Charles Belgrave

In the early 1920s the British in Bahrain were concerned to secure the political stability of the island. In 1923 Shaikh Isa, nearly 80 years old, was induced to hand over power to his son Shaikh Hamad. After a succession of Political Agents it became apparent that a permanent administrator should be found who would ensure some political continuity. Shaikh Hamad agreed to appoint a Personal Adviser employed by himself and not by the British Government, who would help him to modernise the state.

There were no readily available candidates and the post was advertised in The Times in August 1925. It is not known how many applicants there were, but after interviews Charles Belgrave was appointed with an annual salary of £720 - enough for him to get married on. During the war he had served with the Frontiers Districts Administration Camel Corps and had spent two years in the oasis of Siwa. At the time of his appointment he was on leave after two years in the Colonial Service in Tanganyika. He brushed up his Arabic at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and arrived in Bahrain in March 1926, to remain there until 1957.