IOR/R/15/2/1667

The file contains telegrams announcing the deaths of members of the British Royal Family, British Government officials and ruling families and presidents of other countries, and their funerals. Among those who passed away in the Royal Family are the Empress Maria of Russia, aunt of King George V in 1928, Princess Victoria, sister of King George V in 1935, and Princess Beatrice, the last surviving daughter of Queen Victoria in 1944. Examples of British officials and world leaders who died between 1927 and 1950 are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire, Hugh Biscoe in 1933, King Fuad of Egypt in 1936, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1938, President Roosevelt of the United States of America (USA) in 1945, and Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.

The telegrams were circulated between the Political Agencies in the Gulf. At the Bahrain Agency, flags were flown at half-mast as a mark of respect on the occasion of the funerals.

The correspondence is mainly between The Political Residency in the Persian Gulf, Bushire, the Political Agency in Bahrain, the British Consul in Bushire, Shaikh Hamad bin ‘Isa al-Khalifa, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin ‘Isa al-Khalifa, and Shaikha Ayshah bint Rashid al-Khalifa (widow of the late Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Hamad bin ‘Isa al-Khalifa).