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'File 61/11 IX (D 159) Nejd-Hejaz Miscellaneous' [4r] (18/391)
The record is made up of 1 volume (192 folios). It was created in 4 Apr 1939-16 Jan 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.
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this document is the property of his britannic majesty's government
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EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENT 1A1
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1 '"confidential RECORDS
March 14, 1939.
Section 2.
[E 1879/735/25] Copy No. | Q
/Sir i2. Bullard to Viscount Halifax.—(Received March 14.)
(No. 29.)
My Lord, Jedda, February 18, 1939.
IN my telegram No. 209, dated the 27th December, I reported that, according
to a statement made to me by Fuad Bey, the German Minister at Bagdad was
coming to Jedda for the pilgrim season. I now have the honour to send some
details about this visit.
2. Although the application of Dr. Grobba for permission to make a direct
flight to Jedda was refused by the Saudi Government, he did, in fact, arrive in
an aeroplane, on the 21st January. The machine was a three-engined Junker
low-wing monoplane of the Luft-Hansa, and the chief pilot, according to
Dr. Grobba, was one of the best German pilots, with a record of over 2 million
miles. Dr. Grobba said that he had hoped to fly direct to Jedda, but had been
obliged to abandon this plan because there was no place on the direct route
where the machine could refuel, and he had therefore flown to Assouan, where
they had taken on enough fuel for the flight to Jedda and back. The absence
of any refuelling station on the way must have provided the Saudi Government
with an easy pretext for rejecting a proposal which they would probably have
been unwilling to accept in any case.
3. Two journalists arrived with Dr. Grobba. but they returned with the
aeroplane three days later. Dr. Grobba told me that one of them had intended
to stay for a fortnight, but finding no copy he returned to Cairo. He has since
said that in spite of the shortness of their stay the journalists propose to write
" all sorts of things."
4. The only secretary who accompanied Dr. Grobba was M. W. G. Steffen,
who is his Arabic interpreter. M. Steffen talks Arabic very well, and also reads
and writes it. I learned from Dr. Grobba that M. Steffen was a Seventh Day
Adventist missionary for many years, in Egypt,
Transjordan
Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan
(? Mosul), and
that having become dissatisfied with that life he joined the staff of the German
Embassy in Bagdad. M. Steffen wears the Nazi badge; Dr. Grobba does not.
5. Dr. Grobba was at pains from the beginning to talk about the exclusively
commercial object of his mission. He professed, however, to be much annoyed at
a newspaper report that the German Government had sent him to offer assistance
to the Saudi Government in the development of their oil and mineral resources,
and described it as a Jewish invention. In his last talk with me Dr. Grobba
spoke about the possibility of exporting German goods to Saudi Arabia either
on payment or under a system of barter. He also said that he had collected
(though with a considerable reduction) a sum of money due to a German firm
which no longer exists in Jedda, for tyres and other goods supplied many years
ago. I am dealing with these commercial matters in a separate despatch.
6. Although Dr. Grobba arrived on the 21st January, it was not until the
11th February that he was able to present his credentials. The Viceroy, the
Amir Faisal, being absent when he arrived, it was decided that he, and the new
French Minister, should wait until Ibn Saud came to Jedda after the pilgrimage.
This arrangement was sensible, but Dr. Grobba seemed surprised and slightly
annoyed when I mentioned that the King had asked me to meet him at Shumaisi
on the 27th January—an interview which I reported in my telegram No. 16 of
the 29th January.
7. On the 16th February Sheikh Yusuf Yasin, acting, as he said, on
instructions from the King, gave me an account of Dr. Grobba's interviews with
him and with the King. I have given the gist of what was said, in my telegram
No. 25, dated the 18th February. Dr. Grobba claimed to have no object except
to establish friendly relations with Saudi Arabia and to increase German exports,
[555 o—2]
About this item
- Content
The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and reports relating to the affairs of Saudi Arabia. Most of the correspondence is between the British Legation in Jeddah, 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 Bushire, the Foreign Office in London, the Political Agencies in Kuwait and Bahrain, 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. in London, and the Government of India.
The volume covers the build up to and outbreak of the Second World War and thus much of the correspondence focuses on this subject. Topics include:
- the activities of the Germans, Italians, and Japanese in the region;
- Ibn Sa'ud's allegiance to Britain and the Allies;
- Ibn Sa'ud's anxiety about Hashemite dominance in Syria and potential attack from hostile Arab nations;
- anti-Allied sentiment in the region;
- the financial and political contribution of the United States of America.
Other subjects covered by the volume are:
- the maintenance of law and order in the Kingdom;
- the presence of community feeling and national identity;
- Captain De Gaury's journeys in Saudi Arabia, including a report on agricultural development at Kharj, and the objection to his proposed tour of all of Arabia;
- Amir Sa'ud's trip to India for medical treatment;
- the anti-British activities of St John Philby and his subsequent arrest in India.
At the back of the volume (folios 177-186) are internal office notes.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (192 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged chronologically.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The sequence starts on the first folio and continues through to the inside back cover. The numbering is written in pencil, circled, and located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. The first three folios are marked 1A, 1B, and 1C respectively, then the sequence continues from 2 as normal. There is one other foliation system, written in pencil and inconsistent.
- 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/15/1/572
- Title
- 'File 61/11 IX (D 159) Nejd-Hejaz Miscellaneous'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1r:1v, 1br:1cv, 2r:43r, 44v:58v, 60r:166r, 166r:189v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence