Without Glory in Arabia: The British Retreat from Aden - Paperback

by Peter Hinchcliffe (Author), John T. Ducker (Author), Maria Holt (Author)

'So we left without glory but without disaster ' Sir Humphrey Trevelyan, the last High Commissioner of the Federation of South Arabia In 1967, 139 years after their arrival in Aden, the British withdrew from the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Their departure was abrupt, messy and controversial. Using important, previously unpublished material and original interviews with a range of individuals, both British and Yemeni, who lived through this defining period of colonial history, Without Glory in Arabia tells the story of the final few years of British rule in Aden and the neighbouring Eastern and Western Aden Protectorates. While some view British rule, on the whole, as beneficial to the local population, others insist that very little was achieved. Worse, Britain did not provide a structure of government constitution which met the conflicting needs of Aden and the Protectorate. This illuminating book brilliantly sets the 'scuttle - as the episode came to be known - in context with a thorough re-examination of the background against which the events of the 1960s unfolded in this obscure backwater of the British Empire.

Author Biography

Peter Hinchcliffe is an Honorary Fellow of Edinburgh University where he teaches Middle East History and Politics. He was with the British Overseas Civil Service in Aden and the Federation of South Arabia which provides the background to and inspiration for Without Glory in Arabia.His other publications include Jordan: A Hashemite Legacy, Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945. John Ducker was in the British Overseas Civil Service in Aden and the Protectorate from 1960 to 1967, then moved to the World Bank. Since 1992 he has carried out a number of consultancies for the Bank and UDNP in Central Asia, Maria Holt is a Senior Lecturer in Democracy and Islam Programme, at the Department of Politics and International Relationsm University of Westminster. She has a long involement in MIddle East politics, both as an academic and a lobbyist, and has published a number of books and articles on Arab Muslim women and violent conflict.