Coll 7/45 'Arabia: question of supply of arms, etc., to King of Yemen from UK'

IOR/L/PS/12/2215

Coll 7/45 'Arabia: question of supply of arms, etc., to King of Yemen from UK'

19 May 1939-5 Feb 1940

Papers regarding requests received from the King of Yemen for assistance in fortifying Sheikh Said [Ra's Shaykh Sa'īd] and securing Yemen against foreign aggression. The King was concerned over French claims to Perim Island [Jazīrat Mayyūn] and Sheikh Said, and was seeking anti-aircraft and gas equipment from the UK and Italy. The file consists of correspondence between the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the War Office, and the Governor of Aden (Bernard Reilly). Telegrams from Reilly provide details of meetings with Qadhi Hussein el Halali, the King's representative, regarding the defence of Yemen. The file also includes several documents from the 67th and 68th meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Governing the Middle East, discussing the fortification of Sheikh Said. The following topics are discussed: the importance of maintaining Yemeni neutrality in the event of a conflict between European powers; the provision of equipment and training by the UK; the need to operate within the terms of the Anglo-Italian Agreement of 1938; French claims to Perim and Sheikh Said; and pre-existing British commitments to Ibn Sa'ūd. The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 2).

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Coll 7/45

Public Record(s)

English

1 file (73 folios)

Unrestricted

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 74; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.