![Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.' [‎205r] (410/680)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x0002be/IOR_L_PS_12_2163_0412.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.' [‎205r] (410/680)")
Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.' [205r] (410/680)
The record is made up of 1 file (338 folios). It was created in 24 Oct 1939-1 Jan 1945. 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.
pfV,
INDEXED
IAL
OUTWARD T
U[
Ia^njCI/^Os.
his Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesly’s
IVO>0 r
(A)C
M
co
'iveo^o
(E 2060/2060/25)
kept under Lock and Key.]
»phments
of the
der Secretary of State
f or , Foreign Affair^
13 J///II )y40
3596
1940 j % u
2-1
LIHITSD DISTRIBUTIO N.
Cypher telegram to Mr. Stonehewer-Bird, (Jedda).
Foreign Office,
No. 55. ’ ry *' *
IMPORTANT f
SECRET.
12th June, 1940, 8 o 50 p.m.
Ahnlosure
0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0:0
IN WEEKLY LETTER
NO. 2 4 2 2^U!i ,J4U
FROM 8C0RETARY, POLITICAL ARC
SECRET DEPT.
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.
You will remember that when Ibn Baud has sought advice from
His Majesty's Government in past about possible Italian aggression
their replies have been coloured by belief that Italy would have
nothing to gain from military point of view by landings on the Saudi
Arabian coast in event of Anglo-Italian hostilities. See in this
/connexion my t elegram No. 69 r of the 27th April, 1959 and my telegrams
[ifbj ^ os * j and 11 of the SOthTjanuary ? 1940.
' 2. Recent events in Europe suggest, however, that Italian
Government might think it worth while landing
native agents
Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government.
and small
bodies of mobile troops, even if they had to abandon them subsequently,
with object of causing as much alarm and destruction and disaffection
as they could manage before being dealt with. Conditions in Arabia
are obviously quite different from those in Northern Europe and it is
not suggested that Italian technique would necessarily follow the
German a But underlying principles might be the same.
5. I must leave it to you to judge whether warning to this
effect could be kept secret and whether Saudi Arabian Government
could take effective steps to counter any such attempts if the
danger were brought to their notice. You may think only effect of
y/arning would be to make them frightened and ready to believe in
advance that Italians can raid Saudi Arabia with impunity. But
if you think it would do any good you should mention the danger
discreetly, drawing attention to what has happened elsewhere, and
suggest that such advance measures as are possible should be taken
to counter it.
4. Since the Saudi Arabian Government will no doubt enquire
what His Majesty’s Government could do in that case to protect and
assist them, it may help you to know that possibility of such (
landings has been foreseen in dispositions made for His Majesty's
ships in Red Sea. Admiralty cannot guarantee that small parties
here and there might not slip through the net, but they are
satisfied that they will from the outset have such control of the
Red Sea as would render difficult further maintenance of such parties.
Moreover, His Majesty's Government would probably^find it necessary to
mop up any party which succeeded in establishing itself at some point
on the Saudi Arabian coast, in order that the free passage of the
Red Sea should not be threantened or interrupted.
You should, therefore, be careful to avoid giving the
impression
*ECd. POL. DEF*r.
1 5 hJN 940
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.
About this item
- Content
This file concerns British policy towards Saudi Arabia during the Second World War (the abbreviation 'Qn' in the title stands for 'Question'). The correspondence discusses the question of providing financial or material assistance to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], as well as the United States' growing economic and strategic interests in Saudi Arabia.
The file features the following principal correspondents: His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Reader Bullard, Hugh Stonehewer Bird, and Stanley R Jordan successively); the Secretary of State for India (Leo Amery); the Viceroy of India (Archibald Percival Wavell); the Chancellor of the Exchequer (John Anderson); officials of the Foreign Office, 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. , the Treasury, the Government of India's Finance and External Affairs Departments, and the United States Embassy in London.
Related matters of discussion include the following:
- The idea (initially discussed in correspondence dating from 1939) of an alliance or a bloc of Arab states (chiefly comprised of Saudi Arabia and the Yemen), which would support the Allied cause.
- The Italo-German reaction to Ibn Saud's refusal to receive German diplomat Dr Fritz Konrad Ferdinand Grobba, a decision that was applauded by the British.
- Italian influence in the Middle East.
- Anglo-French co-operation in the Middle East.
- Details of the Saudi Government's finances (i.e. expenditure and revenue) during the early war years.
- Arrangements for loans and payments from the British to the Saudi Government, as well as details of royalties and loans paid to the Saudi Government by the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc).
- Proposals for an irrigation and agricultural mission to Saudi Arabia, headed by a United States agricultural expert.
- Conversations between Ibn Saud and United States General Patrick Hurley during the latter's visit to Riyadh in May 1943.
- The Government of India's decision in 1942 not to allow pilgrim ships to sail from India to Saudi Arabia, because of a risk of the ships being attacked.
- Ibn Saud's requests in 1944 for the British Government to send to Saudi Arabia financial and military advisers, preferably Sunni Moslems [Muslims].
- The proposed appointment of Ibn Saud's requested financial adviser, which is delayed and eventually abandoned, following the United States' suggestion that the position be given to a United States adviser, because of the United States' 'preponderant interest' in the Saudi economy.
The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (338 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 339; 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 present in parallel between ff 262-286; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.' [205r] (410/680), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2163, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100046518048.0x00000d> [accessed 5 April 2025]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100046518048.0x00000d
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100046518048.0x00000d">Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.' [‎205r] (410/680)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100046518048.0x00000d"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x0002be/IOR_L_PS_12_2163_0412.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x0002be/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2163
- Title
- Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:36v, 39r:57v, 59r:110v, 113r:182v, 184r:189v, 191r:310r, 311v:339v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence