Series 02: Alan Gibson Stewart papers, 1987-1989 - Page 3
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[Page 3]
control and he is ordered to support it. "Stalky" sets off with a small advance party in Ford vans carrying a heavy cargo of gold, escorted by one armoured car. His plan is to cross the Caspian Sea, to reach Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, where a sympathetic government would be established. Stalky reaches Enzeli on the shore of the Caspian. However he is confronted by hostile Bolshevik troops and flees southward to avoid arrest.
Four: A voyage to the Orient
-The main party travels across southern Europe by train and then by ship to Egypt. Some visit the fleshpots of Cairo. On another ship to the Persian Gulf. Russian lessons on board. A ship's officer disappears.
Five: The waters of Babylon
-Arrvial at Basra. Relaxing at the Gymkhana Club. Up the Tigris by paddle-wheel riverboat. They pass the sites of ancient civilizations--familiar names from the bible and the classics. the "Hush-Hush Push" assembles at a special camp near Bagdad.
Six: The land of Zarathustra
-Various parties of Dunsterforce struggle up the ancient road from the dusty planes of Mesopotamia (Iraq) into the snow covered mountains of Persia. They find a hostile country, devastated by war and drought. The British form an alliance with the Cossack Colonel Bicharakov and try to recruit Persian irregulars ("levies").
Seven: The city of Darius
-Dunsterforce establishes a base at Hamadan (the ancient Ecbatana). King Darius reputedly buried his gold here before fleeing from Alexander The Great. Hospitality from the Scotish manager of the Imperial Bank of Persia and female American Missionaries. Dysentry causes deaths in the party. The Anzac Mobile Wireless Troop is deployed.
Eight: A test of strength
-Stalky moves his headquarters to Kasvin. He sends Dunsterforce parties into the mountains to guard against a Turkish thrust from Armenia. Regular Army units start to arrive from Iraq. Gurkhas slaughter local people in a Bazzar. Bicharakov's Cassacks, Dunsterforce armoured cars and the Royal Flying Corps subdue the Jangali tribe and force a way through to the Caspian. Stalky arrests the local Bolshevik committee and sets up his own government at Enzeli.