'File 28/8 War. Evacuation of Bushire'

The file comprises correspondence relating to British officials' fears of the possibility of a German coup in Iran, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf's (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior) proposals for the evacuation of Bushire, should circumstance necessitate it. The file contains a letter from Prior to the Secretary to the Government of India, Olaf Kirkpatrick Kruuse Caroe, dated 31 May 1940, outlining his proposal to station a company of Indian Infantry at Bahrain, which can be moved to Bushire by Imperial Airways seaplane or by sloop at short notice (ff 4-6). The file also contains: a circular from the British Minister at Tehran, Reader William Bullard, to all British Consuls in Iran, dated 21 May 1940, informing them of the risk of German activity in Iran, and recommending the burning of 'unostentatiously secret papers' and the preparation of plans to burn cyphers and current confidential papers (f 7); Prior's reply to Bullard's circular, dated 23 May 1940, noting that there is only one German in Bushire town, that British position there is secure, and that he can send cars to Shiraz to assist in any evacuation there if required (f 9).

The file's contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (f 12) mirror the chronological arrangement.

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