"ملف 19/218 (C 84) خلافة البحرين" [و‎‎٢‎٥] (٢١٠/٥١)

•4
Confidential•
D•0.No.C/15-1•a/la
>/« -
BUSHIRE RESIDENCY.
No....fa.
Date...
confidential records
The 6th January 1938.
Please refer to your demi-official letter No. 908-S
dated the 30th December 1937 on the subject of the Bahrain
Succession.
2. Everyone, Including Shaikh Abdullah and Shaikh Salman,
did his best to dissuade His Highness from accepting Bin
Saud's invitation to return overland, but the old man was
hopelessly stubborn and would not move an inch.
3. As you say, there is a fairly considerable possibili
ty that the succession will open in the near future, and an
immediate report on the questions that you have raised seems
necessary, though there will not be time to prepare dossiers
of Abdullah Mr 'Tsa, Salman bin TT amad and the younger Abdul
lah before I leave for Qatar. These will follow by the
next mail.
4. T have had a long talk with Belgrave and even he,
with so long and intimate an acquaintance with everyone
in Bahrain, is reluctant to forecast v/hat may happen if
His Highness dies on the way back from the Haj. We both
agree with you that the likely candidates are the three
whom you name, though the young Abdullah is perhaps scarcely
a serious candidate yet. In a few years he certainly will
be, and if he develops as he promises, he will be a most
desirable claimant too; but at present there is insufficient
serious support for him in the A1 Khalifah Family.
►
6. Another outside chance is Shaikh Mohammad bin f Isa,
but he need not be considered very seriously. His mother
was/-
Hon'ble Lieutenant-Colonel
Sir Trenchard Fowle, K.C.I.E., C.B.E.,
Political Resident in the
Persian Gulf, Bushire,