'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Reports' [100r] (199/432)
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.
fc < i
Steps have been taken uo reduce to the absolute
miniinuai the export of gold from Bdirsin to non-Bmpire
countrieso Bxporus of silver will also be restricted in
future to the requirements of bona fide transactions*^
. , dO??? 0 ? 8 in the flourishing bazaar of Dubai (Trucial
Coasu; still hold considerable stocks of Japese piece-
goods <> As they are disposed of they are being replace^
by piece-goods of Indian manufacture. In one shoo a number
oi Italian blankets were seen. Th-y were said to"have
been imported about three years ago*
• Broadcasting
c^-u i / T ' Ll ? e a Py rsc i3' l: 'i v e references on the London radio to
pnaikii Hamad caused favourable com:ent among all classes
m Bahrain, and particularly among the Khalifah family*
rini } e death of Shaikh Hamad was announced on the •
radio from Home* Tbe broadcaster added • "It will be
remembered thao Bahrain is the place whose oil refin a rv
was destroyed by Italian aircraft 13 months ago"! This
comment has been the cause of much amusement locally*
„ B ? i F a f n 5nd along the
Trucial Coast
A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
the broad-
casts from Berlin in Arabic by Yunis Bahri are regarded
• 1 ^^ 0S1 i'+ V3 ^^taste. The language which he uses, learnt
in the gutters of Iraq, offends the ears of Arabs on the
• Moreover, details of his disreputable past
a eszowell-known that his opinions are discredited ev a n
before he utters them*
27. Sau di Ar abia*
, . Ahmad bin Khalaf, a leading merchant of Abu Dhabi
if} 0 also related to the Shaikh of that place, visited
Riyadh on his return from the Haj • He was greatly im
pressed by Ibn Saud f s unequivocal support of the British
cause. Ibn Saud's^sympathy for the British was expressed
both in public and in private*
, Abdul Aziz Qosaibi, a leading merchant of Bahrain,
has recently returned from Biyadh. He brought with him
one s-yoy Ox another attempted assassination of Ibn 3aud.
His sLory is tnat in the middle of February three Yemenis
came to Riyadh, each vith several hundred gold sovereigns,
with this money they bribed one of Ibn Saud*s slaves to
introduce them as religious mendicants on one of the
occasions when Ibn Baud would himself distribute alms,
ine conspirators* plans were, however, overheard by the
slave s mother-in-law, who reported the matter to Ibn
* x V 70 "kbree demands and the slave were arrested
ana a bomb was found in their possession* The slave
was executed and^the two Yemanis were sent under a strong
guard 00 the Hedjaz where lurther enquiries wer* 3 to be
made*
opin ion *
(i) Arabs on the
Trucial Coast
A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
find it difficult to
understand the succes es of the Japanese whom they regard
cto a despicable race. Indeed, they consider Japan r s entry
into a.war between major powers such as Britain end Germany
uo be iqjpudent - as though pygmies were to intervene in a
gigantomachy.
(ii) /-
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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'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Reports' [100r] (199/432), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/314, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025549535.0x0000c8> [accessed 4 January 2025]
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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