One individual more than any other helped spread British
influence and drive its foreign policy in the Middle East
in the early twentieth century. Moreover, that individual was a single,
unmarried woman … and she was born here in the North-East of England.
Her name was Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell.
Born at Washington Hall (now known as Dame Margaret Hall), a
little to the south of Washington Old Hall, Gertrude entered this world in July
1868. She was the daughter of a well-to-do family whose general wealth enabled
her to indulge her passions and interests across the globe to considerable
effect. Although her mother died when she was three, she enjoyed a privileged
upbringing and graduated from Oxford University
before she was 20.
Thanks to her family contacts, she was afforded the
opportunity of an early visit to Persia
in 1892 – and stayed overseas for a decade, travelling widely and writing
profusely. She was passionately interested in history, archaeology and
languages – dabbling, too, in mountaineering – and began spending more and more
time in Syria
and Palestine in the years immediately
before the First World War. The delights of the Ottoman Empire,
Mesopotamia, Arabia, Babylon
and many other exotic places were also devoured by her insatiable appetite for
knowledge.
She served with the Red Cross in France
in the early stages of World War I, before returning to the Middle
East, where the British government used her in an official
capacity to help shape and build their imperial ambitions. Her knowledge and
relationships with local tribesmen paved the way for many a British success in
their international manoeuvrings with the Arab nations. Gertrude worked
periodically alongside the famous T.E.Lawrence during this period – essentially
as a spy during hostilities.
From 1915 until her death in 1926, Bell
spent most of her days in the country now known as Iraq,
helping to establish its borders (among other things). For several years
leading up to her death in Baghdad,
she served in the Iraq British High Commission advisory group and was a confidante
of King Faisal. She effectively acted as a mediator between the burgeoning Arab
government in Iraq
and the British government (who were keen to see Iraq
established as a self-governing state). She was awarded a CBE
for her considerable efforts in the region over many years.
In addition to all of this, Bell
did much to preserve the new Iraq’s
heritage and culture, thanks to her interest in archaeology and history. The
setting up of the National Library of Iraq and the Iraqi
Museum were largely down to her.
The strain of her workload made her frail, and she eventually died, aged 57,
soon after a bout of pleurisy in July 1926 – possibly from an overdose of
sleeping pills. She may or may not have committed suicide. Such was her
reputation that her funeral in the Iraqi capital was a major public event.
It is fair to say that the lines Gertrude Bell
helped to draw in the sands of the Middle East during the creation of Iraq (and
Jordan, in fact) have indirectly led to the troubles of late in the region. But
Bell herself certainly foresaw these problems, and made
the best of what may be considered an almost impossible job. In fact, if others
since had been blessed with the diplomatic skills of the frail little spinster
from Washington, Co.Durham, then things may have panned out a good deal better
in this tender part of the world.
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