‘I’m here again to tell you something of the rather strange sequel to our rather useless hobby’ (Bagnold, 1945, 30) These, the rather innocuous words of Ralph Bagnold in his address to the Royal Geographic Society (RGS) in 1945; the hobby was desert exploration, the rather strange sequel was setting up the covert reconnaissance and raiding Long Range Desert Group (LRDG). After Italy’s declaration of war in 1940, General Wavell, Commander in Chief, Middle East, began a dangerous game of bluff in the desert. Wavell ensured that he drew on those servicemen who had a grounded understanding of the battlefield terrain; one such was Major Ralph Bagnold (Rankin 2008). Bagnold had previously been posted to Egypt by the British military during the interwar period, and the desert immediately captured his imagination. It was while in North Africa in 1926 that Bagnold carried out his initial field work on the desert and sand dunes (Goudie, 2004). This research instigated a long-term and detailed study, in part funded by the RGS, which he later published as Physics of Wind Blown Sand and Desert Dunes (1941). This text was the most comprehensive study of the characteristics of the desert terrain, and it remains ‘a masterpiece of scientific enquiry and analysis’ (Welland, 2009, 149). It also drew military attention to Bagnold in WWII, whom it was felt was perfectly placed to be in charge of the covert desert unit; a force set up to cause logistical havoc behind enemy lines by employing geographic knowledge in order to read the desert for signs of enemy activity. By studying the LRDG, and in particular Bagnold’s role, this paper will uncover how geographical knowledge became engrained into the prosecution of desert warfare, with lasting effects on the ethics and execution of battle. Furthermore, it will consider the multiple publics, including geographical societies, schools and the military, which were enrolled in developing Bagnold’s study of the desert and who in turn informed the nature and character of his desert exploration.