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Pictures courtesy of Spink

OBE, 2nd, Military;
QSA (3) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (Lieut. A. H. Buchanan-Dunlop. 2/Rl. Berks. Rgt.);
KSA (2) (Lt. A. H. Buchanan Dunlop. R. Berk. Rgt.);
1914 Star, clasp (Capt: A. H. Buchanan-Dunlop. Leic: R.);
British War and Victory Medals (Lt. Col. A. H. Buchanan-Dunlop.);
Defence Medal 1939-45;
Coronation 1911;
Jubilee 1935;
TD GV

Christies, July 1990.

A fine career biography was published by the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 2018:

'The Edinburgh Evening News carried the following headline:-

"LORETTO PUPIL WHO STOPPED THE WAR"

This Loretto pupil was none other than Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Henry Buchanan-Dunlop, O.B.E., a distinguished brother and Past Master of both Lodge St. John, No. 112, and The Loretto Centenary Lodge, No. 1373.

Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Henry Buchanan-Dunlop was educated at Loretto School and at Sandhurst Military College. After passing out as a junior officer, he was assigned to the Royal Berkshire Regiment. He served two years on active service in the South African War, during which he won both the Queen's and King's Medals. It was while serving in South Africa that Lt. Col. Buchanan-Dunlop began his Masonic Career. He was Initiated, Passed and Raised in Lodge Rising Star, No. 1022, English Constitution.

After serving fifteen years in the Army, he retired and returned to Loretto School aged thirty four years. His first job at the school was as an art teacher. The school had by this time started an "Officer Training Corps". It was a natural progression for Lt. Col. Buchanan-Dunlop to take over the organisation of this new venture within the school.

On the outbreak of the 1st World War, he found himself back in uniform. He was appointed Major, 2nd-in-command of the Leicestershire Regiment and was soon back in active service in Ypres in Belgium where the above remarkable truce on Christmas Day 1914 took place. The Colonel, accompanied by his men, wandered into "No-Man’s Land" and met with the enemy. They spent over an hour conversing with the German officers and men. This was confirmed in letters that he wrote to his wife who, in turn, would send copies of the Gospel of St. John for the Colonel to read to his troops in their darkest hour. The two armies met face to face, they exchanged cigarettes, etc. and then proceeded to conduct a carol service which had been prepared for the pupils of Loretto for Christmas 1913. A game of football followed before the men returned to the trenches.

As we now know the truce was not welcomed or approved of by the British High Command, who issued Orders banning any other such action. The Colonel found himself in serious trouble with his superiors for the major part he had played in the truce. However, this event made international headlines across the world, the Daily Sketch, published in London, quoted the Colonel as "One of the Moving Spirits in this Wonderful Xmas Truce".

The Colonel was instrumental in setting up Talbot House behind the front line, a club used by officers and enlisted men alike for rest and respite after having been at the front for a certain length of time. These clubs were originally for officers only.

Within the last ten years. Loretto School has been twinned with "The Heilige Families School" at Ypres. Just before Christmas 1998, the two schools met at Ypres and unveiled a Peace Bell dedicated to Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Henry Buchanan-Dunlop and the German Officer-in-charge, Johannes Nieman, who helped organise the truce.

Major Buchanan-Dunlop (it must be remembered that during this period of service he was a Major) was on the strength of the 1st Battalion of the Leicester Regiment. The Battalion had been involved in the fighting around Armentieres and Rue de Bois. On 31st May 1915, his Battalion moved into the line at Ypres Salient and it continued the Salient until the end of July, 1916. On 22nd October 1915, the Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Stoney was killed by a sniper and Major Buchanan-Dunlop temporarily took command. It was reported that Lt. Col. Gillespie took command on 15th September, 1916. Sometime during this action Major Buchanan-Dunlop suffered injury during a gas attack and, after convalescence, he was invalided out of the Army in 1916.
Despite being invalided out of active service, Lt. Col. Buchanan-Dunlop still maintained an active part in military matters. He became Commanding Officer of the 3rd (Vol) Battalion, The Royal Scots.

On returning to civilian life after his discharge, the Colonel returned to Loretto to take up his duties, that of Art and Sports Master as well as Officer Commanding the Officer Training Corps. He became the school's first Bursar. He compiled the school's "Roll of Honour", which was published in 1924. Out of six hundred and twenty eight former pupils, one hundred and forty seven lost their lives fighting for their country during the 1914-1918 World War.

The school held Colonel Buchanan-Dunlop in high esteem. He was always up to something. His dress was always immaculate with tweed suit, plus fours, monocle and his very large hand carved pipe sitting on his chin. He wrote and produced plays for the school. He would organise the props; he would even do the make-up. He would often get up on the stage and entertain the pupils with funny songs. He also put on small art exhibitions of the pupils' work.

The Colonel was an all-round sportsman. excelling in fencing, shooting, cricket, golf and rugby. He played rugby to a good standard as he represented the Berkshire Regiment, the Berkshire Wanderers and the Orange River Colony. He represented the British Army at golf. He also excelled in "Swedish Drill", a fast form of gymnastics.

He represented Lodge St. John, No. 112, many times in the annual golf matches with Lodge Canongate Kilwinning, No. 2, as well as at many Provincial golf tournaments. He was Captain of the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club in the years 1919-1920. He also became a Musselburgh Town Councillor the same year.

HE WAS A TRULY REMARKABLE MAN

Lieutenant Colonel Buchanan-Dunlop affiliated to Lodge St. John Fisherrow No. 112 in 1920. He first took office in 1924 as Standard Bearer. He missed the Installation Ceremony in December 1923. but he presented the Lodge with a Standard Bearer's Jewel on 20th February 1924 and the Right Worshipful Master. Bro Richard Shields, thanked him on behalf of the Lodge and proceeded to invest him with the Jewel he had just presented to the Lodge. He was installed as Right Worshipful Master of the Lodge on 21st December 1927 and re-installed on 19th December 1928. On his re-installation, the Lodge was reduced to the 1st Degree when the Colonel initiated two of his sons in Freemasonry. Afterwards the Lodge continued with the Installation Ceremony and his sons then witnessed their father being installed into the Chair. Before vacating the Chair, the Colonel initiated his third son into the Craft. His three sons were Robert Arthur, Archibald Ian and David Kenny Buchanan-Dunlop. As 1.P.M., the Colonel was given the Gavel to raise his third son, David, to the 3rd or Master Mason Degree, thereby allowing the Colonel to have the honour of Initiating, Passing and Raising his three sons into the Craft.

The Colonel was a Founder Member of The Loretto Centenary Lodge No. 1373, which was chartered on November 6th 1930. He was Secretary for two years and was then installed as Right Worshipful Master in December 1931, a position he held for the next four years. Six years as a Master over a nine year period; A Truly Remarkable Man!

The Colonel's Founder Member's Jewel, his Past Master's Apron and the Lodge Immediate Past Master's Jewel are held in the Loretto School library. His Past Master's Jewel from Lodge St. John No. 112 is proudly worn today by Past Master Brother David Donaldson.

The final chapter of this story is very pleasing to relate. When Brother Bobby Law was installed as Right Worshipful Master on 23rd December 1944, one of his first duties was to inform the Brethren that Lieutenant Colonel Buchanan-Dunlop was to receive the high honour of the Order of the British Empire at the hand of King George VI at the Palace of Holyrood House. Sadly, the Colonel passed to the Grand Lodge Above in 1947, aged seventy three years.'

The Christmas Truce 1914

Plenty of ink has been spilled over the years in recalling the famed Christmas Truce of 1914. The official accounts will tell you no such event happened and the C.W.G.C. records that no less than 148 individuals lost their lives on Christmas Day 1914. Nonetheless the Christian spirit led to a series of unofficial ceasefires and meetings between those who found themselves facing one another across the trenches of the Western Front. From 24-26 December, some sang with one another, some played football, exchanged prisoners or buried comrades. One of the key players in the sector from Rue du Bois to La Grande Flamengerie was Captain Buchanan-Dunlop. A veteran of the Boer War, he was serving with the Leicestershire Regiment and was probably facing the German 107th, 139th and 179th Infantry Regiments, all of whom hailed from Saxony. He had gone up to the front line on 22 November 1914 and wrote home:

'Last night, marching up here (you have to come up at night or you get picked off) I had a narrow shave, the enemy, who are only a couple of yards from our trenches, fired, presumably at the sound of our marching, & just missed my head. The bullet went into the bank behind me.

Captain Tidswell, the Adjutant, came up to the farm we were in, as I was writing to you; & told me that the Colonel wanted me in the trenches at once to take command of one of the Companies, so I am now snugly ensconced in the firing line, writing to you by the light of a candle...tell Og I am a Major, not a Captain. – in the Leicestershire Regt.'

On 25 November:

'The Colonel is very cheery & jolly & we are all very well. The food is excellent & plentiful, but is all brought in of course, at night. No rest of course from bullets, but nobody minds them. Dear little wife, don’t you worry a bit about me. I’m happy & well, & quite enjoying it as long as my Company is all right (& we’ve had no one in the company hit for a long time) I’m very careful & insist on my officers & men being the same. If it’s one’s duty to take a risk, why you take it; but if it’s not necessary, I consider it wrong not to be as cautious as possible. I don’t mind how much I rough it; it’s good for me & I feel really most awfully well.'

On 2 December:

'Secondly we have been reviewed this afternoon by The King!! Wasn’t it good of him to come out & buck us up. I’m so glad we happen to be one of the Regiments out of the trenches when he came. He was so nice & took notice of each officer. The Prince of Wales was with him. The King is looking older & more careworn, no wonder, poor man. Isn’t it sporting of him to come out?'

On 8 December:

'What wouldn’t I give just to spend Christmas day with you & our little boys...I shall miss the Carols in Chapel this year & the Christmas anthems. You don’t really know how fond you are of them till you’ve got to do without them.'

On 23 December:

'Last night was a jolly night, bright stars & no rain, & my trenches were getting quite clean, but this morning early, snow began to fall, & they are getting quite beastly again. However, now they have cleaned up a bit, & the snow has stopped, so if only we could get a little frost, we’d soon have them fairly passable.'

The letter of 25 December:

''Even out here this is a time of peace & goodwill. I’ve just spent an hour talking to the German officers & men who have drawn a line halfway between our left trenches & theirs & have all met our men and officers there.

We exchanged cigars, cigarettes, & papers. They are jolly, cheery fellows for the most part, & it seems so silly under the circumstances to be fighting them. Firing has practically stopped, and it’s only when our men start repairing wire entanglements that they send along some warning shots.

Last night a select band of officers & men sang carols to them, & they did ditto. That Loretto concert programme, with the words of the carols, was most useful to us. I got it, & your letters in 3 days, which is a record...there is a hard frost, & everything is white & Christmassy, but cold, which personally I like...I’m going to try & have a service for men off duty this afternoon & as there is a post out this afternoon, I shall be busy censoring letters, so can’t write you a long one today.'

On Boxing Day:

'I must begin a letter to you tonight. I’ve had quite a cheery Boxing Day: Hard frost & bright snow. I had some cake & a glass of Madeira & a chat, with the Colonel this morning; & Buggins asked me to lunch with him, as he had had a turkey! sent him & mince pies. He lives a good way behind us, as he is in Reserve with his Company. I had a tremendous lunch & was half comatose in a chair by his fire (unheard of luxuries when Colin suddenly came in.) I was glad to see him. It appears that he is about 5 miles or more to our right, & having a day off – for the Wurtembergers in front of him had agreed to an informal suspension of hostilities – had set out to find me, not knowing my Brigade. How he managed it I can’t think, but he found my dug-out and was re-directed to A company. He was so cheery, & looking very fit & well & awfully clean & neat. How he managed it that, too, I can’t think. He was much struck by my appearance I think, & no wonder, for I was in a waterproof, mostly clay, & had my Balacklava helmet on with a bit of Jean’s holly in it, & my moustache & beard are not tidy, & I’m not clean. He stayed about half an hour with us. I’m so glad we have found each other at last.

Then this morning I got my Christmas Box from Princess Mary – a card, a pipe, & an embossed box in plain metal with tobacco and cigarettes in it – lastly & most important I got two letters & a letter-card from you, dated Nov. 10 – Dec 21 – Dec 23. The first had been to the Royal Warwicks why I don’t know. So you see my darling I’ve had quite a jolly day. – The enemy on our left – Saxons – are still out hobnobbing with our fellows, but the folk opposite us – Prussians – are very vicious indeed. It has begun to snow now – horror! I shall send you my Christmas cards from the King & Queen & Princess Mary – you might get little frames for them my sweetheart.

I managed a little Christmas service for my company yesterday. I had to have three, one on the right, then move to the centre, then one on the left. I just had a few prayers, read them the Christmas story from St Luke, & had some hymns. Mother sent me a lot of St John’s gospels for the pocket, & they have hymns at the end. Please tell her how useful they have been and how much the men liked it. The General happened to come round just as the last one was going on, & said it was awfully nice. He had come down rather angry over the informal cessation of hostilities but seemed to be quite soothed by the hymns. You’re not forgetting a prayer book are you my darling – I do feel so sorry for my men, only two in the Company of 230 ever read a Bible, & no chaplain comes near the trenches. They never are reminded by anyone of God or the hereafter, & I feel it a duty to have a service on Sundays, now that I have “broken the ice” & found out that they will come. It is a feeble effort, but still something that one can do for Him who has given us so much.'

Letters followed in the days and months that passed and his part clearly captured the attention of the authorities. Details of his exploits featured in several newspapers but it was to be his image and description of his work as the '...leading chorister' on the front cover of the Daily Sketch of 5 January 1915 that cemented his place in history. The caption read:

'Photographs of British and German trenches. The ground between them is known as “No Man’s Land,” and it was there where the rival armies met to sing peaceful carols. Major A. H. Buchanan-Dunlop, second in command of the 1st Leicesters, was one of the moving spirits in the wonderful Christmas truce, when British and German soldiers met between the trenches, and sang carols of peace. Major A. H. Buchanan-Dunlop is an old boy of Loretto – the famous Scottish school – and the programme of carols sung on December 17 at his old school was sent out to him. It was from this programme the Major chose the carols he sang to the Germans.'

David
Quite some story and a great collection of medals
Thanks for sharing this with us all
Clive

The group to Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Henry Buchanan-Dunlop sold for a hammer price of GBP 8,000. Totals: GBP 9,920. R 221,470. AUD 18,170. NZD 19,790. CAD 16,270. USD 12,340. EUR 11,070.

Picture courtesy of Spink

DSO GV;
OBE 1st Military;
QSA (3) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (Lieut. J. R. Bassett. Rl. Berks: Rgt.);
KSA (2) (Lt. J. R. Bassett. Rl. Berk. Rgt.);
British War and Victory Medals, with MID (Lt. Col. J. R. Bassett.);
Turkey, Ottoman Empire, Order of Osmanieh, 4th class breast Badge, silver-gilt, silver and enamel;
France, Legion of Honour, 5th Class breast Badge, silver-gilt, silver and enamel;
Egypt, Kingdom, Order of the Nile, Second Class set of insignia, comprising neck Badge and breast Star, in Lattes case of issue;
Hedjaz, Kingdom, Wissam Al Nadha (Order of the Renaissance), 1st Type, 2nd Class set of Insignia, comprising neck Badge and breast Star, gold, silver and enamel

DSO London Gazette 4 September 1918.

OBE London Gazette 3 June 1919.

MID London Gazette 25 October 1916, 7 October 1918, 24 March 1919.

Hedjaz, Kingdom, Order of Al Nahda, Second Class London Gazette 24 October 1919.

The history of the Arab Revolt during the Great War is well documented but less well known are the details of the Order of the Al Nahda (Renaissance) which was bestowed by King Hussain Bin Ali of the Hijaz upon British subjects for their services during this period. In addition to the Order of Al Nahda King Hussein also instituted the Orders of Al Istiqlal (Independence). Initially little was known about these orders. The Foreign Office in London were, by the early 1920's, being asked for information concerning the awards - but having no information appealed to the then British Agency in Jeddah. A letter from the Foreign Office dated 31 December 1924 gives some insight:

'We are receiving inquiries from various quarters as to the origin and general history of the Orders of El Nahda and Istiglal of the Hedjaz. I find that the Foreign Office have themselves no particular information on the subject: hence my appeal to you. Could you perhaps kindly let us know anything you can about these orders, their history, origin, purpose for which they were instituted, and membership? We shall then be able to satisfy the curiosity of such different personalities as the Danish Minister and a representative of Spinks.'

At this time the Kingdom of Hejaz was in terminal decline and the acquisition of information was difficult. The response dated 28 February begins:

'To produce a complete reply to your letter of December 31st I needed a few details from the Hejaz Government, and as they have been more deeply interested in shells (not the conchologist's kind) than in decorations the last few weeks, I have kept the Danish Minister waiting.

The Order of the Nahda was established to commemorate the revolt of the Hejaz against the Turks. The first distribution was made on October 15th 1918, when Sharif Hussein declared himself King. It is supposed to be confined to people who actually took part in the revolt.

The colours are those of the Hejaz flag, viz. white, black, green and red. White, black and green have been the colours of the Arab movement since it began; the red was added by Hussein...If the kingship of the Hejaz should cease to exist, would there be a slump in these decorations, or would they, like a limited issue of postage stamps, become "rare" and expensive? It is always possible that Hussein would consider himself a sort of king "in partibus" and continue in that capacity to grant decorations.'

Indeed upon the incorporation of the Hejaz into Saudi Arabia in 1925 both orders became Trans-Jordanian awards and awarded by King Hussein's son Abdullah, later King Abdullah of Jordan and they now have become Jordanian awards. The Order itself displays the Hejira year 1334 (period 9 November 1915-27 October 1916 inclusive), in the centre two crossed Hijazi flags with a five-pointed star in the centre and the inscription 'His Servant Ali bin Al Hussein'.

British recipients of the Order of Al Nahda were published in the London Gazette, although other awards known to have been made were not promulgated. It appears that notice of awards were announced by the Arab Bureau in Cairo who acquired details as published in Al Qibla, being the Royal Hijaz Official Gazette. In most instances it seems that the Arab Bureau then forwarded the brevets and decorations to the responsible authority for onwards transmission to the recipient. The awards were announced on nineteen occasions between 24 October 1919 and 2 September 1924.

One of those whose name does not feature was T. E. Lawrence, 'Lawrence of Arabia'. It is thought that he was awarded the Second Class of Order of Renaissance, in recognition of his services to the Hijaz Government. His name is believed to have been listed in Al Qibla No. 320 of 9 Muharram 1339, corresponding with 7 October 1919. However as it is known that Lawrence had no time for awards and decorations, it is quite possible that he refused the Order.

Just 20 appointments of the 2nd Class Order to British recipients were made.

France, Legion of Honour, Fifth Class London Gazette 10 October 1918.

John Retallack Bassett was born on 27 October 1878 at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, the son of Frederick Bassett and Elizabeth Phoebe Bull. Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant into the Royal Berkshire Regiment, he went on to first see active service during the Second Boer War with the 2nd Battalion, being present on operations in the Cape Colony, the Orange Free State, and the Transvaal, and was out there when promoted to Lieutenant on 12 December 1900. Appointed Battalion Adjutant on 5 August 1903, this appointment came to an end on 5 August 1906, and he was then seconded from regimental duty on 15 December 1906 and posted to the Egyptian Army. Bassett was still on seconded duty when he was promoted to Captain on 2 June 1909.

By the outbreak of the Great War, Bassett was a Major on the Staff with the Egyptian Army, and hence did not gain entitlement to the 1914-15 Star. He was promoted to Major in the British Army on 1 September 1915, and with the situation in Sudan created by the ongoing Great War, was then involved in operations there, being 'mentioned' for intelligence work on the administrative side. He was also gazetted as a Governor of a Province in the Sudan on 25 October 1916, where he became a trusted member of General Reginald Wingate's inner circle. He was also rated for pay purposes as a General Staff Officer 2nd Grade as of 2 October 1916. It was almost certainly for his work as a Governor of a Province in the Sudan that Bassett was awarded the Egyptian Order of the Nile, 2nd Class Grand Officer Grade.

This position appears to have come to an end on 4 November 1916, and following this, he took up an important role as intelligence liaison officer with the French in the eastern Mediterranean, working closely with the British Eastern Mediterranean Special Intelligence Bureau. Bassett was then appointed an acting Lieutenant-Colonel, whilst in command of the 2nd Battalion, Imperial Camel Corps, from 23 January-12 March 1917 and seeing active service in the Sinai desert. During this period of command he is most noted for having led the Camel Corps into battle during the Raid on Bir El Hassana. The Raid on Bir el Hassana (Hasna) occurred in the Sinai Peninsula in February 1917. It was a minor action between an augmented Battalion of the Imperial Camel Corps on the one side and a score of Turkish troops plus some armed Bedouin on the other. The raid was the third of three actions fought by British forces seeking to recapture the Sinai Peninsula.

At this time British ships on the Mediterranean coast and the Gulf of Aqaba guarded the coast road via El Arish, and the road from Ma'an via Nekhl to the Suez Canal. Ottoman forces continued to occupy the area on the central way across the Sinai south from el Kossaima towards the Suez Canal, including Bir el Hassana and Nekhl.

General Archibald Murray, commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, ordered attacks against both Nekhl and Bir el Hassana, which lay 40 miles north of Nekhl, between the Gebel Helal and the Gebel Yelleg. Three columns of cavalry and camelry set out with the goal of all attacking on 18 February. One column set out from Serapeaum, and another from Suez on 13 February 1917 to converge on Nekl. Bassett, commanding 2nd Battalion, Imperial Camel Corps, together with the Hong Kong and Singapore (Mountain) Battery, marched from El Arish, via Magdhaba. This column reached Lahfan on the 16th, and on the 17th advanced from Magdhaba. At dawn the next morning they surrounded the Ottoman Army garrison at Bir el Hassana, which consisted of three officers and 19 other ranks, reinforced by armed Bedouin. The Ottoman troops surrendered, but the Bedouin fired on the British, shattering Lance Corporal McGregor's ankle. One of the Turks who surrendered was Nur Effendi, who had commanded the Garrison at the unsuccessful British attack on Maghara on 15 October 1916. The troops searched Bir el Hassana and found 21 rifles, a few camels, and 2100 rounds of ammunition. After the surrender of Bir el Hassana, Bassett's force remained in position to capture any Ottoman force withdrawing back from Nekhl towards Bir el Hassana. On 19 February the Royal Flying Corps flew McGregor out with his leg in a box splint, while he sat in the observer's seat of a B.E.2c two-seater biplane. This was the first use of aeromedical evacuation by the British.

Bassett was next appointed a Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General as of 8 April 1917. It was then that he got involved with Lawrence of Arabia and the operations in the Hedjaz Desert of the then Trans-Jordan, now the Kingdom of Jordan during the Arab Revolt.

'Without Colonels Cyril Wilson and John Bassett there would be no Arab Revolt. Without them there would be no call for Lowell Thomas to promote T. E. Lawrence as a hero, no iconic 1960s, film, and libraries around the world would have space for other subjects. Wilson and Bassett shored up the revolt when collapse was a serious threat. Their lost stories show that the Arab Revolt could not have had its success without their unsung interventions.'

So wrote Philip Walker in Behind the Lawrence Legend: the Forgotten Few who Shaped the Arab Revolt. He continues:

'Bassett is one of the forty officers listed by T.E. Lawrence in the preface to Seven Pillars of Wisdom as being able to ‘tell a like tale’ to his. But Lawrence deliberately downplays the indispensable diplomatic and intelligence roles played by Wilson, Bassett and others in the Jeddah circle. Recognition of their essential roles would dilute the impact of the Lawrence-centred narrative.'

Bassett was sent to join the British Military Mission in the Hejaz where he met King Hussein and his son Feisal to discuss military strategy. Bassett gained information on Ottoman railway lines from a network of local spies, which even included the number of spare rails stockpiled at each station.

He was thrust into the high politics of the revolt almost immediately, deputising for Colonel Cyril Wilson, who was suffering from a life-threatening dysentery and evacuated for half a year to Cairo (he would later have to have a leg amputated). The British plans for the region had been leaked in the Sykes-Picot agreement, possibly direct from Lawrence to Prince Feisal. His father, King Hussein, was so shaken by what looked like British skulduggery that he not only threatened to pull the plug on the entire revolt but also talked despairingly of suicide. Bassett had to cope with this and the diplomatic fallout of the Balfour Declaration being made public. The British sent Bassett and Commander Hogarth, former Director of the Arab Bureau, to mollify King Hussein aboard Hardinge. General Wingate later expressed how much he valued Bassett’s key role in helping keep the revolt on an even keel:

‘From all Hogarth tells me you have “made good” with the King and are carrying on the Wilson tradition most successfully.'

Bassett stepped into the breach and brokered a number of vital meetings, sidestepping diplomatic snares before Hogarth’s arrival and helping steer Hussein back from the brink. On 8 February 1918, he delivered what was to become known as ‘The Bassett Letter’ from London Foreign Office to King Hussein. The letter, written in Arabic, dismissed the publication of the Sykes-Picot Agreement as an attempt by the Ottoman Empire to derail the Arab Revolt by creating mistrust between the Arabs and the British. It was this lie that eventually led Lawrence himself to alienation, disillusionment and depression. Bassett later shaped General Allenby’s approach after King Hussein had resigned in writing on 28 July 1918. Although Bassett thought this a bluff, he urged Allenby to press Whitehall to openly back the King against Ibn Saud incursion into Kurma. The Cabinet agreed, and the policy averted crisis and brought back Hussein once more.

Having cracked the cipher of the Ottoman intelligence secret service, Bassett analysed accounts that provided insight into a complex network of agents, deserters, tribal sheiks, factions and bribes that mirrored British activity. The reality of a hidden intelligence war was far removed from the legend of the Bedouin tribes rising as one behind ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. Following Ottoman surrender, Bassett was sent to interrogate Fahkri Pasha, the obstinate commandant of the Turkish garrison at Medina who had continued to resist after the official armistice. He explained to Bassett that it had been beneath his dignity to surrender to a mere Captain (Herbert Garland who was attached to Emir Abdullah’s forces). Bassett’s intelligence background persuaded him that Fakhri was hiding something and seized his diary and accounts, concluding that Fakhri had been intending a belated alliance with Ibn Saud against Hussein.

For his part in this pivotal period, he was rewarded with the D.S.O., O.B.E., French and Hadjaz awards, besides several 'mentions' to add to his laurels. In a bizarre twist, in 1929 Bassett married Evelyn Mary Gillman Burgess, a widow, and thus became stepfather to Guy Burgess, the future Soviet spy and defector. Andrew Lownie’s Stalin’s Englishmen provides an insight:

'The man Eve Burgess marries is a rather interesting man called Jack Bassett, a retired Army officer who’d served with Lawrence of Arabia in the Arab Bureau. He was an intelligence officer – indeed he had one of the first copies of Seven Pillars of Wisdom – but he and Burgess did not get on very well. You can imagine Burgess feels that this man has come between him and his mum, and he calls him The Colonel. He does everything he can to irritate The Colonel – there’s nothing you can do that irritates The Colonel more than passing the port the wrong way.'

To fellow scholars at Trinity College, Cambridge University, Guy always referred to his stepfather as a ‘professional gambler’. Although Bassett was a keen race-goer and lived near both Ascot and Newbury racecourses, it was likely that he funded Guy through the banking industry, into Eton and then one of the richest of Cambridge colleges, arguably sparking another of history’s great intelligence affairs, this time to Britain’s detriment.

Bassett was transferred to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers after the Great War, but ceased to belong to the reserve on attaining the age limit on 27 October 1933, retiring in the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

Journey's end

Bassett died whist e a Prisoner of War in the Solomon Islands. His death and those of the men under his command, are considered war crimes. The date of his death - 5 March 1943 - is the one ascribed by the Commonwealth War Graves commission. The actual date of his death is unknown. The following is an extract from the Report on War Crimes on Ballale Island by Major E.C. Millikin:

'A Japanese interpreter Higaki of No. 5 Compound RABAUL gave evidence about a party of 600 British Artillerymen from Singapore who left there by ship during Oct '42 arriving Rabaul 6 Nov '42. One man died on the voyage. The party staged at Kokopo (Rabaul) for about one week. 82 men were left here as too weak to continue their journey. This party was later put under the care of Higaki as he could speak English. These men, apart from 3 reasonably fit men left as cook and medical orderlies, were suffering from beriberi, malaria and other sicknesses. On 18 March '43 the numbers were down to 48 - Higaki took over at this stage. On Japanese surrender 18 men survived. Higaki states that the men told him that after a stay of one week at Kokopo the 517 fit men were put on a ship and departed for an unknown destination. He was unable, despite repeated inquiries, to find out anything about their fate.

This party of 517 appears to be the same one referred to in HQ First Aust. Army letter A27974 of 25 Jan '46 addressed to 23Bde, the differences being that the letter refers to a party of 512 leaving New Britain in Mar '43 by boat. Higaki is quite definite about the number 517 and the date approx. one week after 6th November 1942.

There is no doubt that a large number of the POWs were killed by Allied bombing, mainly as a result of the Japanese refusing to let them take shelter in slit trenches or air raid shelters. From evidence given by the Koreans, also that taken in other areas, it seems certain that the remaining PoWs round about June 1943 were killed and buried. The reason for this is not clear, the evidence pointing to :-

(a) The PoWs were of no further use due to being too weak for further work or else their task was finished.

(b) The Japanese feared an invasion by the Allies and did not wish the POWs to be discovered.

The method of killing is not clear, although evidence gathered in other areas is all to the point that at a certain time the PoWs remaining were killed. In the absence of an eyewitness the best evidence will be a complete report on the exhumation of the bodies. In view of the evidence gathered by me I am of the opinion that the only person who can be held responsible is the commander of the unit Lt Comd Ozaki.

'Placing Colours in safe custody
The Royal Berkshires entrust their greatest treasures to the Mayor of King William's Town'

Source: www.angloboerwar.com/forum/19-ephemera/3...-jack?start=48#92516

The group to Lt Bassett, estimated between £10,000 and £15,000, sold for a hammer price of GBP 8,500. Totals: GBP 10,948. R 249,730. AUD 20,080. NZD 21,560. CAD 18,070. USD 13,380. EUR 12,290