Gertrude Bell

Gertrude Bell was a former English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored, mapped, and became highly influential to British imperial policy-making. She with the British helped the Ottoman Empire try their best in suppressing the Arab Revolts, but they were unsucessful due to the Italians aiding the Arab Rebels, exploiting the weaknesses of the Ottoman vassal known as the Emirate of Jabal Shammar, and the involvement of the Ethiopian Empire and the Indo-Persian Empire in the war in the Middle East. She with T.E Lawrence then escaped back to Britain, She and her family ran off to the Isle of Man and vanished from the face of the Earth.

## History

### Early Life

Bell was born on 14 July 1868 in Washington New Hall – now known as Dame Margaret Hall – in Washington, County Durham, England to a family whose wealth ensured her education and enabled her travels. Her personality was characterised by energy, intellect, and a thirst for adventure that shaped her path in life. Her grandfather was the ironmaster Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, an industrialist and a Liberal Member of Parliament, in Benjamin Disraeli's second term. His role in British policy-making exposed Gertrude at a young age to international matters and most likely encouraged her curiosity for the world, and her later involvement in international politics.

Bell's mother, Mary Shield Bell, died in 1871 while giving birth to a son, Maurice (later the 3rd Baronet). Gertrude Bell was just three at the time, and the death led to a lifelong close relationship with her father, Sir Hugh Bell, 2nd Baronet, a progressive capitalist and mill owner who made sure his workers were well paid and cared for. Throughout her life, Gertrude consulted on political matters with her father, who had also served for many years in various governmental positions.

Some biographies suggest the loss of her mother caused underlying childhood trauma, revealed through periods of depression and risky behaviour. But when Gertrude was seven years old, her father remarried, providing her a stepmother, Florence Bell (née Olliffe), and eventually, three half-siblings. Florence Bell was a playwright and author of children's stories, as well as the author of a study of Bell factory workers. She instilled concepts of duty and decorum in Gertrude and contributed to her intellectual development. Florence Bell's activities with the wives of Bolckow Vaughan ironworkers in Eston, near Middlesbrough, may have helped influence her step-daughter's later stance promoting education of Iraqi women.

Gertrude Bell received her early education from Queen's College in London and then later at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, at the age of 17. History was one of the few subjects women were allowed to study, due to the many restrictions imposed on them at the time. She specialised in modern history, and it was said that she was the first woman to graduate in Modern History at Oxford with a first class honours degree, a feat she achieved in only two years. Eleven people graduated that year. Nine were recorded because they were men, and the other two were Bell and Alice Greenwood. However, the two women were not awarded academic degrees. It was not until 1920 that Oxford treated women equally with men in this respect.

Bell never married or had children. She befriended British colonial administrator Sir Frank Swettenham on a visit to Singapore with her brother Hugo in 1903 and maintained a correspondence with him until 1909. She had a "brief but passionate affair" with Swettenham following his retirement to England in 1904. She also had an unconsummated affair with Maj. Charles Doughty-Wylie, a married man, with whom she exchanged love letters from 1913 to 1915. After his death in 1915 during the Gallipoli Campaign, Bell launched herself into her work.

### Arab Revolt Suppression Failure

She worked with the Ottomans, T.E Lawrence and the British on suppressing the revolts which would be easy in her opinion, but sadly the Italians aided the Arab rebels, Ethiopia was involved and Indo-Persia stole India as it sabotaged the Suez Canal. The failure resulted in her retreating back to the UK with Lawrence as they went home.

### Bombing of Britain

12 days after her return, German warplanes then dropped bombs on Britain as German Warships attacked Britain from two angles, Belgium and Norway. The Bombing of many cities was ferocious as homes were blown to shreds with people being incinerated and unable to get to shelters as those were destroyed by Tanks and British people were being arrested by German soldiers and killed. When Parents tried to evacuate children, the German soldiers bombed the trains and killed off many of the children as half of the children on the train survived with mass injuries. Bell, her father, step-mother, brother, half brother and half sisters escaped their home as the bombing raged on. The Royal Family's massacre devastated Bell to the point she was mentally ill because her services were all for nothing which was another defeat in her life other than the failure to suppress Arab Rebels.

### After the fall of Britain

Gertude and her family then retreated to the St Runius, Marown Church which is located in the abandoned and uninhabited Island formerly known as the Isle of man. There was nothing more after the fact they went to the Isle of Man as they have vanished from the face of the Earth. She and her family were probably killed during a dispute between the Duchy of Wales and the Imperial State of Ireland who wanted control of the Island.

## Personal life

Ms. Bell, her brother and siblings never even married or had children of their own. She did have affairs with some men but they never lasted.