Page 120 - The Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia

Ks15 are consequently very rare; and, as the Service stamps were used
only by die Political Agency the Rupee values arc all extremely rare
post ally used.
The Imperial Airways service was extended from Basra to
Karachi in April 1929. Initially, the route followed the Persian Coast
and it was not until October 1932 that it was transferred to the Arabian
side of the Gulf, that is, from Basra, via Bahrain, Sharjah and Guadur.
Kuwait became a regular stop on this route from December 1932, the
first outward flight leaving London on December 17th and the first
return flight leaving Kuwait on December 22nd.
Mr. Abdul Sat tar Ayoub, who was born in Nasriyah in the
Muntafik Liwa of Iraq, recorded many of the following details con­
cerning postal matters during his period of office as Post and Telegraph
Master in Kuwait from September 30th, 1932, to May 15th, 1934.
Me returned to Kuwait some years ago and was, until his death in
April 1968, a member of the staff of the Post Office Department of
the Kuwait State Ministry of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones.
Supplies of Ordinary stamps came from Basra but Service stamps
were obtained by the Political Agent direct from the Treasury in Bushire
or from India. Both Ordinary and Service stamps were also stocked and
sold by the Central Treasury in Baghdad and also, probably, by the
Treasury in Basra. There was a certain amount of mail to other destina­
tions but, generally speaking, the main postal traffic was to and from
Bombay and Gulf Ports and to and from Basra. Mail was carried to and
i from Basra daily by car supplied under contract at a cost of Rs350 per
month by Sayid Hamid al Naqib.
From 1933 air mail despatches were made regularly, and the bags
were sent up to the Landing Strip outside the Braissi (Lizard) Gate of
Kuwait Town. One of the earliest inward flights brought the first air
mail from Baghdad, 53 covers (43 registered and 10 ordinary), having
been despatched on January 4th, 1933 and received in Kuwait on the 7th;
this mail bore a red boxed cachet “FIRST FLIGHT, BAGHDAD-
KUWAIT”. The next “FIRST OFFICIAL AIR MAIL. NEW ZEALAND
-KUWAIT” (violet cachet) took from March 31st. until April 27th.
to reach its destination!

There were occasions when the Landing Strip was closed on
account of sandstorms, or for other reasons, and mail was then again

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