“To feel, and think, and
learn always: surely that is
being alive and young in the
real sense”FaR leFt Stark’s signature on
a hardcopy edition of East is
West (1945)
le Ft Stark first journeyed to
Iraq in 1927 and returned
again in the 1940s
above Freya Stark in Jabal
al-Druze, a volcanic region in
southern Syria
RiGht A 2003 stamp printed
in the United Kingdom of
Stark, who was knighted as a
Dame in 1953
could be done with ruthless efficiency
by building rapport with the women.
Military Contribution
With the outbreak of the second
world war, Stark joined the Ministry
of Information, using her Arabic skills
to counter Nazi propaganda in the
Middle East. She made impassioned
broadcasts from Aden and also led a
one-woman film campaign, smuggling
film reels into the ministerial harems
of Yemen. When challenged about
her projector on one occasion, she
declared it was a portable ladies’
commode and no further enquiriesPHOTO © ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY / ALAMY