Adrian John Liddell Hart (1922–1991) was a British soldier,

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer,

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician, author and adventurer. He served briefly in the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

and portrayed it in the 1953 book ''Strange Company''.

Early life and career

The son of Sir Basil Liddell Hart (1895–1970), by his first wife Jessie Stone, Liddell Hart was the godson of Major-General

J. F. C. Fuller Major-General John Frederick Charles "Boney" Fuller (1 September 1878 – 10 February 1966) was a senior British Army officer, military historian, and strategist, known as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorisin ...

, and was educated at St Andrew's School, Pangbourne, before Eton and

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

. With the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939 he joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and in 1940 became

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the

Local Defence Volunteers The Home Guard (initially Local Defence Volunteers or LDV) was an unpaid armed citizen militia supporting the 'Home Forces' of the British Army during the Second World War. Operational from 1940 to 1944, the Home Guard comprised more than 1.5 ...

at Dartington,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. In 1941, he joined the trained

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

and after training at ,

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

, he was selected as an officer candidate. After obligatory sea time as a junior rank on the Flower-class corvette ''Carnation'' during which he saw service in the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

, he was commissioned and attended the RNVR officer training course at in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

, Sussex. He was promoted to sub lieutenant on in 1942 and saw active service in the Mediterranean in 1943, before joining the Combined Operations Command of British North African Forces later that year and the Signal Division of the Admiralty in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from 1943 to 1944, then and later in 1944. In 1945, he was appointed flag lieutenant to the admiral commanding

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

.LIDDELL HART, Adrian John (1922–1991)
at aim25.ac.uk, accessed 3 May 2011.

Later career

From 1945 to 1946 Liddell Hart was assistant editor to the Preparatory Commission of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, and, from 1946 to 1947, was a political affairs officer of the

United Nations Organisation The United Nations (UN) is the global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among ...

, based in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He next joined the Control Service for Germany, attached to the

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

, and the administrative staff headquarters of the

Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council (ACC) or Allied Control Authority (), also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allies of World War II, Allied Allied-occupied Germany, occupation zones in Germany (1945–1949/1991) and Al ...

(British sector). He worked for the original

Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organisations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt in 1941 based on the educational principles of Kurt Hahn. Today there are organisations, called schools, i ...

Sea School in 1949 and as the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

lobby correspondent of ''The Yorkshire Observer'' from 1949 to 1950. Under the name of Peter Brand, Liddell Hart served in the

as an ordinary legionnaire from 1950 to 1951, then in the Legion's First Foreign Cavalry Regiment in

French Indo China French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. In 1952 he took a job with the

Trust at

Aberdyfi Aberdyfi (), also known as Aberdovey ( ), is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales, located on the northern side of the estuary of the River Dyfi. The population of the community was 878 at the 2011 census. The electoral ward had a larger ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, and, from 1953 to 1954, worked in the Canadian oil industry. From 1955 to 1956, he was with the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, before joining the Federation of British Industry from 1959 to 1960, when he was appointed Assistant Director of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors. In 1962, he became an Analyst in London for Gordon Rayment and Co. Ltd., and in 1963 Assistant General Secretary of the United Nations Association International Service. He was a

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

executive for Informat from 1965 to 1966, then in 1968 joined St John's House, London, a hostel for homeless young offenders. In 1971 he was briefly Warden of the Elswick Lodge Rehabilitation Centre in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. In later life he lived in

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, where he died in 1991.Adrian Wright, ''John Lehmann: a pagan adventure'' (1998), p. 118.

Politics

At the 1945 general election, Liddell Hart was the Liberal candidate for Blackpool South, and at the 1950 general election was the party's candidate for Sowerby. On both occasions, he was defeated.

Works

;Books *''The Growth of New Germany'' (1949) *''Strange Company'' (1953) *''The Sword and the Pen: Selections From the World's Greatest Military Writings'' (1975)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liddell Hart, Adrian 1922 births 1991 deaths People educated at Eton College People educated at St Andrew's School, Pangbourne Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion English autobiographers English male journalists Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates 20th-century English historians 20th-century English male writers People from Stroud