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'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977' [170r] (339/498)
The record is made up of 1 file (247 folios). It was created in 1976-1978. 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.
British, American, Dutch and French to post a price for sales. That is,
they publish a price at which they are prepared to sell crude oil f.o.b,
at port of export, i.e. Tripoli, Banias on Mediterranean and Basra, or rather
at the port f.a.d. - for the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
. Iraq are always contending that
this is a phoney offer in order to cheat them out of their half of the real
world price. This "posted price" controversy is always cropping up and I
have to do my best to convince Nadim Pachachi, the Minister of Economics ,
and Nuri
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
, the Prime Minister, of its genuine validity.
Cable for me to go to London for discussions. So off and at London office
have much discussion - particularly with the other oil companies in I.P.C,
on rate of discount to be given to Iraq. Now cable from Baghdad saying Nadim
wants M.D. to go out to Baghdad to try and finalise prices and Iraq^ share.
Eventually, the M.D. Mr. Herridge and Barney Bischoff, our legal adviser,
fly out with me to Baghdad. There we find Iraqi Govt, representatives,
even including Nuri, very muddled in their thinking and arguments. Eventually
Nuri instructs his people to ascertain from Persia and Saudi Arabia what price
they are getting from their oil companies. Fact is, many oil purchasers
are bargaining with producer M. E. countries and getting oil at less than
the posted prices. It is all rather a game of bluff!
In October, 195 z i- N. accompanies me back to Baghdad in time for the British
Trade Fair. Still pretty warm - our bedroom was 29°C. in mid-afternoon
which is 3° or 4° hotter than it was in July/August with the air-conditioning
working. However, reasonably cool at night.
Then, with Frank Stoakes, our P.R.O. to British Trade Fair site and to
particularly. The Trade Fair will have some £12
see our
million worth of exhibits brought from U.K. to show and nearly £1 million
locally in preparation. At this time, Betty Boak, my private secretary,
has developed ear trouble which seems to cause claustrophobia and loss of
balance.
We got out a bunch of journalists from the U.K. to report on the Trade
About this item
- Content
Memoirs of Sir Herbert Todd (1893-1985) of 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. , later of the Iraq Petroleum Company. Written during the years 1976-78, the memoirs begin by recounting Todd's childhood on his family's farm in Kent, his education and entrance into the Home Civil Service in 1912, and his entrance into 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. in 1913. Roughly half of the memoirs (ff 10-137) covers Todd's career up to 1947, which can be summarised as follows:
- Posted to the Indian Police, Burma [Myanmar], 1913-17 (ff 10-22)
- Served in the 11th Bengal Lancers (Probyn's Horse), Indian Army, in Mesopotamia [Iraq], 1917-19 (ff 22-24)
- Remained in Baghdad as Assistant Commissioner of Police, Baghdad East Subdivision, 1919-20 (ff 25-31)
- Transferred to 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. , holding positions in Baluchistan, 1921; Gilgit, 1927; Quetta, 1931; Bharatpur, 1936-39 (ff 31-67)
- Served in the Home Guard during extended leave (1939-40), first in Canfield, Essex, and later in Blackheath, London (ff 68-72), followed by a spell as an air warden while awaiting re-posting to India (ff 72-78)
- First attempt at passage to India abandoned when the ship he was travelling on, SS Simla , was torpedoed, September 1940 (ff 79-88)
- Returned to India, holding positions at Udaipur, 1940 (ff 93-97); Baluchistan, 1941 (ff 97-101); Cochin [Kochi] and Travancore, 1943 (ff 101-111); and Calcutta [Kolkata] and the Eastern States, 1944-47 (ff 111-134)
- Returned to London on leave, April 1947; career brought to an abrupt end in June 1947 with the announcement of the handing over of power and Indian independence (ff 135-137).
The last hundred or so folios relate to Todd's employment in the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), 1948-59 (ff 138-227), and his subsequent retirement in Oxted, Surrey, 1959-78 (ff 227-248). As Chief Representative of the IPC, Todd and his wife spent much of their time in Baghdad. The memoirs document Todd's relations with prominent Iraqi politicians, diplomats, and visiting British MPs, as well as Todd's visits to Beirut, Damascus, Palestine, Jordan, Kuwait, Persia [Iran] and the United States. Also included are Todd's thoughts on the Suez Crisis and the 1958 revolution in Iraq (Todd was holidaying in Austria at the time and never returned to Baghdad).
Aside from his career, Todd writes about his hobbies (polo and hunting) and comments on UK and world events, such as the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the death of Winston Churchill, and the first moon landing in July 1969; he also mentions in passing meeting Professor Max Mallowan and Agatha Christie at the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud (Iraq) in April 1955.
The text is typewritten with annotations and crossings out in pencil and ink. It includes some offensive terms and language in its descriptions of members of colonised populations.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (247 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 249; 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. The file also contains an original printed foliation sequence. It should be noted that number 13 in the original foliation sequence is missing (in between folios 14 and 15).
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- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F226/30
- Title
- 'AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR HERBERT TODD, C.I.E. 1893-1977'
- Pages
- 2r:248v
- Author
- Todd, Sir Herbert John
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