IOR/L/PS/12/2128

This file concerns Anglo-Yemeni relations. Consisting largely of copies of Colonial Office and Foreign Office correspondence, it documents negotiations leading up to the conclusion of the Treaty of Sana'a between Britain and Yemen (signed on 11 February 1934 and ratified on 4 September 1934), and continues to discuss Anglo-Yemeni relations thereafter.

Much of the correspondence following the ratification of the treaty relates to the existing frontier between Yemen and the Aden Protectorate; it includes discussion of article three of the Anglo-Yemeni treaty, which refers to the future settlement of the frontier.

Related matters that feature in the correspondence include:

• The appointment in May 1934 of Captain Basil William Seager as Frontier Officer in the Aden Protectorate, as recommended by the Political Resident, Aden (Bernard Rawdon Reilly).
• Discussion regarding the extent of Italian influence in Yemen.
• The Imam of Yemen's [Yaḥyā Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn's] claim to certain districts on the British side of the Yemen-Aden Protectorate frontier.
• Details of two meetings in London, held in September and October 1937 respectively, between the Imam of Yemen's son, Prince Hussein [al-Ḥusayn Yaḥyā bin Ḥamīd al-Dīn], and George Rendel of the Foreign Office, regarding Anglo-Yemeni relations, with particular reference to article three of the aforementioned treaty.
• The reported presence of Axis nationals (Italians and Germans) in Yemen in 1942.

The file features the following principal correspondents: the Political Resident, Aden (Bernard Rawdon Reilly); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, and later, Hugh Stonehewer Bird); His Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo (Sir Miles Wedderburn Lampson); the British Minister of State, Cairo; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; officials of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, and the India Office.

In addition to correspondence the file includes the following:

• Copies of political intelligence summaries from Aden.
• Copies of the English text of the aforementioned treaty.
• A certificate of registration for the treaty (in French and English), dated 4 February 1935 and issued by the Secretary General of the League of Nations.

Whilst the file contains material ranging in date from 1934 to 1942, the vast majority of the material dates from 1934 to 1935.

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).