Overview

Sir Kennedy Trevaskis was the last High Commissioner of South Arabia - a role he held from 1963-1965, which provided the pinnacle of his career and yet also his ultimate failure. Trevaskis's imperial credentials were impeccable. He was a District Officer in Northern Rhodesia, followed by service in the Rhodesian Regiment in World War II, District Commissioner in the British Administered Eritrea after Italy's defeat, and finally High Commissioner in South Arabia and Aden colony. But here the British ambition to set up the Federation of South Arabia with Aden was ultimately frustrated by the rise of Arab nationalism and the British Labour government's decision to withdraw `East of Suez'. The Deluge is the memoir of a glittering career ending in ultimate failure and ignominy, but full of incident, humour and irreverence. Published for the first time, and with an extensive introduction by Wm. Roger Louis, this unique account sheds significant light on British foreign and imperial policy in the post-war era and particularly the end of empire in the Middle East.

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9781784538279

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Sir Kennedy Trevaskis had an outlook on Africa and the Middle East that differed radically from that of many of his contemporaries... His unvarnished autobiography gives insight into the complex and dangerous problems of the British Empire, especially in the Middle East from the 1940s to the mid-1960s. * W.M Roger Louis * This memoir is monumental, not in the Nietzschean sense of the monumental narrative that can inspire action, but in the sense of a history that will stand as a monument to a vanished world. * Dublin Review of Books *

Sir Kennedy Trevaskis had an outlook on Africa and the Middle East that differed radically from that of many of his contemporaries... His unvarnished autobiography gives insight into the complex and dangerous problems of the British Empire, especially in the Middle East from the 1940s to the mid-1960s. * W.M Roger Louis *

Author Information

Sir Kennedy Trevaskis (1915-1990) was a key-player in British imperial and foreign policy in the post-war era. He served as a District Officer in Northern Rhodesia, District Commissioner in Eritrea, and finally High Commissioner in South Arabia and Aden colony. He was awarded the OBE and KCMG and was the author of Eritrea: A Colony in Transition and Shades of Amber: A South Arabian Episode. Wm. Roger Louis is Kerr Chair in English History and Culture and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

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