25 At noon, Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr boarded the ship accompanied by at least twenty of his relatives in order to visit the General Commander. Sheikh Sultan was a short, strappingly built and inclined to be reserved at first, a demeanour he soon replaced with an autocratic bearing. In the evening, the General Commander, the senior navy officers came to the shore to inspect the progress made in the construction of the Sharjah Station. They also discussed the issue of appointing someone to assist Captain Mackay especially when he was away from Sharjah. Officer Finch, of the British Royal Air Force, was eventually selected for this job.8 In early Summer 1932, the construction of the Sharjah Station was complete. Two watch towers had also been added for defense purposes, and they were supplied with cannon, ammunitions and a crew to operate the cannon. As for the issue of storing the fuel for Imperial Airways, this was also settled. Initially, the fuel was stored in town, which was undesirable. An agreement with Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr al-Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, was then reached to the effect that the Anglo Persian Oil Company (APOC) would build its own fuel depot at the Al-Jubail side of Sharjah Creek, near the wreckage of the sunken ship Al-Doba. The company was to pay no rent for twelve years, after which it would pay a monthly rent of 200 Rupees to Sheikh Sultan as the owner of the depot. The capacity of the depot was 40,000 gallons, the average fuel consumption of Imperial Airways in Sharjah being 4,000 gallons a month. The Sharjah Post Office was also approved to open in the Sharjah Station, and be under the authority of the Supervisor of Imperial Airways in the Station. However, the Supervisor refused to work for 30 Rupees a month. Additionally, his managing director at Imperial Airways also refused that his employee might take on any extra work outside his area of expertise. Around this time, a meteorological centre was also opened together with the Sharjah Station. However, the building of the residential area for the Indian employees was conducted at a later stage. The building consisted 8 Ibid., L.P.&S/12/1966, P.Z.1815/1933. THE BUILDING OF SHARJAH AIR STATION
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