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Coll 6/91 'Saudi Arabia. Policy of H.M.G. Qn. of credits and guarantee of assistance to Ibn Saud.' [334r] (668/680)
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.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
. CONFIDENTIAL
—
December 22. 1939.
Section 2.
[E 8086/2/>3/25]
Copy No.
Sir R. Bullard to Viscount Halifax.—(Received December 22.)
(No. 170.)
My Lord, Jedda, December 2, 1939.
IN any country where the power is concentrated in the hands of a personal
ruler the extent to which his word can be relied upon is a matter of supreme
importance to the foreign representative who is called upon to deal with him. We
have assurances from Ibn Saud which, taken at their face value, lead us to believe
that we can count upon his benevolent neutrality in this war—unless, as I have
frequently said, the Allies should be defeated, when at the last moment he might
well try to absorb some of the smaller Arab States on the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
in order to
forestall a similar advance from Iraq or Iran. On the other hand, when the war
began the Amir Abdullah seems to have believed that Ibn Saud was threatening
his territory, and although the Amir subsequently stated that he was satisfied on
this head, it is always possible that the recent movement of Saudi forces to the
north may revive his suspicions. It seems probable that the movement is towards
the Iraq frontier, however, and some local wiseacres forecast an attempt to seize
Koweit while His Majesty’s Government are busy elsewhere. The fact that an
emissary of Ibn Saud’s visited Herr Hitler just before war broke out was bound to
give rise to speculation. The Germans gave the visit a political tinge in their
news, and Ibn Saud was not in a position to divulge to the world the information
he gave to His Majesty’s Government about the object of the visit. Hence a
belief in some circles in/Jedda (the Turkish Legation, for instance, who have little
direct contact with Ibn Saud) that the Saudi Government are pro-German.
2. My own belief is that, if we take Ibn Saud's assurances at their face
value, we shall not be far out. The behaviour of Iraq in the matter of Koweit |
early this year, the assumption of a sort of moral protectorate over the smaller
Arab States in the Gulf by certain political and journalistic circles in Iraq, and j
the conduct of Nuri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
as seen through the eyes of Ibn Saud. are sufficient to
account for the despatch of Saudi forces towards the Iraq border, even if the 1
King had not had trouble there from tribes which, he believes, try to play off the j
two Governments against each other. I do not believe that he would welcome a
German victory, even if Germany had not allied herself with Russia. The
attitude which he has held towards His Majesty’s Government during the three
years I have been here seems to me consistent with his wider interests. His
attitude was well described to my French colleague recently by Fuad Hamza, who
said that the King would never quarrel with His Majesty’s Government about the
Mufti, for instance, for while it was a Moslem and Arab interest for him to
support the Palestinian claim, he considered that the wider interests of the Arab
and Moslem world compelled him to remain close friends with His Majesty’s
Government.
3. Ibn Saud has never pretended that his attitude towards His Majesty’s
Government is due to mere affection. He claims, for instance, to have told the
Hadhramis, who came fishing for sympathy, that if the British were not in the
Hadhramaut some other Power would be, and that they might think themselves
fortunate to have secured the best of the Powers. He has often said that, as an
Arab, he sympathises with any movement for Arab independence, but next to
independence he considers British rule or protection to be the least galling
arrangement. When justifying his support for Great Britain in the East, he
points to the independence of Iraq and Egypt and the constitutional development
in India, saying that, while His Majesty’s Government have doubtless acted in
accordance with their conception of their own interests, no other European Power
would have shown such consideration to the peoples concerned. Finally, he always
[780 y 2]
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.
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- 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.' [334r] (668/680), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2163, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100046518049.0x000047> [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