In this engaging talk Nick brings his book to life
Mavericks: Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of WW1
When Russia crashed out of the First World War following the Revolution in 1917, Britain was desperate to prevent the Germans and Turks seizing the oil-rich Russian port of Baku on the Caspian Sea. But the country had few soldiers to spare and Baku was hundreds of miles from the nearest British army.
So a ramshackle plan was hastily thrown together by officials with little local knowledge to block the Turks, and a small group of enterprising, fearless and often reckless men were tasked with implementing it. First they had to cross Persia, a famine-stricken country of snowbound mountain passes and roads built not for motor traffic, but for mule trains and camels.
Nick Higham’s talk tells the story of the little-known Battle of Baku, of five charismatic and unorthodox characters involved in the battle – including the man who was the model for one of Rudyard Kipling’s most popular characters, and another who went on to publish his first book at the age of 99 – and of the often-unsung heroes of the Army Service Corps, who transported this ramshackle little army and kept it supplied against almost insuperable odds.
Nick Higham
Nick Higham is a journalist, interviewer and author, and a former BBC News reporter. He was the BBC’s first dedicated media correspondent, spent 14 years as arts and media correspondent, and went on to report on a wide range of subjects on television and radio, wherever possibly smuggling history onto the airwaves under the guise of news. The Mercenary River, his history of London’s water, was published in 2022. Mavericks is his second book.
Light refreshments are included in the ticket price, as well as the opportunity to explore the museum after dark before the talk begins.
