LRDG II.

This is coolbert:

LRDG continued!

The officers and men!

That Long Range Desert Group [LRDG] operating in the Libyan desert during the Second World War gathering unto it the best of the allied soldiers, those enlisted personnel New Zealand volunteers, farmers for the most part preferred men having an instinctive and practiced flair for the rugged life and also possessing that amount of skill set and initiative motivated and hand picked troops for the most part if not entirely so.

Officers of the LRDG also of the finest quality and ability, markedly so! Young English men from the upper classes of that society [British] volunteering for duty with those combat units the mission of which was deadly, dangerous and difficult, SHIRKERS AND MALINGERERS NOT NEEDED OR WANTED!

Among that group of distinguished officers of command rank within LRDG we find the name of Wilfred Thesiger. English desert explorer in the wandering nomad tradition, a man famous for his expeditions into unknown areas of the Middle East, quite at home with the culture of that region, and ABLE TO PASS HIMSELF AS A LOCAL WITH EASE!

Thesiger in the guise of the Arab. Able to dress, speak, act as an Arab, PASS! The English for whatever reason of combination of reasons having an affinity for the Arabic culture and a desire to live in the wide open expanses of the desert and hot and dry climates!

"Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger . . . (3 June 1910 – 24 August 2003) was a British explorer and travel writer born in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia."

"He served in several desert campaigns with the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) and the Special Air Service (SAS) with the rank of major."

"In World War II, Thesiger fought with Gideon Force in Ethiopia during the East African Campaign. He was awarded the DSO for capturing Agibar and its garrison of 2,500 Italian soldiers. Afterwards, Thesiger served in the Long Range Desert Group during the North African Campaign."

That man in the center of the image with the Arab headdress purported to be Thesiger during a combat patrol with the LRDG. Beards are a plus during combat operations in the desert, the precious water not wasted on shaving. Sharif Ali commenting on same to T.E. Lawrence. 

Gideon Force, SAS, LRDG. It doesn't get much more dangerous and difficult than that.

Wilfred Thesiger during WW2 serving in a manner that can be favorably compared to that of T.E. Lawrence? 

While serving with Gideon Force Thesiger would undoubtedly come into contact with the famous Orde Wingate. That controversial English military commander of WW2 fame also in his own right an eccentric but talented individual the exploits of which are well known.

Perhaps it can be reasoned at that exact moment NO MAN alive was more suited and able for the task of commanding LRDG units than Wilfred Thesiger? Without question? Perhaps so!

coolbert.