IOR/R/15/1/565

The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to the situation in the Hejaz at the time, with Ali entrenched in Jeddah and Ibn Sa'ud's Ikhwan in Mecca. The majority of the correspondence is between Reader Bullard, the British Agent in Jeddah, the Political Residency in Bushire, the British Residency in Aden, the Political Agency in Bahrain, the Political Agency in Kuwait, the High Commissioner in Baghdad, the Colonial and Foreign Offices, both in London, the High Commissioner in Jerusalem, the Government of India, and Ibn Sa'ud himself, or his representatives.

Running through the volume and forming its backbone are several reports by Bullard about the situation on the ground in Jeddah. Around these, much of the papers relate to the question of who will govern the Holy Places of Mecca and Medina once Ali finally leaves.

Other subjects covered in the volume are:

• The motivations and movements of St John Philby and Rosita Forbes;
• The actions of the Wahabi attackers;
• British concern with Indian Muslim opinion on the state of affairs;
• the prospect of a safe Hajj that year;
• reports of Soviet influence in the area;
• what to do about ex-King Hussein.