In light of recent events, I couldnโt help but draw similarities between the last time Bahrain was properly attacked (not counting the singular Iraqi Scud in 1991) and the recent Iranian strikes.
In October 1940, at the height of WWII, 4 Italian aircraft flew in one of the longest bombing raids attempted at the time to strike Bahrainโs oil infrastructure. The attack itself caused limited physical damage, but the consequences for Bahrain were enormous.
As I went through historic documents and some really good blog posts discussing the event, what struck me most was how familiar some of the emotions sounded even across eighty years: fear of distant wars reaching us, uncertainty about the future, and the realisation that our small islands are never fully insulated from regional conflict.
So I ended up writing a full long-form article about it. Would genuinely love feedback, corrections, or family stories from anyone whose relatives remember wartime Bahrain.