Gerald Simpson Hillairet Rutland Vere de Gaury MC (1 April 1897 – 12 January 1984) was a British military officer,

Arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in Al Andalus, medieval Muslim ...

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. He served in the

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The re ...

in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he fought at the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

, and was wounded on several occasions, including in the Gallipoli Campaign. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in 1917: :''"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He displayed the greatest gallantry and initiative in organising and leading bombing attacks. Although subjected to heavy machine gun and rifle fire he captured an important enemy post. His fine example and disregard of danger were of great value to his men."'' De Gaury served as the British

political agent Political Agent or political agent may refer to: *Political Resident, a representative with consular duties and political contacts with local chiefs * Political officer (British Empire), an officer of the British imperial civil administration, also ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in the 1930s, and organized and took part in the

official visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of a sovereign country (or representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or representative) of that foreign country, with th ...

of Sir Andrew Ryan to

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

in November 1935, to present Ibn Sa'ud with the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

. The previous year, while visiting Ibn Sa'ud in

, he had become one of the first half dozen Britons to enter that city. He was a fluent speaker of

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and spent much time hunting with Ibn Sa'ud during his wartime assignment to the

Nejd Najd is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in al-Jawf to the north, ad-Dahna Desert in al-Ahsa to th ...

and

Asir Asir, officially the Aseer Province, is a province of Saudi Arabia in southern Arabia. It has an area of , and an estimated population of 2,024,285 (in 2022). Asir is bounded by the Mecca Province to the north and west, al-Bahah Province to the ...

. During that time, he became a foremost authority on the region and wrote a number of books on the subject in later life. An enthusiastic and skilled photographer, de Gaury is responsible for a large proportion of the photographs of the Arabian Peninsula from this period. He was also an accomplished watercolorist and sketch artist, frequently drawing or painting scenes from memory only hours after they had occurred. He was a close friend of Freya Stark and

Lesley Blanch Lesley Blanch (6 June 19047 May 2007) was a British writer and traveller. She is best known for '' The Wilder Shores of Love'', about Isabel Burton (who married the Arabist and explorer Richard), Jane Digby el-Mezrab (Lady Ellenborough, the so ...

, who said of him: :''"He spoke beautiful Arabic, and could talk Arabic lore. Living among, and as one of, the royal household in Arabia, he knew a great deal and could tell you marvellous legends."'' For the last twenty years of his life he lived in Sussex Square, Brighton, where he died on 12 January 1984.

References

* Eid Al Yahya, ''Travellers in Arabia'', (Stacey International, 2006).

Works

* ''Arabian Journeys and Other Desert Travels'', (1950) * ''Arabia Phoenix'', (Kegan Paul, 1946). * ''Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia'', (Praeger, 1967). ASIN B0007DUTRE * ''Rulers of Mecca'', (AMS Press, 1954). * ''Three Kings in Baghdad: The Tragedy of Iraq's Monarchy'', (I. B. Tauris, 2008). * ''The Grand Captain, Gonzalo De Cordoba'', (Longmans Green, 1955) 1897 births 1984 deaths English explorers English travel writers Explorers of Asia Explorers of Arabia Royal Hampshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross {{UK-explorer-stub