'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' [‎50r] (99/118)

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already done eighteen operations and went back to the hospital at 3 p.m. to
do some more. The next day he did another thirty-six operations, and that
same night the Sheikh gave a large dinner in his honour, to which about fifty
Europeans, including us, and a large number of Arabs went. It was the usual
sitting on the floor and eating with your right hand party, and both the
Sheikh and Sir Henry were in very good form. The sheikh was very forthcoming
and asked after the children and about their adventurerin Persia.
About this time I heard that I was not after all to be transferred
permanently to Sharjah, on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. as P. 0. T. C. Colonel Hay
had at first intended that I should go and live there, and be replaced by a new
man as A.P.A. Bahrain. In the end, with some persuasion from Colonel Galloway,
it was decided that I should continue to hold both appointments and remain in
Bahrain, as before visiting Sharjah from time to time. Since the family had
only just rejoined me there and could not have gone with me to Sharjah, I was
much relieved. I was getting a little tired of never staying in one place
for more than ten or twelve months and shifting from one house to another
even more often.
Jnre’s mother arrived in December 19^-6 to stay with us and that
Christmas the children received masses of modern toys from our numerous
friends as well as from us. This was the first time that they had become
available in the Manamah shops since the .Var.
There was at that time no permanent chaplain in Bahrain but on the
early morning of the 24th December we had a communion service taken by an R.A.*.
ChapLin who was passing through to England. Christmas time ^Bahrain was
very hectic though we managed to have a family Christmas Day oexore going
to dine with the Galloways in the evening..
The festivities in December culminated in the Rew Year's Eve party
traditionally given by the Belgraves. This was a fancy dress affair w^h
dinner and an entertainment followed by dancing. On ^is occasion the ^
entertainment was a very free version of All Baba, fu _ __ It uas
written and oroduced by the Thomson Taggetts, a coup e their son
really very well done and the caste included both the ^elgraves,
James^ ^ne and five other people from Awali and M-amah By Day
on which the Resident held an investiture, and I had to stuff myself t
Political full dress uniform, I was not sorry to fly down to Starjah on.
2nd January to spend a few peaceful days in Sharjah and the Desert. Just
before I left I heard that a permanent P.O.T.C. was being appointed in the
very near future, so I 5 th J-^y 1947, to find
and TndlfiveJ to on the 7 th. He was Noel
Jackson, one of the comparatively few Indian Politicals to be appointed
the Indian Police, and later in the year was my A.P.A. when I once more
officiated as 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. .
_ . T 'iaii/7 Politicals all received a wad of papers dealing