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T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia) described his war-time chief as “the perfect leader”, a man
who “worked by influence rather than by loud direction. … He was like water, or permeating
oil, creeping silently and insistently through everything. It was not possible to say where
Clayton was and was not, and how much really belonged to him.”
This is the first biography of General Sir Gilbert Clayton (1875–1929), Britain’s
pre-eminent “man-on-the-spot” during the formative years of the modern Middle
East. Serving as a soldier, administrator and diplomat in ten different Middle Eastern
countries during a 33-year Middle Eastern career, Clayton is best known as the
Director of British Intelligence in Cairo during the Great War (1914–16), and as
the instigator and sponsor of the Arab Revolt against the Turks.
Dedicated to the preservation of Britain’s Middle Eastern empire, Clayton came
to realize that in the transformed post-war world Britain could ill afford to control
all aspects of the emerging nation-states in the region. In his work as adviser to the
Egyptian government (1919–22), he advocated internal autonomy for the
Egyptians, while asserting Britain’s vital imperial interests in the country. As chief
administrator in Palestine (1923–5), he sought to reconcile the Arabs to Britain’s
national home policy for the Jews, and, at the same time, to solidify Britain’s position
as Mandatory power. In Arabia, Clayton negotiated the first post-war treaties with
the emerging power of Ibn Saud, (1925, 1927), but curtailed his designs on the
British Mandates in Iraq and Transjordan. And, in Iraq, where Clayton served as
High Commissioner (1929), he backed Iraq’s independence within the framework
of the British Empire.
Timothy J. Paris holds a B.A. in history from Duke University and a J.D. from
Indiana University. In 1997, he received a Ph.D. in history from Cambridge
University. His first book, Britain, the Hashemites and Arab Rule, 1920–1925: The
Sherifian Solution, was published in 2003. Dr. Paris currently practices law in
Phoenix, Arizona.
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“General Gilbert Clayton played a central part in the war against the Ottoman
Empire and the subsequent partition of the Middle East. This is a full, critical, and
original account not only of a key personality but also such major issues as the Sykes–
Picot agreement and the Balfour Declaration. Even on such well-known figures as
T.E. Lawrence, Timothy Paris provides valuable and persuasive assessment. A
masterly work.” WM. ROGER LOUIS, University of Texas, past-president of the
American Historical Association and editor-in-chief of the Oxford History of the British
Empire
“Sir Gilbert Clayton was only 53 when he died suddenly in Baghdad in September
1929, a few months after arriving there as ambassador, but, as this admirably
comprehensive biography shows, he had already spent some more than 30 years in
the Middle East. Clayton was a principled pragmatist, one of a growing band of
latter-day servants of empire whose practical experience gradually led him to
conclude that direct rule, or even enlightened indirect rule, over colonial territories,
was becoming less and less of a practical proposition. Basing his account on official
and private papers, Dr Paris’ account ably traces Clayton’s singular, if largely unac-
knowledged, contributions to ‘Britain’s moment in the Middle East’.” PETER
SLUGLETT, Director of the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore
“Gilbert Clayton’s career in the Middle East spanned over thirty years, most notably
as head of British intelligence in Cairo during World War I. A key figure in British
policy during the war and after, his role has never been fully acknowledged in
previous scholarship. Thanks to Tim Paris, we now have a deeply researched, analyt-
ical study of Clayton’s life and work in the service of the British Empire in the Arab
world at a key transitional moment, based largely on numerous archival sources. This
book will serve as a major resource for scholars of the period.” CHARLES D. SMITH,
Professor Emeritus of Middle East History, University of Arizona
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In Defence of
BRITAIN’S
MIDDLE EASTERN
EMPIRE
A Life of Sir Gilbert Clayton
TIMOTHY J. PARIS
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Copyright © Timothy J. Paris, 2016.
Published in the Sussex Academic e-Library, 2016.
SUSSEX ACADEMIC PRESS
PO Box 139
Eastbourne BN24 9BP, UK
and simultaneously in the United States of America and Canada
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes
of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Applied for.
ISBN 978-1-78284-274-3 (e-pub
ISBN 978-1-78284-275-0 (e-mobi)
ISBN 978-1-78284-276-7 (e-pdf)
This e-book text has been prepared for electronic viewing. Some features, including
tables and figures, might not display as in the print version, due to
electronic conversion limitations and/or copyright strictures.
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
List of Maps and Illustrations ix
List of Abbreviations xi
Maps xii–xvi
Preparation
1 Introduction: Following the Furrow 3
2 Vectensian: Youth, 1875–1895 12
3 The Lion and the Sphinx: The British Empire and the Middle East 23
4 A Smack at the Khalifa: The Sudan Campaign, 1898 35
5 Bimbashi: Clayton in the Egyptian Army 47
6 It A’int all Violets Here: Inspector in Southern Sudan, 1902–1903 56
7 Master: Private Secretary to Wingate, 1907–1913 68
8 Sudan Agent: Cairo, 1913–1914 79
War
9 Intrusive: Organizing a Middle Eastern Intelligence, 1914–1915 89
10 Our Friends Across the Water: Origins of the Anglo-Arab Alliance 108
11 Clayton and the Pledge: The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence 121
12 Like Permeating Oil: Counter-Intelligence 138
13 Reorganizing the Intelligence, 1916 150
14 Egypt’s Little Wars: the Conflicts in Libya and Darfur 164
15 Revolt!: The Arab Rising, 1916 178
16 Between the Upper and the Nether Millstone: The End of 202
Intrusive, 1916
17 Chief of Staff, Hijaz Operations, 1917 220
18 A Very Deep Game: Anglo-French Rivalry in the Middle East 241
Diplomacy
19 Jacob and Esau: Arabs and Jews in Palestine, 1918–1919 257
20 A Nest of Intrigue: Allied Disputes in the Levant 277
21 The Shadow and the Substance: The Egyptian Revolution, 1919 296
22 Peace and Empire: The Middle Eastern Settlement 312
23 A Witch’s Cauldron: Egypt, 1920–1922 325
24 Palestine Revisited: Chief Secretary in the Mandate, 1923–1925 346
25 Trouble in Transjordan: Clayton and Abdullah, 1923–1925 364
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vi | contents
26 Desert Diplomat: The Arabian Treaties, 1925–1926 378
27 Rome and Jeddah: Eastern Diplomacy, 1927–1928 396
28 The Attack of the Ikhwan: The Arabian Threat to Iraq, 1928 410
29 Final Posting: High Commissioner for Iraq, 1929 422
30 Conclusion: Friend of the Arabs 435
Appendix: Biographies 441
Notes 458
Bibliography 529
Index 542
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Acknowledgments
Fifty years ago one of Sir Gilbert Clayton’s friends described him as a man who ‘had
a talent for keeping his own counsel’. That was perhaps a desirable trait in a man
who served as director of British Intelligence in the Middle East during the Great
War, and as one of Britain’s pre-eminent political officers and diplomats in that
region in the years following. For the biographer, however, the reticence of one’s
subject is not a helpful characteristic. Still, owing to the help I received from so
many individuals and institutions, I encountered no great difficulties in coming to
an understanding of Clayton or his views on the varied and complex issues he
confronted in his professional life, a career that spanned thirty-three years and
encompassed no fewer than ten different Middle Eastern countries and territories.
I must begin with the Clayton family who extended their kind hospitality and
provided much information about Sir Gilbert without in any way attempting to
restrict or influence this work. Dr John P. Clayton, C.V.O., met with me in York,
London, Windsor and Wiltshire, answered numerous questions and provided a
wealth of anecdotal information concerning his father. Sir Gilbert’s grandson, also
known as Bertie Clayton, and his wife Rosalind, welcomed me into their home and
shared with me an unpublished family history prepared by Sir Gilbert’s father, W.
L. N. Clayton, as well as photographs and memorabilia associated with Sir Gilbert’s
career. David Thorne and his wife Susannah, Clayton’s great-granddaughter, also
supplied information and photos and I learned much from David’s researches in
family history as reflected on his helpful website. I must also thank Perry and Gyr
King, grandsons of Sir Gilbert’s brother, Admiral John Clayton (1888–1952), who
allowed access to their grandmother’s diaries. And Gyr and his wife Nicola, kindly
invited me into their home for a few days while I read them. Clayton’s niece
Margaret, and her husband Professor Justin Gosling, provided a typescript of the
unpublished memoir of Sir Gilbert’s brother, Sir Iltyd Nicholl Clayton (1886–
1955).
A number of academics answered enquiries concerning this project. Among
these, I owe a special debt to Professor M. W. Daly, who allowed me to draw on his
extensive knowledge of Middle Eastern history and very generously provided docu-
ments from his own collections, including copies of papers relating to Clayton kept
at the Weizmann Archive in Rehovot, Israel. Professors Charles D. Smith, Peter
Sluglett, Charles Tripp and William Roger Louis also answered queries or provided
helpful information, as did Dr Toby Dodge and Dr Yigal Sheffy and Professor
Eugene Rogan of the Oriental Institute and St. Antony’s College, Oxford. Sir Roger
Tomkys, who has taken an interest in my work for more than twenty years, also
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viii | acknowledgments
advised me on this project, read a draft of the entire manuscript and offered helpful
suggestions for its improvement. I must thank the Master and Fellows of Pembroke
College, Cambridge, who extended their hospitality to an Old Member. Sir Richard
Dearlove, former Master of the College, also kindly assisted with an enquiry. Several
local historians on the Isle of Wight provided helpful information. Most impor-
tantly, Sister Eustochium of St. Cecilia’s Abbey at Ryde – former site of the Isle of
Wight College – supplied plans of the old College grounds and information
concerning Clayton’s time at the College. Patrick Nott, Diana Wood, Kate
McDonnell, Gillian Burnett, Ann Barrett and Sheila Caws answered questions
concerning the Isle of Wight, as did Chris Yendall of the Carisbrooke Castle
Museum. Mr. R. E. Brinton supplied documents and a Nineteenth Century
prospectus of the Isle of Wight College.
I must also thank the archivists of some twenty different institutions where I
conducted research for this book. Jane Hogan of the Sudan Archives, Durham
University, where the Clayton and Wingate papers are kept, was especially helpful
and I owe much to her and the staff of that archive for their patience and assistance
provided during the many weeks I spent there. Debbie Usher, archivist of the Middle
East Centre at St Antony’s College, Oxford helped me navigate through the many
important collections of private papers held at the Centre. For assistance and permis-
sion to quote from unpublished collections of papers I must thank the staff of the
Royal Archives, Windsor and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for permission to
quote from papers in the Archives, the staffs at the National Archives (formerly the
PRO) at Kew, the Imperial War Museum and the National Army Museum
(London), the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, the Rhodes House Library, Mr
Randle Meinertzhagen and the Trustees of the Richard Meinertzhagen Estate, the
Bodleian Library at Oxford, the Parliamentary Archives, London, Carisbrooke Castle
Museum on the Isle of Wight, the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military
Archives, Kings College, University of London, the British Library, the
Birmingham University Library, the Pembroke College Library and Churchill
Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge, the Syndics of Cambridge
University Library, Newcastle University Library, the Firestone Library of Princeton
University and the University of Arizona Library in Tucson. Permission to quote
from the Weizmann papers was kindly granted curtesy of Yad Chaim Weizmann,
the Weizmann Archive, Rehovot, Israel.
On the home front, Leo Beus, provided that most valuable of all commodities –
time – in the form of relief from my paying work, which enabled me to complete
this book. My brothers Joe and Dan read a draft of the entire work and provided
helpful comments from the educated, non-expert perspective. Joe also helped draw
the maps appearing in this book. Finally, I must thank my wife Annette for her
patience and understanding over the course of the six years that it took me to
complete my research and writing. I must add that none of the above bears any
responsibility for errors of fact or interpretation that may appear in this work.
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List of Maps and Illustrations
Maps (after page xii)
The Red Sea and western Arabia, 1914–1928.
Egypt and the Sudan, c.1900.
The Levant, 1925–1926.
The Modern Middle East.
The Sykes–Picot Agreement, 1916.
The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge permissions received to reproduce
illustration copyright material. Every attempt has been made to identify copyright
owners. The author and publishers apologize for any errors or omissions and would
be grateful to be notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in the next
edition or reprint of this book.
Plate section (after page 192)
1 Bertie Clayton and his father, William Lewis Nicholl Clayton,c. 1876 (courtesy
of David Thorne).
2 Bertie Clayton and his sister Ellinor,c. 1879 (courtesy of David Thorne).
3 The Isle of Wight College, from a prospectus of the 1880s (courtesy of R.E.
Brinton).
4 Clayton’s plan of the Battle of the Atbara, 8 April 1898 (Clayton family and
Sudan Archives, Durham University).
5 Maxim guns arrayed before the Battle of Omdurman, 2 September 1898 (The
Image Works).
6 Clayton’s ‘Birdseye View’ of the Battle of Omdurman, showing his position
during Phases 1 and 2 of the battle (courtesy of the Clayton family and Sudan
Archives, Durham University).
7 Clayton and his pet lion cub, at Wau, Bahr al-Ghazal Province, Sudan, 1903
(Clayton Family).
8 Commandant’s office, Wau, Bahr al-Ghazal Province, Sudan, 1902 (courtesy of
David Thorne).
9 Field Marshal Lord Kitchener (Bain Collection, Library of Congress).
10 The Governor-General’s Palace, Khartoum (Matson Collection, Library of
Congress).
11 Sir Francis Reginald Wingate (Bain Collection, Library of Congress).
12 Hussein ibn Ali (Lowell Thomas Collection, Marist College Archives and
Special Collections).
