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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [35r] (74/898)
The record is made up of 1 volume (445 folios). It was created in 13 Mar 1924-18 Mar 1931. 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.
impracticable; for assistance from the British authorities in obtaining supplies of
petrol, &c., and for the loan of an officer of the Royal Air Force to pilot the fourth
aeroplane in place of the Hejaz Air Force pilot dismissed for misconduct in May (see
May report, paragraph 11).
20. The various facilities asked for were duly arranged. A question arose
as to whether the opportunity might not be taken of obtaining a quid fro quo in the
lhape of Ibn Baud’s assent to the pearling flights between Bahrein and Basra, which
the Air Ministry are anxious to organise (see May report, paragraph 10).
21. Sir Andrew Ryan advised against attempting a bargain which would make
the arrangements for the transfer of the Air Force contingent on an agreement iji
regard to pearling flights. Before the question had been raised in this form at home
and in Bagdad, he had spoken to the King on the 12th June on lines similar to those
followed in his conversation with Sheikh Fuad Hamza on the 28th May (see May
report, paragraph 10). In due course, he sent the King, on the 25th June, under
cover of a note to the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, a letter in which he
summed up the arrangements made to facilitate the transfer of the Air Force to
Jedda in the various ways requested, and went on as follows :—-
£t Your Majesty will doubtless appreciate the strong spirit of goodwill
shown by my Government in this as in other matters affecting the Hejaz-Nejd
Air Force. They are confident that in considering the question of flights over
the coast of El Hasa on which I had the honour to consult your Majesty on the
12th June, your Majesty will show an equal goodwill. The organisation of
experimental pearling flights this year, if it were possible, would confer
great benefits on all concerned in an important industry which would be the
means of providing experience which your Majesty also would find most useful
in connexion with the future development of that portion of your dominions. In
order to carry out the suggested experiment it would only be necessary that your
Majesty should authorise a certain number of flights by Royal Air Force
aeroplanes at regular intervals and should arrange for the marking out of one
or two emergency landing grounds. These grounds need not be equipped with
stores. They would merely serve as known places where in the case of necessity
aeroplanes could land. The necessary marking out might be effected by your
Majesty’s Air Force before it leaves for Jedda, unless your Majesty preferred to
enlist the assistance of the British authorities.
“ I explained to your Majesty frankly on the 12th June the desire for
collaboration between friendly Powers which animates my Government in con
sidering all such projects. Your Majesty graciously promised to consider the
matter in a similar spirit although you naturally desired to study it in all its
aspects. I trust that your Majesty will find it possible to inform me of your
conclusions on the subject in the near future.”
22. One of several reasons for not connecting the two questions more directly
was that early in June there had been fresh signs of disintegration in the personne
of the Hejaz Air Force. A second pilot seemed to be going the same way as the man
discharged in May and some of the mechanics were increasingly insubordinate.
The chief pilot had already made up his mind to recommend drastic action when
the King’s decision to transfer the force to Jedda was announced. In view oi a
decision the British authorities concerned exerted themselves to stave off a crisis,
hoping that things might be better once the transfer was effected Fortunately the
King seems anxious to carry it out as soon as possible for at the end of the month t e
chief pilot received his orders to proceed to Jed<kn If the transfer is effected o
the lines laid down in the correspondence there will be a delay of about eight days at
Hinaidi to enable the Royal Air Force to fit the Hejaz aeroplanes with certain
improvements which have been introduced into all Wapiti aircraft used by His
Majesty’s Government.
Pilgrimage and Connected Matters.
t^JSS&iSSSU
ESS. ,^ZX. ,h TU"S” .“.Z&S £.»r, CoJU/o.
About this item
- Content
The volume mostly contains printed copies of despatches from HM Agent and Consul, Jeddah, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, enclosing reports on the situation in the Hejaz (also spelled Hedjaz in the file) [now a region of Saudi Arabia], from January 1924 to December 1930, and related enclosures to the reports. These despatches were sent to the Under-Secretary of State for India by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The volume also includes 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. Political and Secret Department minute papers, which include comments on the reports, and indicate that the reports had been seen by the Under-Secretary of State for India and the Political Committee of the Council of India.
The reports are monthly for January to August 1924, May 1925, September 1925 to March 1927, June 1927 to June 1930, and December 1930. Reports between these dates cover shorter periods, except July and August 1930, which are both covered by one report, and September, October and November 1930, which are also covered by one report.
The reports discuss matters including the actions of King Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi of the Hejaz, including his attempts to gain recognition as Caliph, and the military and financial situation in the Hejaz during the war between the Hejaz and the Saudi Sultanate of Nejd [Najd]. They report on events of the Hedjaz-Nejd war including: the capture of Taif (September 1924) and Mecca (October 1924) by Nejd; the departure of the ex-King Hussein from Jeddah; the fall of Medina and Jeddah and the surrender of the Hejaz to Sultan Abdul Aziz of Nejd [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, also known as Ibn Saud] (December 1925); and the formal assumption of the title of King of the Hejaz and Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies by Ibn Saud (8 January 1925).
The reports following the annexation of the Hejaz by Nejd cover internal affairs, including prohibitions introduced for religious reasons, the Hejaz Railway, the financial situation of the Hejaz-Nejd Government, and the Hejaz Air Force. They also report on foreign relations, including: the publication of an agreement, dated 21 October 1926, between Ibn Saud and Sayyid Hassan-el-Idrisi, establishing the suzerainty of Ibn Saud over Asir; relations between Ibn Saud and Imam Yahya of the Yemen; the situation on the frontiers between Nejd and Iraq, and Nejd and Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan ; and the Treaty of Jeddah between Hejaz-Nejd and Great Britain (20 May 1927). They also report Ibn Saud being proclaimed King of the Hejaz, Nejd and its Dependencies (4 April 1927).
In addition, other frequently occurring topics in the reports are: the Pilgrimage [Hajj], including the arrival of pilgrims in the Hejaz, from India, Java and elsewhere, arrangements for the pilgrimage, the welfare of pilgrims, and the repatriation of pilgrims; and the slave trade and slavery in the Hejaz, including the manumission and repatriation of slaves.
The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (445 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 1707 (Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)) consists of one volume only.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 447; 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 4-444; 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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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/1115
- Title
- File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:88v, 90r:104v, 106r:108v, 110r:124v, 126r:128v, 129v:132v, 133v, 134v:137v, 139r:145r, 146r:161v, 162v:180v, 183r:205v, 206v:267r, 269r:271v, 273r:288v, 291r:308v, 309v, 310v, 311v, 312v, 313v, 314v, 315v, 316v, 317v:321r, 324r:335r, 337r:378v, 379v:381v, 383v:389v, 391r:393v, 395v:397v, 399r:400r, 402r:446v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence