 6417
tons of Kerosene and 4 packages of empty cylinders for Suez,
Egypt.
(viii) T.V. ”E1 Segundo” (Panama) arrived here on the 23rd
and left on the 26th December 1941 with a cargo of 4699 tons
of Diesel Oil for Colombo, Ceylon.
(Ix) 3.3. "Baluchistan" (British) arrived here on the 23rd
and left on the 24th December 1941 after discharging 3106 packa
ges for Bahrain and 12 packages for transhipment to the mainland.
(x) S.S. "Baharistan* (British) arrived here on the 27th
and left on the 28th December 1941 after discharging 341 packa
ges for Bahrain.
142. Movements of British officials
(i) Mr. C.J. Pelly, I.C.S., Political Officer, Trucial
Coast, arrived here on the 24th December and spent Christmas
and New Year at Bahrain. Re travelled by launch from Dubai to
Dohah, thence overland by car to Dukhan where the Petroleum
Concessions Limited* s camp is situated and thence by the
Company*s launch to Bahrain. He has now returned on a hired
launch direct to Dubai.
About this item
- Content
The file contains fortnightly intelligence summaries produced by the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Bahrain for the years 1941-42. The reports, marked as secret, were sent to the Government of India, 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 numerous diplomatic, political, and military offices in the Middle East. Most of the reports cover a two week period, though due to holidays, tours, and work pressures some cover an entire month.
The reports are divided into short sections that relate to a particular subject, often closely connected to the Second World War. Contained within the file is intelligence on the following:
- international shipping and the activities of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, and commercial transport companies such as Imperial Airways Limited;
- the movements of British and Foreign subjects, and Arab notables;
- local affairs of Bahrain, as well as news from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Persia [Iran], and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ;
- economic matters and food supplies;
- foreign radio broadcasts and press, with a focus on anti-British sentiment;
- the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Fighter Fund;
- defence matters;
- smuggling of gold and arms and the traffic of slaves;
- meteorological data;
- medical matters.
Folios 57-61 are correspondence relating to the alleged sinking of an Iranian dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. by a British man-of-war in March 1941.
Folios 85-88 is a list of prominent individuals in Bahrain, compiled by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain, Reginald Alban, and submitted to the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. at Bushire.
Folio 122 is the statement of thirteen Qatari sailors who were aboard a dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. sunk by a Japanese submarine on 12 April 1942.
Folio 176 is a telegram from the Government of India in New Delhi requesting that intelligence summaries differentiate between truly confidential content and that which can be distributed more widely.
Folio 190 is a letter, dated 15 October 1942, from Charles Geoffrey Prior, 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. , to Edward Birkbeck Wakefield, the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain, regarding the risk of including information about the revival of the slave trade in the Gulf in his diaries due to their wide readership.
Included in the file is correspondence between the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and the Naval Officer in Charge at Basrah regarding prominent people of the region and events of the war.
On the inside of the front cover is the distribution list for the summaries.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (214 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged chronologically.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 216; 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 in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/314
- Title
- 'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Reports'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:215v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence