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'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Reports' [115r] (229/432)
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.
— 3 —'
spirit in regard to A.R.P. measures is lacking, but appeals
to self-interest are evoking some response from merchants
and shop-keepers 0
For the first time the people of Bahrain are now
thinking of the war as something which affects themselves
and their own personal security 0 Merchants, and particul
arly Persian merchants, are in a state of alarm® The most
undesirable element of the population - the roughs and toughs
and riff-raff- are indulging in loose talk about the looting
they will engage in during the darkness and confusion which
follow air raids by night. A list of such persons is being
compiled and they will, if necessary, be put under restraint.
On the whole I consider that the stir, which^was
deliberately provoked by the insertion of the notice in the
local newspaper, has served a useful purpose. It has stim
ulated interest in A.R.P. and has prepared the minds of the
populace for possible future eventualities.
62. As sistan ce to Airc raft .
(i) On Aoril 13th a Hurricane had to land at Has Tanura
(Saudi Arabia)" from lack of petrol. Thanks to prompt inform
ation given by the Resident Manager of the California Arabian
Standard Oil Company, petrol and assistance were immediately
despatched from Bahrain, and the aircraft was able subsequent-
to renew its flight.
(ii) On the same day, Aoril 19th, information was also
received from 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.
, Kuwait, that three Hurri
canes had been forced to land near Has al Misha’ab (Saudi
Arabia), and assistance from the California Arabian Standard
Oil Company was asked for. Tne California Araoi-n Standard
Oil Company immediately sent out a search party which succeed
ed in locating the aircraft, but only after assistance had al
ready arrived from Kuwait.
63. B ahrain and Qatar .
Reference para 46 of Bahrein Intelligence Summary
No.6 of 1942, in which it was reported^that restrictions on
the entry of Qatar subjects into Bahrain were being more rigid—
lv enforced by H*H* Shaikh Salman. There is reason to believe
that Shaikh Salman hopes to provoke the Shaikh of Qatar into
protests, which would lead to negotiations, which would, in
turn, lead to reconsideration of the position of the Al Khaxi—
fr in Zubara. The present hostility between^Qatar and Banrain
has several unfortunate consequences, and an improvement in
the relations between the two Shaikndoms would be generally
welccmed.
64. The Ba.hra. i n Pet ro leum Company Lim i ted and the C ajj.f
Arabian Standard Oil Company .
(i) Mr.C .3. D.^vis, formerly in charge ^ of operational
developments, has been appointed Acting Resident Manager,
the California Arabian Standard Oil Company, and is now m
full charge of the Company’s activities in Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Ohliger, formerly Resident Manager, intends to leave
shortly for the U.S.A.
(ii) Intimation that American employees of the Bahrain
Petroleum Company and the California Arabian Standard Oil
Companv could not book air passages from Bahrain without
permission from the External Affairs Department of the
Government of India was conveyed to the Managers of the
/ Companies
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' [115r] (229/432), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/314, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025549536.0x00001e> [accessed 26 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