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{{short description|British diplomat}}
{{for multi|the British politician and solicitor|Arnold Muir Wilson|the New Zealand artist and educator|Arnold Manaaki Wilson}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox military person
|honorific_prefix = [[Sir]]
|name = Arnold Wilson
|honorific_suffix ={{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCIE|CSI|CMG|DSO|MP}}
|native_name =
|native_name_lang =
|image =Sir Arnold Wilson.jpg
|image_size =
|alt =
|caption =Sir Arnold Wilson
|birth_date ={{Birth date|1884|07|18|df=yes}}
|death_date ={{Death date and age|1940|05|31|1884|07|18|df=yes}}
|birth_place =
|death_place =Near [[Eringhem]], [[France]]
|placeofburial =
|placeofburial_label =
|placeofburial_coordinates = 
|nickname =
|birth_name =
|allegiance ={{flag|United Kingdom|23px}}
|branch ={{army|United Kingdom|23px}} {{army|British India|23px}} {{air force|United Kingdom|23px}}
|serviceyears =1903–1921 (Army) 1939–1940 (Air Force)
|rank =[[Lieutenant colonel]] (Army) [[Pilot officer]] (Air Force)
|servicenumber =
|unit =[[32nd Sikh Pioneers]] [[No. 37 Squadron RAF]]
|commands =
|battles =
[[World War I|First World War]]
*[[Middle Eastern theatre of World War I|Middle Eastern theatre]]
[[Iraqi revolt of 1920]] 
[[World War II|Second World War]]
* [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]]
** [[French and Low Countries campaign]]
*** [[Battle of France]]
**** [[Battle of Dunkirk]] {{KIA}}
|battles_label =
|awards =[[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]]
|relations =
|laterwork =
|signature =
|website = 
}}
'''Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCIE|CSI|CMG|DSO}} (18 July 1884 – 31 May 1940) was a British soldier, colonial administrator, [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] politician, [[writer]] and [[editor]].<ref>Robert Pearce, 'Wilson, Sir Arnold Talbot', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') (Oxford University Press, 2004); online edn, Jan 2008. [https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/36944 Accessed 13 June 2021.]</ref> Wilson served under [[Percy Cox]], the colonial administrator of [[Mesopotamia]] ([[Mandatory Iraq]]) during and after [[World War I|First World War]], including an [[Iraqi revolt of 1920|Iraqi revolt]] in 1920. Wilson was the first [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] to die in action in the [[World War II|Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK Parliament - British War Medal |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/private-lives/yourcountry/collections/collections-second-world-war/medals-and-memorials/defence-medal/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He was killed while serving as an aircrew member at the advanced age of 55.

==Early life and career==
Wilson was born in 1884 and educated in England at [[Clifton College]], where his father [[James Wilson (Archdeacon of Manchester)|James Wilson]] was a headmaster. His elder half-sister was the leading civil servant [[Mona Wilson]] and his younger brother was the tenor [[Steuart Wilson|Sir Steuart Wilson]].<ref name=sis>Elaine Harrison. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/70137 "Wilson, Mona (1872–1954)"]. ''[[ODNB]]''. Retrieved 9 March 2017.</ref>

Wilson (aka "A.T.") was tall and strong. He began his military career as an army officer 19 August 1903, having been awarded the King's Medal and sword of honour at the [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]], being commissioned on the Unattached List for the [[British Indian Army]]. After he spent a year attached to the 1st battalion the [[Wiltshire Regiment]] in India, he was appointed to the [[Bengal Lancers]]{{dn|date=March 2022}} and posted to the [[32nd Sikh Pioneers]], on 18 December 1904.<ref>April 1905 Indian Army List</ref>

Wilson famously saved money travelling back to Britain on leave by working as a stoker to [[Marseilles]] and then cycling the rest of the way.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roryforlondon.co.uk/|title=Rory for London|website=Rory for London}}</ref>

In 1904 he went to [[Iran]] as a lieutenant to lead a group of Bengal Lancers to guard the British consulate in [[Ahvaz]] and to protect the work of the [[D'Arcy Oil Company]], which had obtained a [[D'Arcy Concession|sixty-year oil concession in Iran]] and was pursuing oil exploration in partnership with the [[Burmah Oil Company]].

In 1907 Wilson was transferred to the [[Indian Political Department]] and sent to the [[Persian Gulf]], where he served as a [[Political officer (British Empire)|political officer]]. Wilson oversaw the discovery of the first oil site in the [[Middle East]], [[Masjid-i-Suleiman]] in 1908. While serving as a senior administrator and consul-general of [[Muhammarah|Muhammerah]] (1909–11), he was put in charge of the Turko-Persian Frontier Commission.<ref>Townshend, ''When God Made Hell'', p. 281</ref> He looked like the traditional figure of the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] in a top buttoned bright red tunic, the [[British Indian Army]] uniform. "His flashing eyes, his beetling eyebrows, his close-cropped hair, his biblical quotations", recalled [[Gertrude Bell]], the British "Oriental Secretary".<ref>Townshend, pp. 281–2</ref> Wilson was a hard worker, a workaholic, who was tirelessly energetic, shifting mountains of paperwork. He inspired a younger colleague, [[St John Philby|Harry Philby]], while Hubert Young, a favoured subordinate, found him domineering.

==First World War==
In January 1915, as the British were moving troops from India into [[Mesopotamia]] through the Persian Gulf and Basra, Wilson was designated as the assistant, and then deputy, to Sir [[Percy Cox]], the British political officer for the region.<ref>Wilson, A.T. 1930. Loyalties; Mesopotamia, 1914-1917: A Personal and Historical Record; from the outbreak of war to the death of General Maude. London, UK: Oxford University Press.</ref> Based in Baghdad, he then became the acting civil commissioner for Mesopotamia. The problem remained that there was no official "Arab Policy"; it had not been defined in law nor by the Civil Service. India wanted Mesopotamia as a province; but Arabists from Cox downwards wished for a semi-autonomous policy separate from the Arab Bureau in Cairo. Policy was made ''ad hoc''; but Wilson disagreed.

During his tenure in Mesopotamia Wilson worked to improve the country's administration according to the principles he learned in India. In Wilson's view the priority was to reconstruct and stabilise the country, by establishing an efficient government and administration as well as a fair treatment and political representation of the various ethnic and religious communities (i.e. in the case of Iraq: [[Arabs]], [[Kurds]], [[Turkmen people|Turkmen]], of religions such as Islam [[Shiite]] and [[Sunni]], [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]]). In doing so, he was nicknamed "The Despot of Mess-Pot".<blockquote>Capt Wilson told me the staggering news that he had been appointed to Tehran ... Capt Wilson and I are excellent colleagues and the best of friends and I know I can do a good deal by seeing people ... I am going to compile an intelligence book on Persia.<ref>Gertrude to Florence Bell, Baghdad, 30 August 1918, ''Letters## (ed.), I'', p.461</ref></blockquote>

However, after the First World War he found himself progressively opposed to other British officials who believed that Arab countries should be granted independence under British supervision.<ref>Wilson, A.T. 1931. Mesopotamia, 1917-1920: A Clash of Loyalties. A Personal and Historical Record. London, UK: Oxford University Press.</ref> British policymakers debated two alternative approaches to Middle Eastern issues. Many diplomats adopted the line of thought of [[T. E. Lawrence]] favouring Arab national ideals. They backed the [[Hashemite family]] for top leadership positions. Wilson expressed the views of the India office. They argued that direct British rule was essential, and the Hashemite family was too supportive of policies that would interfere with British interests. The decision was to support [[Arab nationalism]], sidetracked Wilson, and consolidate power in the Colonial Office.<ref>Timothy J. Paris, "British Middle East Policy-Making after the First World War: The Lawrentian and Wilsonian Schools". ''Historical Journal'' 41.3 (1998): 773-793 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2639903 online].</ref><ref>Timothy J. Paris, ''Britain, the Hashemites and Arab Rule: The Sherifian Solution'' (Routledge, 2004).</ref><ref>Robert McNamara, ''The Hashemites: The Dream of Arabia'' (2010).</ref>

==Post World War One==

In 1918, Wilson became acting civil commissioner over the territory that would become known as Iraq.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hechter |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rZk2AQAAQBAJ |title=Alien Rule |date=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-04254-4 |pages=46–47 |language=en}}</ref> In 1919, during the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]], he was among the few who successfully recommended adopting the Arabic name ''Iraq'', as it had been known for more than 1400 years by [[Muslim world|Muslim]] and [[Arab world]]s, instead of the [[Greek language|Greek]] name Mesopotamia which was only used by Westerners.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} This political entity covered the planned northern expansion of the newly created country under the British Mandate to include the oil rich [[Mosul]] region of northern [[Iraq]], in addition to the Mesopotamian provinces of Baghdad and Basra.

In April 1920, at the [[Conference of San Remo]], the [[League of Nations]] agreed to the [[Mandatory Iraq|British mandate over Iraq]]. In the spring and summer of 1920, a [[Iraqi revolt of 1920|revolt against the Mandate]] erupted across central and southern Iraq. Wilson, as part of the Mandatory administration, took a direct role in suppressing the revolt.<ref>Eli Amarilyo, "History, Memory and Commemoration: The Iraqi Revolution of 1920 and the Process of Nation Building in Iraq". ''Middle Eastern Studies'' 51.1 (2015): 72-92.</ref>

Having achieved the rank of brevet lieutenant-colonel in August 1918, he retired from the Indian Army in August 1921.<ref>Supplement to the Indian Army List January 1939</ref>

In the summer of 1920 Wilson proposed a compromise, suggesting that [[Feisal I of Iraq|Feisal]], the former king of [[Syria]], be offered the Iraqi throne. This proposal was intended to obtain support from the Iraqis as well as British officials who favoured semi-independence. It was eventually accepted by the British government, but Wilson was not there to participate in its implementation. The British government decided not to follow Wilson's views, and instead granted independence to Iraq. The British government removed Wilson from his position in Iraq and knighted him. Deeply disappointed by the turn of events, he left the public service and joined the [[Anglo-Persian Oil Company]] as manager of their Middle Eastern operations. He worked for the company until 1932.

==Interwar decades==
Across the 1930s Wilson undertook a great number of extracurricular activities, such as chairman of the [[Parliamentary Scientific Committee]] (forerunner of the [[Parliamentary and Scientific Committee]]), an active role in the [[British Science Guild]], the [[British Eugenics Society]], the [[Industrial Health Research Board]], and many more.<ref>Michael Weatherburn, "Arnold T. Wilson, the New Victorians and the Forgotten Technocrats of Interwar Britain". (Imperial College MSc thesis, 2009).</ref>

Wilson was responsible for the large exhibition of Persian art at [[Burlington House]] in London in 1931.<ref>Wilson, Arnold Talbot, ''Persian Art: An Illustrated Souvenir of the Exhibition of Persian Art at Burlington House, London'' (1931)</ref>

Wilson published his travelling and political diaries as ''Thoughts and Talks'', ''More Thoughts and Talks'' and ''Walks and Talks Abroad'' with the [[Right Book Club]].<ref>Rodgers, Terence. "The Right Book Club: text wars, modernity and cultural politics in the late thirties". ''Literature & History'' 12.2 (2003): 1–15.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Right Book Club |website=Publishing History |url=https://www.publishinghistory.com/right-book-club.html |accessdate=11 November 2020 }}</ref> In addition to his writing, Wilson served as editor of [[The Nineteenth Century (periodical)|''The Nineteenth Century and After'']] between 1934 and 1938.<ref>Pearce, [https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/36944 ''ODNB'']</ref>

==Politics==

In 1933 Wilson was [[1933 Hitchin by-election|elected in a by-election]] as the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP for [[Hitchin (UK Parliament constituency)|Hitchin]]. He described himself as a "left-wing radical [[Tory]]".<ref>Marlowe, John (1967). ''Late Victorian: The Life of Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson''.</ref>

Like his half-sister Mona Wilson, Wilson published extensively on what he termed "left wing" issues such as [[Workers' compensation|workmen's compensation]], the costs of funerals, industrial assurance, and [[Pension|old age pensions]]. These researches arguably influenced related [[Post-war consensus|postwar policies]].<ref>Farmer, Ann (2008). ''By Their Fruits: Eugenics, Population Control, and the Abortion Campaign''.</ref>

Before the [[Second World War]] his outspoken views on foreign policy evoked much criticism. In 1938 Wilson expressed support for the [[Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War)|Spanish Nationalists]], saying "I hope to God [[Francisco Franco|Franco]] wins in Spain, and the sooner the better."<ref>Margaret George, ''The Hollow Men: An Examination of British Foreign Policy Between the Years 1933 and 1939''. London, Frewin, 1967. (p. 149)</ref> After the beginning of the war, he made a speech at the [[1922 Committee]] demanding a negotiated settlement with [[Nazi Germany]].<ref>Bouverie, Tim (2019). ''Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill, and the Road to War'' (1 ed.). New York: [[Tim Duggan Books]]. p. 386. {{ISBN|978-0-451-49984-4}}</bdi>. [[OCLC (identifier)|OCLC]] 1042099346.</ref> [[George Orwell]] called him a Fascist, although he also praised his courage and patriotism.<ref>George Orwell, ''The Complete Works of George Orwell'', Volume 16 (1986)</ref>

==Second World War==

However, in October 1939 after the outbreak of the war, he joined the [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]], serving as a [[pilot officer]] ([[air gunner]]) in [[No. 37 Squadron RAF|37 Squadron]] of [[RAF Bomber Command]]. He stated that "I have no desire to shelter myself and live in safety behind the ramparts of the bodies of millions of our young men."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Blue Blood in Flanders|date=17 June 1940|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,789876-2,00.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214101320/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,789876-2,00.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=14 December 2010
|accessdate=2008-08-10}}</ref> Still an MP, he was killed in northern [[France]], near [[Dunkirk]], on 31 May 1940 when the bomber he was serving on as an [[air gunner]], [[Vickers Wellington|Wellington]] L7791, piloted by [[Pilot Officer]] William Gray<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lostaircraft.com/database.php?mode=viewentry&e=12942|title=Record for L7791 on ''lostaircraft.com''}}</ref> crashed near [[Eringhem]], killing him instantly and fatally wounding Gray. He is buried at Eringhem churchyard, half-way between Dunkirk and [[Saint-Omer]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2276532|title=Casualty|website=www.cwgc.org}}</ref>
<ref name="Handbook">{{cite book |last=Falconer|first=Jonathon|title=The Bomber Command Handbook 1939–1945|year=1998 |publisher= Sutton Publishing Limited|location= Stroud |isbn=0-7509-1819-5}}</ref>

==Legacy==

Wilson was immortalised as Sir George Corbett in the 1942 [[Powell and Pressburger]] movie ''[[One of Our Aircraft is Missing]]''.<ref>[[David Edgerton (historian)|David Edgerton]], ''England and the Aeroplane: An Essay on a Militant and Technological Nation'' (1991)</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035153/characters/nm0853607?ref_=tt_cl_t1 |title= One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) |website=[[IMDb]] |access-date=7 January 2019}}</ref>

His book ''The Persian Gulf'' was published in 1928. ''S.W. Persia: Letters and Diary of a Young Political Officer 1907–1914'' was published posthumously in 1941.{{fact|date=January 2022}}

Arnold Wilson is commemorated in the scientific names of two species of reptiles: ''[[Panaspis wilsoni]]'' and ''[[Xerotyphlops wilsoni]]''.<ref>Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. ("Wilson, A.T.", p. 287).</ref>

Sir Arnold's personal papers are held at the [[London Library]], London, UK.{{fact|date=January 2022}}

==See also==

* [[Iraqi revolt of 1920]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|first=David|last=Fromkin |title=[[A Peace To End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East]]|publisher=[[Henry Holt & Co]], New York|date=1989}}
* {{cite book|first1=Richard |last1=Griffiths|title=Fellow travellers of the Right: British enthusiasts for Nazi Germany, 1933-9|date=1989}}
* {{cite book|first=John|last=Keay|title=Sowing the Wind: The Seeds of Conflict in the Middle East|url=https://archive.org/details/sowingwind00john|url-access=registration|publisher=[[W.W. Norton & Co]], New York|date= 2003}}
* {{cite book|first=Margaret|last= MacMillan|title=Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World|url=https://archive.org/details/paris1919sixmont00macm|url-access=registration|publisher= [[Random House]], New York|date=2003}}
* {{cite book|first=John|last=Marlowe|title=Late Victorian: the life of Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson|date=1967}}
* {{cite book|first1=Karl E.|last1=Meyer|first2= Shareen Blair|last2=Brysac|title=Kingmakers: the Invention of the Modern Middle East|url=https://archive.org/details/kingmakersinvent0000meye|url-access=registration|publisher=New York, London: W.W. Norton|date=2008}} pp127–56.
* Paris, Timothy J. "British Middle East Policy-Making after the First World War: The Lawrentian and Wilsonian Schools". ''Historical Journal'' 41.3 (1998): 773-793 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2639903 online]
* {{cite book|first=Arnold Talbot|last=Wilson|title=A Periplus of the Persian Gulf}}
* {{cite book|first=Arnold Talbot|last=Wilson|title=S. W Persia: Letters and Diary of a Young Political Officer 1907–1914|year=1941|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.281897}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{Hansard-contribs | lieut-colonel-sir-arnold-wilson | Arnold Wilson }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060315150309/http://www.al-bab.com/bys/articles/shipman01a.htm Winning his spurs as a stoker]—this includes a photograph of Wilson, taken around 1916
* [http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-features/140417/how-far-did-uk-aristocracy%E2%80%99s-love-nazis-really-go ]
* {{PM20|FID=pe/039654}}

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{{succession box | title = [[Hitchin (UK Parliament constituency)|Member of Parliament for Hitchin]] | years = [[1933 Hitchin by-election|1933]]–1940 | before = [[Antony Bulwer-Lytton, Viscount Knebworth|Viscount Knebworth]] | after = [[Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose|Seymour Berry]]}}
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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Arnold}}
[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1940 deaths]]
[[Category:20th century in Iraq]]
[[Category:Anglo-Persian Oil Company]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II]]
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Indian Political Service officers]]
[[Category:Iraqi revolt of 1920]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at Clifton College]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force officers]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1931–1935]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1935–1945]]

Arnold Wilson - Revision history

Bot at 17:04, 8 September 2022