'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' [‎44v] (88/118)

- 80 -
• -Q Up oeemed lust the same and was greatly amused by the
anttfs^rcSSer Ld Elizabeth who can,e with ua and consumed vaat quantxtxes
of sandwiches and cakes#
o V, • on the 17 th February 19^6, and I took over as
We arrived in i>a.i rain * ^ The A p.A’s House was some way out of
Assistant 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. ^ he ne i-i^/isiand and in the desert about half a mile
Manama, the main town and Port ^^^^131^, and^in Jasp0r Coates
beyond the Air Liaison 0-fice ’ d and unuer storey, and wide
in 1939. It was built of concrete,^! ^ bare 'necessities. However,
verandahs upstairs and cown, an rue: s on the floors and pictures
when we had got our heavy ^ unpacked and a few rugs on the^ ^ air ^ ondition .
ing^bu^we^had'^ceiling^fans^an^in^h^hot^weather kd our beds out on the
upstairs verandah#
Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. was in Manamah right on the coast with its own
beach and yefty! Se ^offices and Courtroom were on the f-und noo* fUe
the P a”s private office and all the living quarters were on the first
C^fLev Prior was still Resident when I arrived, having served m the Gulf
The P A. was Colonel Galloway, whom I had just met in l^py wnen
Agent in Kuwait, and my old friend Dick Bird was the man I relieved as A.P.A.
In Bah
lot of ti® eW
lojoanyt cofflI
■0 the cc
lataiiiai'®! ^
jxocatives t(
imitations i
liicl was 01
iota! prohih
i I can re
a Friday, sp
to the launc
oat! lore nun
igent, Bahra
las in, I tt
tetralians
force a Soul
'ail that he
mn it,
In those days 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. Bahrain was also 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. for
Qatar and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , and although there was supposed to be a political
vacant and I held charge as P.O.T.C. m addition to my duties as ^P.A ^anr^
This was fine as far as I was concerned as it gave me the chance of flyi g
to the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. from time to time and visiting ^ e „ var;LOU t! h !^°'^ f>h
of Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, A1 Fuj^rih, Ajman, Ummal Qwaim, Has A1 Khayma ^
and Fujairah. One would get off the flying boat at Shar 3 ah and =
camel or antiquated truck and make off into Desert
no-nulation of the seven States was about 100,000, 10% oi wmcn were n
and the Sea seme 32,000 square miles, but most of this was uninhabited desert^
with the main towns or villages on or near the Coast. Dubai was the chi
and port, and half the population lived there. The main products "ere fish,
vegetables, dates and pearls, though exploration for oil was then going on, an
X remember recommending that something should be done about d ® laaeat “ g
boundaries of those sheikhdoms before the oil came to the surface. At that
time, except near the coast, nobody cared much about who owned which bit ol
desert except where there was an oasis, but one could see that once oil ao
discovered this carefree attitude would change entirely. I think in th e en
the boundaries must have been settled but if so it was after my time. Lixe
there was then still very primitive ana in complete contrast to the up x
rather slick atmosphere of Bahrain.
Bahr
m an Isla
stable, It
ana made a
it made fre
Ini
Joint Court
oases conci
ws a Bhar;
«iiile the
^ far as
’sis repres
faaily, i
to try, ar
P. i's Coi
such as as
Tb
officiati
^ a non-
tould exp
^ accus
^ont of
victj
finding i
^ the ]
^ttfirina