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The first hotel in the Emirates: the “BOAC Rest House” at Sharjah airfield

They were all serving the same master: any charges incurred by the Agency’s diplomats
were recoverable from the government at the agreed rate. This had not been the case
with Imperial Airways which, although launched with a generous subsidy from the
government, had been set up as a private monopoly that the government expected
within ten years to become self-supporting. Imperial therefore needed to maximise
income in order to achieve financial independence. But it was the government-owned
BOAC that seems to have substantially raised charges when taking over management
of the Rest House, making income-generation more of a priority than before the war.

The diplomats were not the only guests at a rest house that was operating, de facto, as
a hotel although there were alternative lodging options for visitors to Sharjah. When
His Majesty’s naval vessels docked off Sharjah, the officers slept on the ship. The
Political Resident based at Bushire often conducted his tours of the Gulf by Royal
naval vessel. When visiting Sharjah, he would usually stay in the Agency building in
Sharjah town, as would the Political Agent and other diplomats visiting from Bahrain
if the small house had room for them. Officers serving with the Royal Air Force
(RAF) could enjoy simple quarters in the RAF camp adjacent to the Fort; but, as
Marais confirmed, senior officers might prefer to put up at the Rest House – the
government paid the bill. With the end of the war and with business opportunities
opening up, the Sharjah Rest House provided paying accommodation for visitors
who might stay a couple of nights to conduct business, usually in Dubai, or who lived
there until their companies acquired their own premises. The staff of oil companies
(Rafidain mentioned earlier but also Petroleum Concessions Limited) and of banks
(the Imperial Bank of Persia, later re-named the British Bank of the Middle East) are
among those recorded as staying at the Rest House.

There were very few visitors arriving in Sharjah other than on the scheduled flights of
Imperial Airways and, later, BOAC. Private aviators were strongly discouraged in the
area under British control. Those who asked permission to transit the area were refused.
The few private pilots who arrived unaware of the regulations, such as the British peer
Lord Sempill, were promptly informed of them and made to leave immediately. 34
The restrictions applied even to world-famous aviators: Charles Lindbergh and his
wife, having flown unexpectedly into Bahrain, were allowed to continue the next day
to Basrah and London. On the other hand, British officials frustrated an American
ambassador’s request that Amelia Earhart be allowed to cross Oman on a planned
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flight from Karachi to Aden. The authorities were concerned about having to
rescue aviators who were often inexperienced and liable to become lost. Moreover,
in these early competitive days of oil exploration, allowing independent pilots into
Gulf airspace was not thought desirable. Even airline passengers could come under
suspicion. The Political Agency at Bahrain asked the Sharjah superintendent to report
on the behaviour of a Japanese businessman who had passed through: had he shown
undue interest in the airfield, taken photographs, visited Sharjah town or had contact

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