IOR/L/PS/12/337

The file contains correspondence relating to changes in foreign place names reported by British consular officers to the Foreign Office and the India Office in London, for sending on to the Secretary to the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use, known as the PCGN, at the Royal Geographical Society.

The correspondence begins in 1936 with the recommendations of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and the Political Agent, Kuwait, about geographical names in Arabia, including their spelling and transliteration, for inclusion in the PCGN's revised 'Second List of Names in Arabia (N.E. and S.E.)', published in 1937. This is followed by a few ad hoc reports of changes in place names in Afghanistan and Iraq between 1939 and 1941, a list of place names in Libya and Syria in 1941, and the decision of the Government of Siam to change the name of the country to Thailand in 1939. The correspondence ends with a list of place names in the Chinese autonomous region of Sinkiang in 1946.

At the back of the file are copies of several PCGN titles published between 1923 and 1937, for the following: Arabia, Iraq (Mesopotamia), Turkey, Asiatic (including Persian) Names, Oceanic (Pacific) Names, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.

The file includes two dividers, which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.