Without Glory in Arabia The British Retreat from Aden

by Hinchcliffe, Peter; Ducker, John T.; Holt, Maria

• ISBN13: 9781845111403
• ISBN10: 1845111400
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-10-31
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Summary

'So we left without glory but without disaster', Sir Humphrey Trevelyan, the last High Commissioner of the Federation of South Arabia. In 1967, 139 years after their arrival in Aden, the British withdrew from the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Using important, previously unpublished material and original interviews with a range of individuals, both British and Yemeni, who lived through this fascinating period of colonial history, Without Glory in Arabia tells the story of the final few years of British rule in Aden and the neighboring Eastern and Western Aden Protectorates. While some would argue that British rule had, on the whole, been beneficial to the local population, others insist that very little was achieved. Worse, Britain was unable to find a structure of government constitution which met the conflicting needs of Aden and the Protectorate. This illuminating book brilliantly sets the "scuttle" in context with a thorough re-examination of the background against which the events of the 1960s unfolded in this obscure backwater of the British Empire.

Author Biography

John Ducker was in the British Overseas Civil Service in Aden and the Protectorate from 1960 to 1967. He was then with the World Bank, working especially on Africa, but also Afghanistan and Romania. Since 1992 he has carried out a number of consultancies for the Bank and UNDP in Central Asia focusing on the management of foreign assistance and investment.
Peter Hinchcliffe is an Honorary Fellow of Edinburgh University where he teaches Middle East History and Politics. His first career was with the British Overseas Civil Service in Aden and the Federation of South Arabia which provides the background to and inspiration for Without Glory in Arabia. He also served in the British Diplomatic Service as, amongst other positions, British Ambassador to Kuwait, High Commissioner in Zambia and Ambassador to Jordan. His other publications include Jordan: A Hashemite Legacy, Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945. 
Maria Holt is a Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster. She has a long involvement in Middle East politics, both as an academic and a lobbyist, and has published a number of books and articles on Arab Muslim women and violent conflict.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	xii
Aden: a poem by James Nash	xiv
Acknowledgements	xvii
List of abbreviations and acronyms	xix
Introduction	1	(256)
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	(52)
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
2 The international context of South Arabia and British policy	60	(15)
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	(33)
PETER HINCHCLIFFE
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	(41)
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	(24)
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
6 The military	173	(31)
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	(9)
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	(22)
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	(22)
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 the 20 June 1967 mutiny)
The terrorists turn on each other
Regret for the mess after independence
Could Britain not have prevented this?
10 Britain and Aden: a relationship for the twenty-first century	257	(15)
MARIA HOLT
Good memories of British rule
Pity independence was so messy
The NLF cadres were jubilant, but they knew not how to rule
Everything Arabised, everything nationalised
'We lost law and order, welfare, business, everything'
Many had to leave the country
But women were emancipated
Disillusion with the wahada of 1990
After the 1994 civil war, all power and all good jobs went to the northerners
Now a growing fundamentalist movement not discouraged by government
Fuelled by poverty, lack of opportunity and Western demonisation of Islam
Appendix 1 Sir Richard Turnbull remembers	272	(7)
Barely concealed contempt for the naivety and inconsistencies of British ministers and the internal rivalries, jealousies and venality of federal ministers
Sympathies for Adenis and their 'pathological' distrust of the Federation
Repudiated Federal recriminations
Misreading of the NLF
Intimidation of officials, politicians and jurors
A bitterly anti-British UN mission
But, the British government was chiefly to blame for the South Arabian debacle
Appendix 2 Mukalla 1960: matters colonial, consular and curious	279	(6)
JOHN G.R. HARDING
A valuable public service
A pragmatic response to financial stringency and lightweight administrations
Appendix 3 Peter Hinchcliffe's letter of appointment	285	(2)
Appendix 4 An oral history of the British in Aden	287	(7)
Notes	294	(20)
Bibliography	314	(7)
Index	321