IOR/L/PS/12/2802

The file comprises correspondence, memoranda and other documents relating to the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson as the first Chief Local Representative of the Kuwait Oil Company following his retirement from the post of Political Agent, Kuwait [also spelled Koweit in this file] on reaching the age limit of fifty-five in February 1936. The file notably covers and includes the following:

• The initial proposal that the position be offered to Dickson, made by the Sheikh [Shaikh] of Kuwait, Ahmad Al Jabir Al Sabah [Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ], in a letter dated 20 February 1935 to Major Frank Holmes (folio 65), the Sheikh’s representative in London on the affairs of the Kuwait Oil Company
• Communications chiefly between the India Office and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (see notably folios 55-58, 36-37 and 30-33), regarding: the political and financial advantages and disadvantages of such an appointment; concerns that the ‘proper’ selection procedures are seen to be followed; an alternative scheme for a two-year extension of Dickson’s post as Political Agent, Kuwait; and the eventual concurrence of the India Office, Foreign Office, Political Resident and Government of India in approving the appointment
• Communications with the Kuwait Oil Company regarding Dickson’s appointment and his terms and conditions
• A copy of the ‘Koweit Oil’ concession document, comprising ‘1. Political Agreement of 5th March 1934 between His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom and the Kuwait Oil Company’ and ‘2. Commercial Agreement of 23rd December 1934 between His Excellency the Sheikh of Koweit and the Kuwait Oil Company’ (ff 39-46).

The majority of the correspondence is dated 11 February 1935-8 January 1936. The remainder (folios 2-9) is from 1939 and covers the extension of Dickson’s contract beyond the initial five-year period, and Dickson’s difficulty in returning to Kuwait from leave in England following the outbreak of war with Germany in September 1939.

In addition to the India Office and Political Resident, correspondents include: William Fraser, AIOC (Anglo-Iranian Oil Company), London; the Government of India, Foreign and Political Department; Dickson; and Holmes.

The file includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence.