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'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [141r] (281/336)
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.
139 -
ffc l)
squatted on ny haunches in the middle of it - it's essential to get the cen
tre of gravity in dugouts as low as possible otherwise they turn upside down
with surprising ease - and we paddled ashore. Not a very dignified way in
which to make an official entry, rather less so than a donkey would have
been, but the only alternative was to swim and it's always troublesome dress
ing in public as I know only too well; I have had to do it more often than I
care to remember.
As I stepped ashore on to the beach there was a deafening report and a cloud
of dust and smoke followed by the yelps and squawks of frightened dogs and
fowls. The piece of ordnance used for ceremonial occasions and sited on the
local rubbish heap had been fired. The gun had leapt off its ancient carriage
with the force of the explosion but this was apparently quite normal as it was
being retrieved and replaced by three men and a number of boys and the crowd
paid not the least attention. I walked up the beach and exchanged greetings
and handshakes with what appeared to be a reception committee. A nice prob
lem in protocol arose immediately. The principal Hindu merchant wanted me to
go to his house there to await the Governor who had, as 1 thought, come in
from Bilad Sur the previous evening, but the leading member of the quarter of
the town in which I had landed insisted that I honour his dwelling. This was
a difficult and Important point and the reception committee took sides. Some
supported the local notable and some the Hindu, both parties giving their
views simultaneously and at the top of their voices. The noise was indescri
bable and then the gun went off again and the argument ceased abruptly. The
gun had, by some odd chance, been pointed in our direction or we had wandered
in front of it, I don't know which, but I do know that we received the full
blast from its ancient muzzle with all the rubbish and old bits of sacking
that had been thrown up into the air. When the smoke cleared I took immedi
ate advantage of the stunned silence and announced as I dusted myself down
that I would go to the house of the local notable to wait for the Governor
and would call personally on the Hindu leader as soon as the visit was over.
The notable's house was nearby and we had by now a considerable following,
the majority of whom had to remain in the street while only the more present
able were admitted. We were led across the courtyard up a staircase and into
a long, narrow room with numerous windows and furnished with carpets and
cushions. We all left our sandals at the door and entered the room bare
footed or in our socks. It's a sensible custom when the carpets are to be
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' [141r] (281/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/13, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100094411639.0x000052> [accessed 14 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.