ABSTRACT
Aden was a vital link in the chain of British bases that encircled the globe and ensured global security. British withdrawal promised the cessation of what had become a vital transfusion to which the rulers had become addicted. Formal advice was channelled through one of the two 'Adviser and British Agents', stationed in Aden and Mukalla, while day-to-day advice was supplied by 'Assistant Advisers' in the field supported by locally recruited deputies, all known as political officers. In practice, advice was issued by political officers, officially termed Assistant Advisers, on almost any subject – and acceptance depended as much as anything on the personality of the British official. The Gulf leaders were spared the requirement to heed British advice, and the British Foreign Office officials serving in their countries were temporary residents, often junior and no doubt anxiously looking ahead to more amenable postings. In tribal, as distinct from British protocol terms, the Sultan of Lower Yafa' deserved pre-eminence.
