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Coll 17/10(1) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [140r] (284/982)
The record is made up of 1 volume (487 folios). It was created in 4 Nov 1932-14 Jan 1937. 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 (Iraq).
^ CONFIDENTIAL.
May 19, 1936.
Section 1.
O
[E 283^/1575/93]
Copy No.
t
Sir A. Clark Kerr to Mr. Eden.—{Received May 14)
(No. 245.)
Sir, Bagdad, May 14, 1936.
WITH reference to my despatch N o. 23g _nf the 7th May last, I have the
honour to inform you that an official communique was published in the press of
the 12 th May in the following terms :—
“ The leaders of the rebellion continue to make their submission to the
G-overnment. Nothing has transpired to necessitate renewed military
operations, activity being confined to minor action by the police and air force.
The train service between Bagdad and Basra has been resumed. Investiga
tions are proceeding to discover the causes underlying the subversive move
ment so that preventive measures may be taken against future outbreaks.”
Reports which have reached me from various quarters indicate that this
communique is substantially correct and that the situation is well in hand.
2. During the operations in the Rumaitha district on the 7th-8th May, the
army sustained a further thirty casualties and one ‘ ‘ Audax ' ’ aircraft was shot
down by the tribesmen. Owing to the explosion of the bombs on board, the
machine was totally wrecked. The pilot and mechanic perished. I gather that
the aircraft was flying at an unduly low altitude at the time when it was struck.
3. On the 12th May a ££ Hawker-Nisr ” aircraft was hit by rifle fire and
crashed in flames. The pilot and mechanic endeavoured to escape m their
parachutes, but were killed by the tribesmen on landing. The body of the pilot
was afterwards found to be riddled with bullets, while that of the mechanic had
been horribly and deliberately mutilated. These disasters have caused a certain
loss of moral in the Iraqi Air Force, whose incendiary bombs used hitherto with
great effect against villages and crops, have been a deciding factor m the course
4. ^On the 8 th May, an outburst of sniping by a roving band of some 150 men
caused the temporary withdrawal to Bagdad of the Iraqi aircraft stalione m
Diwaniyah. By the 11th May, however, all the machmes used in cmoperatio
with troop movements had again been concentrated on the advanced land g
ground. The greater part of the army is now camped 8
events, while the tribal headmen make their submission ^ Go^rn .
5 Attempts by the tribesmen to flood the radway near Wawiy.h we
unsuccessful, but the first train that endeavoured ^ get through to ^sra o
10th May was fired on near Daraji, and was forced to told
ft TWino- the course of a recent conversation the Brime Minnier ium
Mr. Bateman that he had stopped a number of
reporting the loss of Iraqi aircraft because their alarmist tenor was
accordance with the facts of the 1 sl ^ a ^ 10 , 1 ?' oo Middle Euphrates
7. I am credibly informed th y ^^fo^ition and that the Prime
have resulted in a closing of the p n ' s , t ffi] } iave the honour to address
Minister’s position has been severely shaken. I shall have in
you a separate despatch on this submc . Majesty’s Charge d’Affaires
8 . I am sending a copy of this despatch to n j .
at Tehran.
have, &c.
(For the Ambassador),
V C H BATEMAN.
[706 t—1]
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence and memoranda regarding relations between HM Government ( HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. ) and Iraq following independence, and private arrangements for the supply of information to HM Ambassador in Baghdad from British advisers to the Iraqi Government. The records also document the reaction of 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 Foreign Office to political developments within Iraq, and their concerns over the possible impact on British and Indian commercial interests in Iraq.
The following events are documented in the file:
- 1932. Opening of the Iraqi parliament, formation (and change) of cabinets, arrangements for conservancy of the Shatt al-Arab.
- 1933. The death of King Faisal [Fayṣal bin 'Alī al-Hāshimī], the accession and policy of King Ghazi [Ghāzī bin Fayṣal al-Hāshimī], cabinet crises, and protests against the continued relationship between HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. and the Government of Iraq.
- 1934. Political appointments and commercial development.
- 1935. Opposition group activities in Iraq, tribal revolts in the Middle Euphrates area, cabinet crises, Yezidi disturbances in Mosul, and discussion of the Assyrian question.
- 1936. The controversy surrounding the marriage of Princess Asa [Azza] to a Christian porter in Athens, and the proposals of the Iraqi cabinet that she be murdered, or the marriage annulled; suppression of tribal activity in the Rumaitha district; the coup d'état, and instigation of a new cabinet under Hikmat Suleiman.
The bulk of the volume consists of correspondence between the Foreign Secretary and HM Minister in Baghdad. A number of communications and official statements from the Government and King of Iraq are also present. The volume also contains the following items of particular interest:
- Record of a conversation between Sir Francis Humphrys and Yasin Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. Al Hashimi, ff 426-427.
- English translation of a letter of condolence from Amir Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, King of Jordan, to King Ghazi, ff 403-406.
- Notes on the economic benefits accruing to Britain in Iraq, ff 357-359, 367-369.
- Memorandum regarding the commercial interests of the British India in Iraq, with a list of commercial enterprises, ff 346-351.
- Letter from Humphrys to King Ghazi regarding the continuation of private arrangements to ensure the transfer of information between the Government of Iraq and HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. , f 312; with corresponding letter from King Ghazi to Humphrys, f 298.
- Communication sent by Archibald Clark Kerr to the Foreign Secretary (Viscount Eden), on the coup and its aftermath, ff 26-30.
The volume includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 4-5).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (487 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 489; 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 4-486; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 17/10(1) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [140r] (284/982), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2860, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100049057336.0x000055> [accessed 26 March 2025]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2860
- Title
- Coll 17/10(1) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:10r, 12r:17r, 19r:27r, 29r:34v, 36r:82v, 84r:100v, 103r:147v, 149r:208v, 210r:225v, 227r:249v, 251r:274v, 276r:287v, 289r:297v, 299r:306v, 308r:317v, 319r:331v, 333r:363r, 365r:379v, 381r:381v, 383r:387v, 389r:402v, 407r:421v, 423r:427v, 430r:462v, 464r:470v, 472r:482v, 487r:488v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence