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Home , Aden Protectorate

Volume 50 Number 5 has been in for nearly six months, the standard is already much higher than formerly."

Initially, the efficiency of the M.R.A. rapidly declined when it moved inland because of its insufficient numerical strength, yet it was in the hinterland of the region that "Ingrams" Peace" needed to be monitored. To fulfil this need, a tribal police force, the Hadhrami Bedouin Legion (H.B.L.), was instituted on 1 January 1940. By 1942, the post of Military Assistant to the Resident Advisor had been instituted primarily to coordinate the activities of the M.R.A. and the H.B.L., and when necessary the British Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) which had a station outside of Mukalla at Riyan.

Closely modeled on the original Desert Patrol of the Arab Legion, the H.B.L. was so successful that it quickly grew from 70 regulars in 1954 to some 450 legionnaires and then later to over 800 legionnaires, thus providing an additional source of employment to the tribesmen. While the M.I~A. was maintained by the , the H.B.L. was maintained by the Colonial Office. This arrangement was welcomed by the Sultan because it removed pressure to increase the strength of his own forces and enabled him to allocate his meager resources to other pressing issues, such as education, health, and the roads. The role of the H.B.L. later evolved into primarily policing the Eastern ’s international borders. The H.B.L. was held in high regard, and James Lunt describes them as Sultan Saleh’s younger brother,Am& Muhammad Bin having: Ghalib, in the dress uniform of the M.RM., circa 1900.

"Retained that unmistakable panache which has always prospectors and official parties. Lastly, there was a distinguished irregular troops, and the only body of men I R.A.F. Guard that was based at Riyan, who were easily couM compare them with in this respect was the Desert recognizable by their sky-blue turbans and khaki shirts Reconnaissance Squadron of the Arab Legion... They wore that fell below the knees. Following the establishment of a khaki shirt reaching down to the& knees, a red the H.B.L., all the local forces worked together with cummerbund, and a bandolier of ammunition, and they increasing regularity and success in policing the border carried either a rifle or a Bren gun. The&feet were bare, the& morale was high." and settlements. They also resolved protests by the tribes which led to demonstrations that blocked either of the The Sultan also maintained an armed state police force, two main commercial arteries from the coast to the the Qu’aiti Armed Constabulary (Q.A.C.). The Q.A.C. hinterland. initially consisted of some 400 "blue-clad" constables, mainly Yafa’i tribesmen, but by the 1960s it had almost The 1LA.F. unit at Riyan came under the command of the trebled in strength. From its headquarters in Mukalla, the Air Officer Commanding, . In 1951, it consisted of Q.A.C. was responsible for the policing of towns and an establishment of 65 unaccompanied personnel, villages. Other armed units besides the Q.A.C. that including tradesmen, under the command of a junior reported to the Sultan were the Civil Police, the Prison officer. After the Second World War, it was used as a Guards, the Customs Police, and the irregular non- route station for air trooping and later for rapid rein- uniformed Desert Guards. The Desert Guards operated forcement. In 1949, it was used as a base to provide in the northern desert areas to guard against smugglers, famine relief to Wadi . The R.A.F. was also raiders, and gun runners, and also to act as guides for oil used for the occasional bombing of a rebellious tribe,

14 The Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America which was otten welcomed by the tribe as an opportunity Known specimens of the 1918-1962 GSM with the to submit without losing face. In 1961, the R.A.F. "" clasp to a native are: worked closely with the Sultan’s forces and the H.B.L. in restoring peace following ambushes conducted by the 566 RAIS UMAR BASAID AL HAMIDI M.R.A. (Auth- tribes in protest against the infringement of their or’s collection). A Rais in Hadhramaut is a Captain. traditional rights. 2293 JUNDI SALIH AUN AL SIARI M.1LA. (Courtesy of Vicken Koundakjian). A Jundi is a Private. British General Service Medal 1326 JUNDI MOHAMMED AHMED AL KALDI Q.A.C. (Author’s collection).

The 1960s

The consolidation of British control in the region event- ually led in 1959 to the formation of the Federation of the Emirates of the South which in turn was enlarged and renamed the Federation of in 1962. In early 1963, the Crown Colony of Aden joined the Federation. This Federation was based almost wholly on the Crown Colony of Aden and the Arab entities of Western Protectorate. In the Eastern Protectorate, only the Wahidi Sultanate joined the new Federation.

There were plans to form an Eastern Federation, but these failed to materialize. In the early 1960s, the region began to experience a general decline in security that was brought about by increasing nationalist aspirations of the indigenous peoples backed by rhetoric and arms from various parts of the Arab world and especially from Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt. Fear of Nasser and the anti-Federation ideas that he espoused caused the By Special Army Orders No. 9 of 22 February 1961, the Sultanate to pause at the notion of an Eastern Federation. British Government approved the award of the 1918- In its place, an association called a United Hadhramaut 1962 General Service Medal (GSM) with the clasp was promoted, which was viewed as a more tenable and "Arabian Peninsula." In addition to the Hadhrami economically viable concept that also enjoyed popular Bedouin Legion, forces eligible for the medal and clasp support from Hadhramis at home and abroad. in the Eastern Aden Protectorate were: Meanwhile, events in North led to the further deterioration of security in the region. North Yemen was Location Force a sometime Ottoman vassal state and then an independent Mukalla Regular Army kingdom from 1918. Unlike the territories that com- Qu’aiti Armed Constabulary prised the Aden Protectorate, it was never colonialized by Armed Constabulary a Western power. In September 1962, the Yemen Arab Wahidi Tribal Guards Republic (Y.A.R.) was declared following a military coup that overthrew the Yemeni . This resulted in a civil The qualifying period consisted of... "service of 30 days war between royalists supported by Saudi Arabia and or more, not necessarily contTnuous...between 1st republicans aided by Egyptian troops that raged until January 1957 and 30th June 1960." Unit medal rolls 1967 when the republicans finally gained the upper hand. for both native and British attached personnel will not be Most effected outside of North Yemen by the civil war transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Public was the Federation, which suffered from incursions into Records Office until the year 2035. Native personnel of its territory by opposition groups with bases in the north. locally raised forces were not entitled to the GSM with either the "Radfan" or "South Arabia" clasp.

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The situation finally came to a head with the British orders. Moreover, a Regency Council that the commencement of the Arab-Israeli war in 1967. Egypt Sultan had instructed to be formed to govern in his accused Britain of being involved in the war, and soon absence had been preempted by events. The Qu’aiti anti-British demonstrations organized by the various authorities, including the Military Secretary and the political factions and unions were taking place in Commanding Officers of the M.1LA., the Q.A.C., and the Mukalla. During one of these demonstrations, the H.B.L. H.B.L., were led to believe that the would not be was stoned, and fearing imminent property damage to the returning; and seeing that the Federal Army in Aden was British Residency, the H.B.L. responded by firing over going over to the N.L.F., they felt it would be best do the the demonstrator’s heads. Unfortunately, the M.R.A. same with the N.L.F.’s local proxy, the Popular occupying the Sultan’s palace, which faced the Democratic Front (P.D.F.), a party of some 64 members Residency, assumed they were under attack and began to out of a population of over 350,000. fire on the HB.L. positions and the Residency. The M.R.A., in a highly agitated state because of the Arab- The Sultanates’ treaties with Britain were due to expire Israeli War, refused to obey the entreaties of their officers in January 1968, but with the sudden withdrawal of the to cease firing. Reason only prevailed after the British they were largely ignored, and Britain eventually intervention of the young Sultan Ghalib II, who had recognized the N.L.F. There seems to have been a succeeded his father Sultan ’Awadh II a year earlier. number of reasons inherent in the British decision to hand Sultan Ghalib rushed from position to position shouting over authority to the N.L.F. One was Britain’s desire to at the Bren gurmers who had taken up positions in the prevent the competing terrorist organization and Nasser’s palace to stop firing and striking their machine gtms with proxy, the Front for the Liberation of , from a thick baton when they failed to take notice because of taking over as a successor government and thereby their excitement and the noise. It should be mentioned threaten Western oil interests in Oman and the Gulf. here that the legionnaires hailed from indigenous tribes, Another was the N.L.F.’s willingness to accept power who in the past had lived by plundering and terrorizing from Britain without any major preconditions and to the sedentary population. They had little respect for the practically release Britain from all the financial unarmed townspeople and were generally feared and obligations and commitments it previously had made to hated by them, in contrast to the Yafa’is who were the Federal Government. tolerated by the townspeople because traditionally they were seen as their protectors from the excesses of the Upon news of Sultan Ghalib’s return on 17 September, tribesmen. the PD.F. (N.L.F.) boarded the Sultan’s ship with the H.B.L. and asked him to abdicate, which he refused on By , the Federal authorities had lost all grounds that he was committed to the implementation of control between Aden and the Eastern Protectorate, and various U.N. resolutions and for the people as a whole to the order was suddenly given by the British High decide their future by means of a referendum. However, Commissioner to withdraw all British staff from Mukalla. the Sultan agreed to issue a statement to be published that It can be argued that by accepting ministerial posts in emphasized the need to avoid bloodshed and to settle Aden and agreeing to be stationed there, the rulers of the differences peacefully to which the PD.F. added the Federation allowed their traditional control to be eroded sentence..."andI have abdicated." The ship then sailed in their own domains, and this contributed to their away with the Sultan on board. Twenty-nine years later, downfall and to the rise of the National Liberation Front the last Qu’aiti Sultan was allowed to return for a brief (N.L.F.), an urban guerrilla movement based in Aden. At visit to Mukalla and was greeted with a tumultuous this critical juncture, Sultan Ghalib and the Sultans of welcome. Kathiri and Mahra were in Geneva to make representations to the United Nations Committee on In order to consolidate their control, the P.D.F. and the Decolonialization. When Sultan Ghalib returned to H.B.L., which was expecting a generous financial Mukalla on 17 September, the British authorities had settlement from the British at the time of their sudden already been gone for over a fortnight, but before pull out from Mukalla, had imposed a curfew in the town. departing they placed all of their facilities, including the Two Ferret armored vehicles were dispatched to the R.A.F. station at Riyan, under the protection of the Sultan’s palace to counter any interference from the H.B.L., which maintained radio contact with the British M.1LA., and two more Ferrets were sent to the Customs’ and continued to be a British-paid force operating under wharf to prevent the Sultan from landing. On 30 Novem-

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