Without Glory in Arabia: The British Retreat from Aden (International Library of Colonial History)

353 Pages·2006·1.73 MB·English

by  Peter Hinchcliffe

WITHOUT GLORY IN
ARABIA
So we left without glory but without disaster
Sir Humphrey Trevelyan,
Last High Commissioner, Federation
of South Arabia,
(Middle East in Revolution,
Macmillan, 1970)
WITHOUT GLORY
IN ARABIA
The British Retreat from Aden
Peter Hinchcliffe, John T. Ducker
and Maria Holt
Published in 2006 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
www.ibtauris.com
In the United States of America and Canada distributed by
Palgrave Macmillan a division of St. Martin’s Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
Copyright © Peter Hinchcliffe, John T. Ducker and Maria Holt
The right of Peter Hinchcliffe, John T. Ducker and Maria Holt to be identified as
the authors of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book,
or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced
into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
International Library of Colonial History 5
ISBN 10: 1 84511 140 0
ISBN 13: 978 1 84511 140 3
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Typeset in Melior by Keystroke, Jacaranda Lodge, Wolverhampton
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
To the people of Yemen and the British
who worked amongst them

CONTENTS
List of illustrations xii
Aden: a poem by James Nash xiv
Acknowledgements xvii
List of abbreviations and acronyms xix
Introduction 1
PETER HINCHCLIFFE AND MARIA HOLT
Independence without ceremony – Britain’s last seven years
in Aden – the wider context – new official and private source
material – oral history methodology
1 Historical and constitutional background 8
JOHN T. DUCKER
British Colonial policy – Aden policy debates – the strategic
imperative – the Federation of South Arabia – Aden Colony
joins the Federation – constitutional complexities, the search
for a solution – the impact of Yemen – the impact of the 1964
Labour government – the various parties and fronts – the
Eastern Aden Protectorate remains aloof – the handling of
Aden within the British government – the impact of the
United Nations – the denouement
vii
CONTENTS
2 The international context of South Arabia and
British policy 60
JOHN T. DUCKER
British interests and policies in the Middle East – the impact
of Suez – the rise of King Faisal and Saudi Arabia – the
Yemeni civil war – Anglo-American exchanges – stalemate
in Yemen – Saudi-British exchanges – policy re-appraisal
under Labour – the decision to close the Aden base – United
Nations’ impotence in South Arabia
3 The Political Officers in the Western Aden
Protectorate (WAP) 75
PETERHINCHCLIFFE
The life and work of the political officer – Godfrey Meynell,
Rex Smith, Michael Crouch, Roy Somerset, Stephen Day,
Hugh Walker, James Nash, John Harding, Julian Paxton
and Peter Hinchcliffe – the proximity of Yemen – foreign
subversion – much money spent, little for development –
bolstering a failing Federation – despair and disillusionment
for some – job satisfaction for others
4 The Eastern Aden Protectorate (EAP) 108
JOHN T. DUCKER
More stable, better governed than the West – the coast, the
Jol, the Wadi Hadhramaut and the desert – long frontiers,
effectively controlled – reverberations of the Yemen civil war
– the search for oil – into the Mahra state – the leadership
vacuum in the Quaiti state – the drift in British policy –
the EAP abandoned – did Trevelyan dupe the sultans?
5 Robin Young’s diaries 149
PETER HINCHCLIFFE
The inveterate diarist – loyal to subordinates – wary eye on
Aden governments and British governments – distrustful
of Labour politicians – loyal servant of the Federation –
fascinated by the keeni-meeni of relations with Yemen
in attempting to frustrate foreign assistance for rebels –
a swashbuckling user of arms and ammunition
viii
CONTENTS
6 The military 173
PETER HINCHCLIFFE
Guard duty and support for the civil authority in the Colony
– training and service with the Aden Protectorate Levies
and the Federal Army – British units in the Protectorate –
urban warfare in Aden – mountain campaign in Radfan in
support of Federal troops – the use of aircraft on dissident
strongholds – a challenging military experience, for some –
more serious than cops and robbers, but was it useful and
successful in support of British policy?
7 Aden: the 1966 Defence White Paper 204
JOHN T.DUCKER
The debate within the Foreign Office – the Labour
re-appraisal – equivocal statements by British ministers –
the reversal of policy – close the strategic base – leave
the Federation without military support – a breach of
faith or recognition of the realities? – inept timing, inept
diplomacy
8 British civilians reflect on the end of empire in
Aden 213
MARIA HOLT
Why were we there – diverse reasons and motives – pleasant,
suburban, family life – detached from politics – underlying
purpose for many was serious – public health, water supply,
teaching, industrial relations, oil refining, broadcasting –
increasing risk and problems – ignominious end – generally
happy recollections
9 An oral history of colonialism and revolution in
Southern Yemen 235
MARIA HOLT
Cosmopolitan Aden – prosperous – rule of law – good
education – the call of Pan-Arabism – why did Britain hand
over to the rulers? – who to support? – the Feds, SAL, NLF,
FLOSY – who to believe (the impact of the transistor)? –
distorted versions of events – two major events (Radfan and
ix