Légion étrangère

1950 · 178692 — Jordan Middle East and United States: 1950s. The twilight years of the Arab Legion A visual record of a highly decorated senior officer's time in the Arab Legion in the years before the dismissal of Glubb Pasha. Accompanying this album is his keffiyeh complete with a metal badge with the legion's insignia. Peter Young 1915-1988 was posted to GHQ Middle East Land Forces in November 1951 having served with the British Commandos during the Second World War during which he was awarded the DSO the MC and two bars. In 1953 he was selected to replace Lieutenant-Colonel James Watson as commander of the Arab Legion's 9th Infantry Regiment raised in 1950. He led the regiment for three years was awarded the Jordanian Order of Al Istiqla in 1954 and published Bedouin Command a memoir of his service in 1956. The centrepiece is a selection of photographs documenting the duties and composition of the regiment. In 1956 it was involved in providing security arrangements for the state opening of parliament and the visit of the Turkish president to Amman. Operating out of headquarters at a police station Young directed troops sent to safeguard Parliament House and the Turkish embassy from demonstrators. Images show Parliament House the king's bodyguard and veteran Circassians as well as a smiling Sir Patrick Coghill the legion's director-general of intelligence and Abdul Rahman Sahen Iraq's bedouin head of security. Among the regiment's other responsibilities was protecting the Hejaz Railway and one photograph shows soldiers on guard by an imposing locomotive. The album also presents over a dozen portrait photographs of regimental officers and staff among them Lieutenant Hammad Faleh the oldest officer in the 9th and Young's long-serving interpreter Ahmed Qasim. Away from the burdens of command Young pursued his passion for the theatre later in life he founded Britain's largest historical re-enactment society and sight-seeing. In April 1955 he took charge of a harlequinade put on by the expatriate theatre troop the Zerqua Follies in which both and his wife Joan née Duckworth 1916-1991 performed. Mounted into the album is a copy of the playbill and three dozen photographs of the rehearsals the Youngs in full costume. There is time to sight-see in Jerash the forum Jerusalem and Jericho and in March 1955 he visits Ajloun Castle in Jordan. Photographs taken by him and associates also show the West Bank and the town of Arraba. Joan Young joins him for shooting practice in the desert and on long drives he has for company his faithful Alsatian Tigla whom he inherited from the regiment's former commander. Where a car is not available he rides in Lawrence of Arabia fashion through the desert his party cloaked against the sun and wind. Glubb Pasha's dismissal in March 1956 brought an end to Young's command but life after the Middle East was anything but uneventful. Accompanying the Arab Legion material is a selection of press images from autumn 1956 when Young travelled with a delegation of British officers to Quantico Virginia to train at the Marine Corps School. Included is a large photograph of the school's commander Lieutenant-General Merrill Barber Twining United States Marine Corps inscribed by Twining to Young and dated 18 October 1956 and another shows the two men in conversation. Retiring in 1959 at the honorary rank of brigadier Young became a respected military historian heading the department of military history at Sandhurst for a decade and writing books on military history and wargaming. His medals are held by the National Army Museum. Contemporary landscape folio album of red half boards black sides tied with chord through holes as issued 51 black card leaves with 155 corner-mounted gelatin silver and colour photographs the majority snapshot- and postcard-sized many captioned spaces where some photographs no longer present printed playbill and typed letter signed laid in. Together with 28 loose photographs including 9 US Marine Corps press photographs and large red-and-white keffiyeh with white tassels and metal badge. Binder lightly soiled photographs generally well preserved occasional fading and mirroring loose photographs curling keffiyeh showing signs of field use: a very good archive. hardcover