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Finding Aid
British Intelligence on Yemen, c .1940- 1967
• Reports and Handbooks from the Aden Archives
Published by IDC Publishers, 2006
• Descriptive Summary
Creator: India Office Library and Records. Title: British Intelligence on Yemen. Dates (inclusive): c. 1940- 1967 Abstract: Collection containing reports and handbooks from the Aden Archives, which provides information on the international involvement and British policies and aspirations in Yemen and on the internal political, social and commercial development of the region. Language(s): Predominantly English, with a few items in other (also local) languages. Extent: 188 microfiches or 19 microfilm reels Order no.: BID- 1 - BID- 2
• Location of Originals
the Aden Records (R/20) are kept as part of the India Office Records (IOR) which form part of the Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections at the British Library.
• History Note
Within the India Office Records the Aden Records (R/20) are the archives of the successive British administrations in Aden between 1839 and 1967. These papers were created, maintained and preserved in Aden and returned to London in the late 1960s after Independence. Since the unification of the Yemen Arab Republic and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen in 1990, the Republic of Yemen has occupied an important position in the
geopolitical landscape of the Arabian Peninsula region and in the wider context of Middle Eastern and international relations. Half a century ago, however, in the same region, "Two Yemens" co-existed uneasily side by side, separated by uncertain boundaries and widely different administrations and political aspirations. The British were determined to extend their influence into the outlying areas of the Aden hinterland. British rule was consolidated when Aden became a British Colony in 1937 and it was further extended by the development of a specific Protectorate administration, with its Secretariat in Aden and with British Protectorate officials in local posts in the Western and Eastern Aden Protectorates. Anglo-Yemeni relations had been consolidated in the 1930s, after long and tortuous negotiations, with the conclusion of the Treaty of San"a in 1934. Formal British relations with Yemen were established in 1839 with the construction of a coaling station at Aden, on the route to India. A British Political Residency, under the administration of the British Government in India, was opened at the same time. From the outbreak of the Second World War, however, the British became increasingly concerned by the influence in Yemen of other European powers, notably Italy. In 1963 a High Commission took over the British administrative role in the newly-created South Arabian Federation. On independence in 1967 the British ceded power to the People’s Republic of South Yemen (later the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen).
- Scope and Content The papers in the Aden Records consist of over 12,000 volumes and files as well as maps and printed material. They are now catalogued in seven groups under the references R/20/A-G. Material in this IDC Publishers' set is drawn from R/20/B (Records of the Secretariat, Government and Colony of Aden, 1937-1962), R/20/C (Files of the Aden Protectorate, 1 928 - 1962), R/20/D (Files of the High Commission for Aden, 1962-1967) and R/20/G (Aden Library, c. 1860-1967). The material complements the files in the companion set of IDC Publishers, "British Intelligence on Yemen, c. 1880-1948", and takes the story up to the end of British colonial rule in Aden in 1967. The Aden Archives within the India Office Records collections cover a period extending well beyond the end of the British Empire in India. The material is detailed and extensive although much of it is very fragile. Because of this, some files have not survived in their entirety and there are occasional gaps in the sequence of reports. The archives of the British Administrations in Aden provide information not only on international involvement in the area but also on the internal political, social and commercial development of the entire region. The material in this collection consists of printed and typescript reports and handbooks, maps, memoranda and intelligence reports covering this important period in Yemeni history. Handbooks, reports and intelligence summaries reproduced in this collection were almost all classified as Secret, Top Secret, Confidential, or ‘For Official Use Only’.
entire region and forwarded to the Colonial Office and Cabinet in London. Copies were also preserved in Aden in several different and sometimes overlapping series.
- BID-1 Reports and Handbooks, 1939- 1967
- BID-2 Intelligence Summaries, 1948- 1967
- Selected Search Terms Geographic Areas Great Britain--History. Middle East Saudi Arabia--History. Yemen (Republic) --History. Topics Intelligence service--Great Britain Protectorates
- Anticipated Additions Researchers should note that an integrated finding aid for the British Intelligence collections is also available:
- British Colonial Policy and Intelligence Files on Asia and the Middle East, c. 1880-1950.
- Container List
BID-1: Reports and Handbooks, 1939- 1967 Microfilm no.
/ Microfiche no. Title: Dry farming methods in Aden Protectorate Author: B.J.Hartley, Director of Agriculture, Aden Protectorate Dates: [undated] Reel 1 Fiche 1
Quantity: 8pp Identification: R/20/G/ Title: A medical survey of the Western Aden Protectorate, 1939- 1940 Author: Dr P.W.R.Petrie and Dr K.S.Seal, Colonial Office Dates: December 1943 Quantity: 167pp, typ, sketch maps, diagrams Notes: For the Use of the Colonial Office Identification: R/20/G/ Reel 1 Fiche 1- 3 Title: Report on a mission to the Yemen Author: R.S.Champion Dates: August 1940 Quantity: 60pp, typ Identification: R/20/B/ Reel 1 Fiche 3- 5 Title: Impressions of a visit to Yemen: report by W.H.Ingrams Dates: 14 August 1941 Quantity: 26pp, typ, sketch map Notes: Most Secret Identification: R/20/B/ Reel 1 Fiche 5- 6 Title: South-West Arabia (The Yemen and the Aden Protectorate). Transliteration of Names Quantity: 71pp Notes: Third edition [revised by Lt-Col M.C.Lake], System RGS – II. London: Colonial Office, October 1941 Identification: R/20/G/ Part I Proper and Tribal Names Part II Place Names Reel 1 Fiche 6 Title: Report of an overland journey from San'a to Aden Author: Dr P.W.R.Petrie Dates: September 1942 Quantity: 8pp, typ, 18 photographs Identification: R/20/B/ Reel 1 Fiche 6- 7 Title: Political development in the Hadhramaut Author: Harold Ingrams Quantity: 24pp Notes: Aden: Secretariat, April 1945 Notes: For Official Use Only Identification: R/20/C/ Reel 1 Fiche 7
Quantity: ii, 12pp, typ Identification: R/20/G/ Title: Report on the geological reconnaissance in northern Hadhramaut, 1953 - 1954 season Author: Z.R.Beydoun and E.M.Melville, Petroleum Concessions Limited, Geological Department, London Quantity: 129pp, typ, maps, photographs Identification: R/20/B/ includes: 97 photographs including Wadi Hadhramaut and Rub' al-Khali region tracks, dunes, rocks and wadis, forts at Manwakh and al-'Abr, Sanau well, Thamud camp, Manahil tribesmen Also includes: Geological & topographical maps of Hadhramaut; sketch map of South Arabia showing tribal and administrative provinces Reel 2 Fiche 12- 15 Title: Geological observations in northern Hadhramaut and Mahra, 1954- 1955 season Author: Z.R.Beydoun and E.K.Elliot, Petroleum Concessions Limited, Geological Department, London Quantity: 56pp, typ, 6 maps, 54 photographs Notes: [NB 8 maps are listed but maps 3-4 are missing] Identification: R/20/B/ Includes: Photographs of Mukalla, Shibam, Habarut including Wadi Hadhramaut and Rub' al-Khali region tracks, dunes, rocks and wadis, forts at Manwakh and al-'Abr, Sanau well, Thamud camp, Manahil tribesmen Also includes: Geological maps of Hadhramaut Reel 2 Fiche 15- 18 Title: Geophysical surveys in Northern Hadhramaut, 1955-1956 season Author: G.C.Colley, Petroleum Concessions Limited, Geophysical Department, London Dates: October 1956 Quantity: [15pp], typ, 7 maps Identification: R/20/B/ Reel 2 Fiche 18- 19 Title: Notes on the geology of southern Hadhramaut (Eastern Aden Protectorate), 1955-1956 season Author: Z.R.Beydoun and E.K.Elliot, Petroleum Concessions Limited, Geological Department, London Quantity: viii, 39pp, typ, 1 sectional diagram Reel 3 Fiche 19- 20
Notes: [NB two diagrams are listed, one is missing from file] Identification: R/20/B/2595A Title: Geophysical surveys in Northern Hadhramaut, 1956-1957 season Author: G.C.Colley, Petroleum Concessions Limited, Geophysical Department, London Dates: December 1957 Quantity: [15pp], typ, 8 maps Notes: [map no.2 is missing] Identification: R/20/B/ Reel 3 Fiche 20- 21 Title: Geophysical surveys in Northern Hadhramaut, 1957-1958 season Author: G.C.Colley, Petroleum Concessions Limited, Geophysical Department, London Dates: January 1959 Quantity: [13pp], typ, 6 maps [map no.2 is missing] Identification: R/20/B/ Reel 3 Fiche 21 Title: Memorandum on administrative and agricultural development in Eastern Aden Protectorate, April 1956-March 1957: Review of Progress, No. Author: Col. J.E.H.Boustead, Residency Mukalla Dates: April 1957 Quantity: 42pp, sketch map, typ Notes: Secret Identification: R/20/C/ Reel 3 Fiche 21- 22 Title: A Review of Progress: memorandum on administrative and agricultural development in Eastern Aden Protectorate, August 1949- September 1958 Author: Col Hugh Boustead, Resident Adviser and British Agent, Mukalla Dates: 1 September 1958 Quantity: viii, 106pp, sketch map, typ, Confidential Identification: R/20/C/ Reel 3 Fiche 22- 25 Title: Report on the Eastern Aden Protectorate for the years 1958- 1962 Author: Residency Mukalla Dates: August 1962 Quantity: vii, 149pp, typ Notes: Secret Identification: R/20/G/ Reel 3 Fiche 25- 28 Title: A Handbook of the Sultanate of Lahej, with notes on the Aqrabi and Alawi Sheikhdoms and the Haushabi Sultanate Dates: January 1955 Reel 3 Fiche 28- 30
Quantity: ii, 25pp Identification: R/20/G/
