Item BROOKE-POPHAM 4/3-4 - Correspondence, 1935-1936, with the Chief of Air Staff on preparations for war against Italy

Correspondence between Brooke-Popham and ACM Sir Edward Leonard Ellington, Chief of Air Staff, divided into outgoing and incoming files, on the preparations of the RAF in the Middle East in case of a League of Nations war against Italy, following the Italian invasion and annexation of Abyssinia, notably visits by Brooke-Popham to Malta, Gibraltar, Aden, the Sudan, Kenya, Palestine and Transjordan, to inspect RAF facilities such as aerodromes, anti-aircraft defences, communications, personnel, spares and supplies, and mechanical requirements, with comments on the arrival and efficiency of RAF units, and discussions on possible operations from each place; negotiations, Oct-Dec 1935, with Gen Sir George (Alexander) Weir, General Officer Commanding, British Forces in Egypt, and Adm Sir William Wordsworth Fisher, Commander in Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, regarding combined offensive operations in the event of war (namely a RN and RAF attack on Tobruk, Libya, RAF attacks against Italian S81 aerodromes and organisations, and Army attacks on the Tobruk supply lines from a base at Sollum (Salum), Egypt, the defence of Alexandria, and the possibility of an attack on Léros, Greece, using Cyprus as a base (Rosforce operation); the progress of League of Nations peace negotiations with Abyssinia and Italy, the effectiveness of sanctions against Italy, especially possible oil embargoes, and instructions from the Air Ministry as to offensive action to be taken by Brooke-Popham in the event of Italy opening hostilities against Great Britain; a visit by Brooke-Popham to Iraq, and his observations on the political support for Yasin al-Hashimi, Iraqi Prime Minister, and Nuri al-Said, Iraqi Foreign Minister, and the attitude of the Iraqi Cabinet towards Britain; the internal situation in Egypt, especially the growth of nationalist movements, and political machinations following the death of Fuad I, King of Egypt, and the establishment of a regency for his son Faruk (Farouk), Jan 1936; descriptions by Brooke-Popham of his involvement in the negotiations, Mar-Jul 1936, for the military section of a new Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, including the opinion of the Chiefs of Staff, the British Government and the Air Ministry on the desirability of retaining the British right to freedom of flight over Egypt; the German reoccupation of the Rhineland, negotiations by the Locarno powers on the subject, and the decreasing likelihood of hostilities with Italy; detailed descriptions of the local and official reactions to the Arab Rebellion against the British Mandate in Palestine which began in Apr 1936, especially as regards the attitudes of Gen Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope, High Commissioner and Commander in Chief, Palestine and Transjordan, Sir Michael McDonald, Lord Chief Justice in Palestine, and Roy Godfrey Bullen Spicer, Inspector General of Police in Palestine, reactions of other Arab nations to the crisis, Brooke-Popham's recommendation that martial law be imposed, and the transfer of control to Lt Gen John Greer Dill and the Army. 2 files, 97 items.