Patrick Andrew Clayton DSO

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(16 April 1896 – 17 March 1962) was a British

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

and soldier. He was the basis for the character of Peter Madox in ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burne ...

''.

Career

Clayton was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in April 1896 and, after serving as an officer with the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, spent nearly 20 years with the Egyptian Survey department during the 1920s and 1930s extensively mapping large areas of previously unmapped desert. In 1931, Clayton was running triangulation from

Wadi Halfa Wādī Ḥalfā ( ar, وادي حلفا) is a city in the Northern state of Sudan on the shores of Lake Nubia near the border with Egypt. It is the terminus of a rail line from Khartoum and the point where goods are transferred from rail to ferr ...

to Uweinat when he came across refugees fleeing from the Italian occupation of

Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of nineteenth century Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...

, via Uweinat and helped save many from death in the arid desert. Clayton had collaborated extensively with

Ralph Bagnold Brigadier Ralph Alger Bagnold, OBE, FRS, (3 April 1896 – 28 May 1990) was an English 20th-century desert explorer, geologist and soldier. In 1932, he staged the first recorded East-to-West crossing of the Libyan Desert. His work in the fi ...

in the preparation and mapping associated with Bagnold's pre-war exploration trips. At the start of the war Clayton was a government

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

. Bagnold had him returned to Egypt because of his detailed knowledge of the Western Desert. He was commissioned into the Intelligence Corps and served in the

Long Range Desert Group )Gross, O'Carroll and Chiarvetto 2009, p.20 , patron = , motto = ''Non Vi Sed Arte'' (Latin: ''Not by Strength, but by Guile'') (unofficial) , colours = , colours_label ...

(LRDG). Clayton was leading "T" Patrol in a planned attack on Kufra when the patrol was engaged by the Italian

Auto-Saharan Company The Auto-Saharan Companies (''Compagnie Auto-Avio-Sahariane'') were Italian military units specialised in long range patrols of the Sahara Desert. The units operated from the late 1930s to the Italian surrender in 1943. History The Saharan com ...

on 31 January 1941, near Gebel Sherif. During the action Captain Clayton was wounded and his car damaged. He along with his colleagues was taken

prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

. He was moved to the

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

region in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he was visited by Laszlo Almasy after Almasy's spy mission, Operation ''Salaam'', to transport two German spies across the Libyan desert to Cairo. He was awarded the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

's Founder's Medal in 1941 for his work in the Libyan desert.

Death

Pat Clayton died on 17 March 1962 at the age of 65 of an aneurism.

References

External links

New Zealand Electronic Text centre on the LRDG, 1940-41

LRDG Preservation Society

Notes

* ''Desert Explorer: A Biography of Colonel P.A. Clayton'' by Peter Clayton * P. A. Clayton, "The Western Side of the

Gilf Kebir Gilf Kebir () (var. Gilf al-Kebir, Jilf al Kabir, Gilf Kebir Plateau) is a plateau in the New Valley Governorate of the remote southwest corner of Egypt, and southeast Libya. Its name translates as "the Great Barrier". This sandstone plateau, ro ...

" Geographical Journal 81, 254–259, (1933) * ''Libyan Sands, Travel in a Dead World'' about the travels of R.A.Bagnold by

Ralph Alger Bagnold Brigadier Ralph Alger Bagnold, OBE, FRS, (3 April 1896 – 28 May 1990) was an English 20th-century desert explorer, geologist and soldier. In 1932, he staged the first recorded East-to-West crossing of the Libyan Desert. His work in the fi ...

* ''Long Range Desert Group'' about the LRDG by

* ''The Long Range Desert Group'' about the LRDG by

David Lloyd Owen Major General David Lanyon Lloyd Owen (10 October 1917 – 5 April 2001) was a British soldier and writer. During the Second World War he commanded the Long Range Desert Group. Early life and military career Born in Hampton, in the county of M ...

* ''The Hunt for Zerzura and World War II'' about members of the Zerzura Club in World War II by Saul Kelly * ''The Secret Life of Laszlo Almasy'' by John Bierman {{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Patrick A. 1896 births 1962 deaths British colonels People from Croydon Military personnel from London British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery officers Intelligence Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Members of the Order of the British Empire World War II prisoners of war held by Italy British surveyors British World War II prisoners of war Long Range Desert Group personnel British expatriates in Egypt British expatriates in Sudan British expatriates in Tanganyika

Career

Death

See also

References

External links

Notes