Page 135 - PERSIAN 8 1931_1940_Neat

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CHAPTER VII.
Administration Retort for tiie Trucial. Coast for tiie year 1932.
1. Personnel.—Khan Bahadur Isa bin Abdul Latif, O.B.E., held the post
of Residency Agent, Shargah, throughout the year.
2. Trucial Shaikhs.—The following were the Shaikhs of the various States
of the Trucial Coast throughout tho year :—
1. Dcbai .. Ruler : Shaikh Said bin Maktum bin Ilaskar.
2. Shargah .. Ruler : Shaikh Muhammad Sultan bin Saqar.
3. Abu Dhabi .. Ruler : Shakbut bin Sultan.
4. Umirt-ul-Qa’wain .. Ruler : Ahmad bin Raschid.
5. Ajraan • •! .. Ruler : Rashid bin IIumaicL
6. Ras al Khaimah ... Ruler : Sultan bin Salim.
3. Royal Navy.—His Majesty’s Sloops of the Persian Gulf Division did
their oustomary useful patrol work up and down the Trucial Coast as elsewhere
in the Gulf, and at the end of July Ilis Majesty’s Ship “ Shorchaui ” rendered
the Resident valuable assistance in the matter of one Hassan, ex-Shaikh of
K has sab, who after defying the authority of the Muscat State—vide Adminis­
tration Report for 1931—had been allowed to proceed to Debai (from Muscat
where he had been in detention) under charge of the Shaikh of that place.
Hassan broke his parole and slipped away to Khassab. H.M.S. “ Shoreham ”
proceeded to the vicinity and, with the assistance of the Shaikh of Debai,
succeeded in getting Hassan removed from this danger spot to Bokha, between
Khassab and Debai. The Resident brought further pressure to bear on the
Shaikh of Debai, who got Hassan back. An incident which might well have
lead to a recrudescence of serious trouble at Khassab, thus ended satisfactorily.
Hassan was finally returned to Muscat.
On the 15th December the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Squadron,
Vice-Admiral M. E. Dunbar-Nasmith, V.C., C.B., visited Shargah and Debai.
He was cordially received.
In December His Majesty’s Survey Ship “ Ormonde ” carried out surveys
in the vicinity of Shargah and Debai.
4. Avialion.—The chief event of the year was the securing of the Air
Port at Shargah from the Shaikh of that place in July as a result of consider­
able personal effort on the part of the late Sir Hugh Biscoe, who, on his way
to complete the Agreement with the Shaikh, died from heart failure on HALS.
“ Bideford ” on the 19th July. Colonel Dickson, Political Agent, Kuwait, who
was accompanying the Resident, proceeded to Shargah and succeeded after a
further few days negotiations in persuading the Shaikh to put his signature to
the required Agreement, which offered very favourable terms to the Shaikh.
The main objective, after the Agreement had been obtained from the
Shaikh, was the erection of the Rest House, as Shargah would be a night-stop
for Imperial Airways’ aeroplanes. This was undertaken under the supervision
of an R. E. officer in the employ of the Royal Air Force 'Works Department,
and after various local difficulties had been overcome, both by the efforts of
Captain Mackay, the R. E. officer concerned, and by the intervention of the
Political Resident, was under construction at the end of the year.
Pending the completion of the Rest House comfortable temporary accom­
modation in tents was arranged for, and on the 5th October the first Imperial
Airways’ machine landed and left Shargah. Since then up to the end of the
year Imperial Airways were running regularly on the Arab Coast.
The Flying Boats of No. 203 (Flying Boat) Squadron based on Basrah
performed useful work in their regular flights up and down the coast throughout
the vear. A fuel tank was established at Yas Island belonging to the Shaikh
of Abu Dhabi. As the petrol barge previously installed at Ras al Khaimah was
found to be unserviceable, on the 24th October the barge was towed out to sea
and sunk by one of His Maiestv’s Sloops, tho iron barge being replaced by a
wooden one. R. A. F. wapitis landed at Ras al Khaimah in May and placed
white marks on the aerodrome.
5. Shipninq.—The British Tndia Steam Navigation Companv Slow Mail
service continued to make its usual calls at Debai, and from the 13th Novembor
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