Sir Wilfred Thesiger | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 1944 portrait byAnthony Devas | |
| Born | Wilfred Patrick Thesiger (1910-06-03)3 June 1910 |
| Died | 24 August 2003(2003-08-24) (aged 93) Croydon, London, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Alma mater | Magdalen College, Oxford |
| Known for | Exploration, Writing, Photography |
| Notable work | Arabian Sands The Marsh Arabs |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1940–1943 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Sudan Defence Force Gideon Force Special Air Service |
| Battles / wars | Second World War |
Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger (3 June 1910 – 24 August 2003),[1] also known asMubarak bin Landan (Arabic:مُبَارَك بِن لَنْدَن,the blessed one of London)[2][3] was a British military officer, explorer, and writer. Thesiger's travel books includeArabian Sands (1959), on his foot and camel crossing of theEmpty Quarter of theArabian Peninsula, andThe Marsh Arabs (1964), on his time living with theMarsh Arabs of Iraq.
Thesiger was born inAddis Ababa, Ethiopia.[1] He was the son ofWilfred Gilbert Thesiger, who was British consul-general in Ethiopia from 1909 to 1919, and his wife Kathleen Mary Vigors. Thesiger's grandfather wasFrederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford. AnotherFrederic Thesiger, a futureviceroy of India and the firstViscount Chelmsford, was an uncle, and the actorErnest Thesiger was a cousin.
Wilfred Thesiger and his younger brother were the only European children for most of his early years in Addis Ababa. He later recalled how impressed he had been on the day in 1916, when following the overthrow of theEmperor Lij Iyasu, the army ofRas Tafari "armed with swords and spears, some of them carrying rifles, but all of them with shields", followed by bands of wild tribesmen on horses, hurried past the British Legation on their way to give battle toNegus Mikael, the father of Lij Iyasu:
That day made a profound impression on me, implanting a craving for barbaric splendour, for savagery and colour, from which derived a lasting respect for tradition and a readiness to accept a variety of long-established cultures and customs. I grew to feel an increasing resentment towards Western innovations in other lands and a distaste for the dull monotony of our modern world.[4]
Thesiger was educated atSt Aubyn's School inRottingdean, Sussex, followed byEton College and thenMagdalen College, Oxford,[1] where he took aThird in History. Between 1930 and 1933, Thesiger represented Oxford at boxing and later (in 1933) became captain of the Oxford boxing team.[1] He was awarded a boxingBlue for each of the four years that he was at Oxford. Whilst at Oxford, Thesiger was also elected Treasurer of theOxford University Exploration Club (1931–32).[5][6]
In 1930 Thesiger returned to Africa, having received a personal invitation fromEmperorHaile Selassie to attend his coronation, and joined theOrder of the Star of Ethiopia. He returned again in 1933 as the leader of an expedition, funded in part by theRoyal Geographical Society, to explore the course of theAwash River. During this expedition, he became one of the first Europeans to enter theAussa Sultanate and visitLake Abbe.
Between 1935 and 1940, Thesiger served with theSudan Political Service, stationed inDarfur and theUpper Nile.[6]
At the outbreak of war, Thesiger joined theSudan Defence Force, helping to organise the Abyssinian resistance to the occupying Italians. He was awarded theDSO[7] for capturingAgibar and its garrison of 2,500 Italian soldiers.
He later served with theSpecial Operations Executive in Syria and theSpecial Air Service during theNorth African Campaign, attaining the rank ofMajor. From 1943 to 1945 he acted as political adviser to Crown PrinceAsfa Wossen of Ethiopia.[5]
After the Second World War, Thesiger travelled across Arabia, lived for some years in the marshes ofIraq, and then travelled inIran,Kurdistan,French West Africa andPakistan. He lived for many years in northernKenya.[8]
He is remembered for his Arabian expeditions. In 1945, anentomologist, O.B. Lean, acting on behalf of the Middle East Anti Locust Unit (MEALU), hired Thesiger to search for locust breeding grounds insouthern Arabia. This led to two crossings of the great Arabian desert, theRub' al Khali or Empty Quarter, and travels in innerOman. He rode camels in the company ofBedu guides through remote areas that were potentially dangerous on account of tribal tensions and the opposition of local rulers to the presence of foreigners.[9] His first camel expedition began in Salala (Oman) on 13.10.1945 and ended in Tarim (Yemen) on 22.02.1946.[10]
Thesiger's first large desert crossing began in October 1946 when, with his Bedouin companions, he leftSalalah in the Dhofar province of Oman and travelled to the Mughshin Oasis. From there, he entered the sands but there was dissent among his party, some of whom were unwilling to travel any farther. Thesiger continued with four members, two from the Rashid and two from the Bait Kathir tribes. He reached theLiwa Oasis in theEmirate of Abu Dhabi in mid-December, visited the town ofAbu Dhabi, then crossed into Oman, heading back towards Salalah via Dhofar and ending his journey at Salalah on 23 February 1947.[10]
His second crossing began in December 1947, at Manwakh well in Yemen. The king ofSaudi Arabia did not agree to Thesiger entering his territory, and imprisoned Thesiger and his party when they arrived at Sulayil. Soon released, they travelled to the Liwa Oasis and then to Abu Dhabi town, arriving on 14 March 1948. In April, Thesiger visited the Buraimi Oasis, for which theIraq Petroleum Company (IPC) held an oil concession, which it operated through an associate company,Petroleum Development Oman. Dick Bird, the company's representative, was concerned by Thesiger's attitude towards oil exploration. Thesiger disapproved of the company's activities, believing that the discovery of oil would destroy the Bedouin way of life. However, the need to finance his expeditions led the explorer to accept funding from the oil company in exchange for providing information garnered from his travels.[9][10][11]
He is known for two travel books:Arabian Sands (1959), which recounts his travels in the Empty Quarter of Arabia between 1945 and 1950 and describes the vanishing way of life of the Bedu; andThe Marsh Arabs (1964), which is an account of theMadan, the indigenous people of the marshlands of southern Iraq. The latter journey is also covered by his travelling companion,Gavin Maxwell, inA Reed Shaken by the Wind – a Journey through the Unexplored Marshlands of Iraq (Longman, 1957; new edition byEland in 2003).[12] Thesiger returned to England in the 1990s and was knighted in 1995.[8]
In 1998, he published his travel memoir,Among the Mountains detailing his travels across Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan.[13]
Thesiger took many photographs during his travels and donated his vast collection of 38,000 negatives to thePitt Rivers Museum,Oxford.[14]
Thesiger's reputation in England was built on his travels, writings and military service. Those who met him found him traditional and old fashioned. Among the Arabian people, his reputation was based on their personal knowledge of him as an adventurer.Salim bin Ghabaisha described him, fifty years after their travels together, as "loyal, generous, and afraid of nothing".[15]
In 2008, Majid Abdulrazak (a film director from theUnited Arab Emirates) produced a film version ofArabian Sands which was self-funded and employed actors from the UAE andOman in most of the major roles.[16][17]
A documentary about Sir Wilfred was made by producerLes Guthman in 1999,A Life of My Choice.[18]
Thesiger was a guest on the BBC'sDesert Island Discs, broadcast on 6 October 1979.[19]
Wilfred Thesiger's role in Ethiopia is mentioned several times inThe Desert Scorpions byHugo Pratt. This comic book series is partially set amidst the Second World War'sEast African campaign.[20]
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Photographs by Thesiger
Obituaries and profiles (mostly August 2003):
