IOR/R/15/1/573

The volume consists of telegrams, letters, and reports relating to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Most of the correspondence is between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Political Residency in Bushire, the Political Agencies in Bahrain and Kuwait, the India Office and the Foreign Office in London, and the Government of India.

Much of the volume covers Saudi-US relations, including:

• US financial assistance to Saudi Arabia;
• the report (ff 146-147) of a medical tour of the country made by the American Mission to Bahrain;
• a trip to Kuwait made by Colonel Hoskins, President Roosevelt's Personal Envoy to Ibn Sa'ud in August 1943;
• the opening of a US Consulate in Dhahran;
• a secret report (ff 223-224) on 'America and Arabia' from the Political Residency in Bushire.

Other subjects covered are:

• the report (ff 79-99) of a trip to Riyadh made by Tom Hickinbotham, the Political Agent in Kuwait;
• the wartime supply situation in the region;
• the financial situation in Saudi Arabia;
• Ibn Sa'ud's relationship with Sa'ud bin 'Abdullah bin Jiluwi, the Amir of Hasa;
• telegraphic communications in the country;
• meteorology, including a report (f 181) on the British Meterological Party's tour of Saudi Arabia;
• Ibn Sa'ud's request for British military and financial assistance.

Also notable within the volume are:

• Gerald De Gaury's interview with Ibn Sa'ud (ff 19-22);
• annual summary reports on Saudi Arabia produced by the British Legation in Jeddah for the years 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1944;
• a letter (152-154C) from Bertram Thomas to the Political Residency in Bushire following his trip across Arabia, detailing anything he thought might be useful for the British Government to know;
• a report (f 175) on the Saudi Arabian royal family by the British Legation in Jeddah.

At the end of the volume (ff 249-264) are internal office notes.