Memoranda Relating to Departmental Views on the Conduct of the War in the East and the Administration of Mesopotamia

Content

The file comprises typescript, printed and manuscript memoranda, dated 1918 and 1920 by: Edwin Samuel Montagu, Secretary of State for India; Arthur James Balfour, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (up to October 1919); Henry Wilson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, War Office; and Foreign Office officials as instructed by Lord Curzon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (from October 1919).

The memoranda cover the different views expressed by the Foreign Office, 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 War Office, on the conduct of the War in the East and British policy in the Middle East, in particular the following:

• The effectiveness of policy being conducted by the Eastern Committee of the War Cabinet
• The roles of the Government of India and 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 the Foreign Office, in that region, notably in Arabia, Persia [Iran] and Mesopotamia [Iraq]
• Whether a separate department should be established by the Foreign Office and War Office to deal with Middle Eastern affairs
• Criticism by the Eastern Committee, and the Foreign Office and Lord Curzon, of the administration of Mesopotamia by Arnold Talbot Wilson, Acting Civil Commissioner, notably for being too 'militaristic', anti-democratic, insufficiently focused on civil administration, and antagonistic to Arab nationalism.

Several of the memoranda written in 1918 are responses by the Foreign Office and the War Office to Montagu's memorandum entitled 'War Cabinet. Eastern Committee. The War in the East', 5 July 1918 (ff 10-11), in which Montagu expresses doubts about the Eastern Committee's conduct of war policy in the Middle East. The memoranda written in 1920 document the Foreign Office's views on the 'Wilsonian policy being pursued in Mesopotamia' (ff 24-36).

Extent and format

1 file (58 folios)

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 60; 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; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are located in the bottom right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio and are not circled.

Written in

English in Latin 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

Mss Eur F112/257

Former external reference(s)

F/13/10

History of this record

Date(s)

5 Jul 1918-24 Aug 1920 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Political conflictsFirst World War (1914-1918)Foreign policyColonial administration

Places

Middle EastMesopotamia

People & organisations

Foreign OfficeWar OfficeCivil CommissionerWar Cabinet, Eastern Committee

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Memoranda Relating to Departmental Views on the Conduct of the War in the East and the Administration of Mesopotamia, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/257, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000001491.0x00029b> [accessed 6 October 2024]

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