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The New York Times covered the news of Belgrave’s resignation in its 15

August edition. In an interview with the newspaper, Belgrave insisted that ‘It is not

a second Glubb affair’. 766 The Daily Mail additionally produced an article by Vincent

Mulchrone on the Adviser’s resignation. The article was labeled ‘Charles of the Gulf

is sacked’. Mulchrone added that the Adviser was not sacked by the Ruler of

Bahrain but by pressure from the FO. 767 RB Tillotson who described himself as a

friend of the Foreign Secretary’s sister Doris and her husband Howard Shone

expressed his concern to Lloyd regarding Britain’s position in the Gulf after reading

the Daily Mail’s article. Lloyd responded in a short letter to Tillotson and informed

the family’s acquaintance that ‘we are not going to surrender our position in

Bahrain to any Committee’. 768 Interestingly, the British diplomatic stance towards

Belgrave did not change following Nasser’s nationalisation of the Suez Canal

Company. Regardless of the crisis in Egypt, the British wished to see the Adviser out

of the Bahraini political scene as soon as possible, certainly making no attempt to

retain him for reasons of British prestige.

As for Al-Bakir, by late July he had returned to Lebanon from Cairo and from

there he was active in Beirut and other Arab capitals, accepting invitations from

dignitaries and holding press conferences. In Beirut he was invited to a luncheon

party organised by the Lebanese journalist Riyad Taha at the Bristol Hotel. Al-Massa

(The Evening) Lebanese publication covered the luncheon which the British

766 ‘Bahrein Adviser Quits: Briton had become Target of Nationalist Elements’, New York Times, 15
August 1956, 2.
767 TNA, FO 1016/468, V. Mulchrone, ‘Charles of the Gulf is sacked’, Daily Mail.
768 TNA, FO 371/120573, Tillotson to Lloyd, 18 August 1956; and TNA, FO 371/120573, Lloyd to
Tilloston, 27 August 1956.

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