ASSASSINATION OF KING ABDULLAH (Hansard, 24 July 1951)

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
My Lords, I rise to support the Motion for an humble Address to His Majesty which has been moved by the Lord Chancellor. I am sure your Lordships will agree that the Lord Chancellor has spoken for us all, irrespective of Party, in the tribute which he has paid to King Abdullah of Transjordania, of whose tragic death we heard with such sincere grief last Sunday. But I should like to add a few most heartfelt words on behalf of those who sit on 1143 these Benches. It was only once my good fortune to meet King Abdullah. I understand that my noble friend Lord Swinton, who is to intervene in a moment or two, knew him very well, but I am sure that he will agree that no one who had met King Abdullah even once, would ever forget him. He ruled over a small country, as countries go, but he was a great man in the fullest sense of the term, whose influence extended far beyond the boundaries of his own land. Wise, moderate, statesmanlike and brave, he led his people through troublous times, and he never failed them. To us, as the Lord Chancellor has said, he was a faithful ally and a true friend, even when times seemed darkest. We mourn him, and we send a message of heartfelt sympathy to his fellow-countrymen who have suffered so grievous a loss and, in particular, to his son, Prince Naif, who as Regent, now has to shoulder that burden which was carried so valiantly and so triumphantly by his great father.

THE EARL OF PERTH
My Lords, noble Lords who sit on these Benches would like to support the Motion moved by the noble and learned Viscount, and to associate themselves fully with the sentiments which have been expressed by him and by the noble Marquess the Leader of the Opposition. By the death of King Abdullah we have lost a staunch friend and a faithful ally, and a great statesman has gone from the world. If your Lordships will allow me, I should like to say one word, on behalf of my noble Leader, Lord Samuel, who wished very much to be in his place this afternoon to pay this tribute on behalf of the Liberal Peers, and also personally. Unhappily, Lord Samuel had an engagement in the country which he felt bound to fulfil. My noble friend Lord Samuel knew King Abdullah intimately during the five years that he was High Commissioner of Palestine, and he had a constant and a great personal regard for the King. Not only had he this personal regard, but he looked upon King Abdullah as a man of the wisest counsel and great courage, and considered him to be the outstanding figure and statesman in that part of the world. It so happens that Lord Samuel lunched with King Abdullah only a 1144 short time ago in Amman, and he was very much struck with the progress which had been made in Jordan under the King's wise and far-seeing guidance. Perhaps I may be allowed to read to your Lordships the concluding words of my noble friend's message: All Middle-Eastern States will greatly miss the statesmanship and fine character of King Abdullah, but none more than Jordan itself.

§ VISCOUNT SWINTON
My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity of adding a personal word to the tributes which have been so well paid. During difficult and critical years of the Mandate, when I was Secretary of State for the Colonies, I got to know the Amir Abdullah, as he then was, very well indeed; and during those years he gave many proofs of his trust in and his love for Britain. He was indeed, in the words in which he used always to sign his personal letters, our "true friend". He had, as has been well said, great and kingly qualities. He was absolutely fearless, morally as well as physically. His physical courage he proved many years ago in the First World War. But he had other qualities, perhaps less common. He was farsighted, and, though tenacious of his aims and ideas, he was always moderate. To a sense of proportion he added a most delightful sense of humour. These qualities are all too rare in the Middle East, and he will be terribly missed.
A little later, when I was transferred to the Air Ministry and when we were giving to the squadrons their crests and mottoes, I asked the Amir Abdullah to choose a motto for the Squadron which for many years had been stationed in Transjordan and in which he had always taken a deep interest. He sent me as a motto for that Squadron an Arabic quotation, I think from the Koran. The words were: I spread my wings and I keep faith. That is the proud motto of the Squadron to-day: "I keep faith." My Lords, that might well have been the King's own motto.