Frederick Gerard Peake
| Frederick G. Peake | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Frederick Gerard Peake |
| Nickname(s) | Peake Pasha |
| Born | 12 June 1886 Epsom, England |
| Died | 30 March 1970 (aged 83) Kelso, Scotland |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1906-1939 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Unit |
Imperial Camel Corps Royal Flying Corps Sudan Camel Corps Duke of Wellington's Regiment |
| Commands held | Arab Legion |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | OBE, CMG, CBE, CStJ |
| Other work | Policeman, author |
Major-General Frederick Gerard Peake, CMG, CBE (12 June 1886 – 30 March 1970), known as Peake Pasha, was a British Army and police officer and creator of the Arab Legion.
The son of Lt-Colonel Walter Peake DSO, of Melton Mowbray, Peake was born at Epsom on 12 June 1886. He attended Stubbington House School, Fareham, later graduated from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1906 was commissioned into the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, and served in India from 1908 to 1913.
During the First World War, Peake served with the Royal Flying Corps in Salonica, and was also an officer serving with the Imperial Camel Corps, part of the British Imperial Egyptian Army, seeing action in the Darfur Expedition. In 1917 he was awarded the Order of the Nile, Fourth Class. He served for a time under Lawrence of Arabia.
In September 1920 Peake, then a Captain, left the Imperial Camel Corps to report on the security situation in Transjordan. Security was found to be inadequate, and in October the same year Peake, by then promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, was ordered by the High Commissioner of Palestine to form two small police forces:
During the summers of 1921 and 1923, Peake organized the 150-man Reserve Mobile Force, which formed the nucleus of the Arab Legion. This force was made of up Arabs, Kurds, Turks, and Circassians, armed with German rifles. Due to increasing regional skirmishes, the Reserve Mobile Force was increased in strength to 750 officers and men. This reorganized force thwarted Wahhabi raids in 1922 and the Adwan Rebellion in 1923. Peake became a Major-General in the army of the Emirate of Transjordan.
...
Wikipedia