Ronald Bodley

Ronald Victor Courtenay Bodley
Born	March 1892
Died	May 26, 1970
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Order of Carol I Order of Wen-Hu

Colonel Ronald Victor Courtenay (R. V. C.) Bodley (March 1892^[1][2]– May 26, 1970^[3]) was a British army officer, author and journalist. He is best known for his book, Wind in the Sahara.

Biography

Bodley was born in Paris in March 1892.^[2] He was educated at Eton College and Sandhurst, and served as an officer with the King's Royal Rifle Corps during World War I.^[4] He reached the rank of Colonel while in France,^[4] and was appointed assistant Military attaché to Paris^[4] on August 15, 1918.^[5] As assistant military attaché Bodley attended the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. What Bodley heard there reportedly made him feel like what he and millions of other soldiers had fought for was all for nothing.^[4] Dissillusioned with the military, Bodley considered a career in politics instead.^[4]

Bodley was the son of John Edward Courtenay Bodley, a descendant of Sir Thomas Bodley^[4][6] and was Gertrude Bell's cousin.^[4]

Travels

Gertrude Bell introduced Bodley to T. E. Lawrence.^[4] Bodley ran into Lawrence one day outside the Paris Peace Conference and told him of his intent to move into politics. Lawrence responded furiously, calling Bodley a moron and a traitor. When Bodley replied telling him he had no other prospects now that the war was over and asking what he should do, Lawrence suggested "Go live with the Arabs."^[4] Bodley promptly sorted his affairs and went to live in the Sahara. His bemused friends held him a farewell party. They all agreed Bodley would be back in six weeks; Bodley did not return for seven years.^[4]

Bodley spent his seven years living with Arabs in the Sahara desert.^[8] He lived with a nomad tribe, purchasing a herd of sheep and goats and using them as a source of income. He wore Arab dress, spoke their tongue, practiced the Muslim faith and even lived with an Arab girl for a time.^[4] Wind in the Sahara, first published in 1944, is about his experiences there.^[9] Bodley was considered amongst the most distinguished British writers on the Sahara.^[10]

Bodley also spent considerable time travelling around Japan and the South Pacific Mandates, and wrote about his experiences and findings in the book The Drama in the Pacific.^[11]

Bodley was thanked by the authors of the book, The Secret Lives of Lawrence of Arabia, for the information he provided.^[12]

Awards

Bodley was awarded the Order of Carol I by Ferdinand of Romania in 1920^[13] and the Order of Wen-Hu (4th Class) by the Republic of China in 1921.^[14]

Bibliography

• Yasmina (1927)
• Algeria from Within (1927)^[10]
• Indiscretions of a Young Man (1931)
• A Japanese Omelette (1933)^{[citation needed]}
• Indiscreet travels East (Java, China and Japan) (1934)
• The Drama of the Pacific (1934)^[11]
• Gertrude Bell (1940) with Lorna Hearst
• Flight into Portugal (1941)
• Wind in the Sahara (1944)^[6][10]
• The Gay Deserters (1945)
• The Messenger (1946)^[15]
• The Quest (1947)
• The Warrior Saint (1953)^[10][16]
• In Search of Serenity (1955)^[17]
• The Soundless Sahara (1968)^[10]

References