Major A. L. Holt, MBE, MC (1896–1971) was a British military officer and explorer.[1]
A. L. Holt MBE, MC | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1896 |
| Died | 1971 (aged 74–75) |
| Allegiance | British |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Royal Engineers |
| Other work | Explorer |
In the 1920s while a member of the Royal Engineers, Holt led a number of motorized expeditions through the deserts of Arabia, the first time such long journeys had been undertaken with such a large number of vehicles.
In 1921 Holt was involved in creating a track across the Syrian Desert from Baghdad to the eastern edge of the Harrat al-Sham in Jordan, which was to act as a guide track for the pilots of the Cairo – Baghdad air route.[2] In 1923 Holt took Rose Wilder Lane, journalist B.D. MacDonald and Holt's wife by car across the same desert.[3]
Holt traveled on occasion with St. John Philby and Gerard Leachman.
In 1923 he proposed a route for a trans-Arabian railway which he had personally surveyed in 1922 by automobile. He writes,
I have taken a convoy of Fords 350 miles in the desert without touching water. The extraordinary advantage of this in reconnaissance needs no emphasis.[4]
The railway was never built.
References
edit- ^ Al-Yahya, Eid, ed. (2006). Travellers in Arabia: British Explorers in Saudi Arabia (1st ed.). London: Stacey International. ISBN 978-0-9552193-1-3.
- ^ Hill, Roderick (2005). The Baghdad Air Mail. Nonsuch Publishing. ISBN 978-1845880095.
Reprint of original dated 1929
- ^ Holtz, William; MacDonald, Norman (illus). "The Little House on the – Desert". Saudi Aramco World. Houston: Aramco Services Company. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
Article appeared on pages 28–33 of the November/December 1984 print edition of Saudi Aramco World.
- ^ Holt, A. L. (1923). "The Future of the North Arabian Desert". The Geographical Journal. 62 (4): 259–268. Bibcode:1923GeogJ..62..259H. doi:10.2307/1781018. JSTOR 1781018. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
External links
edit- Photographs from Holt and St John Philby's 1922 expedition for the railway
- Holt and travel across the desert with Rose Wilder Lane
  | This biographical article related to the British Army is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about a British explorer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |