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disperse the angry mob. 509 The Ruler’s car was also reported by Gault to have

suffered severe dents. 510 The location where the incident took place in Muharraq

came to be known in Bahraini folklore as ‘Selwyn Lloyd’s Corner’. 511

The convoy managed to finally reach safely the Residency and the situation

seemed to have quietened down by 8.20 pm when the Foreign Secretary gave a

short press conference in the Residency. 512 An unnamed journalist from Al-Watan

questioned Lloyd; the answers were published approximately a month following the

incident in Bahrain. One of the questions asked of Lloyd was about the desire

according to the journalist of people under British protection to gain freedom in

selecting the form of rule they wished to be governed by. The Minister responded

by stating his belief of gradual evolution of government without speeding up the

process therefore causing public disorder. Another question was raised regarding

Britain’s stance on the public demands in Bahrain for reform. Lloyd responded in a

similar fashion to the first question, calling for a process of political development to

take place and evolve by itself.

Lloyd was also asked about rumours that Britain wanted to establish a

number of military bases in Bahrain, which the Minister denied. Finally a question

was put forward to Lloyd on Britain’s stance regarding the Baghdad Pact. The

journalist questioned whether it was in the interest of HMG to support the Egyptian-

Indian non-aligned movement that emerged from the Bandung Conference instead

509 TNA, FO 371/120545, V.A. Wight-Boycott: Disturbance in Bahrain, 6 March 1956.
510 TNA, FO 371/120544, Gault to Burrows, 22 March 1956.
511 Belgrave, Personal Column, 219.
512 ‘Bernard Burrows, Residency’s Report for the Month of April 1956’, in Political Diaries of the
Persian Gulf, vol. 20 1955-1958, ed. R.L. Jarman (London: 1990), 1-10 (2).

© Hamad E. Abdulla 161