Gertrude Bell 1868 – 1926

Gertrude Bell

Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE, was an English Writer, Traveller and Political Activist. 

            From 1899-1904, Gertrude Bell travelled extensively and conquered many mountains including La Meije and Mont Blanc.  One Alpine Peak in Bernese Oberland, Gertrudspitze, was even named after her.

            In the years 1907-13, Bell travelled extensively throughout the Middle East, during which time she met with T. E. Lawrence.  The two of them helped to establish the Hashemite dynasties in what is now Jordan and in Iraq.  During this time, Bell also took part in many archaeological digs in places like Damascus, Jerusalem and Beirut.  She also became the second foreign woman to visit Ha’il.  The first being Lady Anne Blunt.

            Gertrude Bell was also Honorary Secretary of the Woman’s Anti-Suffrage League.  Despite her own political achievements, she was very much opposed to women’s suffrage.  She felt that many women were not yet ready for making important political decisions.

            At the outbreak of World War I, Bell was denied a post in the Middle East, so she settled for volunteering for the Red Cross in France.  She was later recruited by British Intelligence to help get soldiers through the Middle Eastern Desert.  Gertrude Bell became the only woman to hold political power, working for the British Government in Cairo.   Throughout her time in the Middle East, she managed to form a close relationship with many members of its local tribes. 

            After the war, she helped to determine the boundaries of what is now modern day Iraq from the Ottoman Provinces.  She played the part of mediator between the Arab Government and British Officials. 

            Bell’s first love was archaeology, and she formed the Baghdad Archaeological Museum, later renamed Iraqi Museum, in order to preserve Iraqi history and culture.  The museum was opened shortly before her death and the right wing was named as a memorial to her memory.

            Gertrude Bell returned briefly to Britain in 1925, only to be faced with poor health and family financial problems.  She soon returned to Baghdad where she was struck down with pleurisy.  Gertrude died in 1926 from an overdose of sleeping pills, possibly accidental.  She is buried in the British cemetery in Baghdad.  Her funeral was attended by many people, including the King of Iraq, who watched the procession from his private balcony.