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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [147r] (304/995)
The record is made up of 1 volume (491 folios). It was created in 28 Jun 1920-11 Feb 1921. 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.
*
*
x
i
11
Telegram—P.
From—Slmckburgh, c/o
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.
, London.
To—Civil Commissioner, Baghdad.
No. 905.
Dated 24th and received 25th August, 1920.
Use of such words as £ rebels ’ and £ sedition ’ in your telegrams is liable
to criticism in Press, etcetra, when messages are published here. It wouid be
better to substitute ‘ anarchists ' or similar expression not conveying sugges
tion that allegiance is due from Arabs to Great Britain.” *
Telegram—B.
From—Civil Commissioner. Baghdad.
To—Shuckburgh,
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.
, London.
No. 10278. _
Dated 25th August, 1920.
Your telegram of 24th August, 905.
W, rd rebel was chosen after discussion with General Baghdad, who
used word enemy. I do not myself recollect usmg word sedition.
" Webster's dictionary does not bear out view that terms rebel or sedition
convey implication of alfegiance, though term sedition carries that implicat
* n ru + 4 TV Manual of Military Law, para. 444 specifically states that
illegitimate Imstllities in arms by inhabitants of invaded, i.e. occupied tern-
tory is usually called rebellion. .. , ,
I will however use word insurgent in future m place of re e .
On the o-eneral question I submit that we must either take the view that
our assumption of the mandate | d^S
ciseS authority in Mesopotamia is lawful
authority and obedience is due to it.
Telegram—Cyph er, Pty.
From Civil Commissioner, Baghdad.
To—India Office, repeated to Simla, Tehran, Constantinople, Cairo
No. 10290.
Dated 26th August, 1920.
Mv telegram of August 16th, 9889.
('•nit H I Lloyd has been taken prisoner by tribes and has been taken to
Daltawab He is reported to be well treated. His wife is in Baghdad Mr
Strachan, Assistant Irrigation Officer, also captured is with him. Wife of
late Mr. Buchanan is at Dali ‘Abbas with above officers.
Cant G H Salmon, A.P.O., Kifri, has been seized by hostile sections of
i < ip a 1 tribes and is held prisoner. His wife is with detachment of our troops,
at kingarban, five miles south of Kifri.
Employees of Anglo-Persian Oil Company at Naft Khan are safe but their
installation at that place has been looted.. .H.M s Consul, Kirmanshah
under my instructions has sent a strong guard of Kalhur tribesmen to protect
machinery, etc. from further damage.
Government officials at Mandali have been detained and police disarmed.
There are signs of increasing restlessness at Badrah and in Samarra Divi
sion and situation at Shatrah is critical. Otherwise the situation has not sub
stantially changed since August 16th.
G.O.C.-in-Chief has seen and has no remarks.
Addressed
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.
; repeated Simla, Tehran, Constantinople, Cairo,.
Jerusalem.
5
i f r
f
About this item
- Content
The volume consists of correspondence, memoranda, drafts, and departmental notes relating to rebellion against British mandatory rule in Mesopotamia [approximately corresponding to present-day Iraq], later known as the Iraqi Revolt of 1920.
The volume covers the period from the start of unrest in May 1920 to British imposition of control in October of the same year. The majority of the volume comprises reports from political officers across Mesopotamia on the situation in their respective divisions and districts.
Other matters discussed within the volume include:
- The suspected causes of the uprising, including fears of ‘Bolshevik’ and pro-Turkish influence
- Settlement of the border between Syria and Mesopotamia
- Military strategy and operations, including the need for reinforcements
- The severing of British lines of communication, particularly rail
- The efficacy and principles of the use of armoured cars and air raids as means of control following numerous cases of misidentification and disproportionate force that resulted in the deaths and injuries of innocent people
- Political and civil policy in the region
- Identification and arrest of some of the leaders of the rebellion
- The prominence of events in Mesopotamia in the British press
- The question of disarming the tribes following the suppression of the rebellion.
Principal correspondents include officials at: the 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. ; the Office of the Civil Commissioner in Mesopotamia (from November 1920, the High Commissioner); the War Office; General Headquarters of the military in Mesopotamia; and the Government of India, Foreign and Political and Army departments.
The volume contains cuttings from several publications, including: The Times , The Statesman , The Observer , The Daily Herald , The Daily Mail , The Baghdad Times , and The Near East .
The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence. A second divider is included, for File 4722/1918 Part 7, entitled ‘Mesopotamia: Sir A. Wilson’s invitation to Syrian Baghdadis’. This was transferred to File 5268/20 Parts 1 and 2 (see IOR/L/PS/10/913).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (491 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in approximate chronological order, from the rear to the front.
The subject 4722 (Mesopotamia) consists of ten volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/755-764. The volumes are divided into twelve parts, with parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12 comprising one volume each. Part 10 is missing. Part 7, entitled ‘Mesopotamia: Sir A. Wilson’s invitation to Syrian Baghdadis’, was transferred to File 5268/20 Parts 1 and 2 (see IOR/L/PS/10/913).
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 489; 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. Multiple intermittent additional foliation sequences are also present. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves. The sequence contains one foliation anomaly, f 89a.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation' [147r] (304/995), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/761, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100137804986.0x000069> [accessed 18 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/761
- Title
- File 4722/1918 Pt 8 'Mesopotamia: Situation'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1r:89v, 89ar:89av, 90r:113r, 114v, 118v:120r, 121v, 127v:169v, 173r:192v, 194r:211v, 213r:223v, 225r:227r, 229r:261v, 262v:263v, 266r:279v, 280ar, 280r:293v, 294v, 295v:317v, 318ar, 318r:333v, 334v:341v, 342v:359v, 360v:400v, 404r:424v, 425ar, 425r:489v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence