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'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [29r] (57/336)
The record is made up of 1 volume (168 folios). It was created in 1982?. 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.
27 -
From the market garden section of the cultivation we went to see the wells
which made possible this blossoming of the desert. There were a number of
wells but three only were of importance and these looked like sunken ponds
being not less than thirty yards long, of considerable width with the sur
face of the water fifteen to twenty feet below ground level. The first one
we came to, from which water was being drawn by a pump driven by a
Blackstone oil engine through antf eight-inch pipe, was, I was told, four
hundred feet deep. I was told also the rate of flow of the water through
the pipe and the time of recovery of the well, but unfortunately I made no
note at the time and the data has long since passed from my mind. What
impressed me more than all these wonders - and in that desolate area they
were wonders - was Sheikh Abdullah’s profound and detailed knowledge and
the obvious efficiency of those engaged in the enterprise.
On our way back we saw a new canal being dug by a mechanical excavator and
I learnt that it was to take water to a new area of cultivation twelve
miles distant and would be lined with stone faced with cement made from
locally-prepared lime. As soon as we reached the Minister's house I went
to my room and contrived to have a bath from a corrugated iron tank of
water with the aid of a pint measure. I put on clean clothes and, much
refreshed, returned to the centre court to find my host reclining against
cushions in the centre of an island of carpets which had been spread on the
ground. Leaving my sandals at the edge of the carpets, I joined him and he
talked of India and waxed indignant over the attitude of the Congress party.
Our failure to take drastic action was to him quite inexplicable and for the
second time that day I was treated to a lecture on firmness and how essen
tial it was when dealing with orientals, especially in time of war. As he
talked, the shades of night drew in and servants brought pressure lamps and
placed them behind pillars so that our eyes should not be dazzled. Their
brilliant light illuminated the white arches and cast deep shadows on the
walls and slowly the moon rose above the wall of the courtyard and all was
peaceful and cool after the bustle of the hot and dusty day. Enchanted by
the scene, I was only half listening to my host when suddenly he broke off
in the middle of advocating the use of the Indian States to bring Congress
to heel and suggested dinner. I agreed and he raised his hand and a lad
armed with a Mauser pistol at his waist came running from where he had been
sitting with a companion similarly armed at the far end of the courtyard.
About this item
- Content
This volume is a set of typewritten memoirs by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, a retired officer of the British Indian Army and the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. . Hickinbotham held various positions in India and in the Middle East, and these memoirs recount stories from his time in Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Quetta, Persia [Iran], Aden, Audhali, Bahrain and North Waziristan.
The memoirs were most likely completed in 1982-83; they cover the period 1927-1982, although most of the chapters relate to events from the 1930s and 1940s.
Hickinbotham writes not only about his official duties but also about various trips taken during periods of leave. Below is a list of the chapters, with a short summary of each:
- 'No Medals This Time' (ff 3-6) – details of an incident in Kuwait involving a dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. that caught fire off the foreshore at Shuwaik [Ash Shuwaykh]
- 'The Silver Coin' (ff 7-10) – thoughts on the use of the Maria Theresa thaler in Arabia
- 'The Golden Dagger' (ff 11-36) – an account of Hickinbotham's unofficial visit to Riyadh to meet Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in May 1942
- 'The Brass Pencase' (ff 37-53) – memories of a journey undertaken from Quetta to Europe via north Persia in 1927, travelling in a Fiat Tourer with Colonel T Nisbet (also referred to as the 'purple emperor'), on what Hickinbotham claims to have been the first trip taken by car from India to the Mediterranean
- 'The Bronze Boy' (ff 54-72) – reminiscences of weekends spent in 'Little Aden' (a rocky peninsula seven miles west of Aden), in 1938, and a later visit, in December 1961
- 'The Silver Letter Case' (ff 73-118) – details of a ten-day trip on the Audhali plateau in the summer of 1938, and a return visit, in December 1960 (the chapter ends with remarks on the situation in Yemen generally from the late sixties to the time of writing, i.e. 1982)
- 'The Agate Ring' (ff 119-144) – memories of travelling in Oman during the summer of 1940 and how this compared with Hickinbotham's last visit to the country in 1980
- 'The Pearl Tie Pin' (ff 145-151) – thoughts and anecdotes on the pearl trade in Bahrain
- 'A Point of View' (ff 152-157) – a story told to Hickinbotham, possibly fictional, of a pearl trader in the Gulf who lost his fortune and livelihood, and eventually his sanity
- 'Snakes Alive!!' (ff 158-161) – an account of a near-fatal encounter with a krite [krait] in Waziristan
- 'The Queen's Visit' (ff 162-168) – memories of the Queen's visit to the Aden Protectorate in 1954, where Hickinbotham was serving as Governor.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (168 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume contains an index of chapter headings on folio 2, which includes some handwritten corrections and annotations.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 168; 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 mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-168.
Condition: The original plastic comb binding ring has been replaced with a wider one to facilitate flat opening of the volume. Polyester film covers have been added to protect the first and last folios.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [29r] (57/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/13, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100094411638.0x00003a> [accessed 29 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F226/13
- Title
- '"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE'
- Pages
- 1r:168v
- Author
- Hickinbotham, Sir Tom
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.