Liberating Libya: British Diplomacy and War in the Desert by Rupert Wieloch

[Dever Mayfly]

Announcing a new book that contextualises the Senussi Jihad that began in November 1915 within the overall campaign against the Ottoman Empire and the forgotton British involvement in Libya.  The acknowledgements pay tribute to GWF members who answered questions about the Indian Army, Royal Flying Corps, Yeomanry and Royal Navy PoWs in Libya as well as those who have written about this "side-show", such as Steve Becker and Russell McGuirk.  WWI images were gratefully received from the Duke of Westminster, the Berkshire Yeomanry Museum, the Light Dragoons and the University of Durham's special collection. Perhaps the most interesting new aspects are the British involvement in the Italo-Ottoman conflict of 1911-1912 (which the Foreign Secretary, Edward Grey, included in the chain of events that "led straight to the catastrophe of 1914"), Kitchener's involvement in establishing the Libyan frontier that featured so significantly in both World Wars, the story of Milo Talbot who perhaps did as much as Lawrence of Arabia in terms of long term UK-Arab relations, but was never recognised for his work and the connection between the Light Car Patrols and the inter-war desert exploration that led to the formation of the Long Range Desert Group.

The book is published by Casemate UK, but there have been problems with Orca's distribution, so I am happy to offer GWF members a £5 discount on the RRP of £25, if they wish to DM me.