Claude Scudamore Jarvis
Encyclopedia
Major Claude Scudamore Jarvis CMG
OBE
(born 20 July 1879 in Forest Gate
, London
, died 8 December 1953 in Ringwood
, Hampshire
) was a British colonial governor, Arabist and naturalist noted for his knowledge of and rapport with the desert Bedouin.
in 1899. He married Mabel Jane Hodson, daughter of a member of the US embassy staff in London, in 1903. They had one daughter. Jarvis then combined part-time military service in Ireland
with freelance journalism until the First World War broke out.
Jarvis's interest in Arabs and the Arabic language
grew from wartime army service in Palestine
and Egypt
, then a British protectorate
. He was seconded to the new Egyptian frontiers administration by the British high commissioner, Sir Reginald Wingate, serving first in the Western desert and then in Sinai. His Arabic and knowledge of Bedouin customs allowed him as governor of Sinai from 1923 to intercede successfully in local disputes and to clamp down on banditry and drug trafficking
. He also traced the remains of a Roman and Byzantine settlement in northern Sinai, and by damming the local Wadi
Gedeirat and restoring the stone channels succeeded in recreating an oasis.
In 1933 while Governor of Sinai Jarvis was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
. The King of Egypt had early in 1931 awarded him with the Insignia of the Third Class of the Order of the Nile
.
Jarvis retired voluntarily in 1936 and was apppointed as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)
, and devoted himself to natural history, writing and farming. He joined the staff of the magazine Country Life
in 1939, contributing a highly popular column, A Countryman's Notes, for 14 years. He was awarded the Lawrence Medal by the Royal Central Asian Society
in 1938. He died at his home, Chele Orchard, on 8 December 1953.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 20 July 1879 in Forest Gate
Forest Gate
Forest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham, 7 miles northeast of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Manor Park to the east and and to the west lies Stratford town centre. The northern half of the busy Green Street runs through it.-History:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, died 8 December 1953 in Ringwood
Ringwood
Ringwood is a historic market town and civil parish in Hampshire, England, located on the River Avon, close to the New Forest and north of Bournemouth. It has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, and has held a weekly market since the Middle Ages....
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
) was a British colonial governor, Arabist and naturalist noted for his knowledge of and rapport with the desert Bedouin.
Life and career
The son of John Bradford Jarvis, an insurance clerk, and his wife, Mary Harvey, he joined the merchant navy in 1896, then volunteered for British imperial service in the Second Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
in 1899. He married Mabel Jane Hodson, daughter of a member of the US embassy staff in London, in 1903. They had one daughter. Jarvis then combined part-time military service in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
with freelance journalism until the First World War broke out.
Jarvis's interest in Arabs and the Arabic language
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
grew from wartime army service in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, then a British protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
. He was seconded to the new Egyptian frontiers administration by the British high commissioner, Sir Reginald Wingate, serving first in the Western desert and then in Sinai. His Arabic and knowledge of Bedouin customs allowed him as governor of Sinai from 1923 to intercede successfully in local disputes and to clamp down on banditry and drug trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
. He also traced the remains of a Roman and Byzantine settlement in northern Sinai, and by damming the local Wadi
Wadi
Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...
Gedeirat and restoring the stone channels succeeded in recreating an oasis.
In 1933 while Governor of Sinai Jarvis was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. The King of Egypt had early in 1931 awarded him with the Insignia of the Third Class of the Order of the Nile
Order of the Nile
The Order of the Nile is Egypt's highest state honor. The award was instituted in 1915 by Sultan Hussein Kamel to be awarded by Egypt for exceptional services to the nation...
.
Jarvis retired voluntarily in 1936 and was apppointed as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, and devoted himself to natural history, writing and farming. He joined the staff of the magazine Country Life
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
in 1939, contributing a highly popular column, A Countryman's Notes, for 14 years. He was awarded the Lawrence Medal by the Royal Central Asian Society
Royal Society for Asian Affairs
The Royal Society for Asian Affairs is a learned society based in the United Kingdom, founded in 1901 to "promote greater knowledge and understanding of Central Asia and surrounding countries". The geographical extent of the Society's interest has since expanded to include the whole of Asia...
in 1938. He died at his home, Chele Orchard, on 8 December 1953.
Provisional bibliography
- Yesterday and To-day in Sinai (Edinburgh/London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1931).
- Three Deserts. Experiences in Egypt (London: John Murray, 1936).
- Oriental Spotlight. A humorous guide to travel in the East, under the pseudonym Rameses (London: John Murray, 1937).
- Desert and Delta. An account of modern Egypt (London: John Murray, 1938).
- The Back Garden of Allah (London: John Murray, 1939).
- Through Crusader Lands (London: Pitman's Travel Series, 1939).
- Arab Command. The biography of Lieutenant-Colonel F. W. Peake Pasha (London: Hutchinson & Co., 1942).
- Scattered Shots (London: John Murray, 1942).
- Heresies and Humours (London: Country Life, 1943).
- Half a Life. Reminiscences (London: John Murray, 1943).
- Happy Yesterdays (London: Country Life, 1948).
- Gardener's Medley (London: Country Life, 1951).
- Innocent Pursuits (London: John Murray, 1953).
- Six articles of his appeared in the Royal Central Asian Journal, 1935-39. He also wrote for Antiquity, 1932-40.
- Jarvis's views on the wanderings of the Biblical Israelites in Sinai appear in Jarvis, C.S. (1938), "The forty years' wandering of the Israelites", Palestine Exploration Quarterly: 25-40.