IOR/R/15/2/159

The volume concerns negotiations between the British and Saudi Arabian governments over the definition of the eastern boundary of Saudi Arabia, particularly the border with Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The King of Saudi Arabia is commonly referred to in the papers as Bin Saud or Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]. The need to establish a definite border was increased by the discovery of oil in the area.

The principal correspondents are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the Political Agent, Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch); HM Chargé d'Affaires, Jeddah (Andrew Spencer Calvert); HM Minister, Jedda [Jeddah] (Sir Andrew Ryan); the Secretary of State for India; the Government of India, and the Foreign Office.

The volume includes: papers (folios 18-28, 32-33) concerning an aerial reconnaissance of the Qatar Peninsula, undertaken by the Royal Air Force and accompanied by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Loch, acting), including a chart showing tracks and positions (folio 21) and seven aerial photographs (folios 22-28), October 1935; notes by Haji Abdullah Fadhil Williamson on Abu Dhabi territory and boundaries 'given by the Al Bu Fallah Shaikhs and also the Manasir', November 1935 (folios 120-122); Sir Andrew Ryan's account of his journey across Arabia, December 1935 (folios 159-167), and record of his conversations at Riyadh with the Saudi Arabian Government, December 1935 (folios 168-193); and discussions concerning Bin Saud's claim to Jabal Naksh in Qatar, January 1936 (folios 202-224).

The Arabic language content of the file is restricted to about ten folios of correspondence, mainly between Gulf rulers and the Political Agent, Bahrain.

The date range gives the covering dates of the main items of correspondence; the earliest document is an enclosure to the first item of correspondence, dated 17 October 1935, and the last dated addition to the file is an entry in the notes dated 15 February [1936].