‘File 28/7 I War: Propaganda: local opinion’

Content

The volume comprises reports and correspondence concerning: the dissemination of pro-British and Allied propaganda in Bahrain and the wider Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. region, as prepared and coordinated by the Publicity Office in Bahrain; the reception of anti-British propaganda in Bahrain, chiefly via radio broadcasts; the impact of both on local public opinion in Bahrain. The propaganda covers events in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Far East, from the Norwegian campaign (April 1940) to the Japanese capture of the Dutch East Indies (March 1942). The volume’s principal correspondents are: the Publicity Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Roy Douglas Metcalfe; John Baron Howes; Bertram Thomas); 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 (Major Reginald George Evelin William Alban); 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior).

The volume includes:

• weekly letters of ‘talking points’ (the strategy for their use as a propaganda tool being explained in a letter from the Publicity Office, f 10), received from the Ministry of Information, distributed by the Publicity Officer and comprised of pro-British and anti-Axis propaganda, commenting chiefly on progress in European War and later on, the war in North Africa and the Middle East; the question of the United States’ involvement in the war; the relative economic and military strengths of the conflict’s key protagonists;
• weekly reports, prepared by Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. staff, summarising local opinion in Bahrain towards the war in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, and sent in digested form to 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. ;
• radio broadcasts in Bahrain and the wider Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. region, including: the opening of and content for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. radio station; minutes of meetings held by the Bahrain Radio Committee; the public preference in Bahrain for Berlin Arabic radio over the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Arabic service, and proposals to jam Berlin Arabic by broadcasting naval Morse code messages at its frequency; anti-British propaganda radio broadcasts from Italy, Germany, and from broadcasters campaigning against British imperialism in the Middle East and India; Government of India proposals for an Arabic broadcast service transmitting from Delhi;
• the appointment of Bertram Thomas as Publicity Officer in late 1941, as relief for Metcalfe;
• reports of local opinion in response to specific events affecting the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. region: the Italian bombing of Bahrain in October 1940 (ff 89-94); Rashid Ali’s coup d’état in Iraq in April 1941 (ff 217-218);
• schedules for the portable cinema in Bahrain, indicating date and venue (f 268, f 287).

Extent and format

1 volume (326 folios)

Arrangement

The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the volume (ff 313-326) mirror the chronological arrangement.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 330; 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 mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 5-312; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Pagination: the file notes at the back (ff 313-326) have been paginated using pencil.

Binding: The pages of a single letter were separated during the volume’s binding. The first page of this letter is at f 181, the remaining pages at ff 209-211.

Written in

English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

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.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/2/687

Former external reference(s)

Confidential Files: 28/7 I

History of this record

Date(s)

25 May 1940-15 Mar 1942 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Public opinionSecond World War (1939-1945)War propagandaRadio

Places

Persian GulfBahrain

People & organisations

Ministry of InformationPolitical Resident, Persian GulfPublicity Officer, Persian GulfBahrain Radio Listeners CommitteeBritish Broadcasting Corporation

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‘File 28/7 I War: Propaganda: local opinion’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/687, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/annos/search/81055/vdc_100000000241.0x000050> [accessed 23 December 2024]

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