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Secretary was scheduled to hold a private discussion with the Sheikh to deliberate

local affairs and then he would head back to the airport in Muharraq. Burrows

expressed to the FO his concern that the issue of Bahrain’s acquisition of Iraqi

officers would be stoked up by Egyptian propaganda and that this might result in

internal problems during the Secretary’s visit. 477

The Resident’s fears were not groundless as a minute by an unidentified

British official in Bahrain found at TNA suggested the knowledge that by late

February the HEC was studying the possibility of staging a public demonstration

during Lloyd’s visit to Bahrain. The demonstration’s objective was to force the

Minister into pressing the Bahraini Administration to resolve the current standstill

between it and the HEC. 478 A communiqué from Gault to the Residency revealed a

possible new communications link between the British and the HEC, as Burrows had

instructed Lieutenant Colonel Anderson (the Information Officer at the Residency)

to negotiate personally with Al-Bakir. The negotiations aimed to produce means

that would end political stalemate in Bahrain and have the Administration

acknowledge the HEC. With this acknowledgement the HEC would then be able to

directly approach the Bahraini Government and the need for an intermediary would

cease to exist. On the issue of staging demonstrations during Lloyd’s visit, Anderson

managed to receive verbal assurances from Al-Bakir that no protests would take

place on the day of the Foreign Secretary’s arrival. 479 Subsequent to these

assurances, the Office of the Senior Naval Officer, VA Wight-Boycott in the Gulf

477 TNA, FO 1016/465, Burrows to FO, 24 February 1956.
478 TNA, FO 1016/465, Residency Minutes, 27 February 1956.
479 TNA, FO 371/120544, Gault to Burrows, 22 March 1956.

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