SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This study concerns Sir Reginald Wingate as High Commissioner in Egypt. It discusses his administration, connection with the Arab revolt, relations with the Foreign Office, and the reasons for his dismissal in 1919. Chapter I is devoted to a discussion of source materials with particular emphasis upon collections of private papers relating to the field. Chapter II recounts the situation in Egypt prior to Wingate's arrival and the events which led up to his appointment. Wingate's involvement with and consistent support of the Arab revolt are dealt with in Chapter III. In Chapter IV the internal state of affairs in Egypt during the War is described. The various demands placed upon Egyptian resources by the military and the political events which occurred during the War are also discussed. Relations between British civil servants, Foreign Office officials, and Wingate were often tangled during these years. Wingate's involvement with the confusion in the administration, and his attempts to reassert his own control, are dealt with in Chapter V. Chapter VI describes the growing nationalist agitation in Egypt after the Armistice, and Wingate's endeavours to have the British government offer concessions. These developments led to Wingate's departure in early 1919 for London, where he hoped to carry his recommendations concerning the Egyptian national movement. His failure to do so and his subsequent supersession by Allenby are the subject of Chapter VII.