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'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [62r] (123/336)
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.
and was therefore considered as one of themselves. I asked what time he
wanted me to be ready on the beach and was told "as soon as the moon sets".
This was a shock as it meant 3 a.m., but I was committed and I told Had!
he must come and wake me up himself.
I had scarcely fallen asleep, or so It seemed, before I was wakened by a
hand on my shoulder and opened my eyes to see young Had! standing over me
with an oil lamp. I got up at once, wondering why I had been so stupid
and agreed to the silly business. I longed to go back to bed and to sleep
but pride kept me on my feet and I drew on a pair of shorts and a shirt
and was almost overdressed for the work of the very early morning. I fol
lowed Had! down to the beach and found Said standing in the water holding
the stern of a small
dhow
A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
, or, as it is called "Sambuk", which was ready
waiting with five rowers already in their places. The mast had been taken
out for the night's work and I waded out and at Hadi's direction took my
place at the stern, gathering op the rudder lines as I did so. Hadi toe*
his place as steersman of a large canoe with four rowers which was lying
alongside and Said, who it appeared was to command the expedition, climbed
on board and seated himself on the great net piled high in the "Sambuk".
We paddled quietly through the silent surf of the beach, the "Sambuk" lead
ing followed by the canoe with Hadi in the stern, steering with a round-
bladed paddle. On Said's instructions I steered for the end of Has
Danafa, the rocky headland across the bay on the A1 Ghadlr side. It was a
wonderful night, the sea calm with scarcely a ripple to break the surface,
only a very long slow swell and away in front of ms the velvety black of
the headland outlined against the star-spangled sky. "Star Spangled" is
an expression I had often read but had never before realised how appropri
ate it can be to describe the myriads of lights looking as if they had been
shaken unevenly out of some great celestial pepper pot inside the deep blue
bowl of the night. As we slipped through the water our sides gleamed with
phosphorescent light and the oars and paddles struck fire from the sea at
every stroke. The light swirled and eddied as the blade entered the water \
and died away again as the blade was withdrawn, dripping yellow diamonds.
I was fascinated and could not take my eyes from the water until there came
a sharp order from Said and hastily correcting our course, I paid more
attention to my duty.
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' [62r] (123/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/13, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100094411638.0x00007c> [accessed 30 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.