Aubrey Herbert was one of the most interesting figures of his age. He was twice offered the Albanian throne! Born almost blind, his sight even after surgery precluded him from official military service and he became a diplomat and politician. However in 1914 he attached himself unofficially to the Irish Guards on the outbreak of war on their way to France and was made an honorary Lieutenant. Despite his service overseas in France, the Dardanelles and then Egypt and Iraq, he remained an MP throughout the War. He was briefly captured in the Retreat from Mons, and after recovering from his wounds, he joined the Intelligence Bureau in Egypt before being attached to the New Zealand and Australian Division at Gallipoli. He personally persuaded General Ian Hamilton, the overall Commander, to agree to a temporary truce with the Turks to enable the burial of the dead and the recovery of wounded men in no-man's-land. Later in Iraq, his efforts to buy the release of the beleaguered British garrison at Kut were less successful. His extraordinary war experiences brought him into close contact with a wide cast of characters, not least T.E. Lawrence, Compton McKenzie and leading military and political figures. AUTHOR: Aubrey Herbert was born in 1880 at Highclere, Berkshire, the eldest son of the 4th Earl of Caernarvon's second marriage. He died in 1924. Editor Edward Melotte is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Irish Guards. He is Aubrey Herbert's great grandson. He is currently serving in the Middle East. SELLING POINTS: A superb Great War diary covering three theatres of war, notably the Retreat from Mons, and Gallipoli Written anonymously by Aubrey Herbert, aristocrat, politician, diplomat, poet, polyglot and traveler With a full introduction and expanded and edited to reveal the identities of those names by the Author's great grandson, a serving Army officer Herbert's reputation and influence ensued that he made a contribution out of all proportion to his rank Highly collectable, this will be sought after by followers of the Great War ILLUSTRATIONS 8 pages of b/w plates *
