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'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [91r] (181/336)
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.
89
met the Amir Fadl bin Abdul Karim, the eldest son of the then Sultan of
Lahej, in a London hotel I said, "How's your English?" "Much the same as
your Arabic" was the immediate retort. The second example occurred only the
year before when I v/as
Political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
in Bahrein. We had had great diffi
culty in trying to help the Karachi Customs authorities in their campaign
against silk smugglers. The smugglers imported silk piece goods into
Karachi in bond and did not pay the very high import duty so long as the
; ooc-i /ftfiAained in bond or were re-exported. The silk was re-exported from
bond in sailing vessels bound for the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
ports and on their mani
fests were entered the ports of destination of the goods. Once clear of
Karachi,harbour, the big sailing vessels were met by small craft into which
the bales were unloaded and landed on the Mekran coast and taken by camel or
lorry back into British India by unfrequented routes thus avoiding the pay
ment of duty to the profit of the smugglers. The big sailing vessels con
tinued on their journey to the ports of destination on the manifests and
there persuaded the local Customs officials to certify that the cargo had
been properly discharged. This done, they saile
very virtuous indeed and the profitable game started all over again. One of
the ports to which a great deal of this silk was manifested was Dohar, the
capital of the Sheikhdom of Qatar for which I was responsible. On several
occasions I had written to the Sheikh of Qatar about his Customs and Port
officials and their curious little ways, but always he had replied indig
nantly that whatever else they might be, they were certainly not in league
with the smugglers. At last there came into my possession evidence against
his Collector of Customs which not even the Sheikh could fault and he was no
fool. In answer to my letter containing the charges he said that he had
dismissed the Collector of Customs though of course dishonesty in a Customs
official was no matter for surprise because "as you so well know, all
officials are dishonest".
At the foot of the tower I paused to photograph the Sultan and then accom
panied by Naser and Nagi, hurried down the hill. The torrents had fallen as
quickly as they had risen and we had much less trouble on our way back than
I had expected. At the village I cleaned some of the mud off my legs and,
house, sat down to enjoy my tea and
placing
write up my diary. I was not left undisturbed for long. Two elderly gentle
men leading a camel appeared from the bed of the stream. The camel was with
some difficulty persuaded to kneel down and from its back a heavy object
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' [91r] (181/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/13, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100094411638.0x0000b6> [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.