Personal papers and photograph album of John Shebbeare relating to Oman

This small collection contains two files of papers and one photograph album, c 1968-c 1974, relating to Shebbeare's residence in Oman.

The photograph album contains unidentifed colour photographs, including of mountainous and desert scenes as well as of historic sites, ? 1970s. It is thought that these photographs were possibly used as slides in lectures given by Shebbeare.

The papers are contained in two green files printed with an 'Sultanate of Muscat and Oman office' file stamp, and also with 'Sultanate in Internal Affairs Dept' annotated.

The first file has 'Izki' labelled as a subject [ref. no. B425]. This contains English manuscript notes by Shebbeare including for autobiographical lectures about his residency in Oman, c 1974, and newspaper cuttings relating to the coup in Oman, 1970. Also included is correspondence in English and Arabic between Petroleum Development (Oman) Ltd, Muscat, the Department of Defence, Muscat, and Shebbeare as 'Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, Oman'. These letters relate to the claim of Seif bin Hamood al Qasimi of Falaj al Taibi, Izki [regarding the pipeline dispute at Izki], 1968-1970.

The second file has 'Khabora' labelled as a subject [ref. no. B463] and relates to the case of Suleiman bin Khalaf al Nakheili of al Rakah and the divorce of his daughter from Abdullah bin Khamis al Nakheili, AH 1388 [c 1968].

John Digby Shebbeare (1919-2004), major, lawyer and teacher, was born in Oxfordshire and was the son of a Rector. He was educated at Rugby College and Sandhurst, before joining the Indian army, serving in India, Egypt, Persia and Iraq. On leaving the army, Shebbeare read for the Bar, working initially in the family chambers in London and then in the Department of Health. He was then appointed legal advisor to Binnie Deacon and Courlie in Baghdad, before becoming District Resident in Beihan, Aden.

On the British departure from Aden, he became appointed as a British advisor ['Secretary in Internal Affairs'] to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, Said bin Taimur, returning to England on the Sultan's deposition by his son Qaboos bin Said in 1970, at which point Muscat and Oman became the Sultanate of Oman. Shebbeare then took up teaching and subsequently retired to Devon, where he was active in local history. He was also a member of the Anglo-Omani Society.

Usual EUL arrangements apply.

Transferred from Arab World Documentation Unit, University of Exeter (donated to AWDU anonymously).

Listed. See Description above.

Description compiled by Charlotte Berry, Archivist, 24 May 2006. Updated by Rob Ford, 20 Dec 2006.

Usual EUL restrictions apply.

It is not known whether related collections are held elsewhere.