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'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [64r] (127/336)
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.
- 62 -
(fcq,.
were peddling madly and seemed to be drawing rapidly away from us. In fact
we were moving away from them and all their efforts were directed to holding
the canoe stationary against the drag of the net so that it acted as an
anchor. Our object was to pay out the net as we went and complete the
circle by rejoining the canoe. Said was shouting orders to me and the
oarsmen and at the same time heaving out the ropes of the net, the single
thick rope having given place to dozens of thin ones attached to the side of
the deep net. As soon as the net itself with its corks and weights started
to go over the side, the "Sanibuk" stroke left his oar and joined Said and
together they clutched the meshes of the net with frenzied fingers and
heaved it over the port side of the sharply listing boat. It was all I
could do to keep my place on the sharp pointed stem and work the rudder
lines at the same time.
At last the net had gone and the ropes followed in reverse order, the thin
ones first and then the single thick rope to which they are joined, the end
of which had been made fast in the bottom of the "Sambuk". More exhorta
tions from Said to me and the crew, pull starboard, pull port and then all
together as we strove with might and main to close the gap through which the
fish could escape between ourselves and the canoe. Said seized a short
piece of rope to which a heavy stone had been attached. He whirled the
stone around his head and brought it crashing into the sea and the sparks
of phosphorescence flew up. Quickly the stone was recovered and brought
crashing down time and again, the object being to drive the fish away from
the rapidly narrowing gap and frighten them into the net. We were all
soaked to the skin but the night was warm and so were we with our exertions
and no-one cared.
At last the gap was closed and the canoe came alongside on the far side of
the "Sambuk" from the circle made by the net and its ropes. Leaving one of
their number to hold the two craft together, the crew shipped their paddles
and led by Hadi came tumbling aboard the "Sambuk". As they did so, the loin
cloth of the youngest caught between the paddles and his seat came adrift
and fell into the bottom of the canoe, leaving him with nothing but a
leather belt around his waist. Instinctively he turned back to retrieve his
solitary piece of clothing but a sharp word from Said stopped him and he
sprang after the others into the "Sambuk" and joined lustily in pulling in
the ropes of the net with his comrades. Modesty can wait, the fish won't,
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' [64r] (127/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/13, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100094411638.0x000080> [accessed 19 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.