T. E. Lawrence
"Lawrence of Arabia"
1888 - 1935
Read more, click
any of the links below.
Lawrence
of Arabia, a Pocket Biography
by Jeremy Wilson
Outline
chronology
The
T. E. Lawrence Society
Lawence
of Arabia's Brough
T.
E. Lawrence became famous after the First World War because
of the
remarkable role he had played while serving as a British liaison
officer during
the Arab Revolt of 1916-18. When the war ended, an American
journalist,
Lowell Thomas, toured Britain and the Empire giving an outstandingly
successful slide-show about Lawrence's achievements. The romantic
story
of Lawrence's campaigns in Arabia and Allenby's in the Holy
Land appealed
strongly to a British public sated with horrific accounts of
trench warfare on
the Western Front. From this beginning grew the legend of 'Lawrence
of Arabia'.
Thereafter, the facts of Lawrence's war-adventures were often
obscured by
myth. Even today, his reputation is a favourite target for popular
controversialists. Nevertheless, when the secret British archives
of the Middle East campaigns
were finally released in the 1960s and '70s, they showed that
Lawrence's service
with the Arabs had been no less remarkable than the legend.
Lawrence himself had little wish to be remembered as a war hero:
he could
hardly bear to think about his wartime role. His enduring ambition
was to be
a writer. He once confessed his hope that, "in the distant
future, if the distant
future deigns to consider my insignificance, I shall be appraised
rather as a
man of letters than a man of action."
His literary reputation rests on a body of writing which is
almost entirely
autobiographical. It includes at least 6,000 letters written
between 1906
and his death in 1935, and two autobiographical books. The first,
Seven Pillars
of Wisdom, is an account of his service with the Arab Revolt.
The second,
The Mint, is centred on his experiences as an anonymous recruit
in the ranks
of the RAF. It was there, to the astonishment and distress of
many
contemporaries, that he chose to spend his life after 1922.
Both in his books and letters, Lawrence was an acute observer
of people,
places, and events. Among the most memorable passages in Seven
Pillars
are the vivid descriptions of desert landscapes and of the bedouin
irregulars
whose life he shared. The Mint, written in a very different
style to Seven Pillars,
is, like Solzenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,
a work of
observation written by a highly intelligent man who found himself
effectively
imprisoned. Lawrence distilled its spare descriptions from events
that he had
witnessed over and over again. Both Seven Pillars and The Mint
have for many
years ranked among Penguin's modern 'Classics' Lawrence's letters
are no less remarkable. His friendships ranged from fellow-servicemen
in the ranks to
leading figures in the worlds of literature, art, and politics.
In many cases,
letters were almost the only vehicle for these relationships,
since the
circumstances of his life meant that he could rarely meet his
friends.
Should he be appraised as a writer or a man of action? At the
close of the
twentieth century the verdict remains open. Other men of action
marked
history more deeply; other writers earned higher acclaim; yet
few of his
contemporaries combined both practical and intellectual achievements
to the
degree that Lawrence did. That intriguing combination has helped
to sustain
the public's fascination with his life, as has the deeply introspective
personality
revealed in his writings.
From Lawrence of Arabia, a Pocket Biography by Jeremy Wilson
(Stroud,
Sutton Publishing, 1997)
Back
to top of page
Outline chronology
1888, 16th August:
Thomas Edward Lawrence is born in this house in Tremadog North
Wales.
1896:
The Lawrence family moves to Oxford.
1907-1910:
Lawrence studies at Jesus College, Oxford. For his thesis on
crusader castles
he cycles 2,400 miles through France and walks 1,100 miles in
Syria.
1911:
Lawrence starts work as an archaeologist at Carchemish in Syria.
1914:
War begins. Lawrence is sent to Cairo.
1915:
Lawrence's two brothers, Will and Frank, die in France.
1916:
The Arab Revolt begins and Lawrence joins Sherif Faisal in his
campaigns
against the Turkish poeple.
1918:
Damascus is captured from the Turks. Lawrence returns to England.
1919:
The Paris Peace Conference dashes Arab dreams of independence.
1921-1922:
Lawrence, working with Churchill at the Colonial Office, helps
to achieve some
degree of Arab self-rule.
1922-1935:
Lawrence first joins the Royal Air Force under the pseudonym
of J.H. Ross,
but disclosures in the press cause his discharge. He serves
in the Tank
Corps, then rejoins the RAF as T.E. Shaw. During this period
he publishes
Seven Pillars of Wisdom, The Mint and his translations of Le
Corbeau's
Gigantesque and Homer's Odyssey.
1935, 19th May:
Lawrence dies as a result of a motorcycle accident near his
home in Dorset
Back
to top of page
The
T. E. Lawrence Society
Registered Charity
No. 297940 P.O. Box 728, Oxford OX2 6YP
About
the Society
The T. E. Lawrence Society, formed at Wareham, Dorset, in 1985,
is a non-
profit organisation registered under British tax law as an educational
charity.
There are currently over 600 members, of whom two-thirds live
in the U.K.
Overseas members come from countries throughout the world, including
a
large contingent from the United States. By the terms of its
Constitution the
Society exists "to advance the education of the public
in the life and works of
T. E. Lawrence and to promote research (and to publish the results
thereof)
into his life and works".
The Society Committee is elected by members at the Annual General
Meeting held each September.
Subscription income is spent as far as possible on publications.
This means
that members who are unable to attend meetings are not subsidising
those
who do. Members receive four newsletters and two Journals each
year. The
newsletters contain information about regional groups and future
meetings,
and other matters of interest to members, including photographs.
The Journal
contains the text of lectures
given at Society meetings, research articles, and
reprints of significant material about Lawrence. The content
is chosen so that
as many aspects as possible of Lawrence's life are covered.
The most important
meeting organised by the Society in Britain is the
Symposium, held every two years, with speakers such as Professor
John Adair,
Malcolm Brown, Philip O'Brien, and Jeremy Wilson. The last Symposium
was
held at St. John's College, Oxford, in September 2000, and the
last took place
at Exeter College, Oxford, on 14-15 September 2002. There are
also major
events in the US: in May 2000 a conference was organised by
the society's
Western Regional Group in association with Santa Clara University.
All the regional
groups arrange talks, visits and social events. In the UK, the
London and Dorset groups are very active. Members of the London
group
visited Syria and Lebanon in September 1999, following Lawrence's
first
journey in the Middle East in 1909, when he was studying Crusader
Castles.
There are also group meetings in Japan, the Netherlands, and
both western
and eastern regions of
the US.
The Society manages
a (growing) research collection at the Oxford Central
Library. This is accessible to the public.
The
Committee
Membership
The T. E. Lawrence
Society welcomes new members. The annual subscription,
renewable on 1 April, covers the cost of the year's four newsletters
and two
Journals, and carries the entitlement to a single vote at the
Society's General
Meetings. The subscription entitles up to two people living
in the same
household to enjoy all the other benefits of membership.
Subscriptions from
new members joining between January and March cover the
whole of the following year. These members will immediately
receive the
current Newsletter, but the first Journal covered by the subscription
will be
that published in the following July.
The current U.K.
annual subscription is £18.00. This may be paid by cheque,
postal order, or credit card (Visa or Mastercard).
Annual renewals
may be paid by Standing Order.
The current overseas
subscription is £23.00. This may be paid by sterling
cheque drawn on a UK bank, Eurocheque, or credit card (Visa
or Mastercard).
Please send your
completed application form and payment to:- Patricia
Kennedy,Hon. Membership Secretary
The T. E. Lawrence
Society
The Membership Secretary
P.O. Box 728,
Oxford,
OX2 9ZJ
website
e-mail
Back to top of page
Lawence
of Arabia's Brough
"Lawrence
of Arabia's Motorcycle For Sale"
On the 13th of
May 1935 Lawrence crashed Boanerges only a short distance
from the cottage at Clouds Hill in which he revised his masterpiece
"Seven
Pillars of Wisdom" whilst serving as a private in the Tank
Corps at Bovington
in the 1930s. Lawrence of Arabia (T.E. Lawrence), an ardent
motorcyclist,
owned a succession of Brough motorcycles which he would often
ride up to
500 miles a day, an astonishing feat considering the road conditions
of the
1920's and 30's.
He had a new Brough awaiting delivery when he was killed.
Motorcycle Online go on to say (20/6/97) The Brough Superior
motorcycle
that noted author T.E Lawrence, a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia, was
killed on
while riding in 1935 was offered up for sale last week. John
Truss, acting
on behalf of the bike's current owner, who wants to remain anonymous,
said
they have been offered up to $3.3 million for "the world's
most famous and
romantic motorcycle."
Lawrence was riding the 1000cc Brough back to his cottage in
England on
May 13, 1935 when he apparently highsided the bike after trying
to avoid
two boys on bicycles. He died in a nearby hospital six days
later from
injuries suffered in the crash.
Lawrence was a keen motorcyclist who owned seven of the famed
Brough
bikes.
After his accident, the bike was returned to the factory where
it was
repaired and sold. It has been owned by a motorcycle historian
in southern
England for the past 20 years who now wants to sell it because
of failing
health. Experts say that a Brough in the same condition as Lawrence's
-
but without its history - could fetch up to $85,000. There are
only an
estimated 1,000 or so Broughs still surviving, but the $3 million
price
tag for Lawrence's machine has raised some eyebrows. Truss said
he
had recently turned down an offer of $2.5 million from an American
collector for the bike.
"T.E.Lawrence's Motorcycle at Max Gate"
Back
to top of page
More details.
"Lawrence
of Arabia Factfile"
Denis McDonnel book seller
