'A Grandfather's Tale: Memoirs being mainly concerned with service in the Indian Army and the Indian Political Service in India and the Persian Gulf from 1932-1947' [‎52v] (104/118)

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on that day (b) It was for the Admiral to call first on the Sheikh at a time
suitable to the latter, and a return call would then be made at a mutually
convenient time and (c) that all arrangements for these visits, and any other
matters concerning the State of Bahrain, had to oe channelled through me, as
the Island was under British Protection and all its foreign affairs were a
matter to be dealt with by the British 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. , Bahrain, if necessary
in consultation with the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf• Much to my
relief Admiral Connolly took this all in very good part, and we were able to
redraft his programme to suit the Sheikh and all other persons concerned.
Apart from the official calls on the Sheikh, the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
and the 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. , all of which were duly returned on the ship, Jane,
the children and I were able to make an unofficial visit and were shewn round
the Toledo. This was on the same afternoon as the Sheikh and his family went
to tea with Admiral Connolly, and although we managed to avoid getting mixed
up with the Sheikh's party, the Marine Guard of Honour and Band were there on
the Quarter Deck when we went aboard, in readiness for the Sheikh's arrival,
and much to the children's joy we too were given a formal reception, with much
saluting. The officer of the watch greeted Jane and said "The Captain's
expecting you Ma'am" and along came Captain Detser and a flash light photograph
was taken of them shaking hands. We were then all handed over to another
officer, a Commander Brown, who took us all round the ship. Just as we started
we ran straight into Admiral Glover, who said "Hullo” quite cheerfully and
Elizabeth, aged 3-J, with great dignity, offered her hand and said "How do you
do”, much to his amusement. After our tour the children were given a cold
drink and a cake each and we went ashore in the Admiral's gig, which was in
fact a large launch, and Christopher was allowed to take the wheel. He
steered a somewhat erratic course but the Yankee sailors thought it a huge
joke. It was a very social week, with lunches, dinners and drink parties
for the Americans, including an official dinner given by the Sheikh for about
a hundred and fifty people, and we had, quite willingly, to go to all of them.
The Sheikh's party was reminiscent of "Madame Butterfly". The Americans
arrived rather late, after everyone else, and the sight of about thirty
officers, all dressed in whites, marching in with their caps under their arms,
made me feel that they should burst into song at any moment. However, they
were literally brought down to earth when they found they had to sit on rugs
on the floor like all the rest of us.
No sooner had the Americans gone than we were involved in further,
farewell, parties as the R.A.F. Station on Moharraq Island was closing down.
Moharraq was a small island, connected to Bahrain by a causeway, and at that
time was the only aerodrome available for civil and military land aircraft.
The flying boats landed on the stretch of water in between the two islands,
close to the A.P.A's House.
In the middle of June 19^7 I flew home without the family for
interviews with the Colonial Office. The Foreign Office had offered me a
three year contract, possibly renewable, to stay on in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
but I preferred the prospect of a permanent transfer to the Colonial
Administrative Service, and in any case, from a family point of view, the