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Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [48r] (95/290)
The record is made up of 1 file (145 folios). It was created in 7 Jan 1919-7 Dec 1920. 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.]
Printed for the Foreign Office. April 1919.
SECRET.
I.D.C.E., 14th Minutes.
FOREIGN OFFICE.
INTER-DEPARTMENTAL CONFERENCE ON MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS.
Minutes of a Meeting held at the Foreign Office on Wednesday, April 9,
1919, at 6 p.m.
Present:
The Right Hon. the Earl Curzon of Kedleston, K.G., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.
(in the Chair).
Major-General Wm. Thwaites, C.B.,
Director of Military Intelligence, War
Office.
Brigadier-General Kirke, War Office.
Lieutenant-General Sir H. V. Cox, K.C.B.,
K.C.M.G., C.S.L, Military Secretary,
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.
.
Mr. J. E. Shuckburgh, C.B.,
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.
.
Mr. L. Oliphant, C.M.G., Foreign Office.
Mr. S. D. Waley, M.C., Treasury.
Mr. E. H. Jones (Secretary).
] >ushire Expedition. The Chairman said at the last meeting (21st March) the
Conference had decided to commence the evacuation of troops from
South Persia on the lines suggested by the General Officer
Commanding, Bushire (telegram from Viceroy, Foreign Department,
dated the 7th March, 1919). Instructions had been sent to that
effect (telegram No. P. 1485, dated the 21st March, 1919) from
Secretary of State to Viceroy, and were now being put into effect
(telegram No. 4073 of Oth April, from Viceroy, Army Department).
The only reason for postponing complete withdrawal had been
our fear of weakening Sir Percy Cox’s hand in the political
negotiations that were still in progress. Sir Percy Cox had been
informed of this fact in Foreign Office telegram No. 172 (K) of the
25th March, but perhaps the telegram had not made it sufficiently
clear that a reply was desired as to whether or not he thought the
political situation would be weakened by an immediate and complete
withdrawal. Until a reply arrived it was difficult to estimate
to what extent the support given by the presence of our forces
in South Persia was necessary. The question at issue was—ought
we to spend half a million in giving this support.
Mr. Shuckburgh said the policy suggested by the Government
of India as an alternative to that of the General Officer Commanding,
Bushire, was to lay down definite dates (i) for the withdrawal of the
bulk of the force, and (ii) for the withdrawal of the remainder. The
latest date should be May 1st. Definite dates, they considered,
would confront the local authorities with the necessity of cutting
their coat according to their cloth and finding a policy which would
stand on its own merits without an indefinite backing of military
force.
[987]—544
About this item
- Content
This file is composed of papers produced by the Foreign Office's Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs. It consists entirely of printed minutes of meetings of the conference, most of which are chaired by George Curzon.
Those attending include senior representatives 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. (most notably the Secretary of State for India), the War Office, the Admiralty, the Air Ministry, and the Treasury (including the Chancellor of the Exchequer). Other notable figures attending include Harry St John Bridger Philby and Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell.
The meetings concern British policy in the Middle East, and mainly cover the following geographical areas: Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, Trans-Caspia, Trans-Caucasia, the Caspian Sea, Palestine, Persia, Hejaz, and Afghanistan. Some of the meetings also touch on matters beyond the Middle East (e.g. wireless telegraphy in Tibet, ff 79-80).
Recurring topics of discussion include railways (chiefly in relation to Mesopotamia), Bolshevik influence in the Middle East (particularly in Persia and Trans-Caspia), and relations between King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī] and Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].
Several sets of minutes also contain related memoranda as appendices.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (145 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 145, 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.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [48r] (95/290), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/275, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100070539234.0x000060> [accessed 8 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F112/275
- Title
- Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:144v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence