IOR/R/15/5/39

This file contains correspondence related to the British Government's relationship with Ibn Sa'ud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].

Specifically, the correspondence in the file relates to raids made by Ikhwan forces in and around Kuwaiti territory, military action taken against these raids by British and Kuwaiti military forces, discussions regarding the possibility of supplying armoured cars and machine guns to Kuwait and logistical arrangements for the defence of Kuwait from attack. It also contains broader discussions concerning developments between Ibn Sa'ud and leaders of the Ikhwan, notably Faisal al-Duwaish [Faysal al-Duwaysh].

British military action against the Ikhwan involved the use of aeroplanes and as such, the file contains details of ground signals that Kuwaiti forces were to use to signal to British aircraft in English (folio 117) and Arabic (folio 124)

On folio 210, the file contains a list of British subjects and British protected persons that were to be evacuated from Kuwait in the event of an attack.

The majority of the correspondence in the file is internal correspondence between British officials but letters exchanged between the Political Agent in Kuwait, Major James Carmichael More, and the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah (in Arabic with English translations), also appear throughout the file.