IOR/L/PS/10/773

This volume contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, telegrams and minutes. It mainly covers conversations between British and French officials regarding the Christian (mostly Assyrian) refugees in the refugee camp at Ba’qubah [also written Baqubah] in Mesopotamia, and their possible repatriation.

Related matters of discussion include the following: the health of the refugees; background; labour capacity; expenses and payments of the refugee camp; transportation for repatriation. Also mentioned is the conflict between the Kurdish and Assyrian communities, and between Turks and Kurds, as well as the American Mission.

In addition, the volume includes: a letter from the Chairman of the Armenian National Delegation, Boghos Nubar (ff 214-215); a report produced by the Assyro-Chaldéenne delegation at the Paris Peace Conference, including tables on the origins of the population (ff 168-185); a memorandum in French and English, dated September 1919, regarding the occupation by the British Army of Syria, Palestine and Mesopotamia (ff 25-26). In addition, the volume contains photographs, possibly taken by Colin Campbell Garbett, of Christian Assyrians (also referred to in the volume as Nestorians) on their journey from Urmia to Ba’qubah in September 1918 (f 134).

The correspondence in the volume is mostly internal correspondence between British officials of different departments, along with some correspondence with French Government officials. The principal correspondents are: Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force; Acting Civil Commissioner in Mesopotamia; Foreign Office; Lord Derby, British Ambassador in France; War Office; Lord Curzon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; officials at the refugee camp at Ba’qubah; Boghos Nubar, President of the Armenian National Delegation; French Embassy, London.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.