Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir John Bagot Glubb, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC,

KStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

, KPM (16 April 1897 – 17 March 1986), known as Glubb Pasha, was a British soldier, scholar, and author, who led and trained Transjordan's

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 1 ...

between 1939 and 1956 as its commanding general. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he served in France. Glubb has been described as an "integral tool in the maintenance of British control."

Life

Born in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distr ...

, and educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...

, Glubb gained a commission in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

in 1915. On the

Western Front of World War I The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of import ...

, he suffered a shattered jaw. In later years, this would lead to his Arab nickname of ''Abu Hunaik'', meaning "the one with the little jaw". He was then transferred to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in 1920, which Britain had started governing under a

League of Nations Mandate A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administ ...

following war, and was posted to

Ramadi Ramadi ( ar, ٱلرَّمَادِي ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate w ...

in 1922 "to maintain a rickety floating bridge over the river uphrates carried on boats made of reeds daubed with

bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

", as he later put it. He became an officer of the

in 1930. The next year he formed the

Desert Patrol The Desert Force (, ), also known as the Desert Patrol, was a paramilitary force of Transjordan. Its main task was to guard Jordanian borders with neighboring Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria as well as to provide protection for oil pipe lines of I ...

– a force consisting exclusively of

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert ...

– to curb the raiding problem that plagued the southern part of the country. Within a few years he had persuaded the Bedouin to abandon their habit of raiding neighbouring tribes. In 1939, Glubb succeeded Frederick G. Peake as the commander of the

(subsequently known as the Jordan Royal Army). During this period, he transformed the Legion into the best-trained force in the Arab world. According to the ''Encyclopædia of the Orient'': :Glubb served his home country all through his years in the Middle East, making him immensely unpopular in the end. Arab nationalists believed that he had been the force behind pressure that tried to make King Hussein I of Jordan join the

Baghdad Pact The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, ...

, however this was unsuccessful. Glubb served different high positions in the Arab Legion, the army of Transjordan. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he led attacks on Arab leaders in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, as well as the

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

regime which was present in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and Syria. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Arab Legion was considered the strongest Arab army involved in the war. Glubb led the Arab Legion across the River Jordan to occupy the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

(May 1948). Despite some negotiation and understanding between the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

and King Abdullah, severe fighting took place in

Kfar Etzion massacre The Kfar Etzion massacre refers to a massacre of Jews that took place after a two-day battle in which Jewish Kibbutz residents and Haganah militia defended Kfar Etzion from a combined force of the Arab Legion and local Arab men on May 13, 1948 ...

(May 1948),

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

Latrun Latrun ( he, לטרון, ''Latrun''; ar, اللطرون, ''al-Latrun'') is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley, and a depopulated Palestinian village. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers ...

(May–July 1948). According to Avi Shlaim, :Rumours that Abdullah was once again in contact with the Jewish leaders further damaged his standing in the Arab world. His many critics suggested that he was prepared to compromise the Arab claim to the whole of Palestine as long as he could acquire part of Palestine for himself. 'The internecine struggles of the Arabs,' reported Glubb, 'are more in the minds of Arab politicians than the struggle against the Jews. Azzam Pasha, the ''mufti'' and the Syrian government would sooner see the Jews get the whole of Palestine than that King Abdullah should benefit.' (p. 96) Abdulla the day before his death

Glubb remained in charge of the defence of the West Bank following the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

in March 1949. He retained command of the Arab Legion until 1 March 1956, when King Hussein dismissed him and several other British senior officers in the Arab Legion. Hussein wanted to distance himself from the British and to disprove the contention of Arab nationalists that Glubb was the actual ruler of Jordan. Differences between Glubb and Hussein had been apparent since 1952, especially over defence arrangements, the promotion of Arab officers and the funding of the Legion. Despite his decommission, which was forced upon him by public opinion, Glubb remained a close friend of the king. He spent the remainder of his life writing books and articles, mostly on the Middle East and on his experiences with the Arabs. He served on the Board of Governors of Monkton Combe School from 1956 to 1966. Glubb died in 1986 at his home in Mayfield, East Sussex. King Hussein gave the eulogy at the service of thanksgiving for Glubb's life, held in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

on 17 April 1986. A stained glass window in his local church, St Dunstan's Church, Mayfield, celebrates his life and legacy. His widow died in 2006, whereupon his papers were deposited with the Middle East Centre Archive at St Antony's College, Oxford.

Honours

Glubb was appointed OBE in 1925; CMG in 1946; and KCB in 1956.

Family

Glubb's father was Major-General Sir

Frederic Manley Glubb Major General Sir Frederic Manley Glubb (19 August 1857 – 31 July 1938) was a British Army officer, who was a senior figure in the Royal Engineers during the First World War. He was the father of the Army officer Sir John Bagot Glubb ("Glubb P ...

, of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, who had been chief engineer in the

British Second Army The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. During the Second World War the army ...

during the

; his mother was Letitia Bagot from County Roscommon. He was a brother of the racing driver

Gwenda Hawkes Gwenda Mary Hawkes (' Glubb, previously Janson and Stewart; 1 June 1894 – 27 May 1990) was notable as an ambulance driver in World War I and later as a motor racing driver and speed record holder. Early life Gwenda Mary Glubb was born in 189 ...

. In 1938, Glubb married Muriel Rosemary Forbes, the daughter of physician James Graham Forbes. The couple had a son, Godfrey (named after the Crusader King

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of princ ...

) born in

in 1939, and another son was born in May 1940 but lived only a few days. In 1944, they adopted Naomi, a

girl who was then three months old, and in 1948 they adopted two Palestinian refugee children called Atalla, renamed John and Mary.

Autobiography

Reception

Glubb's autobiographical story ''A Soldier with the Arabs'' was reviewed in ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', April 1958; ''

The National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'', May 1958; '' The Saturday Review'', February 1958;"Generation of Service." '' The Saturday Review'', February 1958. pp17-18 ''The Reporter'', April 1958;"Glubb Pasha's Rear-Guard Action". ''The Reporter'', April 1958. p 39 ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', October 1958; and ''Foreign Affairs'', April 1958. Writing in ''The Reporter'', Ray Alan commented that the book was more than just an ''apologia''; while it provided "no serious political analysis or social observation", it did offer interesting insights into the period, even if Glubb was out of touch with later trends in Middle Eastern politics. What Alan found more surprising was that Glubb also had hardly anything new to say about the 1948 Palestine war "in which he had star billing," instead lapsing into self-justifying propaganda. Alan ends his review with a long quotation from

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...

, in which he reflects on what role a foreigner may play, and prays to God that "men will not, for love of the glamour of strangeness, go out to prostitute themselves and their talents in serving another race", but will let them "take what action or reaction they please from issilent example". Writing in the ''Saturday Review'', Carl Hermann Voss commented that Glubb served with and for the Arabs for 36 years, 17 of them for King Abdullah of Jordan. The portrait photograph is captioned "Glubb Pasha—'I ... failed hopelessly.'" Voss calls the book well written, absorbing, and often deeply moving; engrossing and informative, no matter how subjective; but also overly long. He enjoys the sensitive and lyrical writing that in places "could be scanned as poetry", feeling the "sudden fury of a border raid".

Legacy

In his 1993 poetry collection, ''Out of Danger'',

James Fenton James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

mentions Glubb Pasha in "Here Come the Drum Majorettes!": "There's a Gleb on a steppe in a dacha. There's a Glob on a dig on the slack side. There's a Glubb in the sand (he's a pasha)."

Writings

The source for the following bibliography is Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2005. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005, except *. * (With Henry Field) ''The Yezidis, Sulubba, and Other Tribes of Iraq and Adjacent Regions'', G. Banta, 1943. * ', Hodder & Stoughton, 1948, Da Capo Press, 1976. * ', Hodder & Stoughton, 1957. * ''Britain and the Arabs: A Study of Fifty Years, 1908 to 1958'', Hodder & Stoughton, 1959. * ''War in the Desert: An R.A.F. Frontier Campaign'', Hodder & Stoughton, 1960, Norton, 1961. * ''The Great Arab Conquests'', Hodder & Stoughton, 1963, Prentice-Hall, 1964. * ''The Empire of the Arabs'', Hodder & Stoughton, 1963, Prentice-Hall, 1964. * ''The Course of Empire: The Arabs and Their Successors'', Hodder & Stoughton, 1965, Prentice-Hall, 1966. * ''The Lost Centuries: From the Muslim Empires to the Renaissance of Europe, 1145–1453'', Hodder & Stoughton, 1966, Prentice-Hall, 1967. * ''Syria, Lebanon and Jordan'', Walker & Co., 1967. * ''The Middle East Crisis: A Personal Interpretation'', Hodder & Stoughton, 1967. * ''A Short History of the Arab Peoples'', Stein & Day, 1969. * ''The Life and Times of Muhammad'', Stein & Day, 1970. * ', Hodder & Stoughton, 1971 (unavailable on line 8 Aug. 2021). * ''Soldiers of Fortune: The Story of the Mamlukes'', Stein & Day, 1973. * '' The Way of Love: Lessons from a Long Life'', Hodder & Stoughton, 1974. * ''Haroon Al Rasheed and the Great Abbasids'', Hodder & Stoughton, 1976. * ''Into Battle: A Soldier's Diary of the Great War'', Cassell, 1977. * ', Blackwood (Edinburgh), 1978. * ''Arabian Adventures: Ten Years of Joyful Service'', Cassell (London), 1978. * ''The Changing Scenes of Life: An Autobiography'', Quartet Books (London), 1983.

References

External links

*
1956 – King of Jordan sacks British general (BBC article and video)

Review: The Road to Jerusalem by Benny Morris
''The Guardian'' * *
THE FATE OF EMPIRES and SEARCH FOR SURVIVAL, by Sir John GlubbArchive

Imperial War Museum Interview

in ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Photos

Glubb Pasha on the right with King Abdullah in the middle

The Desert Patrol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glubb, John Bagot 1897 births 1986 deaths British generals British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II People of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Jordanian people of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War 20th-century British writers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Jordanian generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Cheltenham College British orientalists British Anglicans Pashas Writers from Preston, Lancashire Royal Engineers officers British colonial army officers People associated with The Institute for Cultural Research Governors of Monkton Combe School People from Mayfield, East Sussex Military personnel from Preston, Lancashire