T. E. Lawrence Society

82nd Anniversary Commemorations
2017-05-19
To mark the 82nd anniversary of Lawrence’s death, on 19 May 2017 the Society laid a floral tribute on his grave in the cemetery at Moreton in Dorset, where we were joined by a small group of supporters.
In a short reading given by the graveside, the Society also remembered the taking of Akaba one century before. In fact, on 19 May 1917, Lawrence and a small party of Arabs would have been on the 10th day of their ride from Feisal’s headquarters in Wejh to the spring pastures of the Howeitat tribe, where they hoped to recruit the Howeitat for the audacious attack on the port of Akaba from inland that Lawrence had devised.
Akaba was eventually captured from the Turks on July 6, and Lawrence was nominated for the Victoria Cross for the many dangers he faced during the journey. He would eventually be awarded the CB, his actions not having been witnessed independently by any British officer.

It therefore seemed appropriate, in the centenary year of Akaba, to read by the graveside a few words from Victoria O’Campo’s book 338171 T.E. (Lawrence of Arabia). Here, in writing about his fatal motorbike accident, she refers to a previous accident he suffered during the final days before taking Akaba.
On the 13th of May he got on his motorcycle to send a telegram from Bovington Camp post office returning to Clouds Hill, he swerved violently to avoid hitting two cyclists who were unexpectedly in his way, lost control and was flung off his motorcycle.
He had been thrown once over the head of his camel in the middle of battle. But on this occasion he could not repeat some lines brought up from adolescent memory, as he had done when he felt himself lost in the middle of the enemy.
For Lord I was free of all Thy flowers,
But I chose the world’s sad roses
And that is why my feet are torn
And mine eyes are blind with sweat.
Now, there was no enemy and it was a peaceful English country road.
—————————————————————-
That the Society is able to lay flowers on Lawrence’s grave to mark significant dates each year is thanks to an enduring gift from an anonymous American benefactor. The Society is very grateful for this gift which will ensure that Lawrence’s great legacy continues to be remembered.

T E Lawrence Society Symposium 2016
2016-09-23 - 2016-09-25 | St John’s College, St John's College, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 3JP, United Kingdom
In the centenary year of the outbreak of the Arab Revolt, we are delighted to report that a record number of delegates joined us for our 14th Symposium, held at St John’s College, Oxford.
Over the three days of the Symposium, a special programme of lectures marked this very special occasion. Two exhibitions showcased archaeological artefacts from the Great Arab Revolt Project, as well as photographs of Egypt and Palestine taken during the First World War collected as part of a Heritage Lottery Fund-sponosored project, Views of an Antique Land, run by Cardiff University.
On the Friday night, delegates were joined by members of the public for a staged reading of Jan Woolf’s new play about Lawrence, The Man with the Gold.
The Great Hall at St John’s was packed for our traditional candlelit dinner on the Saturday night, clearly demonstrating the continuing interest in Lawrence around the world. We hope to see everyone again in 2018 when we will be marking the culmination of the Arab Revolt with the taking of Damascus in 1918.
Chairman Philip Neale opens proceedings in the centennial year of the outbreak of the Arab Revolt
Symposium Speakers
Roger Holehouse – The Strategic Context to the Arab Revolt
Dr Steve Mills & Professor Paul T. Nicholson – Views of An Antique Land: Egypt and Palestine During the First World War
(Left) Philip Walker – New Light on the Arab Revolt and the Forgotten Few Who Shaped It; (Right) Professor Ali Allawi – Feisal and the Arab Revolt
(Left) George Thompson – Seeing Arabia: The Personal Photographs of T. E. Lawrence taken between 1916-1918; (Right) John Johnson-Allen – T. E. Lawrence and the Red Sea Patrol
(Left) Group Captain John Alexander – “Aeroplanes and Arabs”: T. E. Lawrence as Proponent of Air Power and the British Way in Warfare; (Right) Kerry Webber – Colonel Newcombe & Lawrence: Beyond Arabia
Dr Neil Faulkner – Lawrence of Arabia’s War
Dick Benson-Gyles – The Boy in the Mask
The Man with the Gold

Rehearsal for Friday night’s staged reading of Jan Woolf’s new play The Man with the Gold
After-show Q&A session with director Philip Wilson, playwright Jan Woolf and historical adviser Dr Neil Faulkner
Exhibition of artefacts from
the Great Arab Revolt Project

.303 cartridge cases, probably ammunition for the machine gun on a Rolls-Royce armoured car
(Left) Can of condensed milk; (Right) Tobacco tin found at Feisal’s base at Wuheida
Railway sleeper blasted in an ambush
Hand grenades marked with a crescent and star to show they were made for the Ottoman Empire
Outside the lecture hall
Society bookshop showcases the latest editions from our line-up of speakers
Specialist bookseller Rickaro Books joins us again
Delegates relax between lectures
Summaries of all the lectures will be published in the Society’s Winter 2016 Newsletter. The Society would like to express its grateful thanks to Roger Herrera for providing photographs of the event.
……………………………………………………………………………
All photographs © Roger Herrera

81st Anniversary Commemorations
2016-05-19
To mark the 81st anniversary of Lawrence’s death on 19 May 1935, the Society held a simple service during which flowers were laid on his grave in Moreton Cemetery. Around 20 people joined us at the cemetery, where Society vice-chairman Alan Payne read a number of quotations, by Lawrence and by his friends, including Winston Churchill’s famous tribute:
“I deem him one of the greatest beings alive in our time. I do not see his like elsewhere. I fear whatever our need we shall never see his like again. King George V wrote to his brother, ‘His name will live in history’. That is true. It will live in English letters; it will live in the annals of war; it will live in the traditions of the Royal Air Force, and in the legends of Arabia.”
Thanks to an enduring gift from an anonymous American benefactor, significant dates in Lawrence’s life – his birth on 16 August 1888, his death on 19 May 1935 and the taking of Damascus on 1 October 1918 – will henceforth be marked by the Society laying flowers on his grave. The Society is very grateful for this gift which will ensure that Lawrence’s great legacy continues to be remembered.
Lawrence Week at Clouds Hill

Following the success of the inaugural Lawrence Week at Clouds Hill in 2015, the National Trust held a second event this year,
marking the centenary of the Arab Revolt, and also celebrating Lawrence’s many journeys, with a series of talks, readings and a
cycle trail around Dorset.
Society members were pleased once again to be able to play a leading role during the week; with Theresa Jenkins-Teague – also a Clouds Hill volunteer and a distant relation of Lawrence – even arranging for an authentic Bedouin tent to be shipped across from Jordan and erected outside the cottage.
Highlight of the week, however, must surely have been the homecoming of UL 656 – Lawrence’s penultimate Brough Superior motorcycle, known affectionately as George VI – which for the first time in decades appeared outside Clouds Hill cottage, following its recent restoration by a master restorer. Around 12 other Brough Superior motorcycles were also on display.
Thanks must go to Alan Payne, of the T. E. Lawrence Society and Brough Superior Club, and Bob Burden, of the Brough Superior Club, for organising this tremendous event.
Lawrence Week was also celebrated at Wareham Library, where an open day gave enthusiasts a chance to browse through some of the diverse material in its T. E. Lawrence Collection. Donated partly by the Society, its collection of books, press cuttings and other Lawrence-related material has grown in recent months with a number of gifts and bequests, and is now almost fully catalogued.
Meanwhile, at Dorset County Museum, a new play written by Clouds Hill volunteer Andy Munro – Lawrence of Wessex – pulled in a sell-out crowd on two nights.

Following In The Footsteps Of Lawrence: Society Trip To Jordan
2016-03-01
At the beginning of March 2016, an intrepid group of travellers from the T. E. Lawrence Society set off with expedition leader James Dyer, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, for a trek around Jordan in the footsteps of T. E. Lawrence.
The group stayed at traditional Bedouin camps and camped out in the open while following some of Lawrence’s route towards Aqaba.
No trouble at all was experienced in Jordan. Everyone found it peaceful and the Jordanian people lived up to their tradition of welcoming hospitality.
The scenery was amazing and the group enjoyed good weather. At every meal, the plates overflowed. It was quite an experience and all the travellers felt that bit closer to Lawrence, having followed part of his route, roughing it as much as they could.
The fort at Aqaba
Wadi Rum
Outside the ruins of the so-called Lawrence House at Wadi Rum

The Man With The Gold: Exclusive Script Reading Of A New Lawrence Play
2016-01-22
Around 65 people joined the T. E. Lawrence Society at the Cockpit Theatre in London on Friday January 22 for a staged reading of Jan Woolf’s new play, The Man with the Gold.
The reading was held to evaluate the script and give feedback to the playwright and director Philip Wilson. This objective was achieved partly through a Q&A session afterwards and an audience survey.
The play had its world premiere at the T. E. Lawrence Society’s Symposium at St John’s College, Oxford on Friday September 23.

T. E. Lawrence In Yorkshire And Lincolnshire
2015-10-15
The tour – visiting Lawrence-related sites such as RAF Cranwell and the Ozone Hotel in Bridlington – was organised by committee member Andrew Wright and led by local historian Mike Wilson, with Society member Nigel McMurray driving the minibus.
We thank them for their initiative and efforts in running such a successful event; and for the complimentary remarks from Society members who took part.

80th Anniversary Commemorations
2015-05-19
The 80th anniversary of Lawrence’s death on May 19 1935 was marked with a series of commemorative events in Dorset and at his birthplace in Tremadog, North Wales.
Lawrence Week at Clouds Hill
At Clouds Hill, Lawrence’s cottage in Dorset, the National Trust held its first ever Lawrence Week including a number of informative talks and guided walks, culminating with a gathering of Brough Superior motorcycles outside the cottage.
Lawrence Week began at Max Gate, the home of Thomas Hardy near Dorchester, where T. E. Lawrence Society vice-chairman Alan Payne arrived on his own Brough Superior SS 80 to give a talk on Lawrence’s journeys.
Later in the week, six members of the Brough Superior Club arrived on their motorcycles at Clouds Hill. The gathering included the SS 100 that is reputed to be George IV, which Lawrence owned during part of the time he lived here – still living within 20 miles of Clouds Hill.
For one of the National Trust’s keen team of volunteers at Clouds Hill, the chance to get up close to George IV proved irresistible.
Following the success of Lawrence Week, the National Trust is considering making it an annual event.
Bovington Military Wives Choir
At the beautiful St Nicholas Church in Moreton, where Lawrence’s funeral was held on May 21 1935, the Bovington Military Wives Choir enchanted an audience with a selection of songs carefully chosen to reflect Lawrence’s life and interests.
The songs included I Dreamed a Dream and Castle on a Cloud from Les Miserables.
After the concert, dinner was served at the Moreton Tea Rooms.
Proceeds from the evening will go towards Moreton Village Hall and the Military Wives Choir Foundation Charity.
Memorial services and laying of floral tributes

On May 19, three services of commemoration, including the laying of floral tributes, were held by the Armed Forces at the scene of Lawrence’s fatal crash, at the hospital where he died, and at his graveside in the cemetery at Moreton.
After the services, a 1920 Rolls-Royce armoured car, lent by the Tank Museum at Bovington, drove in convoy with five Brough Superiors, including George IV, from the cemetery back to Clouds Hill. A most fitting tribute to Lawrence.
May we thank everyone who attended the events. To see BBC South’s coverage of the memorial services, watch the video on our FACEBOOK page.
Paying tribute to local Welsh heroes
At Lawrence’s birthplace – Snowdon Lodge, in Tremadog, North Wales – he was given the tribute of an RAF fly-past as part of the commemorations.
The owners of Snowdon Lodge, Carl and Anja, organised a number of commemorative events over two days.
Falklands War veteran Simon Weston – another Welsh hero – unveiled a commemorative bench placed around a whitebeam tree presented to Snowdon Lodge by the T. E. Lawrence Society.

The figurative sculptor David Williams-Ellis displayed a maquette of his bronze sculpture of Lawrence which has been commissioned for Snowdon Lodge.
The commemorative events also featured Society member John Johnson-Allen who gave a talk about his forthcoming book, T. E. Lawrence and the Red Sea Patrol, which traces the pivotal role of the Royal Navy in the Arab Revolt.
