Background
The son of John Bradford Jarvis, an insurance clerk, and his wife, Mary Harvey, he joined the merchant navy in 1896, then volunteered for British imperial service in the Second Boer War in 1899.
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Claude Major
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Following his return from the war, he was in April 1902 appointed a second lieutenant in the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment. They had one daughter. Jarvis then combined part-time military service in Ireland with freelance journalism until the First World War broke out.
Jarvis"s interest in Arabs and the Arabic language grew from wartime army service in Palestine and Egypt, then a British protectorate.
He was seconded to the new Egyptian frontiers administration by the British high commissioner, Sir Reginald Wingate, serving first in the Western desert and then in Sinai. His Arabic and knowledge of Bedouin customs allowed him as governor of Sinai from 1923 to intercede successfully in local disputes and to clamp down on banditry and drug trafficking.
He also traced the remains of a Roman and Byzantine settlement in northern Sinai, and by damming the local Wadi Gedeirat and restoring the stone channels succeeded in recreating an oasis. In 1933 while Governor of Sinai Jarvis was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
He then devoted himself to natural history, writing and farming.
He joined the staff of the magazine Country Life in 1939, contributing a column, A Countryman"s Notes, for 14 years. He was awarded the Lawrence Medal by the Royal Central Asian Society in 1938. He died at his Ringwood home, Chele Orchard, on 8 December 1953.
Achievements
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Born
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Died
December 8, 1953 (aged 74) -
Nationality
British
Awards
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Officer of the Order of the British Empire; Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George the Lawrence Medal; Order of St Michael and St George; Order of the Nile
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later King George IV, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, King George III.The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later King George IV, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, King George III.