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'"NO MEDALS THIS TIME" by Sir Tom Hickinbotham, KCMG, KCVO, CIE, OBE' [163r] (325/336)
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.
I am not thinking of the danger of an attempt on Her Majesty's life so
much as the usual hazards of a big gathering of people. It is true that
there had been rumours of some attempt being made on the life of the Queen,
and I was astonished, when sitting one evening in my office in Aden, when my
telephone rang and lifting my receiver I found I was talking to the office
of a reputable Sunday paper in London. I was amazed when I heard what was
rumoured in London and said immediately that I knew nothing about it and had
no reason to suppose there was an atom of truth in the rumour. Responsible
person that editor, and I would that other papers had been equally careful
to check their information before publication. There is always a danger of
a lunatic being at large and all the precautions in the world will never
make the life of a public person absolutely safe. That is why those in
authority must feel some sense of relief when the great occasion is safely
over and all has gone well. It is a natural reaction which curiously enough
is not shared by the leading figure whose safety has been the cause of the
anxiety. At least that has been my personal experience; I cannot recall
ever feeling the least bit anxious when I was Governor that anyone would be
disagreeable either in the Colony or the Protectorate, although I was care
ful to have one or two orderlies with me when I walked abroad in the
Protectorate for you don't have to be a lunatic at large before engaging in
a little light-hearted rifle practice in tribal territory. It passes an
idle moment.
It was therefore with a sense of satisfaction, pride and, I confess, pro
found relief that I watched the Queen's plane disappear into the before-dawn
darkness en route to Entebbe at the end of the visit. Willingly would all of
us welcome the opportunity to have the honour again of entertaining Her
Majesty and His Royal Highness and I know that I speak for every single soul
who took part in the Aden visit, even the Commissioner of Police who had
tremendous responsibility and carried his burden with charm and efficiency.
The weather behaved itself and there was a pleasant breeze blowing as, just
before eight, I walked out onto my terrace at Government House in uniform
trousers and a white shirt to watch "Gothic" bringing Her Majesty and His
Royal Highness to us, pass slowly down the channel. The aeroplanes appeared
in pretty good formation and the guns of Fort Morbat fired the Royal Salute
and the Royal visit to Aden had begun.
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' [163r] (325/336), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F226/13, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100094411639.0x00007e> [accessed 1 July 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.