The subject of this talk is Dr Adrian O’Sullivan’s latest book (The Baghdad Set [Palgrave Macmillan, 2019]) – the first-ever intelligence history of Iraq, 1941-45 – and the final third volume of a trilogy on regional intelligence and counterintelligence operations that includes Nazi Secret Warfare in Occupied Persia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) and Espionage and Counterintelligence in Occupied Persia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015). Dr O’Sullivan’s account of covert operations in Iraq during the Second World War is based entirely on archival documents, diaries, and memoirs. It includes descriptions of all kinds of clandestine activity, contextualized with analysis showing the significance of what happened regionally in terms of the greater war. His talk will emphasize the social nature of human intelligence work and will introduce the audience to a number of interesting, talented personalities who performed secret roles in Iraq, including the distinguished author Dame Freya Stark.
Dr Adrian O’Sullivan, a former intelligence linguist, has lived and worked in the UK, Europe, North America, and the Middle East. He completed his doctorate in intelligence history at the University of South Africa and is an Emeritus Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. He now lives and writes in semi-retirement on the west coast of Canada.
Light refreshments offered from 5:30 pm. Attendance is free and no registration is required. For any queries please contact Dr Claire Hubbard-Hall, Senior Lecturer in History: claire.hubbard-hall@bishopg.ac.uk.
Location: Robert Hardy Teaching Room 1, Bishop Grosseteste University, Longdales Road, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN1 3DY