Telegrams: (Shipping) "SHIPMINDER, TELEX, LONDON.”
(Inland Transport) "TRANSMINRY, TELEX, LONDON."
Telephone: ABBEY 7711
EXTN.
Our Refe.
.ce
PT.718/3/1
150
33
MINISTRY OF WAR TRANSPORT,
BERKELEY SQUARE HOUSE,
LONDON, W.1.
4th July, 1945.
Your Reference......
42
Confedented
Dear Gent,
1
You were good enough to send me a copy of the letter of July 3rd which you had written to Mr. Colman regarding Hong Kong. We are, of course much interested in this matter and shall be glad to hear of further developments.
My reason for writing now is to ask you to be kind enough to keep in mind one point which will become of immediate importance if Mr. Colman accepts your offer, and consequently resigns from his present work, and that is the question of his successor. It is obviously a British interest that the Basra Port Director should continue to be a British subject. The whole situation is rather delicate with the Iraqi Government and is at present subject of discussion between our Foreign Shipping Relations people here and the Foreign Office. It would, therefore, be most useful to us to have the earliest possible intimation of an impending vacancy at Basra since our ability to secure the appointment by the Iraqui Government of the kind of man we want may depend upon our being ready with the candidate when the occasion arises.
I shall be most grateful if you would bear this in mind.
Yours sincerely,
C.M.G., D.S.O.,
Hubert Beuretan.
G.E.J. Gent, Esq., C. M. G., D. S.0., 0.B.E., M.C.,
Colonial Office
London, S.W.1.
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