Page 45 - Personal Column (Charles Belgrave)_Neat

with them. Most of the police were Africans, and Americans, especially,
there being ins: .f- ' • oil for commercial exploitation and not enough
resented being ordered about by them. Often at night—it usually seemed
gas to push .‘■Ik *ri! ' of the ground, but :hc great thing was that oil
to happen when I was at a dinner party—I would get an agitated call from
had been fou.v. .. :*!. tin. However, even this produced no excitement
the police, ‘Americans arc making “teshwish” [disturbance] in the bazaar,
among the Arabs. BAPCO started to drill another well. On Christmas
please come.’ Off I would go to sort things out and to remain on the spot
Day, just as wc were leaving for church at the American Mission, we got
till the company sent down some of its security men to remove the
a message from Major Holmes asking us to come at once to the oil field
offenders. I always expected to get beaten up, but this never happened.
where No. 2 well had ‘come in’ with a rush. It was a bitterly cold day;
Perhaps my sudden appearance, stalking into some low haunt in the
in spire of the sun, the temperature in our house %vas about 50 degrees—
bazaar, wearing a dinner jacket, had a sobering effect on the culprits. Even
few people realize how cold it can be in the winter in the Persian Gulf.
so, it was a relief in later years to have a few British police officers to deal
When Marjorie and I reached the well, which was in the foothills near
with white drunks in the bazaar.
Jebel Dukhan, wc saw great ponds of black oil and black rivulets flowing
The first oil camp was a collection of Nissen huts at the base of Jebel
down the wadis. Oil, and what looked to us like smoke, but which was
Dukhan, but we in Manama envied the amenities which were provided
in fact gas, spouted gustily from the drilling rig and all the machinery,
for the Americans. They had hot and cold running water, modern sani­
and the men who were working were dripping with oil. It was im­
tation, refrigerators and what we regarded as up-to-date cooking arrange­
possible to tell which of them were Americans and which were Arabs. It
ments. The first manager was Edward. Skinner. He and his wife became
was not a pretty sight but it was an exciting moment for me. I could see,
our closest friends. He rctumcdTater to Bahrain as Resident Director and
without any doubt, that there was an oil field in Bahrain. It was a great
held this post till he died, suddenly, a short time before wc left Bahrain.
day for Major Holmes, who now saw the visible proof of what he had
Soon American wives began to arrive; they added a good deal of
always believed. We could not stay long at the oil camp as we had a
colour to the social scene and some of them startled the staider inhabitants
children’s party for our small son in the afternoon and a dinner party that
of Manama by their expressions. We saw a lot of them and they came to
night for all the Europeans in Manama. Unfortunately something went
the At Homes which we used to have every Wednesday. Once a lady
wrong with the electricity, a not uncommon occurrence, so the children’s
who we did not know well surprised the company by saying, during a
party took place by candlelight, so did the preparations for the dinner.
pause in the conversation, ‘Well, folks, I don’t think I’ll play tennis, I’m
This was the kind of thing which sometimes made housekeeping difficult,
pregnant.* My mother-in-law, who was staying with us, never forgot the
but in an emergency the servants showed up at their best and were always
remark. Another lady was never seen without gloves; we supposed she
cheerful and helpful. The lights recovered before the guests arrived, in
had something the matter with her hands till she told us, ‘I just don’t care
time to illuminate a very gay celebration of Bahrain’s first real oil well.
to touch anything which natives have touched.’ But they were pleasant
I had assumed, quite wrongly as it turned out, that our financial
and friendly and I dare say that they thought some of us very odd.
difficulties, which had been worrying me so much, would be solved at
Once an Arab friend of mine asked me why the American ladies put
once, but it was two years before the export of oil began which produced
so much powder on their faces. I suggested that it was to keep themselves
an improvement in our revenue. During the first year after oil was found
cool. ‘Their faces are already too white,’ he said, ‘they should not make
there were endless negotiations between the Government, which I re­
them whiter.* Few people realized that the Arabs were observant. At a
presented on behalf of the Shaikh, and the oil company, over which the
dinner party all the women were wearing black or dark dresses. An Arab
British Government held a watching brief. Long meetings and discussions
merchant came up to me and said, ‘Who is dead?’ ‘Why, nobod^,’ I
seemed to occupy many hours every week and after each meeting I had
replied. ‘Why do you ask?* ‘Then why are all the ladies in mourning?*
to explain to the Shaikh what had taken place and ascertain his views on
was his next question. .
the matter. The negotiations were difficult. None of the parties had
At the end of May 1932 oil was found in the first well which was
identical objects in view and personalities were allowed to intrude too
drilled, but the flow was small and there was not much gas, so instead of
much in the discussions. BAPCO wanted an extension of its exploration
being pleased and excited, as we were, the experts talked gloomily about
licence, which covered only 100,000 acres, and the inclusion of the rest of
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