IOR/R/15/2/1665

The file contains papers regarding the occasions of the King’s Birthday and Christmas and New Year's Day between 1944 and 1950. The King’s Birthday was celebrated in June each year, and was sometimes announced as an official holiday at the Political Agency in Bahrain.

For the King’s Birthday, a circular was sent sometimes by the Foreign Office in London and sometimes by the Secretary to the Government of India in the External Affairs Department to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf announcing which day in June the King’s Birthday would be celebrated that year. Also, a notification was issued by the Political Agency in Bahrain and circulated among the Advisor to the Bahrain Government, the Director of Customs, the Eastern Bank and others.

For The New Year's Day celebration at the Agency, the following arrangements were made:

• a notice was sent to British, European and American community members letting them know that the Political Agent would be happy to receive them;
• personal invitations were sent to Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Bin ‘Isa al-Khalifa, and his family members;
• letters of acceptance were sent by Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Bin ‘Isa al- Khalifa to the Political Agent;
• a guard was appointed to receive the Shaikh and his family at the Agency;
• a notice was circulated among members and representatives of the Arab, Persian, and Indian communities in Bahrain announcing that no official ceremony would be held at the Agency, but that the Political Agent would be present at the Agency and would be happy to receive those who would like to show up on the day;
• lists of invitees were prepared.

The file contains Christmas and New Year greeting letters sent to the Political Agent by various rulers and representatives of rulers including Sultan Bin Saqr al-Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, Shaikh Said Bin Maktum, Ruler of Dubai and Salih Bin Sulaiman al-Mana‘i, Secretary of the Shaikh of Qatar. These letters are in Arabic. The file also contains Christmas and New Year greeting letters sent to the Political Agent by various companies including The Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) and Petroleum Concessions Limited. The Political Agent's replies are included.

Sometimes, the Political Agent gave a speech on the occasion. Copies of these are included in the file. The file also contains reports summarising the event.

The correspondence is mainly between the Political Agents Cornelius James Pelly and Arnold Crawshaw Galloway, the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain, Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Bin ‘Isa and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Sir William Rupert Hay.