A Woman in Arabia
Page 4
1911 January–May
GLB goes via Beirut and Damascus across the desert to Baghdad to check measurements of Ukhaidir; travels north along Tigris; meets T. E. Lawrence at Carchemish in Syria working for David Hogarth
June
Returns to England; publication of Amurath to Amurath
1912
GLB in England all year; involved in worldwide fund-raising for relief of Constantinople after the great fire; creates new water garden at Rounton; meets Doughty-Wylie in London
1913
GLB in England; completes The Palace and Mosque at Ukhaidir
Elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society; presented with a miniature theodolite as its Gill Memorial Award; she is the first woman to receive an RGS award
Woodrow Wilson becomes 28th president of the United States
November
GLB travels to Damascus to organize journey to Hayyil, with intention of meeting Ibn Saud in Riyadh
December
GLB and caravan leave for Hayyil
1914 February
GLB arrives in Hayyil, put under house arrest by the ruling Rashids, then released
February–May
Continues to Baghdad; journeys through Mesopotamian and Syrian deserts
Returns to England
June
Churchill persuades British parliament to approve Admiralty purchase of 51 percent of Anglo-Persian oil company to secure fuel for navy
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria shot at Sarajevo on the 28th
July
GLB awarded Gold Medal by the Royal Geographical Society
August
First World War begins; GLB gives speeches to raise troops
Publication of The Palace and Mosque at Ukhaidir
Maurice mobilized as Lieutenant Colonel commanding 4th (territorial) Battalion, Green Howards
October
Turkey joins war as ally of Germany
November
GLB works at Lord Onslow’s Hospital, Clandon Park, Surrey
British Indian Army expeditionary force occupies Shatt al Arab and creates a base at Basra
GLB takes charge of the Red Cross Wounded and Missing Bureau in Boulogne
1915 April
Maurice Bell on Western Front leads attack at Fortuin
Lady Florence sets up auxiliary convalescent hospital for the Red Cross at Rounton Village Institute
British begin Gallipoli campaign against the Turks on the 25th; Dick Doughty-Wylie dies there on the 26th
April–November
GLB opens new London office at 20 Arlington Street for the Red Cross Wounded and Missing Bureau
May
British Liberal prime minister Asquith invites Bonar Law’s Conservatives to join a coalition government; Churchill forced to resign from the Admiralty
September
British win decisive battle against Turkish/Arab army at Kut and advance to Ctesiphon near Baghdad
November
17th: GLB leaves Sloane Street, London
20th: She embarks at Marseilles for Egypt
26th: She dines in Port Said with Lawrence and Hogarth
27th–29th: She is missing, probably took ship to Dardanelles, climbing beach to visit the grave of Doughty-Wylie
30th: GLB back in Port Said, takes train to Cairo
British defeated by Turkish force at Ctesiphon, retreat to Kut
November–December
GLB works in Cairo for Gilbert Clayton, director of military intelligence and also responsible for Egyptian civil intelligence
December
British encircled at Kut, siege begins
1916 January–February
GLB in India, advises viceroy
Arab Bureau established in Cairo to collect intelligence of Middle Eastern affairs and disseminate information to British government departments
February–December
GLB in Basra as assistant political officer with rankof major under Chief Political Officer Sir Percy Cox, reporting to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC) Indian Expeditionary Force in Iraq
February
Hogarth in Cairo office initiates the “Arab Bulletin” as a regular intelligence report; GLB is the principal contributor from Basra
March
British evacuate Gallipoli
Maurice wounded in France
April
T. E. Lawrence arrives in Basra with authority to bribe the Turks to lift the siege of Kut; he and GLB “had great talks and made vast schemes for the government of the universe”
Turks enter Kut, population massacred; many British troops die in forced march northward
May
Secret Sykes-Picot Agreement anticipates postwar division of influence in Middle East between France, Britain, and Russia
June
GLB appointed head of Iraq branch of the Arab Bureau as an officer of the Indian Expeditionary Force D (IEFD; based in Basra) while also serving Cox
Hashemite family leads inconclusive revolt of Arabs against Turkish rule in western Arabia
September
GLB in hospital with jaundice; then holidays on Euphrates
October
Cox signs treaty with Ibn Saud defining boundaries to limit his military incursions into Iraq
November
GLB arranges visit of Ibn Saud to Basra
Hashemite emir Hussein, Sharif of Mecca, proclaimed king of the Hejaz
December
Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister of Britain
1917 January–March
GLB continues in Basra as Oriental secretary to the civil administration of Cox, as well as head of the Arab Bureau (Iraq)
January
In western Arabia, Emir Faisal with Lawrence starts march of Arab army northward
March
Turkish army vacates Baghdad; British occupy
April
President Wilson asks U.S. Congress to declare war on Germany; American troops engaged in France
GLB moves to Baghdad after nine-day journey up the Tigris
May
GLB occupies her permanent home in Baghdad
Cossack troops commit atrocities in northern Mesopotamia
June
Lawrence takes Aqaba with Arab irregulars
Maurice invalided out of active service permanently deafened
July
Cox appointed civil commissioner of Mesopotamia reporting to the secretary of state for India in London
August
British defeat Turkish army in Gaza
October
Bolsheviks take control of the Russian Revolution
British Cabinet approves Balfour Declaration favoring Palestine as a national home for the Jews (announced November 2)
GLB awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Suffering from exhaustion, GLB admitted to convalescent hospital
Appointed editor of newspaper Al Arab writing “The Arab of Mesopotamia” for British officials
December
British take Jerusalem
1918 January
President Wilson makes his “fourteen points” speech outlining his principles for world peace including a “general association of nations”
March
Russia makes peace with Germany; Allied troops fight Red Army in Russia; GLB awarded Founder’s Medal of the Royal Geographical Society
May
GLB starts Tuesday soirees for wives of prominent Arabs
July
Holidays on horseback in Persian mountains
Women over 30 gain the vote in Britain if they were either a member of or married to a member of the Local Government Register, were a property owner, or were a graduate voting in a university constituency
September
GLB arranges durbar of sheikhs in Iraq
Cox posted to Tehran; provisionally replaced by Sir Arnold Wilson as acting civil commissioner; GLB’s role restricted
Lady Florence made Dame Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (DCIE) for her work for the Red Cross; Sir Hugh awarded Companion of the Order of the Bath
October
Emir Faisal’s army takes Damascus with Lawrence; Turks fight last battle at Sharqat, then withdraw; Turks sign Mudros Armistice, end of Ottoman Empire
November
Allies sign armistice with Germany; First World War ends
December
Influenza pandemic reaches Baghdad
1919 February–
GLB prepares a paper for the Paris Peace Conference
March
on the future of Mesopotamia, attending the conference in March
April–May
GLB tours France and visits Algiers with Sir Hugh; returns to Peace Conference until A. T. Wilson arrives
May–September
GLB in England
June
Germany signs Treaty of Versailles accepting peace conditions; Covenant of the League of Nations signed by 44 nations on the 28th
September
GLB visits Cairo, Jerusalem, Damascus, Beirut, and Aleppo
President Wilson collapses while campaigning for the United States to join the League of Nations
October
President Wilson suffers massive stroke on the 2nd, leaving him permanently incapacitated
November
U.S. Senate fails to ratify the Treaty of Versailles on the 19th
GLB returns to Baghdad; starts writing Review of the Civil Administration of Mesopotamia
GLB’s maid, Marie Delaire, joins her permanently in Baghdad
1920 January
Sir Frank Lascelles dies on the 2nd
Arab Bureau in Cairo winds down
GLB takes archaeological trip to the site of Babylon
February
GLB organizes funding for a women’s hospital in Baghdad
March
Emir Faisal elected and crowned king of Syria
March–April
Sir Hugh visits Baghdad
April
San Remo Conference agrees to terms of British mandate over Iraq while instituting self-government
GLB to compile annual reports on the state of Iraq required by the League of Nations
June
Cox makes official visit to Baghdad
July
French occupy Damascus; King Faisal deposed
August
Treaty of Sevres between Allies and Turkey confirms terms for end of hostilities
October
Cox returns to Baghdad as high commissioner to Iraq
The naqib of Baghdad agrees to form a provisional Arab government and selects cabinet members
A. T. Wilson leaves public service
GLB prepares fortnightly reports to the Colonial Office on the progress of the administration in Iraq
November
GLB resumes duties as Oriental secretary
First meeting of Iraqi Council of State; future meetings frequently held at GLB’s house
December
Publication of Review of the Civil Administration of Mesopotamia, presented to British parliament
1921 February
Churchill appointed secretary of state for the colonies (including responsibility for the Middle East)
March
GLB attends Churchill’s Cairo Conference
Holidays in Egypt with Sir Hugh; returns to Baghdad
June
Faisal arrives in Basra; he greets GLB upon his arrival in Baghdad
GLB elected president of new Baghdad Public Library
Ibn Saud takes Hayyil; Rashid dynasty ends; Shammar tribesmen flee into Iraq
Three-month British miners’ strike hits steel industry
July
GLB announces result of Iraq referendum; naqib declares Faisal king-elect on behalf of Iraqi Council of State
August
Faisal ibn Hussein ibn Ali crowned Faisal I of lraq
September
King invites the naqib to form a cabinet
November
GLB’s half-brother Hugo marries Frances Morkill
1922 April–May
Iraq’s Constituent Assembly passes electoral law
Sir Hugh joins GLB for break in Jerusalem
July
August