THOMAS, Bertram Sidney (1892-1950)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0402 BTH
Held at	: Royal Geographical Society   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.rgs.org/OurWork/Collections/Collections.htm ›
Full title	: THOMAS, Bertram Sidney (1892-1950)
Date(s)	: 1930-1940
Level of description	: Collection level
Extent	: 1 box, 2 files
Name of creator(s)	: Thomas | Bertram Sidney | 1892-1950 | diplomat, explorer and author

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Born, 1892; educated privately; Trinity College, Cambridge, PhD; Civil Service, 1908-1914; served with the North Somerset Yeomanry in Belgium, 1914-1915; Somerset Light Infantry in Mesopotamia (Iraq), 1916-1918; Assistant Political Officer in Mesopotamia, 1918-1922; Assistant British Representative in Trans-Jordan (Jordan), 1922-1924; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), 1920-1950; Finance Minister and Wazir to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman (Oman), 1925-1932. During this time he made a number of expeditions into the desert, becoming the first European to cross the Rub' Al Khali (Empty Quarter), 1930-1931; RGS Founder's Medal, 1931; Information Officer in Bahrain, 1942-1943; Director of the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies, Palestine, 1943-1946, and Lebanon, 1947-1948; adviser to Shell Group, 1948-1949; died, 1950.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers of Bertram Sidney Thomas, 1930-1940, including lists and notes on observations made during his expedition to southern Arabia, 1930: appendices to article by Thomas, 'A Journey into Rub' Al Khali: The Southern Arabian Desert', The Geographical Journal, Vol. 77, No. 1 (Jan, 1931), pp. 1-31; and astronomical observations, Arabia, 1930-1931.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

As outlined in the Scope and Content.

Conditions governing access:

Accessed via the Foyle Reading Room. Free of charge for Fellows, Members and those with valid academic identification. All other users pay a charge and must bring identification in order to register on arrival.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Photocopying at the discretion of the Archivist and subject to completion of 'application for copies' form. No reproduction or publication without permission of the RGS-IBG Archivist.

Finding aids:

Collection level description available in the Foyle Reading Room.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Unknown

Allied Materials

Related material:

RGS Correspondence Blocks: 1921-1930 and 1931-1940.

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Prepared by an archives volunteer using existing finding aids. Revised by Sarah Drewery.
Sources: Obit: The Geographical Journal no. 117, 1951, pages 117-119; Oxford DNB.

Rules or conventions:
ISAD(G) ed.2, name authority NRA.

Date(s) of descriptions:
15 February 2001; May 2008.