Who is this?

He often had to drink camel’s piss to survive. One of the great explorers, he thrived on hardship, travelling miles on meagre rations, on foot or on uncomfortable camels, barely surviving the harsh desert conditions.

From a privileged background, he attended Eton and Oxford but rejected the materialism of western civilisation, preferring instead to live with Bedu tribes in Arabia. A magnificent photographer, he later reluctantly put pen to paper to become one of the most famous travel writers in the English language. He spoke Arabic and was familiar with Arab tribes and customs; he resented any technology after the steam engine and shortly before his death predicted the extinction of the human race before the end of the 21^st century.

He was strangely ambivalent about murder, often admiring it when part of a local tribal tradition. To gain acceptance with the Bedu people he learnt how to circumcise young boys, thenceforth providing a more hygienic alternative to the massive knives used by the locals. He was convinced of the superiority of the Bedu civilisation: he admired their courage, their loyalty, and their ability to survive in the desert.

He often told the story of how, after starving for days in the middle of the desert, his Bedu travel companions gave up their freshly made hare stew to three Arabs who happened to chance upon their group just as they were about to start their meal. Local custom required them to honour their guests and give them their food and his companions rejected the guests’ offer to share the food. Our subject said he ‘felt murderous’ but admired the generosity accorded to strangers. A lot of the tribes he lived with, though, were also murderous in their dealing with other tribes. And he seems to have turned a blind eye to their exploitation of his private wealth. It is estimated that about half a million pounds of his assets transferred over time to the people with whom he lived.

Our subject received a personal invitation to the coronation of Haile Selassie in Ethiopia; he was an Oxford boxing blue; he fought for the Abyssinians against the Italians; was a member of the SAS, and eventually received a knighthood.

On travelling in the Hindu Kush he came across fellow travel writer Eric Newby and his companion. Newby was suffering from dysentery and a host of other ailments but when Newby and his friend started to blow up their inflatable beds it prompted the rather non-PC reaction from our subject: “God, you must be a couple of pansies!” He was a tough cookie.

Last week’s blog featured T. E. Lawrence. The previous two were Gertrude Bell and Lady Hester Stanhope. In common with this week’s subject, they all turned their backs on Western civilisation.

Which one of the four would be your preferred dinner party companion? And why?!