Coll 28/39(2) ‘Persia. Printed Correspondence, 1937–’ [‎126r] (251/320)

in any case proposed to do, would be completed. Mr. Pattinson said the
Shah seemed quite friendly. He added tnat he was very pleased that he
had been present as he had thus learnt for himself the Shah’s wishes instead
of receiving a garbled version of them.
6 . Leaving the depot, His Majesty turned to go out by an unfrequented
path. Mr. Pattinson warned him that the chosen path was rough but His
Majesty persisted. Within a few yards there was a steep grassy bank and
on this the Shah’s foot slipped and he fell heavily. Mr. Pattinson and
others rushed forward to assist the royal visitor but before they could get
there, His Majesty had regained his feet exclaiming “It is nothing”. He
turned to Mr. Pattinson and showed him the sole of his shoe (which was of
the soft heelless variety) to explain the cause of his fall.
7. His Majesty continued his tour of inspection and next visited the
experimental garden kept by the Agricultural Department. Here he dis
played great interest in the trees and flowers, asking which varieties
thrived best here. After visiting other parts, His Majesty returned to
the railway bungalow set aside for his use having walked for a total of
three hours.
8 . The next day he was expected to visit the town of Ahwaz in the
morning and attend a military parade in the afternoon but His Majesty
did not leave his quarters during the whole day. It later became known
that as a result of his fall on the previous day, His Majesty had damaged
his right hand which had swollen. Military doctors were called on to
attend him. The Governor-General was received in audience for one hour
during which time he received orders to set aside a piece of land on the
right bank for the construction of a palace. The Governor-General
appears to have taken advantage of this interview to explain that the
scheme ordered from Tehran for the repair and draining of the streets of
Ahwaz had made little progress as financial sanction had been received
only when Aqa Furuhar, then Minister of the Interior had visited Ahwaz
on 9th February.
9. On the morning of the 10th His Majesty accompanied by the
Governor-General paid another brief visit to the river bank and selected
another site (in lieu of the one first chosen) for the construction of his
palace. He said he would send engineers to Ahwaz to start the work
immediately on his return. The final site chosen is immediately opposite
the site of the proposed Consulate. The Shah also ordered the construction
of boulevards on each bank of the river.
10 . In the afternoon, he went to the military parade. Realising that
the troops had been awaiting his arrival since the morning he dismissed
the parade after a march past. Irom the parade, ground he returned to
the barracks and there inspected the bathrooms, arsenal, anti-craft park
and the aerodrome. He spent an hour in the military hospital. He
constantly praised the work General Mu’ini had done here.
11 . That evening, the Shah told General Shahbakhti, the new General
Officer Commanding, in the presence of the Ustandar, to supervise the civil
activities of the Province in the same way as General Mu’ini did. General
Shahbakhti has since sent two letters to the Municipality one to state that
no money must be spent without his consent and the other ordering the
purchase of a motor watering sprayer for the streets.
12 . On the morning of the 11 th, His Imperial Majesty left for Bandar
Shahpur. According to all accounts, this port had been completely
cleaned up for the visit and the signs of chaos covered up. An Iranian
sloop sent around from Khorramshahr fired a salute of twenty-one guns
when the Shah appeared on the jetty. As a proof of his interest in & the
port and also as a tribute to his sources of information, I might mention
that His Majesty astounded everyone by enquiring if the hammer which had
been lost from the jetty about a fortnight before had been recovered. When
(S) 61 EAD