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'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Reports' [79r] (157/432)
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.
(viii)/-
i
- 2 -
Highness bhaikh Sir Hamad bin 'Isa A1 Khalifah,
tha ?a}? r 0f Bahrsijl » left for A1 Khobar on
^Tsa 2 Ai h Tfh=i?? b h r ff 41 accom P a nied by Shaikh Mohammad bin
Thpr/L»f^ f + an r ^ her raeiIlbers of the A1 Khalifah family.
u„f r ? + a r e Indlan medical assistants from the State
Hospital with the party. Shaikh Hamad intends to soend two
nights at A1 Khobar before setting out for his camp‘at Raudha
™n 0 s;s\;;aS? DlMlb,, ar "’ strt>a i » >■<' *“* ^
h^tH O r. I ^ i + S v, Un ^ erst00d t 5 at Mohamma <i bin Abdullah bin Jiluwi.
at u ° f BaSa " na " atlf > "• t the “
c.o+ It is _ un ^ erst ? 0d that^MrHussain Yateem intends to
hv ft ?r^Po? 0 TT?n^ aCt0ry u ln + Bahrain, Soap is alre ^ d Y manufactured
y . laca l Hindu merchant and the new enterprise will undoubted
ly meet the urgent local demand for soap.
There is a great demand for scrap iron, pipes, old
machinery, motor accessories etc. in Iraq. Bahrain merchants
arq receiving numerous orders for such articles from Iraq and
it is reported that Yusuf Fakhroo recently shioped 50 motor
tyres and 18 inner tubes of British make to Basra.
, ^ D iv L T / he P rice ° y f Sold sovereigns has recently declined
from Ps 43/- to Ps 39/8. This ^ is stated to be due to the fact
a ^ Iran who used to be a big buyer of gold has now stopped
buying. Numerous telegrams are being received from Basra by
Bahrain merchants to the effect that the prices of gold sove-
reigns are declining and that there are no buyers.
(v) A nakhuda who recently arrived here from a sea
voyage reports that piracy is going on, chiefly in an area
extending from Ruus al Jibal to Khor Fakkan, and alon^ the
south coast of Iran. He declares that several boats have been
looted and that most of the pirates on the Arab side belong
to the Shihuh tribe. Two boats carrying dates from Basra
were recently attacked by Persian pirates near Chiru and 100
baskets of dates were looted. A Persian boat laden with fire
wood was also attacked and Fs 60/- stolen. The Persian pirates
a ^ e + ? ai 2 ^.hsve obtained their arms by purchase from members
oi the Iranian Amniyah Force who, owing to non-receipt of
their pay, were compelled to sell their weapons.
it 'j' 3 a great demanUfor chandals (rafters) and
murabba wood in Iraq. Large orders have been placed with
Bahrain merchants and one Iraqi merchant named Ishaq Mulla
(a Jew) who arrived here recently purchased not less than
100 score of "murabba" wood for export to Iraq and is trying
to buy more. ^ ^
(vii) Shaikh Mani' of Dubai has recently returned to Bahrain
st,a y i n > 9 atar : is understood that some Bedouin
oi the Beni Hajir tribe, employed as guards in the town by the
Shaikh of Qatar, attempted to shoot him while he was staying
m the house of Abdullah bin Darwish in Dohah. It is under
stood that one of their relatives was killed during the Dubai
troubles some 3 years ago.
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' [79r] (157/432), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/314, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025549535.0x00009e> [accessed 28 March 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