‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 41. PART I. (From 1st to 31st December 1917).’ [223r] (450/556)
The record is made up of 1 volume (274 folios). It was created in 30 Aug 1917-5 Dec 1917. 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.
in the administration of the fleet are equal to the best records of any lar^e
shipping company working in their own interests that I have experience of. °
The diflicult problem to be solved with economy is the conveyance of the
very light and sometimes very awkward nature of the shipments, as for
instance hay, fodder and firewood which measures between 160 and 180 cubic
feet to the 20 cwt. and railway rolling stock which not only is very bulky
and measures many times its weight but is in addition very awkward cargo
resulting in extremely bad stowage ; further all these cargoes are required to
be shipped in huge quantities.
So much is it the case that the average measurement of the -whole cargoes
is sp enormously in excess of the weight that the large store ships, vessels
which lift 7—8,000 tons of cargo on a draft varying from 23 to 25 feet are
not troubled with the restricted draft on the Basrah Bar, i e., 18' 6" to’ 19'
and it is in view" of tins that from an economical point of view it would be
disadvantageous to remove the large store ships from the line.
On the other hand I realise that w'hilst it might be uneconomical to
remove these large ships from the Basrah line still the general situation of
shipping makes it desirable to utilise small vessels as far as possible so as to
free large capacity tonnage in other trades, even although the use of small
vessels may be far from economical.
At present most of the China coasters are employed from Karachi
chiefly because there is no railway rolling stock to be shipped thence and as
a consequence during my short stay here I have not come in contact with
these China coasters.
I have been connected with the management of many of the large ships
employed as. store ships for many years. I know their capabilities as also
their limitations, but I have no similar experience of the small China coasters,
but I hope to come in contact with them at Basrah as also at Karachi on
my return voyage and I would ask you therefore to permit me to defer making
my report as to how far small tonnage can be substituted for large until I
return to Bombay.
Whilst in Bombay I have consulted with those concerned as to whether
hay and fodder bales could not be further compressed, for if the measurement
. _ 192
ss& Jaac-w.srjws j
am ioo^tto” ^ ^7™^ the ’ tr00 I> is another that I
W n > r are ?’ al l boa * b the y llave )ar S e s P ace ia the lower holds
™ " ^ e , Xtent , beCaUSe ° f their draftr is father complicated
by the fact that they have to carry stone ballast to bring them back empty
because they have to reserve their water ballast tanks for freshwater for the
troops on the outward voyage and to use them as ballast tanks on the return
j m aey means salting them but the question arises whether the tanks could
not be washed out after each return journey so as to make them available for
fresh water next voyage ; but this is a matter about which the medical officer
would possibly have something to say. If this was objected to by the medical
officers it might even be possible to fill them with fresh water in Basrah and so
dispense wi h the stone ballast; this possibly would cost money and perhaps even
be impossible to airange but I will enquire about it in Basrah. If the stone
ballast could be dispensea with it would mean that their cargo carrying capacity
would be increased on the voyage to Basrah. J o k ^
f 8 ° r ^ C ^° Se ^° r P resent as I am writing against time to
catch the mail otherwise my report might have been fuller.
Letter No. 3, dated 30th August 1917,
From—A. Monteath, Esq., Bombay,
To—The Director of Transport and Shipping, Ministry of Shipping, London, S. W.
tv ? n m Zu lri » al \ b , e ? Veni , n S of the 31st “tent, Captain Wilson,
Director of the Royal Indian Marine, handed me your message dated 17th
instant, No. 34, copy enclosed, together with copy of his interim reply
About this item
- Content
The volume contains a chronological list of brief summaries of papers relating to the activities of the Indian Expeditionary Force D (also known as the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force) between 1 and 15 December 1917. This is accompanied by appendices containing copies and extracts of these papers, which include: letters, telegrams, notes, reports, tables, and memoranda.
An index to the contents of this volume and a summary of the contents can be found at folios 3-17. The volume concerns:
- Appreciations [reports] and intelligence summaries from the Directorate of Military Operations dated 2 December 1917 (ff 49-50), 9 December (ff 156-157)
- Reinforcements for Force D, including supplies of medical officers, horses, mules, and railway staff
- Captured arms and ammunition (ff 159-165)
- Movements of Turkish [Ottoman] and German troops
- Exchange of prisoners with Turks at Berne
- Supplies to Force D, including the problems of supplying petrol
- Attack on the enemy on 3 December on Jebel Hamrin [Jabal Hamrin]
- The possibility of postponing the dredging of the Shatt-el-Arab [Shatt al-Arab]
- Transfer of the 7th division in Mesopotamia to Egypt
- Occupation of Qurah Tappah [Qarah Tapah], Qizil Robat [As Sa‘diyah], and Khanaqin
- Supply and transport ships
- Reports from the Royal Flying Corps of machines in service and pilots available
- Concerns over supplies reaching the Turks from Koweit [Kuwait]
- A scheme to supply frozen meat to British troops
- Correspondence between Mr A Monteath and the Admiralty on the subject of the Thomson Cherry Commission enquiring into shipping between India and Mesopotamia
- A proposal to form a Directorate of Irrigation
- Post offices and returned letters
- Sentences given to members of the Ghadr [Ghadar] party captured in Baghdad.
The following tables appear:
- Distribution and composition of Force D, including details of: lines of communication; general organisation; and names of General Officers and Brigade Commanders (ff 18-31)
- Ration strength of Force D on 3 November 1917 (ff 42-46), 17 November (ff 111-113), 10 November 1917 (ff 137-140)
- Weekly return of sick and wounded dated 17 November (f 65), 24 November (ff 152-153)
- Distribution of the Turkish Army on 4 December 1917 (ff 70-72), 11 December 1917 (ff 180-182)
- Distribution of Force D on 11 November 1917 (ff 76-80)
- State of supplies on 1 December 1917 (ff 86-87, 116-117), 8 December (ff 187-189), 9 December (ff 268-269)
- Monthly distribution report of motor vehicles on 1 October 1917 (ff 128-134)
- Strength return for Force D on 27 October 1917 (ff 97-99), 9 December 1917 (ff 190-192), 3 November (ff 262-264).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (274 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
The foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 276; 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 foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-274; these numbers are printed and are located in the bottom centre of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
Dimensions: 21 x 33cm
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 41. PART I. (From 1st to 31st December 1917).’ [223r] (450/556), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3289, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100140786961.0x000033> [accessed 27 August 2024]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100140786961.0x000033
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100140786961.0x000033">‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 41. PART I. (From 1st to 31st December 1917).’ [‎223r] (450/556)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100140786961.0x000033"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000112.0x00020f/IOR_L_MIL_17_5_3289_0450.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000112.0x00020f/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/5/3289
- Title
- ‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 41. PART I. (From 1st to 31st December 1917).’
- Pages
- 222r:227r, 230r:240r, 243r:244r, 257r:261r, 261r:262r
- Author
- Monteath, Alexander McLaurin
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.