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Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.' [208r] (416/680)
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.
born of Storrs out of the High Commissioner* He could not
understand our policy in making a martyr of the Mufti. Besides
being a mistake it was so un-English* The French were vindictive
and would have acted as we did ; hut cur strength lay in our
ability to forget the past. It was not in French nature or
policy to treat ex Irish rebels, Mr. Gandhi and others as we
treated them. People like Nehru would if under French
protection be banished to a desert island whereas he Ballereau
had been present at Singapore when Nehru in a hall put at his
disposal by the local Government had ended his speech with the
words: H V/e hope that we shall soon be strong enough to expel the
English from India”, whereupon the police band lent for the
occasion had struck up ”God save the King” and the company had
dispersed happily - very English and utterly un-French,,
Another point which Ballereau made was that our attitude to
Ibn Saud v/as much more reasonable than that of France and
especially Syria which could not appreciate as we did the
difficult course which Ibn Saud had to steer,, Y/e understood
that if Ibn Saud gave hospitality to and appeared to sympathize
with persons known to be opposed to our policy it was because he
was obliged in his capacity of Arab ruler in charge of the Holy
Land to express interest and even sympathy with Moslem aspirations
towards freedom from European control. Ibn Saud however fully
realized where his political interests lay and he would never
take any step which would result in estranging the sympathy of the
British. The French couldn’t see the matter in this light. If
they received news that Ibn Saud had been showing kindness and
listening to a Syrian malcontent they immediately started to
doubt Ibn Saud’s friendship for the Allies. He Ballereau had
great difficulty in persuading Puaux who was inexperienced in
matters oriental and consequently depended much toe much on his
advisers that Ibn Saud is, in his own interest if for no other
reason, on the side of the Allies,
He insisted once again on the importance which he attached
to the two Governments taking each other completely into each
other’s confidence over their aims in Arabia. Whilst there was
complete unity fef aim in the prosecution of the war the
opportunity should be taken to discuss and agree upon the line
we each proposed to take both during and after the war.
Yours ever,
(Sd.) Hugh S. Bird.
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
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Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.' [208r] (416/680), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2163, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100046518048.0x000013> [accessed 4 June 2026]
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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