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'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [33r] (65/336)
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.
- 31 -
Vhen at last he had finished eating, Ibn Saud spoke to his own personrl
attendant who had stood motionless behind him throughout the meal and a
large enamel mug, green with red roses, which must have held more than a
pint of water, was produced and when he handed it back there was not much
left in it. Not for this genuine man were the pretty glasses with gilt
rims which had been provided for the rest of us. Straightforward and sen
sible he was disinclined always to accept what was inadequate, though it
might be superficially pretty and come from the West.
We rose, washed the grease from our fingers in bowls held by the servants,
and returned to the roof on which we had been before dinner where coffee
was served. Immediately after which the rose-wator and incense made the
rounds and the party broke up with Ibn Baud’s rising and bidding me good
night. When I got back to the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Hanifa, I found it so hot and the
atmosphere so heavy that I decided to sleep on the roof. The sand flies
were a torment and it was ages before I fell into a troubled sleep. I
woke suddenly in a fright to find a goat investigating the sheet with
which I was covered. I shooed the animal away and drove her down the
stairs but she came \ b ick and I gave up the struggle and let her wander
about. After all, why be selfish, there was room for both of us on the
roof and she might serve as a counter-attraction for some of the sand
flies. Daylight came at last and the sand flies were replaced by the com
mon or house flies and I fled to my room below. I saw no purpose in stay
ing any longer in Riyadh and decided to return co {(tftfait after lunoh.
soon as Rushdl Mulhas appeared I told him of my intention and asked if it
would be possible for me to have a short interview with the Kin; to t ke
leave. He showed no surprise at my decision, in fact he seemed to expect
it, and at once arranged by telephone for me to see Ibn Saud later in the
morning at the town palace. I
I busied myself with my packing and then embarked on the formidable task
of remunerating the servants, many of them just for being servants and for
little else. I was astonished at the number who presented themselves and
wondered how it was that at least a dozen able-bodied men had not appeared
on the numerous occasions when my shouts had been answered only by the
unbroken silence of . house. Before I had dealt with the servants to
their satisfaction, an emissary from Ibn Saud arrived to distribute lar
gesse and garments to my party as is customary. I myself was presented
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' [33r] (65/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/13, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100094411638.0x000042> [accessed 26 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.