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I am writing an article on British army personnel in the period from the Khartoum campaign to the Revolt in the Desert with particular reference to their ability (or otherwise) to speak Arabic. I am focusing rather on TE Lawrence as this is the 70th anniversary of his death and there is a big exhibition coming up in October at the Imperial War Museum. I have a hypothesis in particular that the previous experience of regular officers as surveyors and of hostilities-only officers as archaeologists contributed significantly to the success of campaigns in that theatre of war. Is this an area that has been covered before? I would be especially grateful if anyone could point me towards articles or books that may cover this topic. Senior members of the Society might also be able to cast some light on the level of language training in the military during colonial times. The article is for 'The Linguist' (the journal of the Institute of Linguists) and all references will, of course, be scrupulously acknowledged! Tim Connell ________________________ Professor T J Connell Director of Language Studies City University Northampton Square London EC1V 0HB tel + 44 (0)20 7040 8265 fax + 44(0)20 7040 8575 www.city.ac.uk/languages <www.city.ac.uk/languages>