Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger (3 June 1910 – 24 August 2003), also known as Mubarak bin Landan (, ''the blessed one of London'') was a British military officer, explorer, and writer. Thesiger's travel books include '' Arabian Sands'' (1959), on his foot and camel crossing of the Empty Quarter of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, and ''The Marsh Arabs'' (1964), on his time living with the

Marsh Arabs The Marsh Arabs (Arabic: عرب الأهوار ʻArab al-Ahwār "Arabs of the Marshlands"), also referred to as Ahwaris, the Maʻdān (Arabic: معدان "dweller in the plains") or Shroog ( "those from the east")—the latter two often conside ...

of Iraq.

Early life

Thesiger was born in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

, Ethiopia. He was the son of Wilfred Gilbert Thesiger, who was British consul-general in Ethiopia from 1909 to 1919, and his wife Kathleen Mary Vigors. Thesiger's grandfather was Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford. Another Frederic Thesiger, a future

viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

and the first Viscount Chelmsford, was an uncle, and the actor Ernest 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 the Emperor Lij Iyasu, the army of Ras 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 to Negus 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.

Education

Thesiger was educated at St Aubyn's School in

Rottingdean Rottingdean is a village in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. It borders the villages of Saltdean, Ovingdean and Woodingdean, and has a historic centre, often the subject of picture postcards. Name The name Rotting ...

, Sussex, followed by

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and then

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, where he took a

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

in History. Between 1930 and 1933, Thesiger represented Oxford at boxing and later (in 1933) became captain of the Oxford boxing team. He was awarded a boxing

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

for each of the four years that he was at Oxford. Whilst at Oxford, Thesiger was also elected Treasurer of the Oxford University Exploration Club (1931–32).

Career

In 1930 Thesiger returned to Africa, having received a personal invitation from

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...

to attend his coronation, and joined the

Order of the Star of Ethiopia The Order of the Star of Ethiopia was established as an order of knighthood of the Ethiopian Empire, founded by the Negus of Shewa and later Emperor of Ethiopia Menelik II in 1884–1885. It is currently awarded as a house order by the Crown ...

. He returned again in 1933 as the leader of an expedition, funded in part by the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, to explore the course of the

Awash River } The Awash River (sometimes spelled Awaash; Oromo language, Oromo: ''Awaash OR Hawaas'', Amharic: ዐዋሽ, Afar language, Afar: ''Hawaash We'ayot'', Somali language, Somali: ''Webiga Dir'', Italian language, Italian: ''Auasc'') is a major river ...

. During this expedition, he became one of the first Europeans to enter the

Aussa Sultanate The Sultanate of Aussa was a kingdom that existed in the Afar Region in southern Eritrea, eastern Ethiopia and Djibouti from the 18th to the 20th century. It was considered to be the leading monarchy of the Afar people, to whom the other Afar ru ...

and visit

Lake Abbe Lake Abbe, also known as Lake Abhe Bad, is a salt lake (geography), salt lake, lying on the Ethiopia-Djibouti border. It is one of a chain of six connected lakes, which also includes (from north to south) lakes Lake Gargori, Gargori, Lake Laitali ...

. Between 1935 and 1940, Thesiger served with the

Sudan Political Service The Sudan Political Service was the name given to the cadre of officials of the Sudan Civil Service who were mainly engaged in administrative functions in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan between 1899 and 1955 (or 1956). They were distinguished from those m ...

, stationed in

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

and the Upper Nile.

Second World War

At the outbreak of war, Thesiger joined the

Sudan Defence Force The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces unit raised in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1925 to assist local police in internal security duties and maintain the condominium's territorial integrity. During World War II, ...

, helping to organise the Abyssinian resistance to the occupying Italians. He was awarded the DSO for capturing Agibar and its garrison of 2,500 Italian soldiers. He later served with the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

in Syria and the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

during the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

, attaining the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. From 1943 to 1945 he acted as political adviser to Crown Prince

Asfa Wossen Asfaw Wossen (, āsfā wossen) is an Ethiopic male given name. Persons named Asfaw Wossen * Asfaw Wossen Amha Iyasus, ruler of Shewa in the later 18th century. * Asfa-Wossen Asserate, author, political consultant, and aristocrat, * Asfaw Wosse ...

of Ethiopia.

Travels

After the Second World War, Thesiger travelled across Arabia, lived for some years in the marshes of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and then travelled in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He lived for many years in northern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He is remembered for his Arabian expeditions. In 1945, an

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

, O.B. Lean, acting on behalf of the Middle East Anti Locust Unit (MEALU), hired Thesiger to search for locust breeding grounds in

southern Arabia South Arabia (), or Greater Yemen, is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jazan, ...

. This led to two crossings of the great Arabian desert, the

Rub' al Khali The Rub' al KhaliOther standardized transliterations include: /. The ' is the assimilated Arabic definite article, ', which can also be transliterated as '. (; , ) or Empty Quarter is a desert encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabi ...

or Empty Quarter, and travels in inner

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. He rode camels in the company of

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

guides through remote areas that were potentially dangerous on account of tribal tensions and the opposition of local rulers to the presence of foreigners. His first camel expedition began in Salala (Oman) on 13.10.1945 and ended in Tarim (Yemen) on 22.02.1946. Thesiger's first large desert crossing began in October 1946 when, with his Bedouin companions, he left

Salalah Salalah () is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani Governorates of Oman, governorate of Dhofar Governorate, Dhofar. It has a population close to 331,949. Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest ...

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 the

Liwa Oasis The Liwa Oasis () is a large oasis area in the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Geography Liwa Oasis is about south of the Persian Gulf coast and southwest of the city of Abu Dhabi, on the northern e ...

in the

Emirate of Abu Dhabi The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is one of seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates. It is the largest emirate, accounting for 87% of the nation's total land area or . Abu Dhabi also has the second ...

in mid-December, visited the town of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, then crossed into Oman, heading back towards Salalah via Dhofar and ending his journey at Salalah on 23 February 1947. His second crossing began in December 1947, at Manwakh well in Yemen. The king of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

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 the

Iraq Petroleum Company The Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), formerly known as the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC), is an oil company that had a virtual monopoly on all oil exploration and production in Iraq between 1925 and 1961. It was jointly owned by some of the world ...

(IPC) held an oil concession, which it operated through an associate company,

Petroleum Development Oman Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is the leading exploration and production company in the Sultanate of Oman. The Company delivers the majority of the country's crude oil production and natural gas supply. The company is owned by the Government of ...

. 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. 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; and ''The Marsh Arabs'' (1964), which is an account of the Madan, the indigenous people of the marshlands of southern Iraq. The latter journey is also covered by his travelling companion,

Gavin Maxwell Gavin Maxwell FRSL FZS FRGS (15 July 19147 September 1969) was a Scottish naturalist and author, best known for his non-fiction writing and his work with otters. He became most famous for '' Ring of Bright Water'' (1960) and its sequels, which ...

, in ''A Reed Shaken by the Wind – a Journey through the Unexplored Marshlands of Iraq'' (

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman ...

, 1957; new edition by Eland in 2003). Thesiger returned to England in the 1990s and was knighted in 1995. In 1998, he published his travel memoir, ''Among the Mountains'' detailing his travels across Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan. Thesiger took many photographs during his travels and donated his vast collection of 38,000 negatives to the

Pitt Rivers Museum Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Reputation

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 Salim bin Ghabaisha () (1930 – 2 January 2016) was a Bedouin of the Rashid tribe, notable for being a key member of the travelling party commissioned by Sir Wilfred Thesiger during his two crossings of the Rub' al Khali undertaken between 1946 ...

described him, fifty years after their travels together, as "loyal, generous, and afraid of nothing".

In popular culture

In 2008, Majid Abdulrazak, an Emirati film director, produced a film version of ''Arabian Sands'' which was self-funded and employed actors from the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

and

in most of the major roles. A documentary about Sir Wilfred was made by producer

Les Guthman Les Guthman is an American director, writer, editor and production executive, who has the distinction of both having produced three of the ''20 Top Adventure Films of All Time'', according to ''Men's Journal'' magazine, and having won the National ...

in 1999, ''A Life of My Choice''. Thesiger was a guest on the BBC's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'', broadcast on 6 October 1979. Wilfred Thesiger's role in Ethiopia is mentioned several times in ''The Desert Scorpions'' by

Hugo Pratt Ugo Eugenio Prat (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), better known as Hugo Pratt, was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as '' Corto Maltese''. He was indu ...

. This comic book series is partially set amidst the Second World War's East African campaign.

Awards

* Master of Arts, MA, Oxon * Commander of the

, CSE 1930 * Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

, DSO 1941 *

Founder's Medal The Founder's Medal is a medal awarded annually by the Royal Geographical Society, upon approval of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, to individuals for "the encouragement and promotion of geographical science and discovery". Foundation From ...

, Royal Geographical Society, RGS 1948 * Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal of the

Royal Society for Asian Affairs The Royal Society for Asian Affairs (RSAA) is a learned society based in London (United Kingdom). Its objective is to advance public knowledge and understanding of Asia through its worldwide networks, its public events, its publications and its s ...

, 1955 * Livingstone Medal, Royal Scottish Geographical Society, RSGS 1962 * W. H. Heinemann Award 1964 * Royal Society of Literature, RSL 1965 * Burton Memorial Medal,

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

, RAS 1966 * Honorary DLitt, Leicester 1967 *

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, CBE 1968 * Fellow Royal Society of Literature, FRSL 1982 * Honorary Fellow British Academy, FBA 1982 * Honorary DLitt,

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

, 1992 *

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, KBE 1995 * Abu Dhabi Awards, 2008

Styles

* Mr Wilfred Thesiger (1910–1967) * Dr Wilfred Thesiger (1967–1968) * Dr Wilfred Thesiger CBE (1968–1995) * Sir Wilfred Thesiger KBE (1995–2003)

Books

* ''A Journey Through the

Tihama Tihamah or Tihama ( ') is the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb. Etymology Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in masculine form) was the ancient Mes ...

, the

'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 ...

, and the Hijaz Mountains'' * '' Arabian Sands'' (1959) ** 1985 Penguin; * ''The Marsh Arabs'' (1964) ** 2007 Penguin; , * ''The Last Nomad'' (1979) ** 1980 – William Collins; * ''The Life of My Choice'' (1987) ** 1987 Harpercollins;. * ''Visions of a Nomad'' (1987) ** 1987 Collins; * ''My Kenya Days''

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, 1994; * ''Desert, Marsh & Mountain'' (1995) * ''The Danakil Diary: Journeys through Abyssinia, 1930–34'' Hammersmith, 1996, . Contains the diaries he wrote in 1930 when he attended Haille Selassie's coronation, and in 1933–1935 when he explored the Awash valley and encountered the

Afar people The Afar (), also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, as well as the entire southern co ...

. Interspersed with letters he wrote to his mother during that period. * ''Among the Mountains: Travels Through Asia'' HarperCollins, (1998); . This account presents edited portions of journal entries written during trips to remote mountain areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Kurdistan between 1952 and 1965, as well as numerous black-and-white photographs that he took at the time. There is little detail since the book is based on his diary entries. For a better account, read ''The Life of My Choice''. * ''Crossing the Sands'' Motivate Pub Ltd (2000) 176 pp; . About his journeys in the Empty Quarter and the Arabian Peninsula during the late forties, with photographs. * ''My Life and Travels'' (anthology) ** 2002 HarperCollins 352 pp; ** 2003 Flamingo 320 pp; * ''A Vanished World'' ** 2001 W.W. Norton 192 pp; ** 2002 W.W. Norton 189 pp, possibly the same as above, collection of photographs;

References

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

Photographs by Thesiger
Collection of Thesiger's photography in Pitt Rivers Museum, Source: Journey biographies
, Thesiger's Journeys in Arabia –

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

, Saudi Arabia, 1946 Obituaries and profiles (mostly August 2003):
Daily Telegraph obituary

Review of maitland's official biography
discusses various aspects of the explorer's life and characters.
BBC obituary (26 August 2003)
contains errors such as Wilfred being the youngest son, which he was not.
Profile
by Jonathan Glancy in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Eric Newby George Eric Newby (6 December 1919 – 20 October 2006) was an English travel writer. His works include '' A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush'', '' The Last Grain Race'' and '' A Small Place in Italy''. Early life Newby was born in Barnes, Lond ...

'
recollections of Thesiger
*

Frank Gardner (journalist) Francis Rolleston Gardner (born 31 July 1961) is a British journalist, author and retired British Army Reserve officer. He is currently the BBC's Security Correspondent, and since the September 11 attacks on New York has specialised in coverin ...

, the BBC's Security Correspondent, recall
personal memories of the great explorer including inspiring Gardner to learn Arabic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thesiger, Wilfred 1910 births People educated at St. Aubyns School People educated at Eton College 2003 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British Arabists British Christians British explorers British travel writers British explorers of Africa Explorers of Arabia Explorers of Asia Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People from Addis Ababa Sudan Political Service officers Sudan Defence Force officers Special Air Service officers British Army personnel of World War II Historians of the United Arab Emirates Honorary Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Wilfred Patrick British Special Operations Executive personnel Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Ethiopia