'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [75r] (149/336)
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.
73 -
before coming in to land. Such refinements as wind-socks did not exist at
the Mukeiras landing strip in those days. As we came round for the run in
I could see the village of Mukeiras ahead of us and further away, the towers
and houses of the small town of Aryab, while to my left rear,clearly visible,
was the large Yemen town of Beidha, half hidden in a fold of the plateau.
Down we came to make a perfect landing and taxied to the very end of the strip
before turning to wait for the second aircraft.
Uukeiras landing strip was none too spacious even for Vincents which required
very little room indeed in which to land and take off. Our companion waited
for the dust to clear away and then landed easily almost before I had
recovered from that tenseness which I always feel when landing even in this
Comet age. I climbed out feeling carefully for the footholds in the side of
the fuselage and reached the ground without mishap. Not so Ahmad who, falling
to find the footholds, nearly put his foot through the side of the aircraft.
There was a cry of horror from Barrett and, thank God, Ahmad ceased to paw
wildly and hung on by his hands motionless until help in the shape of the W/T
operator arrived. His feet were placed in the right places and he came
safely to earth without damage to himself or the aircraft.
Our kit was unloaded quickly and before I had time to realise what was hap
pening, our parachutes, helmets, and overalls were back in the aircraft ahtj
Barrett had said "goodbye" and was taxiing away for the "take-off". Dropping
us was not the main purpose of the flight which was to bring in a Political
Officer from another landing strip away to the north->east. By this time a
small boy driving two donkeys had arrived and, leaving Ahmad to load the kit^
on to them, I strolled over to a heap of stones which marked the boundary of
the landing strip, and sat down to collect my thought*.
It was a novel sensation for me to be left alone in the middle of Arabia with
the propsect of not seeing another European or hearing English for ten days.
I was wrong about not hearing English, but that comes later. On the whole\I
found the sensation delightful, no court work, no files, no petitioners, no
> ' A
dub and no whisky. I was a little uncertain about the whisky and wondered
whether I had been wise to leave it behind and if I would regret the absence
of that refreshing and stimulating fluid; in fact, 't forgot all about it And
never regretted my decision. I had far too much to think about, but enough
of musing which is seldom of Interest to anyone but oneself. The aircraft
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' [75r] (149/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/13, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100094411638.0x000096> [accessed 6 April 2025]
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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.