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On the same day the demands were presented to Eden, the Foreign Secretary

met the Ruler of Bahrain. Eden informed the Ruler that HMG was paying close

attention to developments in Bahrain and urged him to openly declare his policies to

his people. Eden pointed to his ‘appreciation’ of the steps made by the Government

but also cautioned the Ruler ‘that just because people now were better educated and

had time to look round it was impossible to stand still’. 285

Clarissa Eden, the Foreign Secretary’s wife, accompanied him on his trip.

Details from her account of the visit were slight, but she did reportedly say that she

left her husband with the Sheikh, so he ‘can tick him off for something or other’. 286

To Belgrave, the Ruler was ‘delighted’ with the result of this, albeit short, meeting

and he took on board Eden’s advice which he understood to be along the lines that

the Government must improve its public relations activities. He urged the Adviser

to look into producing a daily newspaper on behalf of the Administration. The

Adviser, due to his habit of micromanaging the Government, criticised the Ruler for

thinking that such an assignment ‘could be done in the office in spare time’. 287

However, it must be said that, had the Government adopted this approach earlier

and had allocated a specialist to the task, it could have developed into an instrument

for voicing the Administration’s vision and works and, thereby, greatly eased the

situation. Eden instructed Gault to reply to the HEC memorandum by making it

clear that ‘constitutional methods’ must be utilised in expressing views and there

285 TNA, FO 371/114586, Record of Conversation between the Foreign Secretary and the Ruler of
Bahrain on 21 February 1955, 28 February 1955.
286 C. Haste (ed.), Clarissa Eden: A Memoir from Churchill to Eden (London: 2007), entry from 21
February 1955, 186-87.
287 Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave’s Personal Diaries, 22 February 1955.

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