We have been saddened to hear of the death of Hugh Leach – “soldier, diplomat, Arabist, author, adventurer, circus impresario, and eccentric” as he was described in an obituary in the Daily Telegraph – on 14 November at the age of 81.
In 1998, after a quarter of a century of service in the Middle East, as a soldier and diplomat, Hugh received the distinction of being awarded the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, following such luminaries as Wilfred Thesiger (with whom he would become friends).
In a lecture delivered to the “63” Club in 1988, entitled T. E. Lawrence: Some Centenary Reflections, Hugh remarked on how his service had given him practical acquaintance with most of the territory over which the Arab Revolt was fought.
“I have followed both Lawrence’s and Doughty’s tracks and read their works in situ … And I have met a number of people, including Turks, who were engaged in those great events of seventy years ago.”
Click on the image above to read the Daily Telegraph’s obituary of Hugh Leach, published on 25 November 2015.