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The meeting between Wall and the two HEC members is recorded by

Belgrave in his diary entry of 2 December, as Wall had informed the Adviser of

seeing the two. No details were provided as to who had called on whom and/or the

details of the meeting. 254 The meeting with the Agency was a most unusual situation

for the nationalists. They had consistently and publically objected about British

‘interference’ in domestic affairs and the management of companies by foreigners.

But, despite this, they demanded that they have three elected representatives in the

Commission and that the other three were to be chosen by the British.

Al-Bakir denied any direct contact with British officials at the time, asserting

that his only contact with the British was through a Bahraini employed at the

Residency. Moreover, on a different occasion in the early days of the HEC, he

claimed that he was approached by an unidentified man who advised him to contact

the public relations officer (ranked as a Third Secretary at the Agency) but that he

had refused to do so. 255 Of the two, Wall and Al-Bakir, the latter would lose more in

the eyes of his supporters if he had revealed his early communication with the

Agency. As to Wall, he would not benefit from forwarding false reports to the

Residency or to the FO thus jeopardising his career.

The announced strike was an early test for the HEC and of its popularity. If

successful, further pressure would be placed on the Administration. However if it

failed it would put the Movement in a difficult situation. The first day of the strike

on 4 December was a success, according to an account by Wall to the FO. Indeed it

254 Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave’s Personal Diaries, 2 December 1954.
255 Al-Bakir, From Bahrain to Exile, 69-72.

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