British NCO and Arab Legion NCO smoking, 1947 (c)

Photograph, Palestine (1945-1948), 1947 (c).

In 1921, the Hashemite Emir Abdullah I of Transjordan raised an armed force of 1,000 men called the Transjordan Frontier Force. The name changed to the Arab Legion in 1923. The force was formed by Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Gerard Peake to keep order among the tribes of British controlled Transjordan and to guard the important Jerusalem-Amman road. In 1939, John Bagot Glubb, better known as Glubb Pasha, became the Legion's commander. During World War Two, the Legion took part in the campaign against pro-Axis forces in the Middle East. The Legion, part of Iraqforce, contributed significantly in the Anglo-Iraqi War and in the Syria-Lebanon campaign. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war the Legion was the best Arab force. Following the war, the Legion was reformed as the army of Jordan.

One of 48 photographs collected by Major M Budd, Royal Artillery, 1942-1952.