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BACKGROUND He was the second son of Henry Herbert, 4th Earl Of Carnarvon , a wealthy landowner, British cabinet minister and Lord Lieutenant Of Ireland and his second wife, Elizabeth Howard of Greystoke Castle , Cumberland . Herbert was afflicted with eye problems which left him nearly blind from early childhood, losing all his sight towards the end of his life. Aubrey Herbert was educated at Eton College and Balliol College , Oxford University where he obtained a first class degree in modern history. He was famous for climbing the roofs of the university buildings, despite his near blindness. He numbered among his friends Adrian Carton De Wiart , Raymond Asquith , John Buchan and Hilaire Belloc . The Middle Eastern traveller and advisor, Sir Mark Sykes , was another friend. He was a half brother to the famous Egyptologist , George Herbert, 5th Earl Of Carnarvon who discovered King Tutankhamen's tomb. LANGUAGES AND TRAVELS Herbert was in his own right a considerable Orientalist, and a linguist who spoke French, Italian, German, Turkish, Arabic, Greek and Albanian as well as English. A renowned traveller, especially in the Middle East, his trips include voyages through Japan , Yemen , Anatolia and Albania . During the period 1902-04 he was an honorary attache in Tokyo , then in Constantinople during 1904-05. He was much more interested in the Middle East than in the Far East . Herbert often dressed as a tramp on his travels. ALBANIA He became a passionate advocate of Albanian independence, having visited the country in 1907, 1911 and 1913. When the Albanian delegates to the 1912 London Balkan Peace Conference arrived, they secured the assistance of Herbert as an advisor. He was very active in their cause and is regarded as having a considerable influence on Albania's obtaining independence. He was twice offered the throne of Albania. On the first occasion, just before World War One , he was interested, but was dissuaded by the then Prime Minister , Herbert Asquith , a family friend. The National Library of Albania in Tirana was once named after Herbert as was a village in the country. PARLIAMENT He was a very independent Conservative Member of Parliament for the Yeovil Division of Somerset from 1911 to his death. Always an advocate of the rights of smaller nations, Herbert opposed the British Government's Irish policy. Herbert was, however, always seen as something of a lightweight in the House Of Commons . WORLD WAR ONE Despite very poor eyesight, Herbert was able, at the outbreak of World War One in 1914, to join the Irish Guards , in which he served in a supernumerary position. He did this by purchasing a uniform and boarding a troopship bound for France. During the Battle Of Mons he was wounded, taken prisoner, and escaped. In December, 1914 he joined the Intelligence Bureau in Cairo , which much more suited his talents and physical disability. Herbert was an intelligence officer attached to the Australia - New Zealand Division, the Anzac s, during the Gallipoli Campaign , where his Turkish speaking ability was to prove useful. He was famous for having arranged a truce with Turkish authorities to bury the dead. After home leave to recover from illness, Herbert was sent back to the Middle East, working with, among others, T.E. Lawrence , Sir Percy Cox and Gertrude Bell . He and Lawrence made an unsuccessful attempt to bribe a Turkish officer to allow the escape of British troops surrounded at Kut-al-Amara . Herbert ended the war as head of the British mission to the Italian army in Albania with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel . FAMILY LIFE AND PREMATURE DEATH Aubrey Herbert married Mary, daughter of the 4th Viscount de Vesci, a member of the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. Lord de Vesci converted, along with his wife, to Roman Catholicism and raised their children accordingly. Aubrey and Mary Herbert had four children, one of whom, Laura, married the famous novelist Evelyn Waugh . Herbert's mother gave him both a country estate at Pixton Park in Somerset , England with 5,000 acres of land and a substantial villa on the Gulf of Genoa at Portofino . His son, Auberon Herbert (landowner) , inherited both properties. Herbert's mother-in-law gave the family a fine house in London. Herbert was a slim man of more than average height and contemporaries described him as having perfect manners. Towards the end of his life, Herbert became totally blind. He was given very bad advice to the effect that having all his teeth extracted would restore his sight. The dental operation resulted in blood poisoning from which he died in London on 26 September , 1923 . Herbert estate was probated in 1924 at 49,970 pounds sterling. MODEL FOR LITERATURE It is widely believed that Herbert is the inspiration for the character, Sandy Arbuthnot, a hero in several of John Buchan novels including Greenmantle . BIBLIOGRAPHY
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