National Guard

This file concerns the question of expanding the Saudi Arabian National Guard, commanded by Prince Abdulla Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, with correspondence related to:

• Question of equipping the National Guard with heavy weapons, and recruiting additional British training officers
• King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud’s apparent unwillingness to support the expansion of the National Guard, with questions concerning his attitude to British influence
• Confusion surrounding the origins and role of the British Military Mission (BMM) to the National Guard and the search for the original terms of agreement by which the BMM was established
• Tensions between King Faisal’s conception of the National Guard as a praetorian guard-style unit, and Prince Abdulla’s hopes to expand and equip the force with heavy weapons
• Meeting between King Faisal, his advisor Kemal Adham, and the British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia W Morris concerning plans for the National Guard, and the appointment of Adham as an interlocutor between the Head of the BMM Brigadier Adrian Donaldson and King Faisal
• Appointment of F C W Courtenay-Thompson, D Bruce-Merrie, and R S Hopper as additional training officers
• Question of reappointing T N Bromage as an advisor to the BMM
• Requests for information concerning various heavy weapons for the National Guard
• Donaldson’s proposed plans for the development of the National Guard
• Proposed sale of Rapier missiles to the National Guard by the British Aircraft Corporation
• Questions concerning the reliability of the Royal Guard and Prince Abdulla’s plan to replace it with the National Guard
• Extension of Donaldson’s contract
• Question of providing VIP security training for the National Guard from an officer of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch and the question of forming a Special Security Company for the National Guard, trained by the SAS.
• Arms sales

The file also contains correspondence relating to:

• Impact of the devaluation of sterling on the pay of British personnel seconded to the National Guard, and the question of the Saudi Arabian Government meeting the costs of subsequent losses by exchange
• Intelligence report concerning the strength and locations of mujahidin in Saudi Arabia
• Request by the National Guard for advice on establishing a helicopter force from the Surété Generale of Lebanon